Blitz Bureau
IN a significant judgment, the Supreme Court recently set aside caste-based discriminatory provisions of prison manuals of several states which provided for allotment of work based on caste of the prisoners and their segregation.
The Apex Court has directed all states and Union Territories to revise their jail manuals within three months 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 comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra observed that the distribution of manual work among prisoners based on their caste hierarchy is discriminatory and unconstitutional.
The court further observed that treating prisoners without dignity is a colonial legacy that must be abolished and that prisoners should be treated humanely by jail officials.
The court even registered a suo motu case to monitor the issue. It warned States that they would be held liable if any caste discrimination is found in prisons.
“Upholding of caste differences by the British inside the prisons reflected their overall support to legitimizing the law of caste. However, this court cannot adopt the approach taken by the colonial administrators,” the court said, the Bar and Bench reported.
The court recounted that the British colonial regime had introduced (nowrepealed) laws categorising certain oppressed groups (men of wandering tribes) as ‘criminal tribes’ based on stereotypical assumptions.
The stereotypes attached to such groups or ‘denotified tribes’ have been reinforced in many prison manuals as they are often classified as ‘habitual offenders’ even without being convicted for any offence, the court found. This cannot continue, it said.
“Once labelled a criminal tribe, individuals from these communities faced systematic discrimination in employment, education, and social services. The stigma attached to these labels extended beyond legal frameworks and became a part of social consciousness,” the Court found.
