Gujarat 'improves' structural capacity to deliver justice. But with little impact

Gagan Sethi speaking at the release of India Justice Report 2019

By A Representative
Even as ranking Gujarat eighth among 18 major states -- 12th in police, 9th in prisons, 7th in judiciary and 6th in legal aid – the Gujarat part of the India Justice Report 2019, released at a formal function at the Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Gandhinagar, has said that the state has improved its position on several counts, though it has a long way to go in a few others.
Sponsored by the Tata Trusts, and prepared in partnership with DAKSH, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Common Cause, Centre for Social Justice, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and TISS-Prayas, giving details on Gujarat in the report, Maja Daruwala, chief editor of the report, told the audience that, while Gujarat ranked eighth and Maharashtra first, there was not much difference in the overall score.
Thus, while Gujarat scored 5.09 on a scale of 10, Maharashtra scored 5.92. But, on the other hand, the worst performing state, Uttar Pradesh, whose law and order situation today is “a matter a grave concern”, scored a poor 3.32.
Suggesting that the report does not deal with how states have performed in the actually delivering justice to their people, Shireen Vakil the Tata Trusts admitted, it concerned with the “structural capacity” of the four pillars – police, prisons, judiciary and legal aid – for the delivery of justice.
Noting that the report’s main concern was to score physical, financial, and human resource-related aspects of the justice delivery system, Daruwala said, talking with Counterview, “We propose to look at the governance aspect in the next report.”
The report, significantly, ranks Gujarat No 1 in filling up reservation of scheduled caste (SC) police officers, and, the state “exceeded SC officer quota by 20%”, and even improving in filling up scheduled tribe (ST) vacancies on this score.

Ironically, the improvement in SC recruitment among police officers does not appear to have had any impact on reducing the crime against Dalits and Adivasis in Gujarat. According to available data in 2018 as many as 1,545 cases were registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, as compared to 897 cases registered across the state in 2003.

Ironically, the improvement in SC recruitment among police officers does not appear to have had any impact on reducing the crime against Dalits and Adivasis in Gujarat

Then, cases of rape against Dalits and Tribal women have increased seven times from 14 cases of rapes registered in 2001 to 104 cases registered in 2018. However, the conviction rate in cases registered under the SC/ST Act is less than 5 percent in the three years from 2014-2016 where figures are available.

Pointing out that the aim of the report was not to look at the impact of the structural improvement in justice delivery system on reducing crime rate, Daruwala admitted, “We also wanted to make inter-religious comparisons. Unfortunately no data on this, including those for the minorities, for any of the four pillars is available. All of it has been wiped out.”
Mohit Shah, former chief justice of the Bombay High Court, told the audience, who mainly consisted of faculty and students GNLU and social activists, said, “The main issue that needs to be addressed is how the justice is being delivered to the common people.” Referring to pending vacancies judges across states in this context, he insisted on the need to train lawyers to become good judges.
Giving several instances, Shah said, “We have seen how this has helped fill up vacancies with competent judges. While there is no reservation quota for judges, such training has seen a notable rise in the number of ST-ST judges.”
Insisting that the issues the report has taken up need to be analysed at the district-level, Gagan Sethi of the Centre for Social Justice said, Gujarat has taken “significant strides in improving the representation of women in its police force” from 4% in 2015 to 7.2% in 2016 and 10.5% in 2017, though adding, “It needs to sustain this momentum.”

Comments

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

Rally in Patna: Non-farmer bodies to highlight plight of agriculture in Eastern India ahead of march to Parliament

P Sainath By A Representative Ahead of the march to Parliament on November 29-30, 2018, organized by over 210 farmer and agricultural worker organisations of the country demanding a 21-day special session of Parliament to deliberate on remedial measures for safeguarding the interest of farm, farmers and agricultural workers, a mass rally been organized for November 23, Gandhi Sangrahalaya (Gandhi Museum), Gandhi Maidan, Patna. Say the organizers, the Eastern region merits special attention, because, while crisis of farmers and agricultural workers in Western, Southern and Northern India has received some attention in the media and central legislature, the plight of those in the Eastern region of the country (Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Eastern UP) has remained on the margins. To be addressed by P Sainath, founder of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), a statement issued ahead of the rally says, the Eastern India was the most prosperous regi...

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

As 2024 draws nearer, threatening signs appear of more destructive wars

By Bharat Dogra The four years from 2020 to 2023 have been very difficult and high risk years for humanity. In the first two years there was a pandemic and such severe disruption of social and economic life that countless people have not yet recovered from its many-sided adverse impacts. In the next two years there were outbreaks of two very high-risk wars which have worldwide implications including escalation into much wider conflicts. In addition there were highly threatening signs of increasing possibility of other very destructive wars. As the year 2023 appears to be headed for ending on a very grim note, there are apprehensions about what the next year 2024 may bring, and there are several kinds of fears. However to come back to the year 2020 first, the pandemic harmed and threatened a very large number of people. No less harmful was the fear epidemic, the epidemic of increasing mental stress and the cruel disruption of the life and livelihoods particularly among the weaker s...

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

Counterview

Search This Blog