Centre amends prison manuals to prohibit caste discrimination in jails

The Union home ministry has amended the prison manual rules to prohibit discrimination and the segregation of prisoners on the basis of caste.

In a letter to chief secretaries of states and Union Territories on Monday, the ministry said that the 2016 Model Prison Manual and the 2023 Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act had been amended to tackle discrimination against prisoners.

The ministry had prepared the model manual in January 2016 to ensure uniformity in the basic principles that govern prisons. The model Act was introduced in May 2023 to replace the pre-Independence era laws that governed the administration of prison.

As prisons are in the state list, their administration and management are the responsibility of the states and the Union Territories.

The changes on Monday came more than two months after the Supreme Court on October 3 struck down the prison manual rules, saying that they promoted caste discrimination in jails by allocating prisoners from oppressed communities to carry out menial jobs in jails.

As per the letter, the new additions to the Model Prison Manual said that prison authorities would have to strictly ensure that there was no discrimination, classification and the segregation of prisoners based on their caste.

There must be “no discrimination of prisoners in allotment of any duty or work in...

Read more