India Justice Report 2022

In News

• According to the India Justice Report (IJR) 2022, the State of Karnataka emerged at the top among the 18 large and mid-sized States with populations of over one crore.

About

• The India Justice Report (IJR) was initiated by Tata Trusts in 2019, and this is the third edition. The foundation’s partners include the Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, DAKSH, TISS-Prayas, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and How India Lives, IJR’s data partner.
• This report is based on overall data of 4 pillars of justice delivery namely Police, Judiciary, Prisons, and Legal Aid.
• This third IJR also separately assesses the capacity of the 25 State Human Rights Commissions in the country.
• The 3rd edition also assesses the capacity of the 25 State Human Rights Commissions in the country separately.

Key Highlights

• Out of the 18 large and medium-sized states having a population of over 1 crore each, Karnataka ranked first in “justice delivery” followed by Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh, respectively. 

• Meanwhile, the State of UP is at the lowest rank (18th) among mid-sized and large States having population over 1 crore, while the State of Goa is at the lowest rank (7th) among the small States with a population less than 1 crore.

• Although states have increased budget allocation for legal aid, legal aid clinics reduced by 44 per cent between 2019 to 2021.
• Except for two union territories, Delhi and Chandigarh, no state spends more than 1 per cent of its total annual expenditure on the judiciary.
• Most states have not fully utilised the funds given to them by the Centre and “their own increase in spending on the police, prisons, and judiciary has not kept pace with the overall increase in state expenditure.”
• Concerning budgets, the report states the national per capita spend on legal aid, including the expenditure of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and the state/UT governments themselves, is a “meagre Rs 4.57 per annum”
• The report flags the issue of “vacancy” in areas like the police, prison staff, judiciary, and legal aid. 

Recommendations

Source: IJR