Supreme Court Slams Odisha Courts for Caste-Biased Bail Conditions

The Supreme Court criticized Odisha courts for enforcing degrading bail conditions on accused individuals from Scheduled Tribes, describing them as caste-biased. The conditions, which required detainees to perform demeaning tasks, were deemed unconstitutional. The court emphasized the need for a non-discriminatory judicial system, instructing all courts to eliminate such practices.

In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court on Monday harshly criticized Odisha courts for imposing degrading bail conditions, particularly targeting individuals from Scheduled Tribes. The top court deemed these conditions, which included demeaning tasks like cleaning police stations, unconstitutional and nullified them.

Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, highlighted the caste-based bias inherent in these judicial orders, emphasizing the urgent need to uphold India’s constitutional promise of a casteless society. The bench urged all courts to refrain from such discriminatory practices in the future.

The ruling noted multiple instances where similar conditions were imposed on the marginalized communities, revealing a systemic bias within the Odisha judiciary. The directives aim to eliminate such practices, calling on all state judiciaries to adhere to constitutional values of fairness and equality.