On 3rd October, 2024 the Apex Court pronounced a landmark judgment and struck down various provisions of Jail Manuals providing for the separation of prisoner barracks on the basis of caste, manual-labour accorded on the basis of caste hierarchy and the treatment of de-notified tribes as “habitual offenders.” The bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud noted that the state had a positive duty to end all forms of discrimination and ordered urgent reforms in the prison manuals be undertaken forthwith. The court had directed all states and the Union Government to file compliance report(s) in this matter, but even after one month of delay on 27th January 2025 the Apex Court has lamented that no compliance report has been filed before it. The court had given all stakeholders one more opportunity to file the compliance reports and directed NALSA to look into this issue. It is unclear whether the concerned stakeholders have taken any positive steps in this regard. This matter was listed again on 18th of February 2025 and the Supreme Court has issued a notice to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to be impleaded as a party in the ongoing proceedings. The data regarding compliance with the judgement remains unclear.
The Colonial regimes had used prisons as a tool to suppress our freedom struggle. Prisons were used not only to incarcerate the freedom fighters but also to create discord and harmony in the very fabric of Indian society. In his biography “Mera Aajiwan Karawas,”[1] Savarkar had recollected his ordeal during his life imprisonment and described various prison rules providing for caste-based discrimination during his incarceration in Andamans. He had recalled the segregation of prisoner’s places of dining, work allocation, and the quantity of food served, which were all based on the caste of the prisoner. The British officers encouraged such practices to ferment any solidarity and unity among the Indian prisoners hence, making prison control an ad hoc activity.
Prisons in India are already grappling with myriad problems such as inordinate delays in the release of undertrials, lack of funding, deficient prosecution systems, and lack of staffing. Due to inadequate provisioning of escort vehicles and police personnels[2], many prisoners are not even produced in their respective courts on time. These problems expose the fact that the entire criminal justice system in India results in violations of human rights of prison inmates. These problems expose the fact that the entire criminal justice system in India results in violations of human rights of prison inmates.
The cases of Sunil Batra[3], Bhim Singh[4], and the Suo motu petitions of the Supreme Court[5] itself have shed light on the treatment of prisoners and undertrials, on one hand. Further, according to the latest NCRB report[6], the undertrials languishing in prisons for more than one-year number in lakhs and for more than five-years in tens of thousands, on the other. In some states the under-trial prison population consists of up to 90.66%[7] of the total jailed population. The Law Commission in the 78th report[8] has mentioned the appalling nature of the problem posed by the pressures of substantial number of under-trial prisoners in jails and the inordinate delays in the conclusion of trial. However, it fails to enlighten about other systemic problems of the criminal justice system such as systematic discrimination based on caste, gender, and affluence. The NCW has noted[9] that there is an acute shortage of staff in all prisons, non-fulfillment basic hygiene requirements, no segregation of prisoners. Further, basic health facilities such as creches are not available for female prisoners. The application of the colonial discriminatory practices has only perpetuated already existing fault lines within society.
There are numerous examples of discriminatory treatment in prisons. The grant of numerous paroles[10] to politically connected prisoners for election and other purposes, differential treatment of VIP prisoners by keeping them indefinitely admitted in hospitals[11], the non-adherence to arrest[12] and detention rules by the police across the nation, early release of serious offenders[13] convicted of heinous offences such as rape, or the indefensible delay in the release of a prisoner by three years because the jail authorities were unable to open the email attachment; the abuse of administrative discretion and non-application of mind by the executive in denying justiciable rights to ordinary Indians is a matter of serious concern and a dark blot on the Indian criminal justice system.
The objective of the prions in India is undoubtedly the reformation[14] and rehabilitation of criminals and not mere deterrence or retribution. The Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2023[15] provides that “the prisons shall provide correctional treatment to the prisoners with the objective of rehabilitating them in society as law abiding citizens”. The Act provides a separate section for “After-Care and Rehabilitation Services” of prisoners but leaves the onus on the respective governments for such rehabilitation. There is no further mention of rehabilitation, and it is doubtful that any state has provided guidelines for the same.
The recent case of Sukanya Shantha vs. Union of India and Ors.[16] has however, shown the distance between the stated objective and the reality. The decision has come after widespread abuse of caste-based practices have been unearthed due to the archaic and discretionary nature of jail manuals. Practices of caste-based discrimination in assigning manual labour and harsher punishments only to certain castes have made the state a responsible party in spreading and widening the caste-based discrimination. This sort of blatant discrimination is a barrier in achieving the objective of reformation and rehabilitation and would be counterproductive to such aspirations.
