New Delhi

The main Delhi unit of the Socio-Legal Information Centre is situated in the city’s boisterous Bhogal area. This serves as SLIC’s headquarters and the organisation’s main interface with all levels of stakeholders. Its administrative and accounts offices coordinate with donors, supporters and all the state units.

The centre has a sizable litigation team that, apart from handling litigation at lower and higher courts, takes up cases from across the country at the Supreme Court level. In this process, social activists work closely with the lawyers. SLIC is committed to documenting case law and making it available in local languages through its publications, films and ‘know your rights’ material, and the Delhi office coordinates these activities by gathering information from across the country.



Main Concerns


1.    Women’s social justice: The unit works against all forms of gender-based violence, sexual harassment, women’s property and inheritance rights, witch hunting, acid attacks, and child marriage, among other things.

2.    Reproductive Rights and law: We work to combat violations of reproductive rights and provide legal services to help individuals protect their rights. The unit also does advocacy to improve policies and the implementation of programs.

3.    Housing rights: We work to ensure everyone’s right to adequate housing by taking up cases related to forced evictions, unfair housing situation of the urban poor, and violations of pro-poor housing provisions.

4.    Prison rights: We work to get safeguard rights and procure the release of prisoners, especially indigent prisoners. To this end, we file bail applications, file for surety bonds and provide for monetary assistance for indigent prisoners.

5.    Labour rights: We investigate safety and welfare measures for workers. We have filed several cases in Supreme Court and High Court representing workers on the basis of discrimination, illegal closures, illegal termination, starvation death cases, minimum wages, no-pay and others. Our team also works at the grassroots level.

6.    Environment justice: We work to providing legal aid and public interest litigation, workshops, campaigns and publications to vulnerable sections of society affected by environmental degradation. Among other things, our lawyers have argued cases in the Supreme Court on silicosis, banning of asbestos, pesticides in the environment and food and the protection of forest.

7.    Criminal justice: We work to review prison conditions and capital punishment laws, and also to represent indigent undertrials.

SLIC Impact


The Delhi unit works intensively on cases of reproductive rights and acid attacks, fighting to ensure compensation and employment for victims of violence as well as ensuring their mental health. In addition to these, the unit handles cases exclusive to the Supreme Court, including but not limited to those on the death penalty, criminal justice, violence against women, forest rights, right to education, right to food, housing, bail applications, media laws, disability rights, and bonded labour.

The unit’s work in the Supreme Court has introduced several landmark judgements – such as the issuance of binding guidelines after forced sterilisations of poor women across the country, the return of lands of farmers in Singur in the Tata land acquisition case, and ensuring assistance, security and compensation for victims of the 2007 racial attacks on Christians in Odisha’s Kandhamal, among many others.

The Delhi unit’s impact spreads far beyond the capital, thanks, in part to the impact of its activities and litigation which have influenced the growing canon of human rights law both in India and overseas.

No Room For Justice: The Story of Khori's Demolition (Documentary)

Khori village in Faridabad, a colony of settlements in the Aravalli woodlands, seems to be in the path of a storm. Brick ...read more

No Room of My Own: Chronicling the aftermath of demolition at Khori Gaon

The team of lawyers and activists from Delhi visited Khori Gaon demolition site on 06.08.2021 and along with it they v ...read more

National Meeting on Human Rights and the Law '21

March of '21 witnessed a successful National Meeting on Human Rights and the Law at Konark, Odisha, organised by Socio-L ...read more

Following the lockdown after the second wave of Covid-19, migrant workers make survival demands.

Since the second wave of Covid-19 has hit Delhi in '21, daily wage and informal workers are once again left all on their ...read more

Three quality meals a day at shelter homes

Bandhua Mukti Morcha Vs Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board & Ors
Pending

High Court of Delhi allows Termination of Pregnancy at 25 weeks 4 days in terms of the MTP Amendment Act, 2021

Mahima Yadav v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi & Ors. [Writ Petition(C) 4117/2021]
Disposed Of

Demand for Repeal of the three Farm Laws

DEMAND FOR REPEAL OF THE 3 FARM LAWS Parliament cannot legislate on agriculture;it is in the exclusive domain of th ...read more

Suspension of Sentence

Radhika Mallick, etc Vs State of Odhisa SLP (Crl) No. 004103-004104 of 2020
Disposed

58 houses facing demolition at Panth Nagar South India Camp, T-Huts Pant Nagar, Dehi-110014

