CSJ

Centre for Social Justice

FROM GENEROSITY TO JUSTICE

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Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Martin Luther King, Jr

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SOCIAL JUSTICE It is the foundation stone of Indian Constitution. Social justice denotes the equal treatment of all citizens without any social distinction based on caste, colour, race, religion, sex and so on.

The principle of social justice is enshrined in the Indian Constitution in its Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties and Directive Principles. The Indian Constitution not only grants equality to all citizens but also empowers the state to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of marginalised people.

Yet, the ground reality is dismal.

Almost half of India’s total wealth is in the hands of the richest 1%, The poorest 30%, meanwhile, have just 1.4% of the total wealth (Oxfam India/Credit Suisse)

REALITY CHECK 37% Dalits live below the poverty line, 54% were undernourished, 83 per 1,000 children born in a Dalit household died before their ďŹ rst birthday, and 45% remained illiterate. (National Human Rights Commission, 2012)

India is placed 130th in the Human Development Index among 188 countries (Human Development Report 2015)

76% out-of-school children belonged to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other religious minorities.

A crime is committed against a Dalit every 18 minutes (The National Human Rights Commission, 2010 Report)

The judiciary is the guardian of the Constitution and the protector of civil rights. It is the duty of the judiciary to ensure that all citizens are able to access their share of goods and services.

ABOUT US

Established in 1993, Institute for Development Education and Learning Centre for Social Justice is a human rights organisation ďŹ ghting for the rights of the marginalised and vulnerable, principally in the sphere of access to justice.

We are using the judicial system to ďŹ ght for the rights of marginalized sections.

VISION To strengthen human rights culture & an allinclusive pluralist society, free of violence, injustice, discrimination, prejudices and stereotyping.

MISSION To use law for social change to ensure access to justice to vulnerable communities and to secure social justice.

To promote an enabling policy and legislative environment that respects, promotes and protects human rights of vulnerable communities.

The courts of the country have become inaccessible due to various barriers such as poverty, social and political backwardness, illiteracy, ignorance, procedural formalities and the like.

Law Commission of India , Report no. 222

Central to CSJ's efforts are its Law Centres consisting of a team of lawyers, paralegals and researchers who not only provide legal support and outreach to communities but through a Human Rights framework, help envision a broader model of peace and justice.

Various models, concepts and approaches developed by CSJ, such as Rehnuma and Nyayika, integrate into a cohesive legal framework.

LAW CENTRES The Centres are the point of interface between the community and CSJ. For the community, the Law Centre is a fixed location where all forms of legal aid and advice is provided. The Law Centre also operates as a ‘safe space’ for counselling of victims/survivors and conciliation proceedings.

These Centres’ main objective is to simplify and demystify legal procedures and to offer quick legal solutions to its clients, making the system client friendly and hence, accessible.

WE WORK FOR EQUAL RIGHTS OF THE MARGINALISED COMMUNITIES

RIGHT OF PEOPLE DISPLACED OVER LAND

RIGHTS OF LABOURERS

RIGHTS OF CHILDREN

RIGHTS OF WOMEN AFFECTED BY VIOLENCE

RIGHTS OF FOREST DWELLERS

RIGHTS OF FISHERFOLK

RIGHTS OF DALITS

RIGHTS OF MINORITIES

CSJ has 14 centres in the State of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. Additionally, it has seven centres called ‘Rehnuma - A facilitation and Entitlement Centre for Vulnerability Group’ in partnership with other organisations in Karnataka, Telangana, West Bengal and Odisha with a specific focus on minority rights.

BHOPAL, SAGAR: Child Rights, Dalit and Adivasi Rights, Women's Rights, Minority Rights, Street Vendors, Safai Karamcharis, Rights to Trans Persons HOWRAH: Minority Rights

UTTAR GUJARAT: Forest Rights, Land Rights, Labour Rights, Minority Rights, Rights of Safai Karamcharis, Right of Farmers, Women's Rights

SAURASHTRA: Hijrati Rehabilitaion Scheme, Fisherfolk Rights, Farmer's Rights, Women's Rights, Land Rights, Labour Rights, Minority Rights

GUMLA: Minority Rights KANDHAMAL: Minority Rights

SOUTH GUJARAT: PESA, FRA, Land Rights, Labour Rights, Women's Rights, Minority Rights

