India's Supreme Court scraps 'unconstitutional' laws that promote caste-based discrimination in jails

In a path-breaking development, India's Supreme Court on Thursday (Oct 3) banned all caste-based discrimination in Indian jails, terming them as “unconstitutional.” The court calls for immediate reforms across all states and Union Territories (UTs) against the various jail manual provisions like scavenging and cleaning by the marginalised inmates, as this violates their right to dignity and equality.

The verdict was delivered by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, specifically addressing the entrenched discriminatory practices against marginalised communities, including scheduled castes (SC), scheduled tribes (ST) and denotified tribes (DNTs) in Indian prisons.

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“The right to live with dignity extends even to the incarcerated. Not providing dignity to prisoners is a relic of the colonisers and pre-colonial mechanisms, where oppressive systems were designed to dehumanise and degrade those under the control of the State,” the SC bench said.

These discriminatory provisions are part of the pre-colonial-era Prisons Act of 1894, but they continue in independent India despite manuals and Acts framed by the Centre as recently as last year, the apex court found.

“The rule that a prisoner of a high caste be allowed to refuse food cooked by other castes is a legal sanction by the state authorities to untouchability and the caste system,” the bench, which included Justice J BPardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, said.

The provision that food is to be cooked by prisoners from a “suitable caste” allows jail officials to discriminate against the marginalised castes, it said.

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It frowned upon the imposition of work such as cleaning latrines and sweeping only on “Mether, Hari caste or Chandal” and similar castes, saying it amounted to “forced labour”. The top court condemned such practice, calling it a clear violation of human dignity.

“We therefore find that the impugned provisions are violative of Articles 14 (equality), 15 (non-discrimination), 17 (untouchability), 21 (life and liberty), and 23 (prohibition against forced labour),” the SC bench said.

The bench also asked the central government to make the necessary changes to the Model Prison Manual 2016 and the Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act 2023 within three months.

(With inputs from agencies)