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One-day training with youth on constitutional rights and social justice

A one day training was organised by Part-III with youth in Patna, to create awareness about the use of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. About 40-45 students from various faculties of Patna University, undergraduate and postgraduate, participated in the training.

The training saw discussions on the basics of criminal procedure right from the stage of filing an FIR to the stage of obtaining a judgment from the Sessions Court. The session also elaborated on the options available to a victim/complainant when faced with challenges in interacting with the criminal procedure. Most of the participants said that they raise complaints verbally. When they write to the authorities regarding any incident, they often do not have evidence to submit with the written complaint. They do not have photocopies of the complaint, as the authorities refuse to provide proof of receipt of the complaint/letter. In this training, part-III added to the importance of creating written evidence/record through documentation, letter writing and proof of registered post to the trainees while initiating a complaint against atrocities.

The participants also shared several incidents of caste atrocities, which were experienced by them personally or by members of their community. These included negative marking targeted at students, land disputes, incidents of assault due to use of abusive language in conversation and incidents that took place in the hostel. The participants, while sharing their experiences, also said that when they try to register a case after being tortured, the police suppresses it and pressurizes the accused to get a counter case registered against the students, especially by involving the POCSO Act, and as a result they are forced to compromise keeping their careers in mind. Commenting on this issue, Vipul said that there is no provision for compromise in this law, however, social conditions, lack of information and lack of a strong public organization have made it a norm

The session concluded with a discussion on the specific provisions of the PoA law, and the potential ways in which the students would like to remain connected with the issues being discussed therein.

Prashant Kumar

Prashant works as an Associate (Litigation) at Bihar office of PART -III, where he conducts litigation before the district courts and the High Court at Patna. Previously, he was an Assistant Legal Aid Defence Counsel at Bilaspur District Court in Chhattisgarh where he served as a public defender, extending legal aid to prisoners while in prison, as well as before the court at all stages of criminal trial. Prior to his work in Bilaspur, he worked at Human Rights Law Network, Delhi, where he was representing survivors of various human rights violations, before multiple fora in Delhi, and was also involved in conducting legal awareness camps and fact findings. He specialises in disability & mental health law.

Prashant holds a degree in Computer Science & Engineering from Uttar Pradesh Technical University. He is also a Social Work graduate from Delhi School of Social Work and holds a law degree from Law Center II, University of Delhi. Prashant strongly believes in grassroot activism and litigation to bring social change. He speaks English, Hindi, Magahi and Bhojpuri.

Pratima Kumari

Pratima Kumari is Bihar State Co-Ordinator for PART-III, where she provides para-legal assistance to survivors of identity-based violence. She also designs and conducts workshops with community members, youth and important stakeholders on rights of survivors under the criminal justice system. She has been a social activist and advocate vocalising against child marriage and gender-based violence at the grassroot level for the past 16 years. She is the founder of Gaurav Gramin Mahila Vikas Manch (special cell for women and girls based out of Darbhanga, and established through like-minded groups at TISS Mumbai). She has worked as a co-ordinator at Yuva Shakti Samastipur, an organisation which builds awareness of constitutional values among youth. 

She is a Member of Internal Complaints Committee in Patna District constituted under the POSH Act, 2013, a member of the Patna District Vigilance and Monitoring Committee constituted under the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and a member of the Patna District Level Vigilance Committee constituted under The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.

She holds an LLB Degree from Lalit Narayan Mithila University and is currently pursuing M.A in Sociology from Nalanda Open University. She speaks Maithili, Magahi, Bhojpuri, Hindi, and understands English.

Hamza Tariq

Hamza’s work at Part-three as Associate (Litigation and Research) spans issues of jal, jangal, zameen and identity based violence with special focus  on displacement, dispossession, rights of forest dwellers and caste-based violence.  He has previously practiced law for 2 years in different judicial forums in Delhi and  worked as a Young Professionals Program for Legal Empowerment (YYPLE) fellow for Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Ahmedabad. 

He graduated from National Law School of India University, Bengaluru in 2020. Hamza speaks Hindi and English. 

Joicy Milun Zou

Joicy works as an Associate (Litigation and Research), where she provides research and litigation support on Gender based violence cases in Delhi. As a lawyer Joicy has worked in the realm of human rights for two years’ at Human Rights Law Network (HRLN). Her work is largely associated with instances of gender-based violence and infringement of rights of persons with disabilities. She also has teaching experience of over 5 years as a primary school teacher.

Joicy holds a Masters Degree in English Literature and is a Law graduate from Campus Law Center (Delhi University).  Joicy speaks Zou (her mother tongue), Meitei, Hindi and English, she also understands Mizo and 9 other dialects of Manipur.

Vanshika Mohta

Vanshika works as an Associate (Litigation and Research), where she works with survivors of identity based violence, specifically caste atrocities, including engaging with lawyers and advising on litigation in Bihar. She also works as a researcher on issues plaguing systems designed to address identity-based violence. She has previously worked at NITI Aayog as a Young Professional and at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas.

Vanshika holds a B.A. LL.B. (Hons) from National Law University, Jodhpur.  Vanshika speaks English, Hindi and Tamil.

Sanjana Srikumar

Sanjana works as the Lead (Litigation and Research), where she engages with legal processes to uphold fundamental rights. Sanjana has over six years of experience as a litigator and researcher. During this time, she has remained particularly interested in community-led strategic litigation to advance civil liberties and socio-economic rights. Sanjana has also been involved in landmark constitutional challenges, under the mentorship of Sanjay Parikh, Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court. She has also been affiliated with leading human rights organisations in India and abroad, such as Internet Freedom Foundation, Media Defence, Access Now and Columbia Global Freedom of Expression. 

Sanjana holds a B.A. LL.B. (Hons) from the National Law University, Jodhpur in India and an LL.M. from Columbia University, where she was a scholar at the Center for Public Research & Leadership. Sanjana speaks English, Hindi and Tamil.

Vipul Kumar

Vipul is the Founder and the Program Director at Part III.  A passionate researcher and human rights professional, Vipul has worked for over 9  years on the intersections of law, justice and criminalisation of the oppressed communities. Working with national and local networks, Vipul has engaged extensively with community based leaders to create tools of documentation apart from popularising human rights discourse among community based organisations. 

Vipul holds a MA Social Work degree with specialisation in Criminology and Justice from Tata institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Vipul speaks Hindi and English. 

Mangla Verma

Mangla is the Founder and Executive Director at Part III. She specialises in strategic litigation and advocacy. For more than 10 years Mangla has worked within the criminal justice system advocating and litigating contemporary human rights issues. During this journey she worked closely and collaboratively with leading experts in criminal law, constitutional law and human rights including Ms. Indira Jaising, Mr. Prashant Bhushan, Mr. Harsh Mander, Mr. Colin Gonsalves and Ms. Vrinda Grover. Apart from litigation Mangla strongly advocates that thorough ground research and documentation are important components to engage in constructive dialogue and strengthen the cause for justice. 

Mangla graduated in Law in 2011 and holds a B.A.LL.B. (Hons) from Symbiosis Law School, Pune. Mangla speaks Hindi, English and understands Marathi.