Indian Justice System: Biased or Unbiased?

EN1102

Prof. Dr Arup Kumar Chatterjee

Introduction
The film Court is directed by a young director Chaitanya Tamhane aged 27 years old, and
through this film, Chaitanya made his debut as a director in the film industry. The film has
bagged many accolades; the National film award, prestigious awards such as the Venice Film
Festival-Luigi De Laurentiis, and Venice Horizons Award. Further, it was also nominated for the
Oscars. ("Court wins National Film Award as it gears up for its theatrical release"). As shown in the
famous Bollywood films, a courtroom drama usually attempts to engage with its viewers through
elements such as gripping arguments, a zealous orator, and a developing case. In the end, a happy
or tragic resolution in these movies is served on a platter to the viewers, but the movie Court, on
the other hand, is devoid of these elements. It's a rare film that weaves its story around the
mundane lives of ordinary people while also depicting the irony of a trial in an Indian courtroom
beautifully. Also, it doesn't provide a set frame to the viewers watching the film and interpret it in
a manner desired by the filmmakers but instead, being neutral gives the viewers the discretion to
broaden the horizon of their thoughts on the film. The arguments made in this courtroom drama
are full of jargon and are based on the rote interpretation of laws.
Court is centered around an aged Marathi folk singer inhabiting Mumbai, Narayan
Kamble (Vira Sathidar), arrested on a baseless accusation. He is alleged of performing a poetry
show that invoked a manhole worker, Vasudev Pawar, to commit suicide by going inside a
gutter, and Kamble is therefore responsible for the man's death. Vinay Vora, whose role is
played by Vivek Gombre, is a well-educated, well-off lawyer and a proponent of human rights
who takes up Narayan's case. On the other side representing the state is the public prosecutor
Nutan whose role is played by Geetanjali Kulkarni; she is not at all bothered with the sufferings
of Narayan and remains aloof from logic throughout the trial. The other character is Judge
Sadavarte (Pradeep Joshi), a superstitious man. He is also not much interested in the case but
only interprets the laws concerning the case before him.

The Court also shows the stark class division between both these lawyers. On the one
hand, we have Vivek Gombre buying his groceries from a posh departmental store and spending
his evenings in expensive clubs listening to jazz music. On the contrary, because of the limited
economic resources, affording good quality oil is even a luxury for Nutan and travelling on a
crowded local train is a very normal part of her life. Apart from the portrayal of class division,
the entire film serves as a mirror for society to reflect on the reality of its ailing justice system,
which unfortunately fosters discrimination based on Casteism and gender. Due to gender and
caste biases, the justice system fails to provide fair justice to those who seek it, rather than
stimulating ideas of equality. The film focuses on the actors in the judiciary, including judges,
lawyers, and the laws. It is because of these actors' inherent biases that imparting justice fairly
becomes a failure. While some laws are patriarchal or display ideas of equality on paper but lose
meaning in practice, some judges are also not impartial.
Women in Court
One of the most captivating scenes in Court is that of a woman who has been denied hearing just
because of wearing a sleeveless top as a sleeveless top violates the court's 'code of conduct.'
(Zaman). It can be assumed that if the woman who was pleading before the court had worn a top
with sleeves, she would not have denied a hearing because such a top would be 'modest.' This
demonstrates the presence of rules in our judiciary that limit women's freedom to the point where
they are not even allowed to wear the clothes of their choice. Such discriminatory laws expect
women to behave in a specific manner. However, this is just one instance of discrimination
against women in our legal system. There are numerous instances of this nature which
demonstrate how the stereotypical biases against women are rooted in the Indian legal system.
Also, the source of most of these biases is the patriarchal mentality of Indian society that allows
these discriminatory rules or laws to prevail.

One such law that reflects the patriarchy of the Indian society is Section 354 of the Indian
Penal Code. It says that anyone who assaults or uses criminal force towards a woman with the
intention of outraging or knowing that such action would outrage her modesty would be
punished for a term not less than one year extending up to 5 years along with a fine. Section 10
of the code defines a 'woman' as a female human being of any age, which should ideally include
even infants and children who may not understand the severity of assault they are subjected to
(Gupta). It's unfortunate that the code doesn't give much consideration to the subject matter of
the section, which is 'modesty.' The judges have consulted dictionaries to overcome the absurdity
associated with the word 'modesty' of the section. The eighth edition of the Oxford dictionary
provides the meaning of the word according to which modesty is dressing so as not to show your
body or attract sexual attention (Gupta). If we use this definition to understand what does the
word implies, then we expect a woman to be dressed in such a manner so that the opposite sex
doesn't get seduced and sexually harass her. Here, the prime determining factor as to whether the
aggrieved woman can access justice becomes how she was dressed at the time of the sexual
assault. This interpretation gives society an incentive to blame such a heinous crime on the
victim instead of punishing the culprit who perpetrated the assault. It is challenging to
comprehend how wearing clothes that cover the entire body prevents women from getting
harassed. Instead of attacking the mentality that leads to sexual assault, we are more concerned
about limiting women's freedom to dress the way they desire.

