{"id":65997,"date":"2025-07-31T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/?post_type=article&#038;p=65997"},"modified":"2026-08-28T11:21:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T05:51:58","slug":"how-marginalised-people-are-left-behind-in-indias-criminal-justice-system","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/article\/social-justice\/how-marginalised-people-are-left-behind-in-indias-criminal-justice-system\/","title":{"rendered":"How marginalised people are left behind in India\u2019s criminal justice system"},"content":{"rendered":"<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"How marginalised people are left behind in India&rsquo;s criminal justice system\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yq5JCp7QtU8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 2025 <em>India Justice Report<\/em> found that <a href=\"https:\/\/scroll.in\/latest\/1081395\/up-bihar-and-maharashtra-account-for-42-of-all-undertrial-prisoners-says-study#:~:text=Uttar%20Pradesh%2C%20Bihar%20and%20Maharashtra%20together%20accounted,for%20nearly%2022%%20of%20the%20nationwide%20figure.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">42 percent<\/a> of all undertrial prisoners in India came from just three states&mdash;Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Maharashtra. Bihar has the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pib.gov.in\/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2003162\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">second-highest number<\/a> of prisoners in the country. A disproportionately large number&mdash;approximately <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsclick.in\/majority-prison-undertrials-youth-oppressed-communities#:~:text=In%202022%2C%20a%20striking%2066%25%20of%20the%20undertrial%20prisoners%20belonged%20to%20marginalised%20caste%20groups%2C%20comprising%20Scheduled%20Castes%2C%20Scheduled%20Tribes%2C%20and%20Other%20Backward%20Classes%20(OBC).%20This%20means%20that%201.3%20out%20of%20every%20two%20undertrials%20were%20from%20these%20marginalised%20castes\/communities.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">66 percent<\/a>&mdash;are from marginalised backgrounds.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since 2019, our nonprofit <a href=\"https:\/\/lawfoundationpatna.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LAW Foundation<\/a> has been providing socio-legal aid, rehabilitation support, and reintegration services to the marginalised and historically disadvantaged custodial population of Bihar. We prioritise prisoners who have been incarcerated for a long time, have been granted bail but cannot afford the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lexology.com\/library\/detail.aspx?g=fcc941c3-6e75-49b2-af6b-b61b74d23786\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">surety bail bond<\/a>, are unable to hire an advocate, and\/or have been wrongfully imprisoned.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Through our work, we see first-hand how the current criminal justice system disproportionally affects marginalised communities.&nbsp;<\/p><div id=\"idron-4139722846\" class=\"idron-article-in-content idron-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-bottom: 15px;\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Advertisements\"><a href=\"https:\/\/idranswers.idronline.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"What is IDR Answers Page Banner\"><img src=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1.png\" alt=\"What is IDR Answers Page Banner\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1.png 1250w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1-300x60.png 300w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1-1024x205.png 1024w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1-150x30.png 150w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1-768x154.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1250px) 100vw, 1250px\" width=\"1250\" height=\"250\"   \/><\/a><\/div><h3 id=\"h-1-a-system-entrenched-in-caste-based-violence-and-prejudice\" class=\"wp-block-heading secondlevel\">1. A system entrenched in caste-based violence and prejudice<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bihar has a <a href=\"https:\/\/direct.mit.edu\/ecps\/article\/6\/4\/421\/126126\/Exploring-the-changing-forms-of-caste-violence-A#:~:text=The%20upper%20castes%20have%20suppressed%20the%20emergence%20of%20class%20consciousness%20among%20lower%2Dcaste%20people%20because%20the%20former%20feared%20the%20threat%20to%20their%20entrenched%20status%20that%20might%20emerge%20from%20collective%20action%20on%20the%20part%20of%20the%20lower%20castes%20(Mencher%2C%201974%2C%20p.%20478).\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">history<\/a> of systemic caste-based violence. We are currently working in Patna and Jehanabad districts, &#8203;consciously &#8203;focusing on areas where such violence is most acute.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We have witnessed how the hierarchies of life in jail mirror those in the outside world. Structural inequalities of caste, class, and gender, which exist in society, are replicated within the prison system.