DAKSH Podcast

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 Though this Act was repealed after India gained in...

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,...

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...

The death penalty is a deeply polarising topic in India. People who justify and oppose it hold deeply held often emotional reasons for their vie​​ws. 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 rec...

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 start...

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...

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...

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 acces...

Warning: This episode contains descriptions of violence.   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 c...

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 syst...