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The DAKSH Podcast

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The DAKSH podcast attempts to simplify the law and justice system for the regular Indian citizen. DAKSH is a Bangalore-based non-profit working on judicial reforms and access to justice. Through this podcast we want to explore the nuances of law and justice. We will talk to experts in various areas of this domain and discuss our own research. Join us in this journey to understand how the complex and often forbidding law and justice system affects our everyday lives and why we should care about it.

Episode 22 : Algorithms in the judiciary

Technological interventions have the ability to enhance access and improve the efficiency of the various processes in the justice system. In this episode, we will discuss how technology can improve the justice system and how we should monitor that improvement.
If you like our podcast do consider supporting us with a donation at the link below: https://www.dakshindia.org/donate/

  1. Support us by Donating.

  2. Chitranshul Sinha, The Great Repression India, Viking 2019

  3. IshitaPande, “Phulmoni’s body: the autopsy, the inquest and the humanitarian narrative on child rape in India.” South Asian History and Culture 4.1 (2013): 9-30.

  4. Queen-Empress vs Hurree Mohun Mythee (1891) ILR 18 Cal 49 https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1410526/

Episode 21 : Open courts

Our legal system is based on the fundamental principle of open courts. Courts must be “open”, physically and metaphorically, to the public. We, as citizens, should know and understand what courts do for us. In this episode we explore what this principle means and ponder on how it can be used to promote transparency in the court system, right from entering courtrooms as ordinary citizens to considering the livestreaming of court proceedings. 
If you like our podcast do consider supporting us with a donation at the link below: https://www.dakshindia.org/donate/

  1. Support us by Donating.

  2. Chitranshul Sinha, The Great Repression India, Viking 2019

  3. IshitaPande, “Phulmoni’s body: the autopsy, the inquest and the humanitarian narrative on child rape in India.” South Asian History and Culture 4.1 (2013): 9-30.

  4. Queen-Empress vs Hurree Mohun Mythee (1891) ILR 18 Cal 49 https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1410526/

Episode 20 : India’s first sedition trial and age of consent

The role of the state in reforming religious and social practices is a subject of heated debate in India. This is especially so when such reforms involve claims of women. A recent example is a debate around marital rape. In this episode, we go back more than 130 years and examine the reactions to the British government increasing the age of consent for women from 10 to 12 years and how these led to India’s first sedition trial. 

If you like our podcast do consider supporting us with a donation at the link below: https://www.dakshindia.org/donate/

  1. Support us by Donating.

  2. Chitranshul Sinha, The Great Repression India, Viking 2019

  3. IshitaPande, “Phulmoni’s body: the autopsy, the inquest and the humanitarian narrative on child rape in India.” South Asian History and Culture 4.1 (2013): 9-30.

  4. Queen-Empress vs Hurree Mohun Mythee (1891) ILR 18 Cal 49 https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1410526/

Episode 19 : Constitutionality of laws - An explainer

As many antiquated laws like Section 377, adultery and sedition are being questioned, do you ever wonder what challenging the constitutionality of a law really means? Have you been confused about what striking down and reading down laws are? In this episode, we break down the meaning of “unconstitutionality” and do a quick explainer of what it means to declare a law unconstitutional. 

  1. Support us by Donating.

  2. https://constitutionnet.org/vl/item/basic-structure-indian-constitution  

Episode 18 : UK's Experience In Court Administration | Nick Goodwin

In this episode of the DAKSH podcast, we spoke to Nick Goodwin, CEO of His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS), UK. HMCTS is a unique institution, a partnership between the judiciary and the parliament. It is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales. It assists the judiciary in its administrative and management functions. Nick Goodwin has joined us today to talk about the roles and responsibilities of the HMCTS and its plans. This episode was recorded on 5 September 2022.

If you like our podcast do consider supporting us with a donation at the link below: https://www.dakshindia.org/donate/

  1. Support us by Donating.

  2. The HMCTS reform programme

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-hmcts-reform-programme

  1. HM Courts & Tribunals Service Framework Document https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384922/hmcts-framework-document-2014.pdf

  2. Harish Narasappa and Leah Verghese, Mountain of pendency, The Week 8 February 2020 https://www.theweek.in/theweek/cover/2020/02/07/mountain-of-pendency.html

  3. Joe Tomlinson, How digital administrative justice is made https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/book/9781447340331/ch004.xml

Episode 17 : Search and Seizure | Abhinav Sekhri

In this episode, we explore the police powers of search and seizure with Abhinav Sekhri, a criminal lawyer and the author of the wonderful blog Proof of Guilt. During their investigation, law enforcement authorities like the police and customs and tax officials have the power to search our person and property, ranging from homes and godowns to laptops and other electronic devices. They can also seize objects they believe to be incriminating or relevant to their investigation. The exercise of these powers can create very distressing situations for people, especially if they are unaware of their rights. Abhinav helps us understand what the extent of these police powers are and emerging legal developments that may lead to reform. 

