§ 2. Mr. DAVID GRENFELLasked the Under-Secretary of State for India how many sentences of flogging were passed by the criminal courts in British India in each of the last five years for which records are available, and the number of floggings inflicted for offences against prison discipline during the same period?
§ Mr. BUTLERI am circulating the figures for the years 1929 to 1933. Those for 1934 are not yet available.
§ Mr. GRENFELLWill the hon. Gentleman recommend to his chief that the asperities of prison discipline in India should be toned down?
§ Mr. BUTLERI will certainly convey what the hon. Gentleman says to my Noble Friend, but I do not think that there is any likelihood of any alteration in policy at the present time.
§ Following are the figures:
§ (1) Number of persons sentenced to whipping by criminal courts in British India, 1929 to 1933.
| 1929 | 8,100 |
| 1930 | 7,648 |
| 1931 | 6,309 |
| 1932 | 6,514 |
| 1933 | 4,987* |
| * Excluding Punjab and Agra, for which figures are not yet available. |
§ (2) Number of punishments of whipping inflicted for offences committed by convicts in British India.
| 1929 | 221 |
| 1930 | 220 |
| 1931 | 174 |
| 1932 | 186 |
| 1933 | 255 |