Common Cause Events
Memoirs of a Top Cop: Unforgettable Chapters*
On September 1, 2024, Common Cause and the Indian Police Foundation co-organised a book launch of wellknown former DGP Prakash Singh at the India International Centre, New Delhi. Justice Madan Lokur graced the event as the chief guest.
Justice Lokur, in his address, recalled his encounters with Mr Singh while filing the PIL on police reforms. “He filed the PIL with fantastic research which led to a commendable judgement,” he said.
The former judge quoted some of the life mantras from the book that Mr Singh had followed during his years of service. “He dedicated his life to establishing the rule of law without compromise and used to keep his resignation in his pocket if he was made to compromise with the values enshrined in the Constitution,” added the former judge.
‘Memoirs of a Top Cop: Unforgettable Chapters’ is one of many books Mr Singh has authored on issues related to police and governance. In this book, he recalls some unforgettable experiences during his service.
In an attempt to go beyond being just a policeman, he filed a PIL seeking police accountability.
Consequently, the Supreme Court passed seven substantive guidelines in the Prakash Singh v UOI including the one to establish Police Complaints Authorities for the first time in the history of police administration. Mr Singh though rued the non-implementation of guidelines even after 27 years of the judgment.
Vipul Mudgal, director and chief executive of Common Cause, spoke about his association with Mr Singh as a journalist. Mr Singh liked to spend time with the constables, the lowest rung of his colleagues, not because it was a matter of public relations but because Mr Singh believed that every one deserved equal grace. The book is not about Mr Singh, it is about the issues in the police administration and governance which he experienced, he said. Mr Singh, as I have understood from the book, is a man born into a relative privilege but has given back more to the society, he added. He said police reforms were more about police accountability rather than political correctness. Our views are important and valuable but our integrity is priceless, he said, reflecting on the author’s distinguished service.
Online Consultation on Social Audits and Policing
On July 13, 2024, a group of domain experts held an online meeting to discuss the potential for social audit of the police in India. This was a follow-up to a larger discussion on revising and broadening the existing social audit standards.
The consultation was organised by the Social Accountability Forum for Action & Research along with Devika Prasad and Devyani Srivastava, both of whom have worked extensively on policing. Radhika Jha from Common Cause took part along with representatives from other civil society organisations, academics and researchers.
Some of the issues discussed were the possibility of adapting the Objectives and Minimum Principles of social audits to policing, existing provisions for auditing in legislations such as the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, and learning from, as well as distinguishing the social audits from, community policing models.
Online Consultation on AI: Setting Priorities for the Global Coalition for Tech Justice”
On July 11, 2024, the Global Coalition for Tech Justice organised an online meet on the priority areas of concern around artificial intelligence, particularly during elections and in human rights spaces.
Radhika Jha from Common Cause participated in the meeting as a Steering Committee representative.
Among the topics discussed in the meeting were challenges arising out of the use of AI in elections and democracies, such as the use of AI to target human rights activists, journalists and civil society members, targeting of women and girls, the shortcomings of AI tools in countering online hate speech and fake news, etc. Member organisations from various countries joined the meeting.
General Assembly Meeting of Global Coalition for Tech Justice
On July 25, 2024, the Global Coalition for Tech Justice convened a general assembly of over 150 member organisations and individuals. The discussion took stock of the efforts and impact made by the Coalition on ensuring tech justice and the impact of Big Tech on elections across the world, as well as a review of the issues focused on by the Coalition.
Radhika Jha from Common Cause participated in the meeting as a member of the Steering Committee and talked about the learnings and activities of the Coalition and some avenues for going forward.
Data for Justice: A Colloquium on Criminal Justice in India
The India Justice Report team, in collaboration with Project 39A, National Law University, Delhi, organised a two-day colloquium on criminal justice in India on September 7-8, 2024.
The panelists included former judges, economists, academicians as well as researchers, who spoke about the need for data in criminal justice, the challenges of dealing with official data, different ways of creating data and the future of data in criminal justice.
Some eminent speakers included S Muralidhar, Former Chief Justice of Odisha High Court, Mahesh Vyas, Managing Director and CEO of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy and Karthik Muralidharan, Tata Chancellor’s Professor of Economics, University of California, San Diego. Vipul Mudgal, Radhika Jha and Udit Singh from Common Cause participated in the colloquium.
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