In a significant development, a division bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud indicated it would direct the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to appoint a nodal officer to do away with caste-based discriminatory practices in India’s prisons.

https://thewire.in/caste/most-disturbing-supreme-court-caste-discrimination-prison-manuals-pil 

The court was hearing the public interest litigation filed by The Wire’s Sukanya Shantha, following her investigative work on the state-sanctioned caste-based discrimination and segregation in Indian prisons.

The petition also focusses on the discriminatory provisions specifically targeting the most marginalised Denotified Tribes.

This petition is based on one of the articles from a five-part prison series ‘Barred – The Prisons Project’ produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting.

Along with the discriminatory practices, the petition also provides a compilation of several testimonies of former and presently incarcerated persons. Wadekar pointed out that regardless of what practices are mentioned in many states, the testimonies give a clearer idea of the practices on the ground.
10/07/2024

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