The Supreme Court has made a significant ruling against caste discrimination in jails in India. The court stated that caste discrimination among prisoners is unacceptable and a remnant of colonial rule.
The justices ordered that jail manuals should not ask for the caste of prisoners. They also mandated revisions to the jail manual within three months to comply with Articles 15, 17, and 23 of the Constitution, which prohibit discrimination.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra expressed shock that cleaning duties fall exclusively on Scheduled Caste prisoners. They noted that cooking tasks also get assigned based on caste. The court emphasized that using caste to separate prisoners fosters animosity and violates their right to dignity.
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The court directed the central government to send a copy of the decision to Chief Secretaries in all states within three weeks.
This ruling followed a petition from journalist Sukanya Shanta. She highlighted the caste-based discrimination faced by inmates in 17 states. During hearings, her lawyer argued that state jail manuals discriminate against inmates when assigning work.
The petition referred to Kerala’s jail rules, which classify prisoners into categories. It claimed that prisoners are separated based on their crimes, further entrenching discrimination.
In Rajasthan, for example, barbers among prisoners get assigned hair-cutting duties. On the other hand Brahmin prisoners cook and Valmiki community members handle cleaning. The Uttar Pradesh Jail Manual of 1941 also promotes caste biases in assigning duties.
This ruling marks a crucial step in dismantling caste discrimination in the prison system and reinforces the fundamental rights of all prisoners.
