The Supreme Court has given 23 States and Union Territories one last chance to answer the Centre’s queries in the suo motu prison caste discrimination case, warning that their Chief Secretaries will otherwise be summoned.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed disappointment that 23 States and Union Territories had still not responded to information sought by the Union Home Ministry on compliance with its directions against caste-based discrimination in prisons, and gave them a final opportunity before the next hearing on January 13, 2027 [In Re: Discrimination Inside Prisons in India].
A Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manmohan heard the suo motu matter, in which Senior Advocate Dr. S. Muralidhar is assisting as Amicus Curiae.
The background
The case arises from the Court’s judgment in Sukanya Shantha v. Union of India, which issued directions to end caste-based discrimination in prisons. The Court later registered the suo motu case to monitor compliance.
In July, the Court took on record a status report showing that written responses were still awaited from several States and UTs on the collection and transmission of caste data to the NCRB, deletion of caste columns from prison registers and forms, outsourcing of cleaning work, compliance with the Arnesh Kumar and Amanatullah Khan guidelines, district-wise Boards of Visitors, new prison Acts, Rules and Manuals, and amendment of offending provisions. It directed every State and UT to constitute district-wise Boards of Visitors headed by the Principal District Judge within four weeks. In September, it noted that only a few districts had done so.
The order
Taking serious note of the continued non-compliance, the Bench recorded:
“We give one last opportunity to all the states to immediately respond to the various queries raised by the Union on different issues to enable the Union to file one composite report highlighting what steps have been taken so far in pursuance of various directions issued by this Board, and what further is required to be done to give meaningful effect to the cause which this Court has taken up.”
It warned that if the States did not respond by the next date, it would be “compelled to direct the Chief Secretaries/Principal Secretaries of all the States/UTs to personally remain present before this Court.”
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati had earlier been asked to take up the matter with all States and UTs and collect the information.
Why the order matters
The Sukanya Shantha directions require States to remove caste-based work allocation and segregation from prison manuals, which rests on the guarantees of equality and dignity under Articles 14, 15, 17 and 21. Without State-level data, the Union cannot file a composite compliance report, and the monitoring process stalls.
The threat of summoning Chief Secretaries is a familiar tool in continuing mandamus cases, used when written directions go unanswered. The January hearing will show whether the warning produces responses.
Case Title: In Re: Discrimination Inside Prisons in India
Case No.: Diary No. 48023 of 2024
Bench: Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manmohan, Supreme Court of India
Date of Order: November 3, 2026
Next Date: January 13, 2027
Appearances: Senior Advocate Dr. S. Muralidhar, Amicus Curiae; ASG Aishwarya Bhati for the Union; counsel for the States and Union Territories