Further, the judgments given in the court reflect the biases of the judges against the
women. The judges in multiple cases have passed such remarks that become controversial and
reflect their patriarchal mentality. In one of the cases, the Punjab and Haryana High Court
suspended the sentences of three students sentenced by the trial court for the rape of another
student. The victim's "misadventures and experiments," her "promiscuity," and the absence of
brutal violence accompanying the sexual assault formed the basis. (Nair)Here, how can we
justify the sexual assault of a girl on the grounds of her promiscuity? The determining factor
should have been the consent, not her 'promiscuity' or 'misadventures and experiments.'
However, the reasoning employed by the judges, in this case, stems from the patriarchal notion
that a woman is expected to protect her chastity or 'honour' and that if she doesn't do so, then
getting assaulted is her fault. The judges in multiple cases have passed such remarks that become
controversial and reflect their patriarchal mentality.

Moreover, the representation of women in the judiciary is also worrying, as revealed by

the Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association's report submitted by the association in
furtherance of seeking the Supreme Court to issue an order for the appointment of more
competent and deserving women lawyers. (Agrawal). The reports show eye-opening statistics.
These range from an appalling ratio of women judges in the Supreme Court in total to only eight
women since independence. The representation of women judges keeps decreasing as we go up
in the hierarchy of courts in India; in the Supreme Court since independence, only eight women
judges have been appointed. This has been indicated in reports of Tata Trusts, namely, 'India
Justice Report 2020'. The report says that in the span of twenty years, the numbers signifying the
representation of women in higher courts have seen only a marginal increase of two percent from
11% to 13 %. (Agrawal). In lower courts also the numbers are dismal; only a two percent
increase has been witnessed, from 28% to 30 %. (Agrawal).

In India, the collegium system is followed for the appointment of judges in High Courts
and the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice of India, along with the Supreme Court's four most
senior judges, appoints judges to the High Courts and Supreme Court under this system. This
system also shows the sparse representation of women, till date, only two women judges have
been part of the collegium, Justice Bhanumathy and Justice Bhumapal. Surprisingly, currently,
the Supreme Court only has one woman judge while none in the collegium. (Agrawal). The
misrepresentation in the Indian Courts can be considered one of the causes behind the patriarchal
and insensitive remarks given by the judges in the instances mentioned earlier. If we don't have
women judges in our justice system, then expecting fair justice for the women seeking the courts
is a mere illusion.

Casteism and Court

Throughout the film, the theme that occupies the central place is the oppression based on the
identity of caste. The main issue in the movie revolves around Narayan Kamble, an anti-caste
activist, and the deceased Vasudev Pawar, who also belonged to the lower caste. Tamhane took
the inspiration for Court from a documentary Jai Bhim Comrade released in the year 2011,
directed by Anand Patwardhan. (Keienburg,7-9). This documentary highlights the atrocities of
caste. It begins with the suicide of Vilas Ghogre, a Dalit poet and singer, and in the latter part of
the film, the brutal killings of the families of the Dalit community of Ramabai in Maharashtra.
(Keienburg,7-9). Both the films have suicide as their central theme. Taking its inspiration from
such a documentary explains why the issues regarding the oppression of the Dalit community are
at the heart of the movie. Additionally, the poetry sung by Narayan Kamble was composed by
one of Maharashtra's most well-known Dalit activists, Sambhaji Bhagat, and even Vira Sathidar,
who played the role of Narayan Kamble on the screen, is a real-life anti-caste activist.
Consequently, the film's main plot is influenced by the cast as well as the script reflecting the
caste oppression deep-rooted in the Indian legal system.

The ignorance of caste in the legal system in Court rightly portrays the plight of the
marginalized sections of society. (Sundar) The main reason for the suffering of these sections
and poor economic status constitutes their low caste identity. The occupation of a manhole
worker taken up by Vasudev Pawar is itself reflective of the atrocities that his community faces,
since, under the caste system, all the undignified works such as sewage cleaning, manual
scavenging, etc. are to be performed by the lower castes and these people despite doing such
undignified and dangerous jobs aren't paid enough. Thus, they can't even afford necessities such
as proper housing, sanitation, and education, and this also shows there is a direct correlation
between occupation and caste. Still, this correlation is not even once examined in the court;
instead, the health and safety jargon substitutes it. Even Kamble's anti-caste activism loses its
significance in front of Sadavarte, and this activism is considered a threat to the society, further
suppressing the anti-caste activism.

