An account from Alwar
Ajay, a pseudonym used by journalist Sukanya Shantha, was 18 when he was detained in Alwar, Rajasthan, in 2016. He told The Wire he had been assigned toilet cleaning and other work. He initially assumed all new prisoners did it. Over the following days, he said he saw that the assignments were selective and based on caste. He spent 97 days in jail and was later acquitted, according to the reporting.
What the judgment establishes
In October 2024, the Supreme Court struck down discriminatory provisions in prison manuals. Paragraph 177 reproduces historical West Bengal rules that named castes for sweeping and allowed a prisoner to be appointed cook in certain caste-related circumstances. Those rules are separate documentary evidence from another state. The Court also directed that caste references be removed from prisoners’ registers and that regular inspections check for discriminatory practices.
The November follow-up
At the 3 November 2026 hearing, LiveLaw and PTI reported that 23 states and union territories still owed information sought by the Centre. That is evidence of a reporting gap. It does not identify which facilities still discriminate. The follow-up question is whether updated manuals, records and inspection reports can show how the ruling is being enforced.