Welcome to the DAKSH podcast. DAKSH is a Bangalore-based non-profit dedicated to judicial reforms and access to justice in India. Through this series, we will critically examine India’s laws, judicial administration, the prison system, family law and other topics that we hope will help you understand our public institutions and your rights. Join us every Tuesday, as we discuss and decode this system.
In this episode, Valay Singh of the India Justice Report (IJR) delves into the critical state of justice capacity in India, highlighting key findings from the India Justice Reports from 2019 and 2022. Access to justice, a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution of India, is as essential as health, education, and water for the country's social and economic development. The IJR reveals significant challenges within the Indian justice system, from an overwhelming backlog of pending cases to overcrowding in Indian prisons, where the majority of inmates are undertrials, and the systemic issues across legal, police, judiciary and prisons that hinder effective justice delivery.
References:
Approaches to Justice in India https://www.dakshindia.org/approaches-to-justice-in-india/ (https://www.dakshindia.org/approaches-to-justice-in-india/)
Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) https://bprd.nic.in/
India Justice Report https://indiajusticereport.org/
National Judicial Data Grid (District and Taluka Courts of India) https://njdg.ecourts.gov.in/njdgnew/index.php (https://njdg.ecourts.gov.in/njdgnew/index.php)
CREDITS:
Host: Valay Singh
This is a Maed in India (https://www.maedinindia.in/) production.
Producer: Sean D’mello (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-d-mello-33006a44/) (https://twitter.com/SeanDmello)
Sound Design & Mixing: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/vijay-doiphode-a5a6b176/)Lakshman Parsuram (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lakshman-parsuram-b7889a1b0/)
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
(https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-fanthome-b175b4146/)
1 Jul 2024TRANSCRIPT
Police Violence in Films
In this episode, we explore the depiction of custodial violence in films with Deepanjana Pal. Deepanjana Pal is a journalist and author. She writes about culture and society. Her film writing has appeared in a range of publications and she was most recently the managing editor of the website Film Companion.
Films about cops in India often sensationalise and normalise police brutality, possibly desensitising audiences to the suffering of real people. In this episode, we critically examined how these films reflect societal attitudes toward power, authority, and justice. We also discussed whether they contribute to meaningful discourse or merely exploit trauma for entertainment.
References:
K Chandru, What The Sathankulam Custodial Murders Reveal
https://article-14.com/post/what-the-sathankulam-custodial-murders-reveal (https://article-14.com/post/what-the-sathankulam-custodial-murders-reveal)
Kalpana Nair, Five Films that Don’t Glamorise Police Violence https://www.filmcompanion.in/fc-lists/jayaraj-bennix-5-films-that-dont-glamorise-police-violence-visaranai-vetrimaran-sooryavanshi-singham
Omkar Khandekar (https://lifestyle.livemint.com/author/omkar-khandekar), Rethinking the angry young cop in Indian cinema https://lifestyle.livemint.com/how-to-lounge/movies-tv/rethinking-the-angry-young-cop-in-indian-cinema-111634476144273.html
Karthik Kumar, Sathankulam custodial deaths: Singam director Hari regrets making films glorifying police https://www.hindustantimes.com/regional-movies/sathankulam-custodial-deaths-singam-director-hari-regrets-making-films-glorifying-police/story-2NxchO4mslUFz2s68NkW4H.html (https://www.hindustantimes.com/regional-movies/sathankulam-custodial-deaths-singam-director-hari-regrets-making-films-glorifying-police/story-2NxchO4mslUFz2s68NkW4H.html)
Rohit Shetty reacts to claims of glorifying police brutality with his films: ‘Darr hona zaruri hai, okay to get trolled'
https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/rohit-shetty-reacts-to-claims-of-glorifying-police-brutality-with-his-films-101704964787324.html (https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/rohit-shetty-reacts-to-claims-of-glorifying-police-brutality-with-his-films-101704964787324.html)
CREDITS:
Host: Leah Verghese
This is a Maed in India (https://www.maedinindia.in/) production.
Producer: Sean D’mello (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-d-mello-33006a44/) (https://twitter.com/SeanDmello)
Sound Design & Mixing: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/vijay-doiphode-a5a6b176/)Lakshman Parsuram (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lakshman-parsuram-b7889a1b0/)
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome (https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-fanthome-b175b4146/)
24 Jun 2024TRANSCRIPT
Case Scheduling and Institutional Reforms
In this episode, Ninni Susan Thomas speaks with Ajay Shah about systemic challenges in the Indian legal system, particularly around case hearings, scheduling, and potential solutions. They question whether the focus on issues like pendency and the number of judges overshadows the correctness of decision-making. Emphasising a first principles perspective, the discussion stresses addressing root causes, rather than symptoms such as high case pendency and delays. Other key areas discussed include timely justice, case resolution predictability, and courts' accountability as service providers. Reducing judges' administrative burdens to improve adjudication efficiency was also highlighted. The conversation explored the potential of IT reforms and AI in judicial processes, advocating for efficiency while cautioning against superficial implementation.
References:
Evaluating courts from a Litigant’s Perspective: https://papers.xkdr.org/papers/2023Manivannanetal_evaluatingCourtsFromLitigantPerspectiveReport.pdf (https://papers.xkdr.org/papers/2023Manivannanetal_evaluatingCourtsFromLitigantPerspectiveReport.pdf)
Administrative workload management of courts: https://macrofinance.nipfp.org.in/PDF/icts_concept_note-2019.pdf (https://macrofinance.nipfp.org.in/PDF/icts_concept_note-2019.pdf)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybvwp9qhJqY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybvwp9qhJqY)
CREDITS:
Host: Ninni Susan Thomas (mailto:ninni@dakshindia.org)
This is a Maed in India (https://www.maedinindia.in/) production.
Producer: Sean D’mello (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-d-mello-33006a44/) (https://twitter.com/SeanDmello)
Sound Design & Mixing: Vijay Doiphode (https://www.linkedin.com/in/vijay-doiphode-a5a6b176/)
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome (https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-fanthome-b175b4146/)
Inside a recent episode
The India Justice Report
Published 8 Jul 2024 · Transcript excerpt
[…] Access to justice is a fundamental right that is guaranteed to all citizens by articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. In October 2019, we published our first India Justice Report. Some of the key findings of that report were, in the overall prison population, two in every three prisoners were under trials. There were 2 .8 crore cases pending across Indian subordinate courts. Of the 25 high courts across India, only the state of Sikkim, which hosts a population of under 7 lakhs or just 2 % of the population of New Delhi, could claim that it had achieved 80 % of the required judge's roster. […]
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