Supreme Court Issues Notice To Centre, 13 States On Journalist's PIL Highlighting Caste-Based Segregation In Prisons

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (January 3) issued notice to the Union Government and thirteen State Governments on a Public Interest Litigation which highlighted the issue of caste-based segregation in prisons in various states.

The bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra was apprised of the state of affairs in several prisons across the nation where prison manuals reinforce caste-based discrimination through caste hierarchy in the division of labour and segregation of barracks.

The bench observed that the discrimination is taking place in three aspects: (i) division of manual labour; (ii) segregation of barracks on caste lines; (iii) extant provisions which discriminate against prisoners belonging to denotified tribes and “habitual offenders” in the state prison manuals.

At the outset, the bench took note of the fact that the Petitioner, Sukanya Shanta, who is a journalist had authored the award-winning report 'From Segregation to Labour, Manu's Caste Law Governs the Indian Prison System' published by The Wire on December 10, 2020, which forms the subject matter of the present petition.

The report highlights several offending provisions in the State Prison Manuals, such as the provisions in Rajasthan Prison Rules 1951 provide,

“67. Selection of cooks, and cooking of food. The cooks shall be of the non-habitual class.Any Brahmin or sufficiently high caste Hindu prisoner from this class is eligible for appointment as cook. All prisoners who object on account of high caste to eat food prepared by the existing cooks shall be appointed a cook and be made to cook for the full complement of men…”

Similarly, Sr. Advocate S. Muralidhar appearing for the petitioner mentioned the plight of Palayamkottai Central Jail in Tamil Nadu where Thevars, Nadars, and Pallars were separated into caste-based barracks. The justification for this segregation has also been affirmed by the Madras High Court in C. Arul v. The Secretary to Government W.P.(MD)No.6587 of 2012, where it was seen as a method to prevent caste rivalries.

In the petition, the Petitioner highlights that while these colonial-spirited laws have been amended to some extent by the States, discriminatory practices continue to take place within the prisons. For example, the old Uttar Pradesh Prison Manual, 1941 provided the maintenance of caste prejudices of prisoners and the designation of cleaning, conservancy, and sweeping work on caste basis were allowed under the prison manual. However, in 2022, amendments were made aligning with the Model Manual, removing provisions for allotting work based on caste. Despite this change, the 2022 Manual still upholds a rule related to the preservation of caste prejudice and the segregation of habitual offenders.

The Petition highlights identical discriminatory laws within the State Prison Manual of 13 major states including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Punjab, Bihar, Maharashtra, etc.

The Petitioners pray for a declaration to the effect of holding such discriminatory provisions of the Prison Manuals and Rules as void, inoperative and ultra vires Article 14,15,17 and 23 of the Constitution and direct the Respondents to undertake strong action to prevent the continuance of forced caste-based labour and segregation in jails along with a specific direction for proactive disclosure of prison manuals, “through greater digitisation of the state prison manual on the website of respective Home departments, and to undertake regular printing of prison manuals to be readily available”.

The bench while issuing notice in the matter, asked the petitioner to furnish a tabulated chart indicating the discriminatory state-wise provisions and requested the Solicitor General, Mr Tushar Mehta to assist the Court.

The matter will be listed for hearing after 4 weeks.

The petition was filed through Advocate-on-Record S Prasanna.

Case Details : SUKANYA SHANTHA vs. UNION OF INDIA W.P.(C) No. 001404 - / 2023

Click Here To Read/Download Order