British Raj legacy on way out, West Bengal to drop caste references from jail manua
Times of India | 4 October 2024
Image used for representational purpose only KOLKATA: After the Supreme Court struck down the discriminatory provisions of prison manuals, Bengal will now have to drop the mention of caste-based work segregation and other rules adopted from the British-era jail code.
Although non-existent in state jails, these caste-based discriminatory rules still find a mention in the statutes. These have to be binned now.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Thursday gave a judgment by issuing a slew of directions to stop caste-based discrimination in jails.
The plea was filed by Sukanya Shantha, a native of Kalyan in Maharashtra. The bench had sought response from the Centre and 11 states, including Bengal, on the same.
During the hearing, the references of caste in the ‘The West Bengal Jail Code Rules for Superintendence and Management of Jail in West Bengal, 1967’ were mentioned. The rules also reinforce stereotypes against denotified tribes. Rule 404 of the West Bengal Manual provides that a convict overseer may be appointed a night guard provided “he does not belong to any class that may have a strong natural tendency to escape, such as men of wandering tribes”.
Rule 694 of West Bengal Manual says: “… Interference with genuine religious practices or caste prejudices of prisoners should be avoided”. Rule 741 states: “Food shall be cooked and carried to the cells by prisoner cooks of suitable caste, under the supervision of a jail officer…” Rule 793 says: “The barber should belong to the A class. Sweepers should be chosen from the Mether or Hari caste, also from the Chandal or other castes, if by the custom of the district they perform similar work when free, or from any caste if the prisoner volunteers to do the work.”
Rule 1117 states: “Any prisoner in a jail who is of so high a caste that he cannot eat food cooked by the existing cooks shall be appointed a cook and be made to cook.”
Ashtha Sharma, counsel for Bengal, stated that the discrimination on the basis of caste/creed/religion as envisaged in the provisions of West Bengal Jail Code Rules, 1967 — Rules 741, 793, 860 and 1117 — are not in force within the correctional homes of Bengal since long, and that a proposal for deletion or alteration or amendment of the four rules had been already sent to the appropriate authority.
However, in the submission there was no mention of rule 404 that classified qualification for eligibility for appointment as a night guard and rule 694 which states: “non-interference with religious practices or caste prejudice.” Rule 694 (a) states: “Interference with genuine religious practices or caste prejudice of prisoners should be avoided.”
These practices, according to a source, remain non-existent in correctional homes. “Sweepers are chosen on a voluntary basis and they can belong to any caste. The same is for the cooks, there are no special provisions within correctional homes,” a source said.