In a directive issued on December 30, the ministry emphasized that there should be no caste-based discrimination or segregation in prisons, including in the assignment of duties or work.
New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry updated the prison manual rules to prevent discrimination, classification, and segregation of inmates based on caste.
In a directive issued on December 30, the ministry emphasized that there should be no caste-based discrimination or segregation in prisons, including in the assignment of duties or work.
This revision follows the Supreme Court’s October 3, 2024 ruling on caste-based discrimination in prisons.
BRIEF FACTS
The case after a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by journalist Sukanya Shantha of The Wire, which challenged caste-based provisions in the prison manuals of states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.
Her 2020 report, From Segregation to Labour, Manu’s Caste Law Governs the Indian Prison System, was central to the petition.
The case was argued pro bono by lawyers, including senior counsel S Muralidhar, Advocate Disha Wadekar, and S Prasanna. The Court ruled that caste-based provisions in prison manuals are unconstitutional and ordered all states and union territories to revise their prison guidelines.
In a landmark ruling, Sukanya Shantha vs. Union of India & Ors., the Supreme Court declared that the practice of segregating and classifying prisoners based on caste in state prisons across India is discriminatory and violates the fundamental right to life and dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution.
This judgment represents a crucial step in addressing caste-based discrimination in Indian prisons.
While individual states have the power to create laws related to prisons, as these matters fall under the ‘State List’ of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, a review of state-specific prison manuals reveals disturbing practices that have long affected lower-caste prisoners, regardless of their allegations or sentences.
Notably, the prison manuals in Bihar, West Bengal, and Punjab explicitly state that sweepers must be selected from castes like Mether, Hari, or Chandal, while prisoners from other castes may volunteer for the work. This effectively forces prisoners from Scheduled Castes to perform sweeping duties without refusal.
Similarly, Uttar Pradesh’s prison manual specifies that food must be prepared and delivered by prisoner-cooks of a “suitable caste,” with supervision by a jail officer. The West Bengal manual allows high-caste prisoners to avoid food prepared by existing cooks.
The changes have been incorporated into the Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2023, under a new section titled ‘Prohibition of caste-based discrimination in Prisons and Correctional Institutions’ (Section 55(A)).
The ministry’s letter also stated that the provisions of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 are now binding on prisons and correctional institutions. It emphasized that manual scavenging or the hazardous cleaning of sewers or septic tanks within prisons is prohibited. Despite this, an investigation revealed that manual scavenging remains widespread in Indian prisons. The Model Prison Manual had previously failed to address this issue.
Additionally, the ministry revised the definition of “habitual offenders” in response to the Court’s directive to separate habitual offenders from casual prisoners.
The new definition states: “A habitual offender is a person convicted and sentenced to imprisonment on more than two occasions during a continuous five-year period for different offenses not related to the same incident, with no reversal of the sentence in appeal or review.”
This ruling marks the first time the Supreme Court has addressed the criminalization of denotified and nomadic communities in India. The term “habitual offender” has historically been used to describe these communities, often linking them to discriminatory practices and denying them benefits available to other groups.
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