SC bans caste-based discrimination in jails

'RIGHT TO LIVE WITH DIGNITY EXTENDS EVEN TO THE INCARCERATED'

- OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: In a historic judgement, the Supreme Court on Thursday declared unconstitutional the caste-based discrimination embedded within the prison manuals of 10 states, condemning practices such as the division of manual labour, segregation of barracks, and bias against prisoners from de-notified tribes and so-called habitual offenders. The court's ruling effectively outlaws these discriminatory provisions, directing the Centre and state governments to amend their prison manuals and laws within three months.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra delivered the verdict, asserting that "the right to live with dignity extends even to the incarcerated." The court said that the remnants of colonial-era criminal laws continue to cast a shadow over India's justice system, and it is time for such biases to be dismantled.

The judgement was triggered by a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by journalist Sukanya Shantha, whose investigative report on caste-based discrimination in prisons highlighted practices such as convicts being compelled to continue their caste-assigned occupations within jail. The court found such provisions deeply violative of the Constitution.