Chapter I PRELIMINARY

1. (1) This Act may be called the Andhra Pradesh Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2026.
2. (2) It shall extend to the whole of the State of Andhra Pradesh.
3. (3) It shall come in to force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette, appoint.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. (1) “After-care Service” means a service or activity aimed at the rehabilitation of the released prisoner for enabling him to lead life as a dutiful citizen.
2. (2) “Civil Prisoner” means any prisoner who is not committed to custody under a writ, warrant or order of any court or authority exercising criminal jurisdiction, or by the order of a court martial and who is not a detenue.
3. (3) “Convict” means any prisoner under sentence of a court exercising criminal jurisdiction or court martial.
4. (4) “Correctional Service” means any service or program aimed at the reformation and rehabilitation of an inmate, and includes services related to the assessment, supervision, treatment, training, control, custody of an inmate.
5. (5) “Court” includes any officer lawfully exercising civil, criminal or revenue jurisdiction.
6. (6) “Directorate” means the Directorate of Prisons and Correctional Services of the State.
7. (7) “Detenue” means any person detained in prison on the orders of a competent authority under any law providing for preventive detention.
8. (8) “Family” means Spouse, children, siblings, parents, grand- parents, grandchildren, and in the context of transgender inmates, people related through socio-religious family system.
9. (9) “Foreign Prisoner” means any prisoner who is not a citizen of India.
10. (10) “Furlough”means short leave granted to a convict, after undergoing a prescribed period of sentence as an incentive for maintaining good conduct in prison.
11. (11) “Government” means the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
12. (12) “Habitual Offender” means a person who, during any continuous period of five
13. (5) years, whether before or after the commencement of the Andhra Pradesh Habitual Offenders Act, 1962 or partly before and partly after such commencement has been sentenced on conviction on not less than three occasions after he attained the age of eighteen
14. (18) years to a substantive term of imprisonment for any one or more of the scheduled offences committed on different occasions and not so connected together as to form parts of the same transaction, such sentence not having been reversed in appeal or on revision: Provided that in computing the continuous period of five (5) years referred to above, any period spent in jail either under a sentence of imprisonment or under detention shall not be taken into account. Explanation - An order requiring a person to give security for good behaviour with reference to section 129 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, shall be deemed to amount to a sentence of substantive imprisonment within the meaning of this clause.
15. (13) “Head of the Directorate of Prisons and Correctional Services” means an officer appointed by the Government as head of the Directorate of Prisons and Correctional Services.
16. (14) “High-risk Prisoner” means a prisoner with high propensity towards violence, escape, self-harm, disorderly behaviour, likely to create unrest in the prison and a threat to public order and includes those engaged in organised crime and terrorist activities.
17. (15) “High Security Prison” means an independent self sufficient prison complex with dynamic and strengthened security systems with provision for an independent Court complex, etc., to house convicted and under trial inmates, who need to be kept in a high security custody area, such as persons involved in terrorist activities, gangsters, dangerous prisoners, hardened criminals, habitual offenders, prisoners with high propensity of escape, have the potential of rioting and negatively influencing other inmates, etc.
18. (16) “History Ticket” means the ticket, either in physical or electronic form, exhibiting all relevant information in respect of a prisoner.
19. (17) “Inmate” means any person lawfully confined in a prison and correctional institution.
20. (18) “Institution” means a place where prisoners are lawfully confined.
21. (19) “Institution for Young Offenders” means a prison for young prisoners established to ensure their care, welfare and rehabilitation, to provide an environment of education and training conducive to their reformation.
22. (20) “Medical Officer” in relation to prisons means a qualified Government medical practitioner deputed as a medical officer of a prison.
23. (21) “Medical Subordinate Staff” means a qualified Medical Assistant, such as Pharmacist, Nurse, Lab Technician, Male nursing orderly, Female nursing orderly and other paramedical staff deputed in a Prison to provide medical assistance.
24. (22) “Open Prisons / Semi Open Prisons” means a place for confinement of eligible prisoners on such conditions, as may be prescribed under the rules, for giving them more liberty outside a regular prison for facilitating their rehabilitation after release.
25. (23) “Parole” means temporary release of a convict for a short period of time for attending to familial and social obligations.
26. (24) “Prison” means any place used permanently or temporarily under general or special orders of the Government for the detention of prisoners and includes all lands and buildings appurtenant thereto, but does not include -
    • (a) any place for the confinement of prisoners who are exclusively in the custody of the police;
    • (b) any place specially appointed by the Government under Section 457 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023;
    • (c) any place which has been declared by the Government by a general or special order to be a subsidiary jail.
27. (25) “Prison Officer” means an officer belonging to the Department of Prisons and Correctional Services and includes officers of any other security force or any other service deployed in the prison for assisting the prison administration for the safe custody of/providing correctional services to the prisoners.
28. (26) “Prison Staff’ means an employee appointed by the Directorate, other than a prison officer, who exercises powers or performs duties or functions related to the administration of this Act or as maybe assigned by the Government.
29. (27) “Prisoner”means a person committed to custody in a prison under the writ, warrant, order or sentence of a Court or a competent authority and includes convicted prisoner, civil prisoner, undertrial prisoner, prisoner remanded by a court to prison custody under the orders of a competent authority and a detenue.
30. (28) “Prohibited article (contraband)” means any item that presents a threat to the safety or security of the prisoners, prison staff, prison institution or any object, substance, or material forbidden by the Prisons and Correctional Institutions or the Government from being in a prisoner’s possession, like cell phone, a communication device, drugs or anything that can be used as a weapon or to aid in escape, such as fire arms or any of its part, explosives, knives, wire, tools, chemicals, razor blades, alcohol, matches, lighters or any article, the introduction or removal of which into or out of a prison is prohibited by this Act or by the rules framed under the Act or by any other law or by any notification of the Government.
31. (29) “Recidivist”means any prisoner who is convicted for a crime more than once.
32. (30) “Remission”means a concession granted to an eligible convicted prisoner by the competent authority with the prospect of early release from prison by shortening of sentence, as may be prescribed under the rules.
33. (31) “Rule” means a rule made under this Act.
34. (32) “Officer-in-charge of a Prison” means an officer appointed by the competent authority as in-charge of a prison, namely Superintendent, Additional Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent, etc.
35. (33) “Undertrial prisoner” means a person who is not a convict and has been committed to judicial custody pending investigation by the police or trial by a court of competent jurisdiction.
36. (34) “Wireless Communication Device” means a mobile phone, computer, tablet, laptop, palmtop or any other electronic device used for unauthorized communication using any cellular or satellite network or any other device notified by the competent authority.
37. (35) “Young Offender” means a prisoner who has attained the age of eighteen
38. (18) years and has not attained the age of twenty one
39. (21) years.