Pant Nagar South Indian Camp Worker’s Union v. Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board & Ors, WP(C) No. 5999 of 2020
Pending

SC stays surrender of 2,674 undertrials in Delhi

National Forum On Prison Reforms V Government Of Nct Of Delhi & Ors. With Case Diary No 23367 Of 2020
pending

Interim Relief seeks by survivor of a gruesome acid attack granted by Delhi High Court

Shaheen Qureshi v. Government of NCT of Delhi & Ors W.P.(C) 5770/2020
Pending

Woman forced to approach Delhi High Court for MTP at 20 weeks 1 day

Neha Devi v. Government of NCT of Delhi Writ Petition (Civil) No. 4140 of 2020
Disposed Of

Indian Court Hands Down Symbolic Sentence for Outspoken Lawyer

The case against Prashant Bhushan, a public interest lawyer who criticized the Supreme Court and its chief justice in tw ...read more

"GN Saibaba isn’t being let out of prison even in a pandemic. It’s a disgrace"

The ailing, disabled Delhi University professor is serving a life sentence on sketchy charges of being associated with t ...read more

Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020

As soon as the pandemic hit all the sources of income for transgender persons dried up, as all high contact jobs such as ...read more

The most important way forward for journalist in India is to have the sedition law scrapped and to have criminal defamat ...read more

Farewell Justice Suresh

Justice Suresh died last night in his sleep. The lockdown prevents us from being with him at the funeral. I have known h ...read more

Rights and Challenges faced by Students with Disability, Girl Students and Students from Scheduled Caste Community

"Without inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong opportunities for all, countries will not succeed in bre ...read more

Report on the Two-Day Webinar on Access to Reproductive Justice

This webinar not only concentrates on saying how gloomy and difficult the situation is and the new deprivations women ar ...read more

Use of the Law for Prisoners

Socio-Legal Information Centre conducted a zoom webinar on the use of law for prisoners on 17.05.2020 from 8:30 am to 12 ...read more

Environmental Justice: Insights & Contemporary Issues

In the wake of Covid 19, a group of researchers and lawyers from SLIC began the process of organising a series of worksh ...read more

Dalit youth flogged to death in Gujarat

Jayaben v Tejas Kanubhai Zala
Notice issued

Covid 19 and the Use of Law

Prior to the announcement of the National Lockdown on 25 March 2020, a number of courts had shut down in response to the ...read more

Journalists laid off during Covid-19 Lockdown

National Alliance Of Journalists & Ors. vs Union Of India & Ors
Pending

Relief Work - Delhi Unit

As soon as the lockdown was announced on the 25th of March 2020, there were news reports flowing in of lack of access to ...read more

Delhi HC grants relief to 1200 HPCL workers; orders payment of Rs. 42 crores within one week

Cachar Paper Project Workers Union (Intuc) vs. Union Of India And Anr.
Respondents to reply with compliance on 21.5.2020

Contagion of Covid 19 Virus in Prisons

Contagion of Covid 19 Virus in Prisons

Supreme Court Grants Relief to Badli Worker in his long litigation battle

Kalayan Dombivli Mahanagar Parivahan Seva Vs. Anil Shankar Dhanke Dairy No. 43612 of 2019
Disposed off

Humanitarian Hinderance

Swami Agnivesh & Anr Vs Union of India & Ors

Release of persons in Detention Centres

Raju Bala Das vs Union of India and Anr
Disposed off

Kishan Ganj Railway Line Colony

Kishan Ganj Railway Line Workers Union v. Northern Railway & Ors, WP(C) 2744/2020
Pending

Petition for Reservation of seats in Public Transport for Transgender Persons

Sowmya Gupta vs Department of Delhi Trasport Cooperation and Anr.
Disposed

Challenging rejection of reservation for Persons with Disabilities

George Paily Vs. Union of India, W.P. (C) 2508/2020
Pending

Kathputli Colony razed and forced the residents to leave Kathputli Colony

Centre for Holistic-CHD & Anr v. Delhi Development Authority & Ors, WP(C) No. 9663 of 2017
Disposed off

National Level Consultation on Rights of Transgender Persons

As of April 2020 it would’ve been six years since the NALSA judgement was passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court under ...read more

Challenge to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019

Rachana Mudraboyina and Ors vs Union of India and Ors
Pending

A Critique of Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019

Rachana Mudraboyina a Trans Activist, one of the founding members of Telangana Hijra Intersex Transgender Samiti and fou ...read more

