The Supreme Court has issued notices to the central government and states regarding a petition on caste-based discrimination in jails. In the Elgaar Parishad case, the Supreme Court has sought responses from the Maharashtra government and the NIA on the bail petition of the accused.
The High Court is currently conducting hearings on a petition related to putting a stop to caste-based discrimination and the allocation of manual work based on different castes in prisons. During the proceedings, the Supreme Court has issued notices to the central government and 12 state governments regarding the petition. It is noteworthy that the petition demands a halt to caste-based discrimination in prisons and the allocation of work based on different castes.
The petitioner argues that there is discrimination based on caste in the assigned physical labor in jails, extending to manual work allocated on a caste basis, even among non-scheduled tribes and habitual offenders. During the hearing, the Solicitor General stated that he had not heard about discrimination based on caste. Segregation usually depends on under-trial prisoners and convicts.
In the bail petition of the accused Professor Hany Babu in the Elgaar case, the Supreme Court has issued notices to the Maharashtra government and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), demanding responses within three weeks. Justices Aniruddha Bose and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul are hearing the case. It is notable that the Bombay High Court had rejected Hany Babu’s bail petition on September 19, 2022. The NIA, investigating the case, has accused Hany Babu of spreading the ideology of a banned organization. The accused was arrested in July 2020 and is currently in custody at Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai.
The hearing on the CBI’s petition related to the ICICI Bank’s former CEO and Managing Director Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar has been adjourned by the Supreme Court until January 12. Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Justice Pankaj Mithal’s bench, while hearing the CBI’s petition challenging the Bombay High Court’s order granting bail to Chanda Kochhar and her husband, deferred the hearing until January 12. It is pertinent to note that the Bombay High Court had granted bail to the Kochhar couple on December 23, 2022, in the Videocon-ICICI Bank loan case. The CBI had arrested the couple in the case on December 23, 2022. Apart from the Kochhars, the CBI had also arrested Venugopal Dhoot, the founder of the Videocon group, in connection with the case.
