New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday 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 D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B 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.

Press Trust of India