Notice To Centre, 11 States On Plea Claiming Caste Discrimination In Jails

Besides Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, the other states are Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Odisha, Jharkhand, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra.

The Supreme Court today sought responses from the Centre and 11 states, including Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, on a PIL alleging that the prison manuals of these states encourage caste-based discrimination in jails.

A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of senior advocate S Muralidhar's submissions that the jail manuals of these 11 states discriminate in allocation of work inside their prisons and caste determines the places where inmates are lodged.

Certain de-notified tribes and habitual offenders are treated differently and discriminated against, the senior lawyer said.