If you like our podcast do consider supporting us with a donation at the link below: https://www.dakshindia.org/donate/

  1. Support us by Donating.

  2. Manaswini Rao. “Courts Redux: Micro-Evidence from India”. 2021. http://manaswinirao.github.io/files/rao_courts.pdf

  3. Manaswini Rao. “Institutional Factors of Credit Allocation: Examining the Role of Judicial Capacity and Bankruptcy Reforms”. 2019. http://manaswinirao.github.io/files/rao_bankruptcy_and_judiciary.pdf 

Episode 16 : Courts in Development Economics | Dr. Manaswini Rao

In this episode, we talk to Manaswini Rao on using rigorous quantitative methods to study courts and the judicial process. Manaswini Rao is an economist and researcher who studies the functioning of the Indian judiciary and how it affects economic productivity and development.  She joins us to discuss this emerging field of study and how it can inform policy changes. We emphasise the importance of building a community that can engage with the issues highlighted by such studies and act as advocates for structural judicial reforms.

If you like our podcast do consider supporting us with a donation at the link below: https://www.dakshindia.org/donate/

  1. Support us by Donating.

  2. Manaswini Rao. “Courts Redux: Micro-Evidence from India”. 2021. http://manaswinirao.github.io/files/rao_courts.pdf

  3. Manaswini Rao. “Institutional Factors of Credit Allocation: Examining the Role of Judicial Capacity and Bankruptcy Reforms”. 2019. http://manaswinirao.github.io/files/rao_bankruptcy_and_judiciary.pdf 

Episode 15 : Access to Justice | Justice Prabha Sridevan

In this episode, we speak to Justice Prabha Sridevan who takes us through the various perspectives associated with accessing justice in India. She brings to this conversation her rich understanding of the Indian justice system, informed by her years as a lawyer and a judge. Most importantly, she deconstructs what it means to access justice in India for those who are often sidelined when systems are built, including women and other marginalised sections of the population. This conversation explores the reality of the justice system and makes us think about speaking the language of equality.

If you like our podcast do consider supporting us with a donation at the link below: https://www.dakshindia.org/donate/

  1. Women in Law in India
  2. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/removing-cobwebs-from-the-courtroom/article4501561.ece
  3. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/judiciary-an-old-boys-club/article8410065.ece

Episode 14 : Women in elite Indian law firms | Swethaa Ballakrishnen

In this episode, our guest was Swethaa Ballakrishnen whom we spoke to about their research on women’s representation in elite law firms.  Swethaa’s first book, Accidental Feminism unpacks the case of unintentional gender parity among India’s elite legal professionals. The legal profession worldwide is fairly male-dominated, and India is no exception. However, Elite corporate law firms in India are a surprising exception. These law firms offer a surprising oasis for women within a hostile, predominantly male sector. We explored how egalitarian outcomes have been produced in this relatively recent professional setting without any deliberate effort to do so.

If you like our podcast do consider supporting us with a donation at the link below: https://www.dakshindia.org/donate/

  1. Support us by Donating.

  2. Swethaa S Ballakrishnen Accidental Feminism: Gender Parity and Selective Mobility among India’s Professional Elite. Princeton University Press, 2021.

  3. Ethan Michelson Women in the Legal Profession, 1970-2010: A Study of the Global Supply of Lawyer, Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies Vol. 20, No. 2 (2013), 1071.

  4. Bryant G. Garth and Joyce S. Sterling. “Diversity, hierarchy, and fit in legal careers: insights from fifteen years of qualitative interviews.” Geo. J. Legal Ethics 31 (2018): 123

Episode 13 : Crime and Politics | Milan Vaishnav

In this episode, we spoke to Milan Vaishnav, the host of the popular podcasts ‘Grand Tamasha’ about the criminalisation of politics. Most Indians are familiar with the phenomenon of politicians with criminal records and appear to have accepted their participation in the democratic process. In today’s episode, Milan helped us unpack this uneasy balance by exploring why political parties give tickets to criminals, why people continue to vote for them and whether this status quo is likely to change.