Report on Forest Rights Act - Minority Rights Group International

This report is made by Minority Rights Group International (“MRG”) in relation to W.P. (C) No. 109/2008 titled Wildl ...read more

Redressing ‘Historical Injustice’ through the Indian Forest Rights Act 2006

The issue of forest rights in India is a major concern by any measure.  It affects forested landscapes that cover o ...read more

Delhi High Court Granted Bail To The 'Informant' In Bonded Labour Case

DHAN BHAKTA vs. THE STATE BAIL APPLN. 1401/2019
Disposed Of

Plan of Action: For Working Children in Delhi

To address the situation arising from the recent notification declaring ban on employment of children in domestic work e ...read more

Critique of Transgender Bill 2018

A critique of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2018 By Rachana Mudraboyina & Kranti L C R ...read more

Another minor rescued as bonded labour from Shalimar Bagh, second in two months

As part of the continuous national campaign to eradicate the bonded labour and to rescue bonded labours across India, a ...read more

Locked in room by her employers: Minor girl working as bonded labour rescued, FIR registered

For a 17-year-old girl, who was locked in a room as a bonded labour, freedom came knocking on the doors of her employers ...read more

Forced to marry her maternal uncle: SC directs J&K Police to ensure girl’s safety

The Supreme Court on 12th October issued an order to Jammu and Kashmir’s Director General of Police in a Habeas Corpus ...read more

Manual scavenging case: Delhi high court reprimands state govt for failing to provide relief to rescued bonded labourer

Nirmal Gorana & Anr vs State NCT of Delhi & Ors Writ petition (Crl) 3177/2017 In 2007, SLIC’s initiave aga ...read more

Trafficked bonded labourers rescued from Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh

A women and minor girl, who were working as bonded labourers in a house in New Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh, were rescued in ...read more

Procedure for changing gender and name on official documents

This guide is created according to the state rules in Maharashtra, however, the procedure and formats provided may be us ...read more

Delhi HC offers interim relief to dyslexic student who was denied opportunity to apply for bank position

W.P.(C) 5030/2018 & CM No. 19388/2018 ROHAN GUPTA Vs STATE BANK OF INDIA & Ors Rohan Gupta is a dyslexic d ...read more

Lack of action on child bonded labour: Delhi HC issues notice to state, asks for status reports on child labour schemes

Nirmal Gorana v Government of NCT of Delhi & Ors WP (Crl) 1011/2018 This petition made the grievance that despit ...read more

Transgender activist files petition in SC seeking provision of third gender option in PAN cards

Reshma Prasad Vs Union of India, S.L.P. (Civil) Diary No(s).8436/2018
Disposed off

Fatima Nafees files defamation suit against Times of India, Times Now, Dilli Aaj Tak for spreading defamatory fake news against son, Najeeb Ahmed

Fatima Nafees, the mother of missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmed, last week filed a suit in the Delhi high court through So ...read more

Consultation on rights of Transgender Persons after NALSA Judgement

Socio-Legal Information Centre (SLIC) organised a consultation to discuss the legal support needed for accessing transge ...read more

Delhi HC issues notice in case of school discriminating against child with ADHD

The Delhi High Court on February 6, 2018, issued notices to respondent parties in a case of discrimination against and t ...read more

Delhi HC strikes down ESIC’s fraudulent move to create, sell medical institutions

Balaraj Jadhav and Ors. Vs. Union of India and Ors W.P.(C) No. 11837 of 2015
Disposed off

SC to examine fundamental rights violations resulting from India’s outdated MTP Act

On 21 April 2014, the Supreme Court ordered the Union of India and the State of Maharashtra to respond to fundamental ri ...read more

National Consultation on Prison Legal Aid

National Consultation on Prison Legal Aid 13th -14th April’13 Background Overcrowding, understaffing, lack of ...read more

Beatings, blade cuttings, and similar instances of torture and atrocities meted out to the vulnerable inmates in Delhi prisons

Multiple Action Research Group vs. Govt. of NCT Delhi and Ors., W.P.(C) 4425/2012, WP ( C) 4588/ 2014

Forced Sterilization and Family Planning

Devika Biswas Vs. Union of India, W.P. No. 95/2012
Disposed off

Shri Irsayam & Others Vs Union of India & Others

This case upholds the right of 7 Indonesian sailors to be repatriated to their country of origin where no grounds exist ...read more