Beyond The Old School Tie: Class Inequity In India’s Criminal Justice System And Comparative Lessons For Reform
- IJLLR Journal
- Sep 20
- 1 min read
Devendra Kumar Dedha, LLM Student at Penn State Dickinson Law, Served as Additional Secretary of the New Delhi Bar Association, andAddl Sect. Gen of Coordination Committee of All district Bar Association of Delhi.
ABSTRACT
Article 14 of the Indian Constitution proclaims equality before the law and equal protection within the territory of India. Yet, the operation of India’s criminal justice system reveals a profound gap between this constitutional promise and lived reality. The poor languish in pretrial detention for minor offenses because they cannot afford bail or competent counsel, while the wealthy, even when accused of massive financial frauds, deploy resources and elite legal teams to secure early release. Legal aid, though mandated by Article 39A, is underfunded and ineffective, leaving indigent defendants poorly represented. Within the profession itself, first-generation lawyers from rural or backward backgrounds encounter entrenched nepotism and elitism, where pedigree, English fluency, and family legacy outweigh legal merit. This article situates these inequities in the broader framework of class stratification, examines their impact on the credibility of Article 14, and draws comparative lessons from the United States and United Kingdom. Ultimately, it argues that India’s justice system has evolved into a two-tier structure—justice for the privileged, delay and denial for the poor—and proposes reforms to re-anchor criminal justice in constitutional equality.
