Odisha Courts' Caste-Based Bail Conditions Struck Down by Supreme Court (May 4, 2026)

On May 4, 2026, the Supreme Court of India, constituted by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, struck down a series of caste-discriminatory bail conditions imposed by lower courts in Odisha. The ruling declared null and void bail orders that required accused persons—all of whom were Dalit or Adivasi individuals—to perform manual labor at police stations as a condition for release.

The affected bail orders, issued between May 2025 and January 2026, required accused persons to clean police station premises, with specific conditions such as cleaning Kasipur Police Station daily between 6 am and 9 am for two months. Courts had supplied cleaning materials including brooms and phenol. At least eight bail orders contained such discriminatory conditions, affecting individuals arrested during prolonged anti-mining protests in the Rayagada and Kalahandi districts of Odisha.

The underlying criminal cases stemmed from protests beginning in 2023 against land acquisition by the Vedanta Group for a proposed bauxite mining project spanning approximately 1,500 acres in the Sijimali hills. The protests, while sometimes turning violent, involved approximately 40 arrests and multiple FIR filings.

The Supreme Court found these conditions violated Articles 14, 15, 16, and 17 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantee equality before law, prohibit discrimination on grounds of caste, and abolish untouchability. The Court characterized the conditions as "obnoxious," "abhorrent," and "degrading," and observed that they reflected a "caste-based bias" and "colonial mindset" within sections of the Odisha judiciary. The Court emphasized that bail conditions cannot impose punishment before trial, as this contradicts the presumption of innocence. The ruling ordered that no court anywhere in India should impose similar conditions in future, and directed circulation of the judgment to all judicial officers nationwide.