New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Centre and 11 states, including Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, on a plea alleging that the prison manuals in these states encouraged caste-based discrimination among jail inmates.
A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra considered the gravity of the issue raised and called upon Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to assist the court in addressing it.
Senior advocate S Murlidhar, appearing for petitioner Sukanya Shantha, claimed the jail manuals of 11 states discriminated in the allocation of work inside their prisons and caste determined the places where inmates were lodged.
He said such caste-based discrimination is evident from the time one steps into the prison.
The apex court was informed that certain de-notified tribes and habitual offenders are treated differently and discriminated against.
The bench decided to examine the matter and directed that all state manuals be put in a tabulated chart.
Solicitor General Mehta said he has not aware of such discrimination on the basis of caste, and stated that segregation is usually on the basis of those on trial and those convicted.
The bench noted that the petitioner states that caste-based discrimination exists in barracks to the manual labour.
The plea sought repeal of offending provisions in state prison manuals.
Besides Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, the other states issued notice are Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Odisha, Jharkhand, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra.
Published 03 January 2024, 06:39 IST