If you like our podcast do consider supporting us with a donation at the link below: https://www.dakshindia.org/donate/

  1. Support us by donating.
  2. Milan Vaishnav. When crime pays: Money and muscle in Indian politics. Yale University Press, 2017
  3. James Crabtree, Lunch with the FT: Raghuram Rajan. Financial Times August 15, 2014, https://www.ft.com/content/b049ce16-230e-11e4-a424-00144feabdc0#axzz3B60Xysad
  4. Justice Delayed Is Power Gained: The Criminalization of Politics https://www.nsoj.in/stories/justice-delayed-is-power-gained-the-criminalization-of-politics- 27 October 2020
  5. Association for Democratic Reform https://adrindia.org/

Episode 12 : Early constitutional litigation | Rohit De

In this episode we talk to Professor Rohit De, a lawyer and scholar of south Asian legal history. He is the author of the book, ‘A People’s Constitution’ in which he studies how many marginalised communities used the constitution as a way to oppose unfair laws and have a say in how they were governed. His work focuses on the 1950s, the period right after the constitution was passed. We understand the ideas and challenges of these early litigants and how their efforts continue to be valuable today. We explore why, after around 75 years, why it is still so relevant for regular citizens like us to continue to engage with the constitution.

  1. Support us by Donating.
  2. Rohit De, A People’s Constitution:The Everyday Life of Law in the Indian Republic, Princeton University Press (2018).
  3. Explained: The Supreme Court Order On Sex Work, How It Changes Things, And Laws On Sex Work, Outlook India (2 June 2022), available at https://www.outlookindia.com/national/explained-the-supreme-court-order-on-sex-workers-laws-on-prostitution-how-sc-order-changes-things-news-198865
  4. Apar Gupta, A history lesson for Nitish Kumar: prohibition does not work, Scroll (27 November 2015), available at https://scroll.in/article/676679/a-history-lesson-for-nitish-kumar-prohibition-does-not-work
  5. Episode 4, The DAKSH Podcast, “Women in the Constituent Assembly” with Priya Ravichandran, available at https://www.dakshindia.org/podcasts/

Episode 11 : Indian elections | Ornit Shani and Rahul Verma

The elections in the world’s largest democracy are often described as a dance of democracy. Here are some statistics just to give you a scale of the vast logistical exercise that is the general election. In 2019, 619 adults voted in 1 million polling booths in 543 constituencies. Ornit and Rahul took us on a journey from the first general election to recent elections, exploring how the first electoral rolls were prepared, the logistics of the process and how Indians make voting decisions.

  1. Support us by Donating

  2. Ornit Shani. How India became democratic, 2018.

  3. Pradeep K Chhibbe and Rahul Verma. Ideology and identity: The changing party systems of India. Oxford University Press, 2018.

  4. Adam Auerbach etal., Rethinking the Study of Electoral Politics in the Developing World: Reflections on the Indian Case https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/85802/1/Auerbach_elal2021_postprint.pdf

  5. Ornit Shani, Women and the Vote: Registration, Representation and Participation in the Run-Up to India’s First Elections, 1951–52 South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies Volume 44(228), 2021

  6. Kumar, Sanjay and Palshikar, Suhas and Shastr, Sandeep and Swaminathan, Siddharth and Krishnaswamy, Sudhir and Jayadev, Arjun (2018) Politics and society between elections. Technical Report. Azim Premji University, Bengaluru.

  7. Association for Democratic Reform https://adrindia.org/

Episode 10 : Courtrooms in Film | Anushka Shah

Many of us, consciously or subconsciously, are heavily influenced by popular media and film and legal court dramas are  no exception. They, in equal parts, entertain and educate. In this episode, we spoke to Anushka Shah, the founder of Civic Studios and Chaitanya Tamhane,

 the writer and director of the nationally and internationally lauded Marathi film, ‘Court’. Anushka Shah strongly believes in the power of entertainment to bring change. Her organization, Civic Studios, notes that “a good story and set of characters can bring attention to ignored issues, create awareness of rights and duties, and model exemplary actions to help ‘fix-the-system’.” Chaitanya, on the other hand, has created an exceptional piece of art through his movie, “Court”, that exemplifies the type of art Anushka has been rooting for. The film follows the trial of a protest poet and singer who is accused of abetting the suicide of a manhole worker to reveal the systemic issues of bigotry and injustice in society and the judicial system.

