The Office for Justice, Peace and Development (JPD) was established by the CBCI in 1972 following the constitution by the Holy See of the two commissions at the international level - the Commission for Justice and Peace, and Cor Unum. Since then Caritas India has been its operational wing.

The activities of JPD before 1982 included mainly the ecumenical consultation on development and the circulation of the message of the Pope on 31st January. When the CBCI Commissions were reorganized the then Commissions for Education, Health services, Labour and Scheduled Castes and Tribes were merged into JPD with a full time secretary for the latter. But, after a period of experimentation once again there came into existence separate Commissions and in 1989 in the CBCI General Body Meeting at Shillong JPD was left with only issues relating to Justice, Peace and Development. The assistant director of Caritas was in charge of this JPD Office till 2002. From 2002 onwards a full time secretary has been appointed by the Standing Committee of CBCI to deal with the issues related to Justice, Peace and Development.

• Witnessing to God's liberating love to the people behind bars.

• We the members of PMI commit ourselves to the release, renewal and rehabilitation of our brethren behind bars by following the principles, such as prayer, as the source of power, God´s providence as our bank balance, inconvenience as our convenience and local contribution as an operational life style, in order to bring to them to main stream of the society.

• To extend love and concern to the brethren behind bars.
• To give insights and assistance for the enrichment of the lives of those in prisons.
• To help and guide the released prisoners for re-settlement.
• To extend whatever services are useful for the welfare and rehabilitation of the prisoners.
• To be a non-commercial service society.

• Arranging spiritual discourses and prayers
• Counseling and Moral Instructions
• Letter writing for personal concern and healing the broken hearts
• Setting-up of a good library for mental growth
• Job-oriented training programs inside the prison
• Providing recreational facilities and vocational training facilities
• Conducting literary, arts and sports competitions
• Preparing the prisoners to write university exams
• Conducting medical camps
• Providing free legal aid

• Counseling and moral instructions in rehabilitation centers
• Family contacts through volunteers
• Family readjustment
• Treatment to the sick
• Reconciliation of prisoners with victims and their families
• Helping the children of the prisoners with their education
• Marriage settlement
• Vocational training and job settlement
• Conducting awareness programmes for the general public
• Printing literature like books, magazines, etc.

• It had its first roots paved in the year 1986 with the name Jesus Fraternity under the leadership of Fr. Varghese Karippery and Francis Kodiyan as founding fathers, and approved by the Peace, Justice and Development Commission of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council in 1989
• Later Prison Ministry India was registered as the National Body in the year 1995 under Societies Registration Act No. ER 375 and began to function in national level from Bangalore as the national office.
• On 24th August, 2000, Prison Ministry India was officially recognized by the CBCI and Most Rev. Dr. Peter Remigius as patron of patron of it. (Catholic Bishops Conference of India).
• A Sunday was officially given to PMI as PMI Sunday on 17th August 2003 and every year previous Sunday to Independence Day is approved as Prison Ministry Sunday in India and St. Maximilian Kolbe is taken as the patron of Prison Ministry India.
• Fr. Sebastian Vadakumpadan, the national coordinator was elected as the Asian Delegate of international Commission of Catholic Prison Pastoral Care under Holy See on 30th of August, 2011.
• In 2014 the national coordinator is approved as the secretary to CBCI for the Prison Ministry Desk under JPD Commission.
• We have a network of around 6000 volunteers and 172 units all over India. There are 33 rehabilitation centers and 11 national conferences were conducted in India.
• The history never ends.