Under the Constitution of India, 1950, the “Prisons or persons detained therein” under Entry 4 of List II of the Seventh Schedule and is a ‘State’ subject[17]. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court had directed the Union in Ramamurthy vs. State of Karnataka[18] to bring uniformity in all prison laws and prepare a single draft model prison manual to be used for reference by all states. The central government has unfortunately removed all references[19] of prohibition of caste-based discrimination from the Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2023 when the same was mentioned in the Model Prison Manual 2016, which begs the question, what circumstances led to the removal when the problem had already been identified.
Caste-based discrimination propagates stigmatization and animosity. In line with this, there is an urgent need for the present law commission to focus its attention on the issue of immediate prison reforms and put an end to all caste-based discrimination.
Prisons are central to the unity and polity of the nation. It acts as a melting pot of all cultures and castes, where ideally all prisoners should be treated equally based on intelligible differentia. However, under the current system it remains a utopian dream and large reforms rather than small measures are required.
[1] Sawarkar, V.D. (1947) मेराआजीवनकारावास, Hindustan Books. Available at: https://www.hindustanbooks.com/books/mera_aajeevan_karavas/MERA_AAJEEVAN_KARAVAS.pdf (Accessed: 30 January 2025).
[2] Sahoo, N. (2023) Justice system in crisis: The case of india’s undertrial prisoners, orfonline.org. Available at: https://www.orfonline.org/research/justice-system-in-crisis-the-case-of-india-s-undertrial-prisoners (Accessed: 30 January 2025).
[3] [1980] 2 S.C.R. 557
[4] AIR 1986 SC 494
[5] (2016) 3 SCC 700
[6]Undertrial prisoners (2024) Press Information Bureau. Available at: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2003162 (Accessed: 30 January 2025).
[7]Overcrowding of Under Trials | Central Jail. (2022). [online] Available at: https://tiharprisons.delhi.gov.in/tiharprisons/overcrowding-under-trials (Accessed 30 Jan. 2025).
[8] Law Commission of India (1979). Congestion of Under-Trials Prisoners in Jail. [online] New Delhi: Law Commission of India. Available at: https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s3ca0daec69b5adc880fb464895726dbdf/uploads/2022/08/2022080559-2.pdf (Accessed 30 Jan. 2025).
[9] NCW (2018). People’s Archive of Rural India. (2018). A Report on Improving the Condition of Women Inmates in Prisons. Available at: https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/library/resource/a-report-on-improving-the-condition-of-women-inmates-in-prisons/ (Accessed 30 Jan. 2025).
[10] HT News Desk (2024). 15th parole in 4 years, Ram Rahim set for release ahead of Haryana assembly polls on October 5. Hindustan Times. Available at: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/15th-parole-in-4-years-ram-rahim-set-for-release-ahead-of-haryana-assembly-polls-on-october-5-101727779456117.html (Accessed 30 Jan. 2025).
[11] Sahay, S. (2020). Lalu Prasad shifted to posh bungalow on RIMS campus. [online] The Times of India. Available at: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/lalu-shifted-to-posh-bungalow-on-rims-campus/articleshow/77380289.cms (Accessed 30 Jan. 2025).
[12] Sharma, S. (2024). Stripped, chest stamped upon: Army officer’s fiancée on Odisha custodial ‘abuse’ | Exclusive. India Today. Available at: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/army-officer-fiancee-sexual-assault-bhubaneswar-police-station-narrates-ordeal-cops-2605544-2024-09-24 (Accessed 30 Jan. 2025).
[13] Arvind Gunasekar and Ghosh, D. (2024). ‘Abuse Of Power By Gujarat’: Bilkis Bano’s Rapists To Return To Jail. www.ndtv.com. Available at: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/bilkis-banos-petition-challenging-early-release-of-her-rapists-in-2002-gujarat-riots-case-valid-says-supreme-court-4820993 (Accessed 30 Jan. 2025).
[14] MONDAL, S.S.K. and PODDAR, S.A. (2023). OVERCROWDING IN JAILS, LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *126 . sansad.in. New Delhi: Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Available at: https://sansad.in/getFile/loksabhaquestions/annex/1714/AS126.pdf?source=pqals (Accessed 30 Jan. 2025).
[15]MODEL PRISONS AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES ACT. 2023. Available at: https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/advisory_10112023.pdf (Accessed 30 Jan. 2025).
[16] [2024] 10 S.C.R. 493
[17] PANDEY, S.R. (2023). MODEL PRISONS ACT, 2023, LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3007. Ministry of Home Affairs. New Delhi: Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Available at: https://www.mha.gov.in/MHA1/Par2017/pdfs/par2023-pdfs/LS-08082023/3007.pdf (Accessed 30 Jan. 2025).
[18] AIR 1997 SC 1739
[19] Ananthakrishnan G (2024). ‘Ban segregation of work based on caste’: Supreme Court orders revision of jail manuals within 3 months. The Indian Express. Available at: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/supreme-court-jail-manual-caste-discrimination-9601436/ (Accessed 30 Jan. 2025).