We chatted with Anushka and Chaitanya about the role of art in social change and the moral responsibility of artists, especially in the depiction of a courtroom drama. In the process, we explored the importance of empathy in building characters, realism in cinema and how conveying the fragility of the individual in a complex and unpredictable system transcends the courtroom.

  1. Court (2014), available on Netflix
  2. Civic Studios, Crime and Punishment in Indian Entertainment, 2019 https://sway.office.com/CUIjI1M69CLiVxCN
  3. Aishwarya Viswanathan, Roohi Bhatia and Anushka Shah, Crime, courtroom drama in Indian entertainment: How the genres sway popular opinion on law and judiciary, Firspost, 2020 https://www.firstpost.com/india/crime-courtroom-drama-in-indian-entertainment-how-the-genre-sways-popular-opinion-on-law-and-judiciary-7905631.html#aid_8087031

Episode 9 : Vimukta communities and Police | Nikita Sonavane

In Episode 9 of the DAKSH Podcast we discussed “de-notified tribes” or “vimukta” communities and what they show us about policing culture in India. They are communities that were notified under a colonial legislation – 

the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 – as people who, by birth, are  “addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences.”  Though this Act was repealed after India gained independence, discretionary powers of the police coupled with social stigmas of the judiciary continue to haunt these communities, many of whom are subject to oppression, surveillance and imprisonment, sometimes without even being convicted by a court of law.   We talked to Nikita Sonavane, co-founder of the Criminal Justice and Police Accountability Project in Madhya Pradesh about her work with these communities, the origin of the idea that some people can be labelled criminals by birth and how this prejudice and injustice lives on in the India of today. More importantly, Nikita asks some crucial questions about our tendency to look to the police for solutions to problems that have little to do with law and order. In the wake of the pandemic we are experiencing, she dares us to reimagine legal and policy responses to public crises rather than let only some marginalised groups take the fall.

  1.  Ameya Bokil & Nikita Sonavane, Why Charan Singh Bolts His House From Inside And Out https://www.article-14.com/post/why-charan-singh-bolts-his-house-from-inside-and-out-before-he-sleeps
  2.     Milind Bokil and Vijay Raghavan. “Women and Children as Victims and Offenders: The Case of De-Notified Tribes in India.” Women and Children as Victims and Offenders: Background, Prevention, Reintegration. Springer, Cham, 2016
  3.     Nikita Sonavane and Ameya Bokil, Condemned without Trial – India’s undertrials problem is spurring the COVID-19 outbreak in prisons https://caravanmagazine.in/law/india-undertrials-problem-spurring-covid-19-outbreak-prisons
  4.    Nikita Sonavane and Ameya Bokil, How Poverty-Struck Tribals Become ‘Habitual Offenders’  https://www.article-14.com/post/born-a-criminal-how-poverty-struck-tribals-become-habitual-offenders
  5.   Bangalore International Centre Masterclass by G N Devy on Denotified Tribes https://youtu.be/4rG6IzxGOHM

Episode 8 : Custodial Violence | Justice Chandru

In Episode 8 of the DAKSH Podcast, we discussed custodial violence and the broader issue of access to justice for women in the background of the movie Jai Bhim and Justice Chandru’s book Listen to my case.

Widespread custodial violence has become an accepted feature of our policing system. The issue has been spotlighted in the recent film Jai Bhim which is based on the real-life story of Parvathy, a woman belonging to the Irula tribe who approaches the Madras High Court to find her husband who is falsely arrested for theft and after severe custodial torture purportedly escapes from prison. The film also highlights the obstacles faced by women accessing justice. According to the data from the DAKSH Access to Justice Survey 2016 only 15% of the litigants interviewed were women. Justice Chandru’s book Listen to my case describes the stories of 20 women who approached the Madras High Court for justice.

Our guest today is Justice Chandru, former judge of the Madras High Court who has one of the most prolific rates of disposal for any judge in the country. He has also written a book called Listen to my case which has twenty short accounts of bold and courageous women who have approached courts for redressal of a range of injustices. More recently Justice Chandru has been in the news as the inspiration for Suriya’s character in the Tamil movie Jai Bhim. Jai Bhim is based on the real-life story of Parvathy, a woman belonging to the Irula tribe who approaches the Madras High Court to find her husband who is falsely arrested for theft and after severe custodial torture purportedly escapes from prison.

