Karnataka tops India Justice Report 2025, but struggles with prisons, legal aid, gender equality
Bengaluru: Karnataka has emerged as the top performer among 18 large and mid-sized states (with a population of over one crore each) in India, according to the India Justice Report 2025 (IJR), a key national ranking assessing the delivery of justice across the country.
The report, cited on Wednesday by The New Indian Express, revealed that Karnataka continues to maintain its strong position from the previous edition of the report, securing the top spot in the overall ranking for justice delivery.
The IJR evaluates states based on their performance in four key areas: police, judiciary, prisons, and legal aid. Karnataka stands out for its effective implementation of reservation quotas for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in both the police and judiciary sectors. The state has also set a benchmark with a mere 1.2 percent vacancy rate at the officer level within the police force, the lowest among all large states. Additionally, Karnataka boasts the highest number of paralegal volunteers in the country.
Karnataka is followed by Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. But, despite being a top ranking state, the report highlighted significant areas of concern, particularly in prisons, legal aid, and women’s representation within the police force.
The IJR 2025 raised alarm over the state’s prison system, particularly the high number of undertrial prisoners (UTPs). According to the report, 80 percent of inmates in Karnataka’s prisons are under trial, the highest figure recorded since 2015. This increase in UTPs reflects broader systemic issues, including limited access to legal aid at the grassroots level, especially in villages.
Furthermore, Karnataka’s progress in integrating women into the police force remains far from ideal. The state has set an ambitious target to raise the percentage of women in police roles to 25 percent, but the reality falls short. According to the IJR 2025, women constitute only 9 percent of the total police force, with a mere 6 percent representation at the officer level.
Commenting on the findings, Justice Madan B. Lokur (Retd.), former judge of the Supreme Court, emphasised that the barriers to accessing justice begin at the very first point of contact with the system. “With our failure to properly equip and train frontline justice providers — police stations, legal aid actors including paralegal volunteers and district courts — we fracture public trust,” TNIE report quoted him as saying.
“The strength of our entire justice framework rests on these critical first points of contact. The burden continues to remain on the individual seeking justice, and not the state to provide it,” he added.
Maja Daruwala, Chief Editor of the India Justice Report, called for urgent reforms to ensure that justice is not just a constitutional ideal but an everyday reality for all citizens. “As India moves forward into a hundred years of being a democratic, rule-of-law nation, the promise of rule of law and equal rights will remain hollow unless underwritten by a reformed justice system,” Daruwala said, noting that reform is not optional but urgent.
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Bengal: Chandan, Progyajit Mondal arrested for trying to incite tension with poster of Pakistan flag
Kolkata, May 1 (PTI): West Bengal Police has arrested two persons for allegedly pasting an image of Pakistani flag on the wall of a railway station in North 24 Parganas district and writing 'Hindustan Murdabad' to engineer communal disturbances, a senior officer said on Thursday.
Chandan Malakar (30) and Progyajit Mondal (45), both described as active members of a political party and associated with the fringe outfit Sanatani Ekta Manch, were apprehended on Wednesday night in Bongaon area, police added.
The duo confessed to pasting the poster flag and writing "Hindustan Murdabad" on the wall of a toilet near Akaipur railway station under the jurisdiction of Gopalnagar police station, the officer added.
According to police, the accused intended to provoke communal unrest by making the image public and attributing it to another community or group.
However, the plan was thwarted through timely intervention, police added.
"Yesterday night, a Pakistani National flag was found to be pasted on the walls of a washroom beside Akaipur railway station under Gopalnagar PS. Investigation revealed that this was willfully done by one Chandan Malakar (30) and Progyajit Mondal (45), both local residents and active members of a political party as also of Sanatani Ekta Manch," Bongaon police said in a post on X.
"They have confessed to the act and revealed that they had planned to write 'Hindustan Murdabad and Pakistan Zindabad' on that wall to create communal disturbances in the area. Both have been arrested in a specific case. Further investigation is on," it added.
"We shall spare no efforts to bring to book those who are hatching such conspiracies to trigger communal unrest," the post said.
Twenty-six people, including 25 tourists, were killed in a terror attack at Pahalgam in Kashmir on April 22 triggering a global outrage.
Different political parties and the Union government have referred to the alleged role of Pakistan-based agencies in sponsoring terror in Kashmir, but the neighbouring country denied its role.
The ruling TMC in Bengal have cautioned against any attempt by certain right wing fringe groups to disrupt law and order and instigate violence by flagging the Kashmir attack and called for a united effort to fight terrorism.
Yesterday night, a Pakistani National flag was found to be pasted on the walls of a washroom beside Akaipur railway station under Gopalnagar PS. Investigation revealed that this was wilfully done by 1. Chandan Malakar (30) and 2. Progyajit Mondal (45), both local residents and…
— SP BONGAON PD (@SP_Bongaon_PD) May 1, 2025