RAIPUR, BILASPUR: Child Rights, Disability Rights, Witch-Craft, Women's Rights

GULBARGA: Minority Rights

RANGA REDDY: Minority Rights

OUR REACH

OUR IMPACT 2017-18

RIGHTS OF FOREST DWELLERS UNDER FRA CSJ's Law Centre has assisted the community members in filing 139 cases and in making 304 claims as per the FRA and associated schemes

RIGHTS OF WOMEN, DALITS, PEOPLE DISPLACED OVER LAND CSJ supported 350 community members in filing applications for claims and has helped file 99 cases before the court on issues of land.

RIGHTS OF CHILDREN CSJ has filed 26 cases of sexual abuse of children under the POCSO Act, 2012; Also, enabled 75 paralegal volunteers to approach any socio-legal issue pertaining to child rights violation from a rightbased perspective.

RIGHTS OF DALIT

RIGHTS OF MINORITIES

We filed 3 court cases, provided

Through its various law centers, CSJ reached out to 25000 people

legal aid in 4 instances and filed 6 applications for victim compensation. Fact-finding was conducted in 11 cases and 25 accused were convicted for Dalit atrocity.

by carrying out 1900 outreach activites in the form of 1948 village visits/village meetings and 25 awareness camps.

RIGHTS OF WOMEN AGAINST VIOLENCE CSJ filed 306 cases and claims related to women rights across all centers, and 15 survivors were provided benefits of Relief and Rehabilitation for Victims of Rape schemes.

Rs.

11,33,07,326

received by our beneficiaries as compensation as a result of our interventions.

In a gang rape case of a minor girl in Amreli district of Gujarat, the offenders had constantly been threatening the family of the victim to withdraw the case. Our Amreli Law Centre provided all necessary support to the victim and her family in order to help them continue the case, including: Police protection to victim and her family Boost the confidence of the victim to recount and state the incidents as they happened A compensation of INR 50,000/- as an aid under the Rape Victim Compensation Scheme to the victim Necessary legal support provided to ensure rejection of bail application of, offenders leading to their arrest and reduction in their political and economic influence on victims To procure faster trial of the case by the Honourable High Court of Gujarat

This case witnessed a lot of challenges in terms of the Lawyers causing mental agony to the victim and her family to settle the case.

They threatened that the offender’s bail application will be approved and he will walk not guilty by providing reasons such as late filing of the complaint and the negative report.

In such conditions, the bail application had been rejected.

Additionally, the local Police forced the victim to wait entire night at the police station before filing the FIR.

In such a scenario, it was a major challenge for the CSJ team to keep the victim and her family motivated to run the trial while the society was pressurizing them for settlement.

Centre for Social Justice is working towards building a system system in which a legal recourse for violation of any right is accessible by people from all sections of the society But we cannot do this alone. We rely on donations from people like you to sustain our operations, and to reach out to more people in distress.

With Rs.

1,000

a month

you can help provide legal services to 5 people in distress at our law centers

Together, let’s turn the wheel of law towards an equal and just society.

Centre for Social Justice is an initiative of Institute for Development Education and Learning - IDEAL, a non proďŹ t Indian organisation, registered as a Society under the Societies Registration Act' 1860 vide registration number : Guj/4119/Ahmedabad.

Donations to Institute for Development Education and Learning - IDEAL are exempt under 80G of the Income Tax Act ASAR/FAIRTALES has been appointed by Institute for Development Education and Learning - IDEAL, to provide resource raising services. This allows Institute for Development Education and Learning - IDEAL, to have wider access and personalised representation at a lower cost among donors.

PRIVACY STATEMENT Institute for Development Education and Learning IDEAL is committed to protecting the privacy of our donors. We do not sell, rent, loan, trade or lease our donor data to anyone. The information received is kept conďŹ dential and is only disclosed to such third parties as may be necessary to process the donation.

Centre for Social Justice Initiative of: Institute for Development Education and Learning- IDEAL C-106, Royal Chinmay, Opposite IOC Pump, Off Judges Bungalow Road, Bodakdev Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380054 / Phone: + 91-79-26854248 Website: www.centreforsocialjustice.net / Email: socjust@gmail.com