  1. Aditya Manubarwala, Revisiting India’s obligations against custodial torture (19 May 2017) http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/80097/
  2. DAKSH, Access to Justice Survey 2016 https://www.dakshindia.org/access-to-justice-survey/
  3. Justice K Chandru, Listen to My Case! When Women Approach the Courts of Tamil Nadu
  4. State of Indian Policing Report 2019, Common Cause https://www.commoncause.in/uploadimage/page/Status_of_Policing_in_India_Report_2019_by_Common_Cause_and_CSDS.pdf

 

Episode 7 : Unpacking “Public Accountability” | Dr. CK Mathew

According to surveys, public procurement, access to public services, and regulation in India are prone to high degrees of bias, corruption and misalignment with public welfare. An ideal at the heart of good governance reform is “public accountability”;

we frequently hear calls for greater accountability of government actors – both within public institutions and to the public at large.

In Episode 7 of the DAKSH podcast, we speak to Dr. CK Mathew, a former bureaucrat and current academic, researcher and author with an interest in challenges before the Indian administrative state. Dr. Mathew weighs on how he thinks about public accountability – who owes it, to whom and how; how it affects the morale and functioning of administrators, and what elements are necessary for ‘accountability’ to drive towards improved development indicators. Drawing on his experience working with politicians and civil society, Dr. Mathew explores institutional and public experiments with accountability and unpacks what this concept means to him.

  1. CK Mathew. “The Historical Evolution of the District Officer.” Azim Premji University, 2020. https://azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/publications/2020/book/the-historical-evolution-of-the-district-officer-from-early-days-to-1947
  2. India Today. “State of States 2021: The Best States in India.” November 2021. https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20211206-state-of-states-2021-the-best-states-of-india-1880809-2021-11-27
  3. Public Affairs Centre. “The Public Affairs Index.” https://pacindia.org/page/pai
  4. Bala Posani & Yamini Aiyar. “State of Accountability: Evolution, Practice & Emerging Questions in Public Accountability in India.” Accountability Initiative. May 2009. https://accountabilityindia.in/sites/default/files/working-paper/34_1244199435.pdf

Episode 6 : Death Penalty | Dr Anup Surendranath

The death penalty is a deeply polarising topic in India. People who justify and oppose it hold deeply held often emotional reasons for their views. Most of Europe has abolished the death penalty but India does not seem to be considering such a move.

In fact in recent years the clamour for capital punishment epecially for rapists has only grown louder. At the end of 2021 when this episode was recorded, the numer of prisoners on death row stood at 488, the highest in 17 years, according to the Death Penalty in India Report.

On Episode 6 we spoke to Dr Anup Surendranath who is the Executive Director of Project 39A (formerly the Centre on the Death Penalty) and an Assistant Professor of Law at National Law University, Delhi.  His involvement with the death penalty our topic for today began in May 2013 by establishing and leading the Death Penalty Research Project that culminated in the Death Penalty India Report ​that was released in​ 2016. The project, first of its kind on the death penalty in India, interviewed all of India’s death row prisoners and their families towards developing a socio-economic profile of death row prisoners and also mapping their interaction with the criminal justice system. Today Anup joins us to help us unpack and understand how capital punishment plays out in India.

  1. Anup Surendranath,, Neetika Vishwanath, and Preeti Pratishruti Dash. “The Enduring Gaps and Errors in Capital Sentencing in India.” Nat’l L. Sch. India Rev. 32 (2020), 46.
  2. Craig Haney, Death by design: Capital punishment as a social psychological system. Oxford University Press, 2005.
  3. Craig Haney, Criminality in context: The psychological foundations of criminal justice reform. American Psychological Association, 2020.
  4. Jahnavi Misra, The Punished: Stories of Death-Row Prisoners in India, 2021Harper Collins
  5. Probal Chaudhuri, Debasis Sengupta and Paramesh Goswami, Adalat, Media, Samaj Ebong Dhananjoyer Phasi 2016.
  6. Project 39A, Death Penalty India Report, 2016 https://www.project39a.com/dpir

Episode 5 : Undertrial detention in India | Dr Vijay Raghavan

In Episode 5 of the DAKSH Podcast we discussed undertrial detention in Indian prisons. One of the tragedies of the Indian prison system is the high proportion of undertrial prisoners (around two-thirds).Undertrial prisoners are kept in prison while awaiting trial or during their trial.

