Indira Jaising on nepotism in the judiciary | Scroll Adda

The reason for Indian democracy’s downslide is the collapse of judiciary Few people know more about India’s courts than Indira Jaising. In a career spanning more than half a century, Jaising has practised both at the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court. On this episode of ‘Scroll Adda’, she speaks to Shoaib Daniyal on the ills plaguing the judiciary. Dynasty has taken over the courts, she says, leading to a lack of intellectual development. Bright young lawyers without family contacts are forced to leave litigation. The judiciary is not doing its job of being a check on the executive. Jaising argues that this government is simply ignoring the Constitution and the courts are unable to stop it. ‘The reason for Indian democracy’s downslide is the collapse of the judiciary,’ she says. Meanwhile, public movements like the Jantar Mantar protests, sparked by the Chief Justice’s ‘cockroach’ comment, show that anger against the judiciary is boiling over into the streets. Producer: Raghav Kakkar Host: Shoaib Daniyal Editor: Hyder Habib Chapters 00:00 Precap 02:12 ‘Sons of judges are judges’ 13:10 The cosy relationship between collegium and government 21:09 Government is ignoring the Constitution 25:29 Basic structure is dead 31:30 The Ram Mandir judgement 35:50 Corruption and the judiciary 39:30 The fear of contempt of court 45:36 Judges and cockroaches Subscribe to Scroll's YouTube channel and turn on your notifications, so you don't miss new videos. For more explainers, and the web’s most interesting videos - https://scroll.in/video/ For the latest news and analysis - https://scroll.in Support our award-winning journalism by becoming a Scroll member - https://scroll.in/contribute Follow Scroll.in here - Facebook:   / scroll.in   Twitter:   / scroll_in   Instagram:   / scroll_in   Threads: https://www.threads.net/@scroll_in Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/scroll.in