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is evident from &#8203;one of our current cases. A&#8203; 16-year-old boy from a marginalised community was arrested for allegedly stealing a bike. The police beat him severely before taking him to the station. Although the station had 16 CCTV cameras, he was deliberately kept in a room without any surveillance.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Caste and power operate within India&rsquo;s criminal justice system through acts of violence, institutional complicity, fear, and denial.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When he was finally produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, the principal magistrate &#8203;issued a&#8203; disciplinary action against responsible officials, all of whom belonged to the same dominant caste. The officials claimed the boy was a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/how-do-habitual-offender-laws-discriminate\/article69353305.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">habitual offender<\/a> and not a juvenile. When the case reached the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), no lawyer represented the boy because of deep, pervasive casteism. We&rsquo;re providing legal aid to him but were asked by many in power&mdash;including judges and the police&mdash;not to do so.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is &#8203;a reflection of &#8203;how caste and power operate within India&rsquo;s criminal justice system&mdash;through acts of violence, institutional complicity, fear, and denial.&nbsp;<\/p><div id=\"idron-4233807792\" class=\"idron-content idron-entity-placement\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Advertisements\"><a href=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/donate\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"donate banner\"><img src=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1.jpg\" alt=\"donate banner\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1.jpg 1250w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1-300x60.jpg 300w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1-1024x205.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1-150x30.jpg 150w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1-768x154.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1250px) 100vw, 1250px\" width=\"1250\" height=\"250\"   \/><\/a><\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To break this cycle, &#8203;&#8203;greater representation of marginalised communities in both the bar and the bench&mdash;that is, among lawyers and judges&mdash;is essential for real access to justice.&#8203;&#8203; We actively hire advocates from &#8203;these&#8203; communities&#8203;,&#8203; &#8203;&#8203;who often lack opportunities to practise.&#8203;&#8203; Courtrooms across India, especially at the district level, are overwhelmingly male and upper-caste, with high representation from socially dominant groups. &#8203;&#8203;When those tasked with interpreting the law do not come from the communities most affected by systemic injustice, &#8203;&#8203;legal processes remain&#8203; &#8203;skewed and unjust.&nbsp;<\/p><h3 id=\"h-2-wrongful-incarceration-due-to-prejudice\" class=\"wp-block-heading secondlevel\">2. Wrongful incarceration due to prejudice<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once someone from a marginalised background is arrested, they are often &#8203;named&#8203; as &#8203;the&#8203; accused not just &#8203;in &#8203;one case but in multiple open FIRs of a similar nature. &#8203;E&#8203;ven if they may have committed one theft, they&rsquo;re implicated in four or five other&#8203; incident&#8203;s with&#8203;out any&#8203; evidence, because the police want to shut open investigations to show they&rsquo;ve solved crimes.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Deep-seated caste bias makes it easy to accuse Dalits, Adivasis, and other marginalised caste groups&ndash;sometimes because they may have committed a&#8239;<a href=\"https:\/\/bprd.nic.in\/uploads\/pdf\/202401250527570388790PettyOrganisedCrime.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">petty offence<\/a>, or simply because they happened to be near the scene of a crime or offence. At times, the arrest is made on even more arbitrary grounds. &#8203;I&#8203;n one &#8203;instance&#8203;, a rickshaw-puller was picked&#8203; up while sleeping&#8203; &#8203;at&#8203; a railway station &#8203;and falsely &#8203;accused in a case &#8203;that had occurred far from where he was.&#8203;&#8203;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This traps those accused in a vicious cycle. They now have to defend themselves in multiple courts, for multiple cases, often in different locations. Many times, district courts deny bail in such matters, especially when there are multiple FIRs, forcing families to approach the High Court. But the cost of &#8203;filing for &#8203;bail in the High Court is significantly higher&#8203;,&#8203; which further deters them from approaching the court.