The high proportion of such prisoners in our system has not budged in the last 3 decades since the issues started getting media and judicial attention. Prolonged undertrial detention violates their rights to liberty and fair trial, and adversely impacts their lives and livelihood. The overuse of undertrial detention effectively ends up punishing people before they are convicted, and makes a mockery of their right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. This week we chatted with Dr Vijay Raghavan about undertrial detention in Indian prisons. Dr. Vijay Raghavan is a  Professor at the Centre for Criminology and Justice, TISS and the Project Director of Prayas. Prayas has been working for the past 30 years towards rehabilitation and social reintegration of persons in prison, women rescued from commercial sexual exploitation, and children in conflict with the law.

  1. Aparna Chandra and Keerthana Medarametla, Bail and Incarceration: The State of Undertrial Prisoners in India in Approaches to Justice in India 2017 https://www.dakshindia.org/Daksh_Justice_in_India/16_chapter_06.xhtml#_idTextAnchor068
  2. Justice under trial: A study of pre-trial detention in India, Amnesty International India 2017.
  3. Sudhir Krishnaswamy, Sindhu K Sivakumar, and Shishir Bail. “Legal and judicial reform in India: a call for systemic and empirical approaches.” Journal of National Law University Delhi 2.1 2014, 1
  4. Vrinda Bhandari, Inconsistent and Unclear: The Supreme Court of India on Bail 6(3) NUJS L. Rev. 549-558 (2013)
  5. Vrinda Grover, ‘The Adivasi Undertrial, a Prisoner of War: A Study of Undertrial Detainees in South Chhattisgarh’ in Contesting Justice in South Asia (2018): 201.

Episode 4 : Women in the Constituent Assembly | Priya Ravichandran

This womens’ day, we reflect on the contributions of the women members of the Constituent Assembly that framed our Constitution. The Constituent Assembly was formed in 1946, before India gained independence. The Assembly consisted of 389 members, out of whom 15 members were women.

 Each of them had extensive experience in the national freedom struggle and local movements relevant to their place of operation. They also shaped  the Indian womens’ movement and balanced these interests with nationalist goals. Along with this, they faced the challenges of sexism within the constituent assembly and patriarchal mores in their personal lives, all of which contributed to their ideas of what a future India would look like.

In episode 4 of the DAKSH Podcast we spoke to Priya Ravichnadran, an independent analyst in the field of politics and policy making who has written extensively about the women in the Indian constituent assembly in her blog ‘15 for the republic’. We explored with her, the motivations, experiences and rich lives of these women – both inside and outside the Constituent Assembly and mused on how far we are from the idea of India they had worked for.

  1. Priya Ravichandran’s blog available at ​​https://15fortherepublic.wordpress.com/

  2. The Constituent Assembly Debates available in the Parliament’s digital library at https://eparlib.nic.in/handle/123456789/4

  3. Speeches of the women members of the Constituent Assembly ​​https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/publication_electronic/Selected%20Women%20Speech_Final.pdf

  4. Priya Ravichandran, The Women Who Helped Draft Our Constitution, Mint https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/dLi6ZIdW6CgswZCGdOA9VM/The-women-who-helped-draft-our-constitution.html

  5. HS Anupama, Samvidhana Mattu Mahile, Ladai Prakashana publications, 2019 in Kannada (ಸಂವಿಧಾನ ಮತ್ತು ಮಹಿಳೆ)
  6. Youtube series by The Scroll on Women in the Constituent Assembly hosted by Priya Ravichandran. The first episode is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ldVv2TFZME

Episode 3 : Demystifying Family Law | Chethana V

In Episode 3 of the DAKSH podcast, we are joined by Chethana V, a family lawyer practising in Chennai. Family courts are interesting in many aspects and Chethana sets the tone for this insightful discussion on how these courts function.

In the context of family law, the citizens are often overwhelmed by the litigation process and so we discuss how we can improve access to information on family law related disputes. The hold of religion over the framing of family laws, the stigma attached with matrimonial disputes, the status quo of the LGBTQ community as regards family law – all come together in this interview with Chethana.

