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India · Delhi · New Delhi
Tihar Jail
StateHighmixedDeath rowOvercrowded (180%)ModerateHigh
Verified · Data dated
Fresh · 2mo ago
Sources last reviewed on · data-as-of
Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.
For families
How to send mail, money, and visit Tihar Jail
Step-by-step guidance using the India system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.
Gallery
From Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA where not otherwise stated).
Photo by IAC Delhi via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
Photo by Pulakit Singh via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo by Zuck28 via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
South Asia's largest prison complex, comprising 16 jails in central Delhi. Houses pretrial and convicted inmates across nine central jails plus annexes.
Capacity
10,026
Current population
18,000
Occupancy
180%
Year opened
1958
Operational
Figures from official sources · verified 29 May 2026 · methodology
Facility profile
Operator
Department of Delhi PrisonsPopulation held
mixed
Opened
1958
Region
Delhi
Security level
High
Death-row facility
Yes
Conditions
Significantly overcrowded at ~180% of design capacity. Multiple high-profile in-custody incidents.
Visiting
Visits via the eMulaqat online appointment portal; 30 minutes; ID required.
Mailing
Inmate Name & Prison Number, Central Jail Tihar [Jail No.], Tihar Village, New Delhi 110018, India.
Practical info
Tihar runs the country's most extensive inmate education and vocational programme.
Known issues
Inmate factionalism documented; high-profile murder of Tillu Tajpuriya in 2023.
Notable inmates
Amar Singh1956–2020 · industrialistAmar Singh (27 January 1956 â 1 August 2020) was an Indian politician from the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Kanimozhi Karunanidhi1968 · politicianKanimozhi Karunanidhi (born 5 January 1968) is an Indian politician, poet and journalist.
- Jitender Singh Tomar1966 · politician
Jitender Singh Tomar is an Indian politician and former cabinet minister of Home, law and justice in the Government of NCT of Delhi headed by former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from which he was resigned after a Fake Degree case against him.
- Sher Singh Rana1976
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Subrata Roy1948–2023 · politicianSubrata Roy (10 June 1948 â 14 November 2023) was an Indian businessman who founded the business conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar in 1978. Roy was named the tenth-most influential Indian businessman in 2012 by India Today.
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Charles Sobhraj1944 · serial killerCharles Sobhraj (born Hotchand Bhawnani Gurmukh Sobhraj; 6 April 1944) is a French serial killer, fraudster, and thief whose victims were mainly Western tourists travelling on the hippie trail of South Asia during the 1970s.
- Ankeet Chavan1985 · cricketer
Ankeet Chavan (born 28 October 1985) is a former cricketer who played for Mumbai in Indian domestic cricket.
- Subrata Roy1948–2023 · politician
Subrata Roy (10 June 1948 â 14 November 2023) was an Indian businessman who founded the business conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar in 1978. Roy was named the tenth-most influential Indian businessman in 2012 by India Today.
- Manu Sharma1977 · geneticist
Manu Sharma (born 1977) is an Indian convicted murderer who was imprisoned for the 1999 murder of Jessica Lal.
Showing 9 of 12. Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.
Contact & address
Conditions Risk Score
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
33/100
Moderate concern33/100
- Overcrowding
- 22/30
- Oversight reports
- 6/30
- Structural flags
- 5/15
- Death signals
- 0/15
- Conditions text
- 0/10
What the score is responding to:
- · Severely overcrowded at 180% of capacity
- · 1 oversight report in the last 5 years
- · Death-row facility
This facility scores 33. The national average across 1,739 scored India facilities is 33 — matching the national average.
Trend over time
Population and occupancy by year. Source: official corrections statistics + oversight reports.
Population held
2018: 16,000+12.5%2024: 18,000
Occupancy %
2018: 160.0%+12.5%2024: 180.0%
Related facilities
Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.
- Sub Jail Neem Ka ThanaNeem Ka ThanaSub Jail
- Sub Jail DabraDabraSub Jail
- Chandrapur District PrisonChandrapurDistrict prison
- District Jail SirsaSirsaDistrict Jail
- Sub JailMuvattupuzha
- Yerwada Open JailYerwadaOpen jail
Compared to other facilities in India
1738 peersCapacity (beds)this: 10026 · peers avg: 787 (+1175%)
Reports
- Delhi High Court2 May 2023
Court took suo motu cognisance of the murder of inmate Tillu Tajpuriya inside Tihar; ordered review of intra-prison movement and segregation of high-risk inmates.
Data completeness
100%How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.
Sources
- Department of Delhi Prisons
- Wikidata (Q1593538)
- Wikipedia
- Wikimedia Commons
- See /data-sources for our overall methodology.
Cite this page
Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.
APA
World Prisons. (2026). Tihar Jail. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/tihar
Chicago
"Tihar Jail." World Prisons. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/tihar.
BibTeX
@misc{worldprisons-tihar,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {Tihar Jail},
year = {2026},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/tihar},
urldate = {2026-07-21}
}