India, May 23 -- Gujarat's prison system is facing mounting pressure due to overcrowding and a rising number of parole jump cases, according to recent prison statistics. The State has also emerged among the top States in the country in terms of convicts awarded death sentences and the proportion of life-term prisoners.

Data shows that Gujarat had 49 prisoners on death row, the second-highest figure in the country after Uttar Pradesh, 141. Maharashtra reported 43 such convicts, while Madhya Pradesh and Kerala recorded 35 each.

Among the 5,231 convicted inmates lodged in Gujarat prisons, nearly two-thirds were serving life imprisonment. The share of life convicts in the State remained significantly above the national average, placing Guja...