  1. https://nyaaya.org/marriage-and-divorce/
  2. https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/d-word-what-you-need-know-about-divorce-lawyer-writes-152992
  3. https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/d-word-divorce-mutual-consent-and-other-remedies-lawyer-writes-153059
  4. https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/d-word-child-custody-and-other-elements-divorce-proceedings-lawyer-writes-153103https://www.dakshindia.org/common-legal-terms/

Episode 2 : Public interest litigation in India | Anuj Bhuwania

In Episode 2 of the DAKSH Podcast, we discussed public interest litigation in the higher judiciary in India. A PIL or public interest litigation is a petition that an individual, group or organisation files in a high court or the Supreme Court that has a larger public interest. PILs  are central to how Indians view the higher judiciary  in India.

They are seen as a simple means for citizens to access these courts and claim their rights or the rights of communities they represent. However a deeper look at the consequences of easing procedural standards and the non-representation of affected parties in such cases raises some disconcerting questions.

This week we chatted with Anuj Bhuwania who will help us peel the layers of the onion that public interest litigation has become. Anuj is a Professor at the O.P. Jindal Global University in Sonipat. He is the author of ‘Courting the People: Public Interest Litigation in Post-Emergency India’, the subject of today’s discussion. Anuj in his book has studied PILs related to the national capital of Delhi in some detail and revealed some disturbing trends often overlooked in the glorified coverage of PILs in the media

  1. Anuj Bhuwania, Courting the People: Public Interest Litigation in Post-Emergency India 2017 Cambridge University Press.
  2. Arun K Thiruvengadam, Swallowing a bitter PIL? Reflections on progressive strategies for Public Interest Litigation in India https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2465783
  3. Lavanya Rajamani, Public interest environmental litigation in India: Exploring issues of access, participation, equity, effectiveness and sustainability Journal of environmental law3 (2007), 293
  4. Marc Galanter, , and Jayanth K. Krishnan. “Bread for the Poor: Access to Justice and the Rights of the Needy in India.” Hastings LJ55 (2003), 789.
  5. Mathew Iduculla, Smothering the housing rights of the urban poor, The Hindu 12 September 2020  https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/smothering-the-housing-rights-of-the-urban-poor/article32584491.ece

Episode 1 : Policing in India | Vipul Mudgal

In Episode 1 of the DAKSH Podcast we discussed policing in India. The police are at the frontline of the criminal justice system yet they are possibly the most feared and the least trusted arm of the system. Every time there is a high profile incident of police excess there is talk of police reform. Yet as the saying goes the more things change the more they remain the same.

In this episode we chatted with Vipul Mudgal who helped us understand the nuances of the policing system better and suggest paths to reform. Vipul is the Director and Chief Executive of Common Cause. Common Cause is a Delhi-based organisation that has been in the vanguard of the campaign for probity in public life and integrity of institutions. Over the years, it has earned a reputation and credibility for its initiatives, advocacy and public interest litigations (PILs). Common Cause periodically publishes the Status of Indian Policing Report an indepth evaluation of policing across India through an analysis of official data and elaborate perception surveys.

  1. Atman Mehta, IndiaSpend.com, ‘It’s not like Singham’: Policemen in India work 14 hours a day and get few weekly offs The Scroll  https://scroll.in/article/941656/its-not-like-singham-policemen-in-india-work-14-hours-a-day-and-get-few-weekly-offs
  2. Basant Rath, It’s Important to Make India’s Police Force More Welcoming for Women, 2018  https://thewire.in/gender/india-police-gender-women
  3. Crime and Punishment in Indian Entertainment Civic Studios https://sway.office.com/CUIjI1M69CLiVxCN?ref=Link
  4. Human Rights Watch, Broken System: Dysfunction, Abuse, and Impunity in the Indian Police https://www.hrw.org/report/2009/08/04/broken-system/dysfunction-abuse-and-impunity-indian-police
  5. India Justice Report 2020 https://www.tatatrusts.org/Upload/pdf/ijr-2020-overall-report-january-26.pdf
  6. State of Indian Policing Report 2019, Common Cause https://www.commoncause.in/uploadimage/page/Status_of_Policing_in_India_Report_2019_by_Common_Cause_and_CSDS.pdf

Trailer

This is a Maed in India production.

Production Head & Editor: Joshua Thomas

Sound Mixing: Kartik Kulkarni

Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome

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