Caste and the criminal justice system in India: a case study of the lived experiences of formerly incarcerated Dalit men in Odisha

The thesis provides a nuanced examination of caste and the criminal justice system in India through an empirical examination of the everyday perceptions, experiences, navigation, support systems, and coping mechanisms of formerly incarcerated Dalit men as they move through the criminal justice system in the state of Odisha. Building on theories and concepts of critical caste theory, post-colonial theory and structural violence theory, it develops a conceptual framework of 'institutional casteism' to articulate the experience of Dalits within India's criminal justice system (CJS). A qualitative case study and the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) method were adopted to capture participants’ subjective experiences while they were in the criminal justice system and during post-release reintegration into society. This is applied to an interpretative phenomenological analysis of in-depth semi-structured interviews with 20 formerly incarcerated Dalit men who have released and completed their sentence and 16 Dalit advocacy members from 23 districts in Odisha state. The findings reveal that caste-based discrimination permeates routine policing within the criminal justice system. Because of this, the formerly incarcerated Dalit men faced caste bias and criminal stigma, while integration into society was hampered by social exclusion, economic barriers, and often non-acceptance in the family/community. The study also highlights how the formerly incarcerated Dalit men have used their existing community networks and self-assertion techniques to navigate within the criminal justice system while reintegrating into society. Finally, this research contributes to the intersection of caste and the criminal justice system in India, fills the gaps in both criminological and sociological studies and provides new ground for future research and policy interventions that should be aimed at dismantling caste-based discrimination in the Indian criminal justice system and beyond.