Supreme court’s verdict on caste bias in prisons
Context:
Recently, the Supreme court of India delivered a landmark judgment addressing caste-based discrimination in prisons. It highlighted few practices that were discriminatory in nature amongst the prisoners.
Relevance:
GS-02 (Indian Polity)
The Supreme Court Judgment:
(Source: The Hindu)
- The SC highlighted that assigning tasks based on caste hierarchy violates the basic human dignity and accounts to the violation of Article 15(1) of the Indian Constitution.
(Article 15(1): Prohibits discrimination by the state).
- The bench also stressed that it amounts to untouchability under Article 17 of the Constitution.
- The SC ordered that the caste column of the undertrials and convicts in the registers to be deleted.
- It also emphasized that members of denotified tribes should not be subjected to arbitrary arrests or be labeled as habitual offenders, a practice rooted in colonial-era discrimination.
- Few compulsory tasks like manual scavenging and cleaning latrines, which were assigned to marginalized caste prisoners was also considered to be violating their rights.
- The judgment asserted that the provisions of Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, apply within the prison system.
- It also told the Central government to amend 2016 Prison Manual and the 2023 Act within three months to rectify the issue.
Way Forward:
- It is a great stance taken by the Supreme court to reaffirm the constitutional values of equality and dignity for all citizens.
- This ruling is expected to have far-reaching implications in addressing institutionalized caste discrimination within the Indian penal system.