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In our experience, even &#8203;if&#8203; the paperwork for bail is complete, the Patna High Court is &#8203;so burdened&#8203; with &#8203;pending &#8203;cases &#8203;that&#8203; it may take &#8203;more than &#8203;a month for the bail application to be listed. This means even if the accused is innocent and has not been convicted, they must remain in jail for weeks or months.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They end up spending more time in jail than the sentence they would have &#8203;served&#8203; if &#8203;actually &#8203;convicted. After months or years in jail, many experience mental trauma that &#8203;forces them to &#8203;<a href=\"https:\/\/ijirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/FALSE-CONFESSIONS-INDUCED-BY-POLICE-AN-ANALYSIS.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">confess to crimes<\/a> they didn&rsquo;t commit.&nbsp;<\/p><h3 id=\"h-3-a-dearth-of-quality-legal-practitioners-at-the-district-level\" class=\"wp-block-heading secondlevel\">3. A dearth of quality legal practitioners at the district level<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There&rsquo;s a common myth that justice is &#8203;ultimately delivered by the &#8203;High Courts or the Supreme Court. But &#8203;for marginalised communities, &#8203;the real fight for justice &#8203;&#8203;plays out in&#8203;&#8203; district courts. The High Court doesn&rsquo;t conduct trials; it &#8203;primarily &#8203;hears appeals and bail &#8203;&#8203;petitions&#8203;&#8203;. &#8203;The entire process&#8203;&mdash;&#8203;&#8203;bail&#8203; hearing&#8203;, charge framing, trial, &#8203;and &#8203;conviction&#8203;&#8203;&mdash;takes place in the lower courts&#8203;&#8203;. &#8203;Y&#8203;et these courts remain under-resourced and under-recognised.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a result, there&rsquo;s a lack of motivated, skilled advocates at the district level. Most advocates want to practise in&#8203; the&#8203; higher courts, meaning that cases drag on for 10 or 15 years, even for minor theft charges.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We consistently meet convicted prisoners from marginalised identities who have never considered appealing in higher courts. This isn&rsquo;t because they are guilty, but because the idea of accessing higher courts feels impossible to them as they lack both the economic resources and the social capital to do so.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8203;&#8203;&#8203;A&#8203;&#8203;ccredited &#8203;law &#8203;institutions &#8203;must &#8203;make it mandatory for their &#8203;&#8203;graduates&#8203;&#8203; to practise in district court&#8203;s&#8203; for a&#8203;t least&#8203; three&#8203;&#8203; to &#8203;&#8203;five years. &#8203;D&#8203;espite receiving the best education, &#8203;many young lawyers struggle to &#8203;practise&#8203; effectively at this level because&#8203;&#8203; &#8203;&#8203;they have little understanding of &#8203;&#8203;the ground realities of district courts.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 1366px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Article-image_PC_LAW-foundation-1-768x510.webp\"><source media=\"(max-width: 1540px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Article-image_PC_LAW-foundation-1.webp\"><source media=\"(max-width: 2000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Article-image_PC_LAW-foundation-1.webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Article-image_PC_LAW-foundation-1.webp\" alt=\"The image is set in a rural area and features a group of women sitting on the ground in a circle outside a building. Two young men stand in the middle of the circle and address the gathering. The wall of the building behind the group has a banner stuck to it which reads 'Legal Awareness Camp organised by Law Foundation'._Criminal justice\" width=\"1024\" height=\"680\"><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">When those tasked with interpreting the law do not come from the communities most affected by systemic injustice, &#8203;&#8203;legal processes remain&#8203; &#8203;skewed and unjust. | Picture courtesy: LAW Foundation<\/figcaption><\/figure><h3 id=\"h-4-processes-that-involve-families-are-tough-to-navigate\" class=\"wp-block-heading secondlevel\">4. Processes that involve families are tough to navigate<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A minor formality in &#8203;&#8203;securing&#8203;&#8203; bail in India&rsquo;s courts is the requirement &#8203;&#8203;of&#8203;&#8203; an affidavit, typically from a close relative, but &#8203;&#8203;this becomes a major barrier for many. &#8203;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a lot of cases, the accused&rsquo;s family cannot be traced, or they are not willing to step forward. They are scared of the police, and the legal process is unfamiliar. If the accused is the head of the family, their absence puts the household in an economically precarious position. &#8203;&#8203;If they are a migrant&#8203;, they &#8203;&#8203;may not possess&#8203;&#8203;&#8203; &#8203;the required documents&#8203;&#8203;.