Mr. Charlie Prakash is a young lawyer practicing at the Allahabad High Court. He has been associated with leading social litigation group Human Rights Law Network. He is currently working on the issues of human right violations in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Vishal Kumar Singh interviewed Mr. Prakash, Here’s candid conversation:
Tell us about your journey to the law college. How did you choose law as a career option?
I have completed my graduation in Political Science and I completed my 3 year law degree from the Allahabad University in 2015. I had interest in the field of political science and pursued it with my interest in legal studies.
What basically inspired you to opt for the pro-bono litigation?
– During my students days I was very interested in the Human Rights issue and I got to develop my interest in the field of social service through an interest in the Human Rights Law Network. I formed a group for minority group for the Christian and minority group. I worked with HRLN for rain water conservation and hunger death. I did field visits. HRLN chose me student of Human Rights. I attended meetings of acid attack victims etc. As a student, I did 16 PILs in the Hon’ble Allahabad High Court in around one and a half years, which is still a record in entire Uttar Pradesh. These PILs were helpful for the society but at the same time these PILs also helped me to grow as a lawyer in Human Rights field.
Tell us about your first Public Interest Litigation
– My first PIL was regarding the hunger death issue in Uttar Pradesh. At first I was scared but gradually I got to contest that case successfully. I learned the legal drafting, fact finding etc for the PIL and during this process, I realized that there is nothing like Shining India that ever existed. I got the opportunity to personally argue in this matter before the Allahabad High Court. Arguing before Allahabad High Court was not an easy task. A lot of senior lawyers were there and as an intern it was my first time before any bench. So, I was a bit nervous but as it was for the sake of society, I realized that I have a greater responsibility and thus, I got the fair order from the court. But my first interesting PIL was regarding the issue of entrance of girls in the library of Aligarh Muslim University in which the girls were banned from entry in the library in night. I made a report and presented before the hon’ble Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court. The court issued a notice to the Vice Chancellor of the AMU and this rule was changed by the AMU. So, this was a very practical experience which helped me to connect to the day to day issues which people face but they never speak.
You have worked with an Organization called the Freedom Firm for 18 months. What did you do there?
– In Freedom Firm is a Pune based organization and I worked as the Legal Advisor of the firm. It worked in the field to provide relief to the Human Trafficking Victims particularly girls who were in their adolescence. I worked in Meerut, Pratapgarh, Allahabad districts of UP and I was lucky enough to be with them in a few rescue operations and raids. I helped in rescuing 7 girls in a raid in Ratlam city. I also played a very crucial role in closing down the Red Light area in Allahabad. The court passed an order to vacate that area. The court also ordered health check up of rescued girls. Lately, 80 more girls were rescued.
What are the current issues you are working on?
– Currently, I am working for the release of 3000 prisoners who illegally jailed in various prisons in UP. These prisoners are in jail for more than around 20 years and they are old, ill and disabled. UP government does not have any rules and guidelines for the release of these prisoners. On 26th January 2019 i.e., on the occasion of Republic Day, around 1800 prisoners will be released from various prisons in UP. Prior to this, I raised the issue of Deoria Shelter Home Case in which the court ordered for the proper guidelines regarding managing the shelter homes. A team of 16 interns is working with me and till date around 300 law students have interned with me who have worked with me on various human rights issues so far.
Uttar Pradesh is turning into Encounter Pradesh. What are your views on it and what HRLN is doing in this regard?
– The HRLN has sent a lot of applications to the National Human Rights Commission in this regard. In last one and half year the new government in the state has done 1200 fake encounters in which around 50 people were killed. Most of the deceased persons are either from the minority community or from the dalit community. The current government has developed a trend to kill the innocent and poor people and protect the aids or goons supported by the local leaders of the ruling party. This is not a duty of the state to do encounters. Even the Hon’ble Supreme Court has scolded the state government on this issue and strictly said that these encounters are not justified in any way. In the case of PUCL it has been already held that these encounters are purely illegal and have no justification. It is a sheer violation of the Human Rights.
Uttar Pradesh is being the soft target for the mob lynching and killings. What are your views and what is your finding in this regard?
– Recently our team visited in Meerut district in which during a flag march a mob lynching and murder was committed. The main agenda of this government is to make anti-muslim policies and divide the common masses in the name of religion. The government even shut down the slaughterhouses in UP. The court ordered to open the slaughterhouses and instructed to make rules in that regard. The government is focused more upon cows than human beings. Even in Goa and North-Eastern States the BJP government has not banned beef but in UP, they have banned it. The present government is playing dirty politics in the name of Hindutva. Due to this a lot of lynching incidents have been reported and the government is responsible for this.
A whole new breed of lawyers is being prepared in the Law Schools around the country who are more interested in the Corporate law sector instead of Human Rights. What are your views on this?
– I wish that the students should opt for the social litigation and pro-bono cases. The coming generations of law need to stand for the women, dalits and minorities in the society. Law field is a great career option and it’s a way of giving back what you have earned from the society. Corporate law is also a great and promising career option, big corporate houses can afford great lawyers and pay a hefty amount in fees but we should understand that the young lawyers need to stand for such people who do not have means to access to justice.
