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In this episode, the first in our series on elections, Leah Verghese discusses the Election Commission, the institution that oversees the mammoth task of elections in the world’s largest democracy. Learn more about this significant public institution, its origin, evolution, and the important personalities who shaped its trajectory.If you like our podcast, do consider supporting us with a donation at the link below: https://www.dakshindia.org/donate/
About Election Commission of India https://www.eci.gov.in/about-eciAn Expert Explains: How EC evolved, what rules it follows in case of disagreement https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/an-expert-explains-how-election-commission-evolved-what-rules-it-follows-in-case-of-disagreement-5720029/Anoop Baranwal vs. Union of India WP (CIVIL) NO.104 OF 2015Appointment of CEC, EC | Supreme Court refuses to stay new law; issues notice for hearing in April https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/appointment-of-cec-ec-supreme-court-refuses-to-stay-new-law-issues-notice-for-hearing-in-april/article67733389.eceManjari Katju, Election Commission and Changing Contours of Politics Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 44, No. 16 (Apr. 18 - 24, 2009)Manjari Katju, Election Commission and Functioning of Democracy Economic and Political Weekly , Apr. 29 - May 5, 2006, Vol. 41, No. 17 (Apr. 29 - May 5, 2006)R. P. Bhalla, Electoral Mechanism in India (1951-1971) The Indian Journal of Political Science Vol. 33, No. 1 (JAN-MAR, 1972)S.S. Dhanoa vs. Union of India (1991) 3 SCC 567The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term Of Office) Act, 2023
References
CREDITS:Host: Leah VergheseThis is a Maed in India production.
Producer: Sean D’mello
Sound Mixing: Lakshman Parsuram
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
Research Assistance: Manushree Sarkar
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This episode is a collaboration with Grand Tamasha, an excellent podcast on the latest developments in Indian politics, economics, foreign policy, society, and culture. Milan Vaishnav, the host of Grand Tamasha, joins us for this bonus episode. On 15 February 2024, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous landmark verdict, struck down the controversial electoral bonds scheme. Given that general elections are just around the corner, Milan discussed how this judgment will impact the financing of political parties in the largest democracy in the world. If you like our podcast, do consider supporting us with a donation at the link below: https://www.dakshindia.org/donate/
The DAKSH Podcast https://www.dakshindia.org/the-daksh-podcast/Ajoy Sinha Karpuram, Why did the Supreme Court strike down the Electoral Bonds Scheme? https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-law/supreme-court-electoral-bonds-verdict-9163729/Arun Jaitley, Why Electoral Bonds are Necessary https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=175452Association for Democratic Reforms & Anr. Writ Petition (C) No. 880 of 2017 https://main.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2017/27935/27935_2017_1_1501_50573_Judgement_15-Feb-2024.pdfPart 1: Behind the BJP’s rise and rise, bonds, trusts and raids on corporates https://www.newslaundry.com/2024/02/20/behind-the-bjps-rise-and-rise-bonds-trusts-and-raids-on-corporatesDAKSH Podcast, Crime and Politics (Milan Vaishnav) https:www.dakshindia.org/crime-and-politics/Milan Vaishnav, On electoral bonds, a short-lived celebration https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/on-electoral-bonds-a-short-lived-celebration-101708170676086.htmlPress Release: Introduction of the Scheme of Electoral Bond https://www.dea.gov.in/sites/default/files/Electoral%20Bonds_Press%20RELEASE_2-1-2018.pdf -
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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/
CREDITS:
Host: Sandhya PR
This is a Maed in India production.
Producer: Nikkethana K
Sound Mixing: Lakshman Parsuram
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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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 live-streaming of court proceedings.
If you like our podcast do consider supporting us with a donation at the link below: https://www.dakshindia.org/donate/
Host: Anindita Pattanayak
This is a Maed in India production.
Producer: Nikkethana K
Sound Mixing: Lakshman Parsuram
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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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 the 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.
Research Assistance: Jiyon Chatterjee
If you like our podcast do consider supporting us with a donation at the link below: https://www.dakshindia.org/donate/
Reading list
Chitranshul Sinha, The Great Repression India, Viking 2019IshitaPande, "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.Queen-Empress vs Hurree Mohun Mythee (1891) ILR 18 Cal 49 https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1410526/
Host: Leah VergheseThis is a Maed in India production.
Producer: Nikkethana K
Sound Mixing: Lakshman Parsuram
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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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.
If you like our podcast do consider supporting us with a donation at the link below: https://www.dakshindia.org/donate/
Reading list:
https://constitutionnet.org/vl/item/basic-structure-indian-constitutionCREDITS:
Host: Anindita Pattanayak
This is a Maed in India production.
Producer: Nikkethana K
Sound Mixing: Lakshman Parsuram
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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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/
Reading list:
The HMCTS reform programme: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-hmcts-reform-programmeHM Courts & Tribunals Service Framework Document https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384922/hmcts-framework-document-2014.pdfHarish Narasappa and Leah Verghese, Mountain of pendency, The Week 8 February 2020 https://www.theweek.in/theweek/cover/2020/02/07/mountain-of-pendency.htmlJoe Tomlinson, How digital administrative justice is made https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/book/9781447340331/ch004.xmlCREDITS:
Host: Surya Prakash B. S.
This is a Maed in India production.
Producer: Nikkethana K
Sound Mixing: Lakshman Parsuram
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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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/
CREDITS:
Host: Anindita Pattanayak
This is a Maed in India production.
