New Delhi : The Supreme Court of India ruled on Thursday that the practice of employing “lower caste” jail inmates for cleaning and manual scavenging work in prisons is unconstitutional. The bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, ordered the removal of the “caste” column and any caste-related references from prisoners’ records.
In a significant move, the bench—comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra—directed all states and Union Territories to revise their prison rules that allow for caste-based labor division within three months. The court also instructed the Union government to amend the Model Prison Manual 2016 and the Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act 2023 accordingly.
Taking suo motu cognizance of the discrimination prevalent in prisons based on caste, gender, or disability, the Supreme Court scheduled a follow-up hearing for the case titled “In Re: Discrimination Inside Prisons in India” after three months. At that hearing, all states and the Union government are required to submit compliance reports regarding the judgment.
The court emphasized that the District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) and the Board of Visitors established under the Model Prison Manual 2016 must conduct regular inspections to ensure that caste-based discrimination and other discriminatory practices, as highlighted in this judgment, are eradicated from prisons.
The writ petition, filed by Sukanya Shantha, argued that the forced employment of “lower caste” prisoners for cleaning and manual scavenging constitutes state-sanctioned untouchability. The petition further contended that such practices violate ‘The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013,’ which forbids any person or agency from engaging individuals in manual scavenging.
Shantha noted that many state prison manuals still discriminate against members of denotified tribes through segregation and classification, despite a previous Supreme Court ruling affirming that prisoners retain all constitutional rights except those curtailed by their confinement
