"Supreme Court directs district-wise prison oversight boards to end caste discrimination"
Board of Visitors
District-level prison oversight body under Model Prison Manual, 2016, headed by Principal District Judge.
Model Prison Manual, 2016
Union government's advisory framework to modernise prison administration and inmate welfare.
Prisons in India are a State subject under the Seventh Schedule, List II (State List), Entry 1 of the Constitution, making state governments the primary authority for prison administration. The foundational legislation governing prisons remains the Prisons Act, 1894 — a colonial-era statute that has been widely criticised for its punitive rather than rehabilitative orientation. Recognising these limitations, the Union government released the Model Prison Manual, 2016, a comprehensive advisory framework intended to modernise prison administration, improve inmate welfare, and introduce accountability mechanisms such as the Board of Visitors — a district-level oversight body comprising official and non-official members mandated to conduct regular inspections.
The constitutional framework for prisoners' rights is anchored in Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty with dignity) and Article 14 (equality before law). The Supreme Court has, over decades, expanded the scope of these rights to cover humane prison conditions, access to legal aid, and freedom from arbitrary or discriminatory treatment. Article 15 explicitly prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth, and the Court has held that this prohibition extends to state-administered institutions including correctional facilities. The persistence of caste-based practices within prisons — such as the allocation of 'menial' tasks to inmates from lower castes — represents a direct violation of these constitutional guarantees.
The Board of Visitors under the Model Prison Manual, 2016, is a district-level oversight mechanism designed to bring external accountability to prison administration. It is headed by the Principal District Judge of the district and includes both official members (such as the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police) and non-official members (such as social workers and legal aid representatives). Its mandate covers regular inspections of prison premises, review of living conditions, monitoring of inmate welfare, and reporting of grievances to higher authorities. Despite being a mandatory requirement under the Manual, the Supreme Court's amicus curiae noted that no State had constituted these boards on a district-wise basis — a systemic failure of compliance.
The broader issue of caste discrimination in prisons came to judicial notice through a petition highlighting provisions in several State prison manuals that institutionalised caste-based division of labour — assigning tasks such as cleaning and cooking to inmates from specific communities based on their caste identity. …
Consider the following statements:
Statement-I: In India, prisons are managed by State Governments with their own rules and regulations for the day-to-day administration of prisons.
Statement-II: In India, prisons are governed by the Prisons Act, 1894 which expressly kept the subject of prisons in the control of Provincial Governments.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
With reference to India, consider the following statements:
1.Judicial custody means an accused is in the custody of the concerned magistrate and such accused is locked up in a police station lock-up, not in jail.
2.During judicial custody, the police officer in charge of the case, without the approval of the court, cannot interrogate the suspect.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to India, consider the following statements:
1.When a prisoner makes out a sufficient case, parole cannot be denied to such prisoner, because it becomes a matter of his/her right.
2.State Governments have their own rules for the grant of parole.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to the Constitution of India, prohibitions or limitations or provisions contained in ordinary laws cannot act as prohibitions or limitations on the constitutional powers under Article 142. It could mean which one of the following?
With reference to the Board of Visitors for prisons in India, consider the following statements:
1.It is a mandatory requirement under the Model Prison Manual, 2016.
2.It is headed by the District Magistrate of the concerned district.
3.It includes both official and non-official members.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following statements regarding prison administration in India:
Statement-I: Prisons are a State subject under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
Statement-II: The Prisons Act, 1894 expressly vested control of prisons in Provincial Governments.
Which one of the following is correct?
The Supreme Court's directions on caste-based discrimination in prisons primarily invoked which of the following constitutional provisions?
1.Article 14 — Right to Equality
2.Article 15 — Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of caste
3.Article 21 — Right to life and personal liberty with dignity
4.Article 23 — Prohibition of forced labour
Select the correct answer using the codes below:
With reference to the legal status of denotified tribes in India, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1.They were classified as hereditary criminals under a colonial-era legislation that was repealed after independence.
2.The Supreme Court has held that their continued stigmatisation within the prison system violates Article 21.
3.They are constitutionally classified as a sub-category within Scheduled Tribes for reservation purposes.
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