&#8203;&#8203; &#8203;&#8203;O&#8203;&#8203;ur&#8203; social workers assist families in navigating the legal process and meeting their incarcerated relatives.&#8203;&#8203;&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However,<strong> <\/strong>many accused individuals are either without families or have been abandoned. In one such case, a man employed as a sanitation worker was wrongfully accused because he was found drunk near &#8203;&#8203;a crime scene&#8203;&#8203;. He had a brother &#8203;&#8203;who could not be traced&#8203;&#8203;, which meant he remain&#8203;ed&#8203; in jail for three to four years without trial. We have submitted an affidavit on his behalf, but since we aren&rsquo;t family, &#8203;&#8203;the process is slow and tedious&#8203;&#8203;&#8203; &#8203;and it may take a long time &#8203;&#8203;for the court to acknowledge&#8203; it&#8203;. The legal system doesn&rsquo;t have a framework for such exceptions&mdash;it&rsquo;s not built to accommodate those without support.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For transgender individuals, &#8203;&#8203;the&#8203;&#8203; system is even more exclusionary. Their families often do not accept them and may cut ties. Usually another trans individual or a friend is willing to submit the affidavit for them. But because the courts do not legally recognise such relationships, their affidavits are also not accepted at times.<\/p><h3 id=\"h-5-securing-bail-is-a-significant-barrier\" class=\"wp-block-heading secondlevel\">5. Securing bail is a significant barrier<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Bihar, the traditional system of bail is largely based on surety bonds, wherein a person seeking bail must furnish documents showing land ownership or vehicle registration. There is no practice of cash bail bonds. This creates difficulties for those without any such assets.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a solution, we started leveraging the system of Personal Recognisance (PR) Bail. A PR bond allows the accused to be released &#8203;&#8203;on the basis of a personal undertaking to appear for all court hearings, instead of furnishing property or money as surety&#8203;&#8203;.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our social workers play a vital role in this process. Many undertrial prisoners don&rsquo;t have easily reachable family members&#8203;&#8203;.&#8203;&#8203; &#8203;&#8203;Even when families can be located, they are frequently too economically or socially vulnerable to come forward.&#8203;&#8203; &#8203;To brid&#8203;ge this gap, we&#8203;&#8203; visit the prisoner&rsquo;s home, document their socio-economic status, and &#8203;&#8203;collect&#8203;&#8203; photographs as evidence.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This information is then included in a petition to the court, where we argue that, due to the family&rsquo;s inability to provide surety, the accused should be released on a PR bond. If the court accepts&#8203; the petition&#8203;, the person is &#8203;&#8203;granted&#8203;&#8203; bail. But if the court rejects&#8203; it&#8203;, we escalate&#8203; the matter&#8203; to &#8203;the &#8203;district judge and, if necessary, to the High Court. &#8203;&#8203;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &#8203;&#8203;&#8203;&#8203; &#8203;&#8203;&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If &#8203;&#8203;an&#8203;&#8203; advocate does not take the case seriously, they may not follow these steps. The inmates usually lack both awareness &#8203;of their options and &#8203;the means or knowledge to &#8203;&#8203;pursue&#8203;&#8203; multiple appeals. The&#8203; combination of&#8203; PR bail bon&#8203;&#8203;d&#8203;&#8203; &#8203;&#8203;and&#8203;&#8203; &#8203;&#8203;strong&#8203;&#8203; legal aid makes &#8203;all &#8203;the difference in &#8203;ensuring &#8203;access to justice.&nbsp;<\/p><h3 id=\"h-6-bail-is-temporary-trial-is-permanent-relief\" class=\"wp-block-heading secondlevel\">6. Bail is temporary; trial is permanent relief<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While securing bail &#8203;offers temporary&#8203; relief for the accused, &#8203;true relief comes only through &#8203;trial and &#8203;acquittal. &#8203;Take the example of someone charged with theft, where the maximum punishment is three years&#8203;.&#8203; &#8203;I&#8203;f a person has already spent two and a half years in jail as an undertrial, furnishing bail &#8203;at that &#8203;stage&#8203; &#8203;bring&#8203;s&#8203; &#8203;little&#8203; relief.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8203;&#8203;&#8203;After being granted bail&#8203;&#8203;, &#8203;an&#8203; individual must appear in court on every &#8203;hearing &#8203;date. For people&#8203; from &#8203;marginalised communities&#8203;&#8203;, each court appearance means travel expenses, loss of daily wage&#8203;s&#8203; or livelihood, and &#8203;an &#8203;inability to migrate&#8203; for work&#8203;. Missing&#8203; even&#8203; a single &#8203;hearing&#8203; &#8203;can result in their&#8203; bail &#8203;being&#8203; revoked, &#8203;sending&#8203; them back to jail.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Therefore, facilitating timely trials is essential, especially when the accused is close to completing &#8203;the &#8203;maximum sentence&#8203;.