Court on Trial: A Data-Driven Account of the Supreme Court of India

The Indian Supreme Court was established nearly seventy-five years ago as a core part of India’s constitutional project. Does the Court live up to the ideals of justice imagined by the framers of the Indian Constitution? Critics of the Supreme Court point out that it takes too long to adjudicate cases, a select group of senior advocates exercise disproportionate influence on the outcome of cases, the Chief Justice of India strategically assigns cases with an eye to outcome, and the self-appointments process-known as the collegium-is just another ’old boy’s network’. Building on nearly a decade of original empirical research, this book examines these and other controversies plaguing the Supreme Court today.

Aparna Chandra (Author)
Aparna Chandra is a constitutional lawyer with an expertise in Indian constitutional law among other areas. She is currently an associate professor of law at the National Law School of India University, and has previously worked at the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal and the National Law University, Delhi where she founded the Centre for Constitutional Law, Policy and Governance. She has assisted the Law Commission of India in various reports and has been appointed as amicus curiae by the Delhi High Court in matters involving the interface between constitutional and criminal laws.

Sital Kalantry (Author)
Sital Kalantry is an international lawyer and expert in comparative law with a focus on human rights and court systems in India and the US. She is a professor of law and associate dean at the Seattle University School of Law, and has previously been at the Cornell Law School and University of Chicago Law School. She is the author of Women’s Human Rights and Migration and dozens of articles. She is also the director of the India Center for Law and Justice and runs a podcast titled A Law in Common: India and the United States.

William H.J. Hubbard (Author)
William H.J. Hubbard is a lawyer, economist and expert in the empirical study of courts. He is a professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School, editor of the Journal of Legal Studies, research fellow at the American Bar Foundation and has served as director and president of the Society for Empirical Legal Studies. He is the author of Civil Procedure: An Integrated Approach and a number of other articles.