From left to right:Mrs. Priya P V, Mrs. Manoranjini Thomas, mrs. D K Sandarshini, Mrs. Geetha S P, Mr. Manohar Bettjewargi, Mr. Sagar Mudhol, Ms. Deepika Hungenahally and Mr. Robin Christopher Thomas
Making justice accessible is key to achieving an egalitarian society, yet justice remains distant to many owing to the existing geographical, social and economic disparities in the society. ‘Nyaaya’ is committed to closing the last mile gap in accessing justice through its flagship initiative- the Samvidhaan Fellowship. Leading on the success of its inaugural cohort of the Samvidhaan fellowship in Karnataka, Nyaaya has expanded and launched its second cohort in Karnataka on the 2nd of December, 2024 at Shankaraa Foundation, Bengaluru. The Samvidhaan Fellowship aims to make justice accessible to the under-represented communities in Karnataka by empowering them with legal awareness and providing adequate legal representation though 9 district level lawyers called the Samvidhaan Fellows. The Samvidhaan Fellows work with the state government bodies and 14 partner NGOs catering to different communities across several districts of Karnataka.
To further the cause, the selected Fellows will conduct legal awareness training programmes across selected districts in Karnataka and answer legal questions, provide necessary pro-bono pre-litigation and litigation support to communities, especially women and children requiring hand-holding support. The Fellows will also create easy to understand and contextual legal content pieces in audio and video formats to enable widespread dissemination of critical legal rights of the citizens.
The second cohort of the Fellowship is led by advocates Ms. Deepika Hungenahalli, Mr. Gangadhara, Mrs. Geetha SP, Mr. Manohar Bettjewargi, Mrs. Manoranjini Thomas, Mrs.Priya P V, Mr. Robin Christopher, Mr. Sagar Mudhol and Mrs. Sandarshini D K from different districts of Karnataka but committed to the single cause of making justice accessible. The Fellows themselves attended a 2 day workshop at Bengaluru on the 2nd and 3rd of December, where they met with several NGOs working at the grassroot level to understand the needs and challenges of the communities that they cater to and will be working with for the next one year. The fellows also received training to sensitise themselves on issues concerning gender, castes, disability and sexual minorities by experienced resource persons from diverse professional backgrounds.
About Nyaaya:
Nyaaya, an open-access repository of Simple, Actionable, Reliable, and Accessible Legal (SARAL) information, has made significant strides over the past 7 years. With a user reach of over 4 crores, Nyaaya has played a pivotal role in demystifying legal knowledge through 2,500 content pieces in text, video, and audio formats across multiple languages. Our efforts have empowered 640 legal volunteers to champion justice at the grassroots level. The inaugural cohort in Karnataka with 7 district lawyers was successful in reaching 5000 women and children through 130 legal awareness sessions and answering 300+ legal queries in person across a span of 12 months.
