SC ends caste-based discrimination in jails

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside caste-based discriminatory provisions of prison manuals of around 11 states while deprecating the practice of distribution of work and segregation of prisoners in separate wards on basis of their castes. "State has a positive obligation to prevent such discriminations," a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra held while issuing a slew of directions to abolish caste-based discrimination inside jails. It also directed the states to amend their prison manuals within three months.

"All such provisions are held to be unconstitutional. All the states are directed to make changes (in prison manuals) in accordance with the judgment... The references to habitual offenders shall be in reference to the habitual offender legislations and all such references of habitual offenders in state prison manuals are declared as unconstitutional if they are based on castes," the CJI said while pronouncing the verdict in a packed courtroom.

The top court also took suo motu (on its own) cognizance of the instances of caste-based discrimination inside prisons and directed the apex court registry to list it with a title of ‘In re: Discrimination Inside Prisons’ after three months. It asked states to submit compliance report of the judgment. At the outset, the CJI said the PIL challenged the provisions of state prison manuals on the grounds of them being discriminatory.

The CJI said there are divisions of manual labour, barracks inside jails in some states on the basis of identity of the prisoners. "We have said that the criminal laws of the colonial era impacts even the post colonial period...the constitutional laws must uphold equality and dignity of citizens," he said. "We have also dealt (in the judgement) with the concept of emancipation, equality and the fight against caste-based discrimination and said it cannot be won overnight," he said.

This court is making a contribution to the ongoing struggle against caste- based discrimination and the judgement has dealt with aspects of non- discrimination under Article 14 (right to equality) under the Constitution, the CJI said. Based on the analysis of the judgment certain anti-discrimination principles emerge and such instances can be both "direct, indirect" and stereotypes they can further such discriminations, he said.