Recently, Supreme Court in Sukanya Santha vs. UoI & Others Case struck down provisions of Prison Manuals of several States as per which jobs were assigned to prisons based on castes.

• Key issues highlighted in the case include persistent caste-based discrimination in prisons with respect to segregation of barracks, division of manual labour, and provisions that discriminate against prisoners belonging to Denotified tribes (DNTs) and “habitual offenders”.
• Court also laid down guidelines for prevention of segregation and division of labour solely on the basis of the caste of the prisoners in Prisons.

Key highlights of the Judgment

• Court struck down caste-based discrimination within prison walls as unconstitutional for being violative of Articles 14, 15, 17, 21, and 23 of the Constitution.
• Caste column and any references to caste in undertrial and/or convicts’ prisoners’ registers inside the prisons shall be deleted.
• Within a period of three months:
  • All States and UTs are directed to revise their Prison Manuals/Rules in line with the judgment 
  • Union government is directed to make necessary changes to address caste-based discrimination in Model Prison Manual 2016 and Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act 2023.
• Reference to habitual offenders in the prison manuals should be in accordance with the legislative definitions of respective State Laws.