Serving the Powerful, Failing the Powerless

13/09/2026

Peoples Democracy / by MA Baby

Justice Deepak Gupta, a former judge of the Supreme Court, marked the eightieth anniversary of Independence by asking in print what few in his position have dared to ask; how free are we, the citizens of India?
… The Bhima Koregaon prosecution is in its ninth year. Father Stan Swamy died in custody in July 2021. Surendra Gadling got bail in May 2026 after nearly eight years, only to stay in jail on a second case. Every surviving accused has now been granted bail; not one has faced trial, because charges have still not been framed, and forensic findings that the incriminating files were planted by malware have never been judicially examined. The process is the punishment, and the court’s refusal to intervene is what keeps the process alive.
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Who Will Police the Indian Police?

13/09/2026

The Wire / by Anand Teltumbde

Police reform will remain cosmetic unless policing is made strictly accountable to the law rather than to political power.
Police are the face of the state to ordinary Indians. And that face is often one of raw terror. People encounter the state through the policeman at the street corner, the police station, the barricade or the interrogation room. As veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar once observed, the ordinary person’s first encounter with the police often begins with abuse and the danda.
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Also read:
▪ Our Criminal Justice System Overlooks Victims of Police Torture (The Wire / Jun 2026)
▪ The ‘Natural Death’ Problem in Indian Jails (The Wire / Jun 2026)
▪ Justice On Hold: How India’s Trial Courts Are Creating a New Class of Political Prisoners—Those Accused Of ‘Terrorism’ (article 14 / Dec 2025)
▪ In Surendra Gadling’s case, adjournment becomes the verdict (Frontline / Aug 2025)
▪ Read India report: INDIA – COUNTRY FACTSHEET 2025 (World Organization Against Torture / Jun 2025)

▪ Release Elgar Parishad Political Prisoners Immediately (Peoples Democracy Jan 2023)
▪ 4,484 People Died in Police Custody Since 2020: Govt Data (The Swaddle / Jul 2022)