Producer: Nikkethana K
Sound Mixing: Lakshman Parsuram
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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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/
Reading list:
Manaswini Rao. "Courts Redux: Micro-Evidence from India". 2021. http://manaswinirao.github.io/files/rao_courts.pdfManaswini 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.pdfCREDITS:
Host: Smita Mutt
This is a Maed in India production.
Producer: Nikkethana K
Sound Mixing: Lakshman Parsuram
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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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 de-constructs 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/
Reading list:
Women in Law in India
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/removing-cobwebs-from-the-courtroom/article4501561.ece
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/judiciary-an-old-boys-club/article8410065.ece
CREDITS:
Host: Sandhya P R
This is a Maed in India production.
Producer: Nikkethana K
Sound Mixing: Lakshman Parsuram
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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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/
Reading list:
Swethaa S Ballakrishnen Accidental Feminism: Gender Parity and Selective Mobility among India’s Professional Elite. Princeton University Press, 2021.
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.
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
CREDITS:
Host: Leah Verghese
This is a Maed in India production.
Producer: Nikkethana K
Sound Mixing: Lakshman Parsuram
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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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/
Reading list:
Milan Vaishnav. When crime pays: Money and muscle in Indian politics. Yale University Press, 2017
James Crabtree, Lunch with the FT: Raghuram Rajan. Financial Times August 15 2014 https://www.ft.com/content/b049ce16-230e-11e4-a424-00144feabdc0#axzz3B60Xysad
Association for Democratic Reform https://adrindia.org/
CREDITS:
Host: Leah Verghese
This is a Maed in India production.
Producer: Nikkethana K
Sound Mixing: Lakshman Parsuram
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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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.
If you like our podcast do consider supporting us with a donation at the link below: https://www.dakshindia.org/donate/
Reading list:
A People’s Constitution
https://www.outlookindia.com/national/explained-the-supreme-court-order-on-sex-workers-laws-on-prostitution-how-sc-order-changes-things-news-198865
https://scroll.in/article/676679/a-history-lesson-for-nitish-kumar-prohibition-does-not-work
https://thewire.in/books/book-review-a-peoples-constitution-rohit-de
CREDITS:
Host: Anindita Pattanayak
This is a Maed in India production.
Producer: Nikkethana K
Sound Mixing: Lakshman Parsuram
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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In this episode we spoke to Rahul Verma and Ornit Shani on Indian elections. 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 fascinating 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.
If you like our podcast do consider supporting us with a donation at the link below: https://www.dakshindia.org/donate/
Reading list:
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 Association for Democratic Reform https://adrindia.org/ 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. Ornit Shani. How India became democratic, 2018. 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 Pradeep K Chhibbe and Rahul Verma. Ideology and identity: The changing party systems of India. Oxford University Press, 2018.CREDITS:
Host: Leah Verghese
This is a Maed in India production.
Producer: Nikkethana K
Sound Mixing: Lakshman Parsuram
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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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.
Reading list:
Court (2014), available on Netflix
Civic Studios, Crime and Punishment in Indian Entertainment, 2019 https://sway.office.com/CUIjI1M69CLiVxCN
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
Host: Anindita Pattanayak
This is a Maed in India production.
Production Head & Editor: Joshua Thomas
Sound Mixing: Kartik Kulkarni
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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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.
Reading list:
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
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
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
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
Bangalore International Centre Masterclass by G N Devy on Denotified Tribes https://youtu.be/4rG6IzxGOHM
CREDITS:
Host: Anindita Pattanayak
This is a Maed in India production.
Production Head & Editor: Joshua Thomas
Sound Mixing: Kartik Kulkarni
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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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.
Reading list: Aditya Manubarwala, Revisiting India’s obligations against custodial torture (19 May 2017) http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/80097/DAKSH, Access to Justice Survey 2016 https://www.dakshindia.org/access-to-justice-survey/
Justice K Chandru, Listen to My Case! When Women Approach the Courts of Tamil Nadu
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
CREDITS:
Host: Leah Verghese
This is a Maed in India production.
Production Head & Editor: Joshua Thomas
Sound Mixing: Kartik Kulkarni
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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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.
Reading List
Dr. 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
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
Public Affairs Centre. “The Public Affairs Index.” https://pacindia.org/page/pai
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
CREDITS:
Host: Smita Mutt
This is a Maed in India production.
Production Head & Editor: Joshua Thomas
Sound Mixing: Kartik Kulkarni
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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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.
Reading List
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. Craig Haney, Death by design: Capital punishment as a social psychological system. Oxford University Press, 2005. Craig Haney, Criminality in context: The psychological foundations of criminal justice reform. American Psychological Association, 2020. Jahnavi Misra, The Punished: Stories of Death-Row Prisoners in India, 2021Harper Collins Probal Chaudhuri, Debasis Sengupta and Paramesh Goswami, Adalat, Media, Samaj Ebong Dhananjoyer Phasi 2016. Project 39A, Death Penalty India Report, 2016 https://www.project39a.com/dpirCREDITS:
Host: Leah Verghese
This is a Maed in India production.
Production Head & Editor: Joshua Thomas
Sound Mixing: Kartik Kulkarni
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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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.
Reading list:
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
Justice under trial: A study of pre-trial detention in India, Amnesty International India 2017.
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
Vrinda Bhandari, Inconsistent and Unclear: The Supreme Court of India on Bail 6(3) NUJS L. Rev. 549-558 (2013)
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.
CREDITS:
Host: Leah Verghese
This is a Maed in India production.
Production Head & Editor: Joshua Thomas
Sound Mixing: Kartik Kulkarni
Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome
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