Qualified Hope

The Indian Supreme Court is widely seen as a vanguard of progressive social change. Yet there are no systematic studies of whether its progressive decisions actually improve the lives of the relatively disadvantaged. This book presents the first collection of original empirical studies on the impact of the Indian Supreme Court's most progressive decisions. Combining original datasets with in-depth qualitative research, the chapters provide a rigorous examination of the conditions under which judicial decisions can make a difference to those in need. These studies reveal that the Indian Supreme Court, like its US counterpart, is largely constrained in its efforts. Yet, through the broad sweep of constitutional rights in the Indian Constitution, the Court's procedural innovations, and its institutional independence, the Indian Supreme Court can sometimes make a difference - in the lives of those most in need.

Gerald N. Rosenberg is Associate Professor of Political Science and Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago. He is the author of The Hollow Hope: Can Courts Bring About Social Change? (2nd edition, 2008) which has been awarded the Laing Prize by the University of Chicago Press and the Wadsworth Award from the American Political Science Association. Sudhir Krishnaswamy is on the faculty of Azim Premji University, Bangalore. He has served as the Dr B. R. Ambedkar Visiting Professor of Indian Constitutional Law at Columbia University Law School and as the Director of the School of Policy and Governance at Azim Premji University, Bangalore. Shishir Bail is completing a Ph.D. in Anthropology at Columbia University. He has served as a law-clerk to Justice Anil R. Dave of the Supreme Court of India and as a Research Associate at the School of Policy and Governance at Azim Premji University.