ARRESTS. (Hansard, 8 February 1932)

§ 3. Mr. D. GRENFELL
asked the Secretary of State for India whether he can state how many persons have been arrested during the last three months under ordinances other than ordinary criminal procedure code; and whether he can state the capacity of the prisons in India and the number of persons how confined in them?

§ 5. Mr. T. WILLIAMS
asked the Secretary of State for India if he will state how many persons in India have been arrested and how many are at present in detention under Regulation III of 1818 and the other regulations and special provisions enabling the Government of India to arrest and detain or imprison persons for indefinite periods without trial?

§ 14. Mr. LEONARD
asked the Secretary of State for India if he can state how many Redshirts have been arrested on the North-West Frontier?

§ 17. Mr. JOHN
asked the Secretary of State for India whether he can state how many of those arrested or detained under the recent ordinances have been charged; how many have been arrested under the Bengal ordinance; and is it intended to legislate on the lines of the ordinances?

§ 31. Mr. CAPE
asked the Secretary of State for India if he will state the number of persons detained in prisons in India without trial?

§ 39. Mr. WALLHEAD
asked the Secretary of State for India if he will state what is the total capacity of prisons in India; and is there sufficient accommodation in these prisons to provide for the increase in the number of prisoners as a result of rule by ordinance?

§ Sir S. HOARE
It is impossible for the Government of India, to furnish figures showing the total number of arrests, but they have undertaken to supply me with the total number of convictions both under the Ordinances and under the ordinary law, and I will give these figures to the House as soon as they are received. I am in possession of statistics showing the total number of persons arrested and detained without trial and I will circulate these in the OFFICIAL REPORT. As regards the second part of 455 the question, it would entail considerable labour to collect the desired information. The local Governments are making the necessary arrangements for the accommodation of extra prisoners and I have no reason to suppose that these will be inadequate. I should like to make it clear that it is the desire of the Government of India and of His Majesty's Government that these special powers taken to combat the Civil Disobedience Movement should be withdrawn as soon as circumstances justify their withdrawal.

§ Mr. MORGAN JONES
Why is it impossible to furnish the number of persons under arrest?

§ Sir S. HOARE
It would entail a great deal of labour at a time when the Government of India are faced with a difficult situation. I hesitate to ask them to undertake this work, and I should have thought that the House might rest satisfied with the information I am prepared to give of the number of convictions.

§ Mr. WILLIAMS
In view of the fact that many thousands of people have been apprehended without any charge made against them are we not entitled to know something of the actual circumstances which obtain in India?

§ Sir S. HOARE
I am adopting exactly the same procedure that was followed by

§ Mr. WILLIAMS
In view of the fact that the Bengal Ordinance and other Ordinances have been passed since then, how can the right hon. Gentleman suggest that he is pursuing the line taken by his predecessor?

§ Sir S. HOARE
I am speaking of the number of arrests.

§ Mr. GRENFELL
The right hon. Gentleman says that he is publishing the number of persons convicted and the number of persons detained without trial. Does not that contain all the information?

§ Sir S. HOARE
No, Sir. I can imagine that there may be a number of persons arrested who might not be convicted. I ask the hon. Member to wait until he sees the information I am prepared to give, which will, I think, satisfy the legitimate demands of every section in the House.

§ Mr. GRENFELL
There are only two classes; those who have been convicted—

HON. MEMBERS
Order!

		Number at present detained.
Regulation	III of 1818	…	…	…	30
Regulation	II of 1819	…	…	…	197 (3 in jail).
Regulation	XXV of 1827	…	…	…	2
	Total				229
Of the total of 229, only 26 including 18 terrorists previously detained under the Bengal Criminal Law Amendment Act, have been detained since the 1st of November, 1931.

—	Number arrested by 31st January, 1932.	Number detained on 31st January, 1932.
Bengal Criminal Law Amendment Act and Ordinance.	1,017		264 in jail.
		462 in detention camps.
Section 3 of Emergency Powers Ordinance and Section 3 of North-West Frontier Province Emergency Powers Ordinance.	Bombay	777	458
	Bengal	248	191
	United Provinces	10	10
	Punjab	5	3
	North-West Frontier Province	2,617	1,912