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Sukanya Shantha vs Union of India & Ors.

Not available · 2024 INSC 753Decided 3 Oct 2024
Not available
Chief Justice Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud · Justice J.B. Pardiwala · Justice Manoj Misra

Background

A journalist, Sukanya Shantha, filed a writ petition after her investigative reporting revealed that several State Prison Manuals across India contained rules assigning prisoners' work, barracks, and duties based on their caste, for example, reserving manual scavenging or cooking-related tasks for certain lower castes, and treating "denotified tribes" as inherently prone to crime. The petition sought to strike down these caste-based prison rules as unconstitutional.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court undertook an extensive review of the history of caste discrimination and colonial-era "Criminal Tribes" legislation, and held that provisions in various State prison manuals that assign labour, cells or duties based on caste, or that treat denotified/nomadic tribes as "habitual offenders" by default, violate the constitutional guarantees of equality (Article 14), non-discrimination (Article 15), the prohibition of untouchability (Article 17), the right to life and dignity (Article 21), and the prohibition of forced labour (Article 23). It declared such provisions unconstitutional, ordered all States and Union Territories to revise their Prison Manuals within three months, directed removal of any "caste" column from prisoner registers, and directed police to follow existing safeguards against arbitrary arrest of members of denotified tribes. The Court also took suo motu cognizance of prison discrimination generally, converting the matter into an ongoing monitored case with periodic compliance reporting from States and NALSA.

Lesson Learnt

The Constitution's guarantees of equality and dignity apply fully inside prisons: a person does not lose the right to be free from caste-based discrimination merely because they are incarcerated, and any law or manual that assigns duties or treatment by caste is unconstitutional.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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