NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has directed all states and Union territories to revise their jail manuals within three weeks and remove any provisions that perpetuate caste-based discrimination in prisons.
During a hearing on a plea seeking to prevent caste-based discrimination and segregation in jails, the bench, led by Chief Justice of India Chandrachud, observed that treating prisoners without dignity is a colonial legacy that must be abolished, and that prisoners should be treated humanely by jail officials.
"Distribution of manual work among prisoners on the basis of their caste hierarchy is discriminatory and unconstitutional," the top court said.
The court further stated that prisoners should not be allowed to clean sewers or tanks under hazardous conditions. The police were also directed to work earnestly to address cases of caste-based discrimination.
The bench affirmed that prisoners of certain classes have the right to fair distribution of work in jails and ordered states to amend objectionable rules within three months. The court also noted that selecting sweepers based on their caste is contrary to substantive equality.
In January, the apex court had sought responses from the Centre and 11 states, including Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, on a plea filed by Sukanya Shantha, a native of Kalyan in Maharashtra. The plea highlighted that jail manuals in these states discriminate in the allocation of work inside prisons, with an inmate's caste determining their lodging and work assignments.
The plea cited examples from the Kerala Prison Rules and the West Bengal Jail Code, which lay down distinctions based on caste and habit, such as assigning cooking work to dominant castes and sweeping work to particular castes.
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