Moreover, the colonial laws which the Britishers framed to prevent any voices of dissent
play a crucial role in further worsening the circumstances of the trial by stimulating caste-based
oppression. In Court by the public prosecutor Nutan, it is argued that Kamble in the past has
violated the Dramatic Performances Act, which was enacted in the Colonial era in India to
suppress the voice of dissent, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, another draconian
law under which he is a threat to the "sovereignty and integrity of India." (Sundar). Nutan also
argues that Kamble had already been warned not to perform such songs which are "seditious in
nature and harmful to the general society."( Sundar) As India is a democratic country, voicing
dissent is the right of every individual and the importance of this right increases for the
marginalized sections of the society. These sections often display their dissent in satirical plays
or folk songs to attract the attention of society and the state towards their oppression, but if this
dissent is taken as a threat to the nation, then the upliftment of such sections become nearly
impossible. Further, the state responsible for providing safety equipment to the manhole workers
is not held liable in Court. Instead, the blame for the death of Vasudev Pawar is shifted to
Kamble.

Moreover, the caste-based biases of judges also become an obstacle in imparting fair justice to
those who seek it.  In 2018, the Supreme Court's Justices A.K. Goel and U.U. Lalit condemned
the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, as
"perpetuating Casteism" and a threat to "constitutional values" in an order. [vii] Similarly, in the
year 2019, to the chagrin of the 'Independence of the judiciary,' a sitting judge of the Kerala High
Court, Justice V. Chitambaresh[v], made a controversial remark about the virtues of Brahmins
and urged them to demand economic reservation at the Tamil Brahmin's Global Meet last year.
He continued by describing Brahmins as having 'distinctive features' from others and being
'twice-born. (Mishra). Such remarks make us think about the deep roots of Casteism in the
structure of our judiciary.

Conclusion
In sum, the movie Court unravels several blemishes in our legal system, which were never
portrayed by the Indian cinema in such a realistic manner. These flaws usually aren't
observable at the surface but instead operate silently as legal violence. (Bargi). From bizarre
rules dictating what constitutes women's modesty to the suppression and overlooking of the
deep-seated social evil of Casteism, it appears as though Narayan Kamble is not on trial in
the film, but rather the Indian judicial system is. The Preamble to the Indian Constitution
does mention the principles of equality and justice in every sphere; social, political and
economic (The Constitution of India, 1950, Preamble). The Indian Constitution itself consists
of provisions such as Ar. 14, which guarantees every individual the right to equality and
Ar.15, which prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of
birth. (The Constitution of India, 1950, Art. 14,15).However, as described, these provisions
and ideas get diluted in practice in ways such as misrepresentation, patriarchy, ignorance of
social evils such as caste and the personal biases of the judges who are responsible for
providing fair justice to the needy. While the fact that the judges are also human beings and
may have their personal partiality cannot be denied, the inclusion of such partialities should
be made as little as possible or such partialities themselves can be deemed unconstitutional.
References:

1. Agrawal, Shubha. "Discussion Around Women's Representation in the Judiciary

Again: Genuine Talk or Empty Noise?" Academike Articles on Legal Issues, 3
May.2021. https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/discussion-around-womens-
representation-in-the-judiciary-again-genuine-talk-or-empty-noise/
2. Bargi, Drishadwati. "Legal Violence and its Unacknowledged Terrain in
Chaitanya Tamhane's Court.", Economic and Political Weekly, 53 (23), 9 June
2018.https://jguelibrary.informaticsglobal.com:2123/journal/2018/23/
perspectives/legal-violence-and-its-unacknowledged-terrain-chaitanya-tamhanes-
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3. Gupta, Harshita." Insulting Modesty of Women and Sec - 354 of Indian Penal
Code", Center of New Economic Studies, Op Jindal Global University 30 June.
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%3DCourt_Spectacular_Success_of_a_Fairly_Un.pdf.
5. Mishra, Kanak. "CASTEIST REMARKS AND POLITICAL STATEMENTS BY
SITTING JUDGES". The Legal Aid Cell of DNLU, 29 June.2020.
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6. Nair, Amrita. "Unmasking the misogyny of Indian courts". The Leaflet
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misogyny-of-indian-courts/#
7. Sundar, Vijay. "Film review: Court, a commentary on legalised Caste
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https://gaurilankeshnews.com/court-film-review-commentary-on-legalised-state-
sanctioned-caste-oppression/.
8. The Constitution of India, 1950, Preamble ( Justice, Social, Economic and
Political) https://www.constitutionofindia.net/constitution_of_india/preamble
9. The Constitution of India, 1950, Art.14, Art.15
https://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/COI.pdf

10. Zaman, Ehraz (2021 March 31) A Study of Symbolism and Themes of Court.
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themes/.
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up-for-its-theatrical-release.