MADURAI: The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court on Monday sought reports from the Principal District Judges and District Legal Services Authorities of Madurai, Tiruchy and Tirunelveli districts and respective prison authorities on a Public Interest Litigation filed alleging caste discrimination in prisons.
The litigant K R Raja, an advocate from Madurai, alleged that prisoners from oppressed communities are engaged in manual scavenging and toilet cleaning works in the central prisons in the above districts.
A life convict in Madurai Central Prison was told to enter a drainage tank and clean it on January 16, he claimed. He also stated that the conditions in the district prisons in South TN are even worse, adding that CCTV footage of the prisons, if collected and examined, would prove the allegations.
A bench of justices C V Karthikeyan and R Sakthivel directed the superintendents of respective prisons to file a report on the issue. The judges also directed the Principal District Judges and DLSA Secretaries of the above districts to inspect the prisons, collect CCTV footage, inquire with the prisoners to verify the above allegations and file reports. The case was adjourned for filing of the reports.