One in every three under-trial prisoners in India is either SC or ST: Study

The report also finds that certain states have strikingly higher levels of disparity between the percentage of SC/STs in their total population and in their prisons

Members of the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) are over-represented, in relation to their population, in India’s prisons, a new study has found. While the groups account for 24% of India’s population, their representation in prisons is significantly higher, at 34%.

The report titled ‘Criminal Justice in the Shadow of Caste’ has been prepared jointly by the National Dalit Movement for Justice and the National Centre for Dalit Human Rights. It draws heavily from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.

The report also finds that certain states have strikingly higher levels of disparity between the percentage of SC/STs in their