Recently, the Supreme Court of India directed disability support in prisons, following a petition citing the cases of G.N. Saibaba and Stan Swamy. The Court reaffirmed that prisoners retain rights under Article 14 (Equality) and Article 21 (Life with Dignity).

Constitutional and Legal Obligations

• Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016: The Act obligates governments to ensure support for all services in their control, aligning with constitutional guarantees of equality and life with dignity for prisoners.

Challenges in Ensuring Disability and Caste Equity in Indian Prisons

• Clash between Federalism and Colonial Laws: Prisons fall under State control, yet policies are shaped by Union advisories and the Model Prison Manual. 
  • Many State manuals still reflect colonial assumptions that all inmates are able-bodied, resulting in prisons that remain physically inaccessible for persons with disabilities.
• Intersectionality Of Discrimination: Caste and disability often overlap to create compounded vulnerability. 
  • Colonial rules entrenched caste hierarchies inside prisons—assigning sanitation work to Dalits and cooking to Upper Castes—practices still found in several State manuals. 
  • The Supreme Court has now declared such caste-based segregation unconstitutional, but implementation gaps persist.
• Lack of Data: The NCRB data shows Dalits and Adivasis are over-represented in prisons, yet there is no disaggregated data on disabled inmates by caste. 
  • This absence of granular data makes targeted policy design and monitoring nearly impossible. 
  • The Court, in Muruganantham (2025), also criticised the NCRB for failing to distinguish between different forms of disability, especially in mental health records.
• Carceral Austerity: Authorities often practise “Carceral Austerity” i.e  prioritizing spending on punitive and security capacity of prisons (CCTVs, higher walls) while neglecting funds needed for rights (ramps, special toilets, attendants). 
  • This is driven by the belief that discomfort is part of the sentence, but denying necessary aid is torture and violates the UN Nelson Mandela Rules.

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Way Forward

• Amend Colonial-era Prison Manuals: Update outdated prison rules to ensure they respect the rights and needs of disabled prisoners.
• Screen Prisoners for Disabilities at Admission: Conduct systematic assessments of all inmates for disabilities upon entry to prisons.
• Redesign Budgets: The budgets should be redesigned to prioritise accessibility by allocating funds for ramps, special toilets, attendants, and other necessary facilities, while moving away from austerity measures that focus solely on security.
• Publish Data: The NCRB should be required to publish transparent caste/disability data to enable public oversight.

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