&#8203; &#8203;&#8203;In such cases, bail often imposes an additional burden, while systemic delays, such as absent witnesses or failure to frame charges, drag proceedings on for years.&#8203;&#8203; A trial, then, offers resolution for the accused. If they are acquitted, it restores &#8203;their &#8203;dignity and saves them from a permanent criminal record.<\/p><h3 id=\"h-reimagining-free-legal-aid-services\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reimagining free legal aid services<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8203;&#8203;By law, &#8203;every&#8203; person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Yet in practice, the system often&#8203; doesn&rsquo;t follow this principle. &#8203;&#8203;We make &#8203;a&#8203; &#8203;conscious&#8203; effort to understand the accused when the system does not stand by them. In Bihar&#8203;,&#8203; for instance, the language &#8203;can &#8203;change every 50 kilometres. In one case, a woman &#8203;remained &#8203;in jail &#8203;simply &#8203;because no one took the time to understand what she was saying. When we enlisted the help of a social worker who spoke &#8203;this woman&rsquo;s&#8203; language, we found that her &#8203;statements&#8203; were valid and accurate and were able to &#8203;secure&#8203; her bail using that information.&nbsp;<\/p><blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When people &#8203;know&#8203; the law, they can use it to push back against abuse&#8203; and resist control.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To truly &#8203;improve&#8203; access to justice, legal aid must also include legal literacy and awareness programmes&mdash;especially inside jails and in communities &#8203;frequently&#8203; targeted by&#8203; the&#8203; police. In one instance, a young person used what he had learned from our session in jail to inform his family that he was eligible for protection under the Juvenile Justice Act, which led to a timely intervention. In another&#8203; case&#8203;, a girl from a Musahar tola stood her ground during a police raid and stopped the officers from entering her home by citing the law that &#8203;requires &#8203;a female officer &#8203;to &#8203;be present. The police have not returned since.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every citizen is entitled to free legal aid under <a href=\"https:\/\/indiankanoon.org\/doc\/169871995\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Article 39(A)<\/a> of the Indian Constitution, and no individual can be deprived of this right. Therefore, state governments need to focus on addressing the challenges that hinder the effective implementation of the concept and objectives of free legal services, especially at the district and taluka levels.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But these rights are often deliberately kept from marginalised communities&mdash;because when people &#8203;know&#8203; the law, they can use it to push back against abuse&#8203; and resist control.&#8203; This is why our work goes beyond litigation. To ensure access to justice, people need to be made aware of their rights.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Shalini, Anand, Ranjan, Khalid, and Gaurav contributed to this article.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&mdash;<\/p><h3 id=\"h-know-more\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Know more<\/h3><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Learn <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraphindia.com\/opinion\/legislations-on-prohibition-have-added-to-the-hardship-of-thousands-of-people-because-of-tardy-implementation\/cid\/1771204\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">how<\/a> the excise act disproportionally affects marginalised communities in Bihar.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Read <a href=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/article\/rights\/how-paralegal-volunteers-make-justice-accessible-to-marginalised-communities\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">more<\/a> about how paralegal volunteers make justice accessible.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"idron-4006606944\" class=\"idron-troublemakers-placement idron-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-bottom: 20px;\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Advertisements\"><a href=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/donate\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"donate banner\"><img src=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1.jpg\" alt=\"donate banner\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1.jpg 1250w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1-300x60.jpg 300w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1-1024x205.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1-150x30.jpg 150w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1-768x154.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1250px) 100vw, 1250px\" width=\"1250\" height=\"250\"   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