NGO report reveals widening reach, deepening impact across marginalised communities

By Jag Jivan*

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), one of India’s foremost rights-based legal organisations, has released its Annual Report for 2024-25, highlighting a year of extensive grassroots engagement, strategic legal victories, and systemic policy interventions that have empowered thousands of people from marginalised communities across Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Jharkhand.

According to the report, CSJ carried out 5,522 legal interventions, conducted 336 fact-finding investigations, and connected with over 1.19 lakh people through outreach, legal awareness, and community mobilisation. With a strong network of lawyers, paralegals, and grassroots volunteers, CSJ not only provided direct legal aid but also strengthened institutional accountability and constitutional values through education, advocacy, and partnerships.

A striking feature of the report is CSJ’s deep community-rootedness: 93% of its volunteers belong to vulnerable communities, and 1,237 individuals were trained as change-makers during the year. Legal aid spanned a wide array of issues — from land rights and women’s rights to social security and labour exploitation — reflecting the organisation’s holistic approach to justice.

One landmark intervention involved exposing a dowry death case in Kanker, Chhattisgarh, where CSJ lawyers pushed for forensic verification of crucial video evidence. In another case, CSJ helped a rape survivor in Chhattisgarh access long-denied maternity benefits and compensation, showcasing how targeted legal action can overcome institutional apathy.

The legal interventions resulted in ₹6.93 crore in direct monetary benefits for 932 beneficiaries, covering victim compensation, land rights, labour entitlements, and social security. In Gujarat alone, CSJ’s efforts led to ₹3.46 crore worth of land rights being secured, and a judicial precedent was set in increasing victim compensation from ₹3 lakh to ₹12.75 lakh in a case involving a minor survivor of rape.

A core area of CSJ’s focus this year was labour rights, especially in informal sectors. Worker Facilitation Centres (WFCs) in Ahmedabad, Savli, and Mahad supported informal workers in accessing 15,767 welfare entitlements, worth ₹7.81 crore, including citizen IDs, pensions, and labour-related benefits. One particularly significant intervention saw 46 contract workers at a government hospital in coastal Gujarat reclaim their rights after years of exploitation by a private contractor.

CSJ also played a pioneering role in collaborating with Zomato to co-develop India’s first Delivery Partner Well-being Framework, marking a milestone in bringing dignity and equity to the gig economy.

CSJ continued to expand its work on gender and queer rights. It conducted sensitisation workshops with the Ahmedabad Police on transgender laws and advocated for the formation of Transgender Protection Cells, mandated under national law but often unimplemented. Additionally, it trained legal professionals and collaborated with National Law Universities and civil society groups to challenge misconceptions around abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, and gender-based violence.

From co-teaching ESG frameworks at Anant National University to hosting exposure visits for Ugandan judicial officers, CSJ’s academic and international engagements aimed to promote justice through a rights-based lens. Its collaboration with IDIA to train marginalised law aspirants underscored its commitment to creating a new generation of socially conscious legal professionals.

The organisation also developed Parivartan, a Hindi web-based tool demystifying India’s new criminal codes, and Parvaaz, a prototype bail-eligibility calculator — both aiming to make law more accessible to non-English-speaking or under-resourced communities.

In a time marked by rising social tensions, CSJ doubled down on its mission to promote constitutional values. Through folk performances, public campaigns, and digital sessions on the Constitution, it fostered conversations around liberty, equality, and fraternity.

Founded in 1993, CSJ operates under the Institute for Development Education and Learning (IDEAL). Its 2024-25 Annual Report paints a vivid picture of an organisation that is not only offering justice case-by-case but also building resilient, rights-aware communities across India.

With 15 state appointments, 9 publications, and growing partnerships with state and civil society actors, CSJ’s journey exemplifies how grassroots lawyering can influence systemic reform, affirming its belief that all roads lead to justice — if pursued with persistence and equity.

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*Freelance writer

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