Bengaluru, April 15: The 2025 India Justice Report (IJR), India’s only ranking of states on delivery of justice in the country, released today, ranks Karnataka 1st overall among the 18 Large and Mid-sized states (with population of over one crore each), retaining its position from last the edition. The state ranked 1st in Legal Aid (rising from 2nd in 2022) and retained its 2nd spot in Prisons.
In the overall rankings, it was followed by Andhra Pradesh, climbing from fifth in 2022 to second, Telangana (2022 ranking: 3rd), and Kerala (2022 ranking: 6th). Sikkim (2022: 1st), topped among the seven Small States (with populations less than one crore each), followed by Himachal Pradesh (2022: 6th) and Arunachal Pradesh (2022: 2nd).
The India Justice Report (IJR) was first initiated by Tata Trusts, with the first ever ranking published in 2019. This is the fourth edition of the report, in collaboration with partners including the Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, DAKSH, TISS–Prayas, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, and How India Lives, IJR’s data partner.
Through a rigorous 24-month quantitative research, the IJR 2025, similar to the previous three, has tracked the performance of states in capacitating their Justice delivery structures to effectively deliver mandated services. Based on the latest official statistics from authoritative government sources, it brings together otherwise siloed data on the four pillars of Justice delivery – Police, Judiciary, Prisons, and Legal Aid. Each pillar was analysed through the prism of budgets, human resources, workload, diversity, infrastructure, and trends (intention to improve over a five-year period), against the state’s own declared standards and benchmarks. This edition also separately assesses the capacity of the 25 State Human Rights Commissions (see SHRC brief for more) and consists of essays on mediation and access to justice for persons with disabilities.
Discussing the India Justice Report, Justice (Retd.) Madan B. Lokur commented, “The punishing process of accessing justice begins with the very first encounter an individual has with the system. With our failure to properly equip and train frontline justice providers—police stations, legal aid actors including paralegal volunteers and district courts—we fracture public trust. These institutions are intended to embody our commitment to equal justice. The strength of our entire justice framework rests on these critical first points of contact. The fourth edition of the India Justice Report points out that improvements remain few and far between in the absence of adequate attention given to resources. Alas, the burden continues to remain on the individual seeking justice, and not the state to provide it.”
Ms. Maja Daruwala, Chief Editor, India Justice Report, highlighted, “As India moves forward into a hundred years of being a democratic, rule of law nation, the promise of rule of law and equal rights will remain hollow unless underwritten by a reformed justice system. Reform is not optional. It is urgent. A well-resourced responsive justice system is a constitutional imperative that must be experienced as an everyday reality available to every citizen.”
Karnataka’s Ranks: Pillar Wise
IJR 4 IJR 3OVERALL 1 1
POLICE 3 2
PRISONS 2 2
JUDICIARY 4 2
LEGAL AID 1 2
Legal Aid: Karnataka Breaking the National Trend of Decline in Paralegal Volunteers
Karnataka ranked first in legal aid this year. While, nationwide, the number of paralegal volunteers has been reducing over the years, Karnataka increased its number of paralegal volunteers per lakh population from 4.9 in Jan 2019 to 7.59 in September 2024, making it the highest in the country. It also has the highest share of women in panel lawyers (44%). However, it reduced its number of legal service clinics in villages from 174 clinics in 2021-2022 to just 32 in 2023-24.
Police: Lowest Officer Level Vacancy
Karnataka increased its per capita spend on Police from Rs. 943 in 2020-21 to Rs. 1261 in 2022-2023.
Between 2022 and 2023, it also halved its constable level vacancy from 12% to 6%, and officer vacancy from 11% to 1%, making it the state with the lowest officer-level vacancy among all large states. Additionally, it is the only state which fulfills the SC, ST and OBC quotas at both the officer and constabulary level. 99% of all police stations in the state have women help desks. Further, it also has the highest utilisation of modernisation funds (98.5%) in the country.
Prisons: Highest Share of Women in Prison Staff Nationally
With 33% women in prison staff, the state’s prisons have the highest share nationally. It has also improved on video conferencing facilities in prisons from 68% in 2021 to 93% in 2022. However, the vacancy among medical officers (74%) and medical staff (64%) in prisons is quite high.
Judiciary: Fills all positions reserved for SC, ST and OBC judges in the district judiciary
The state reduced its vacancy among judges in the district courts from 22% in 2022 to 16% in 2025. There are now 37% women judges in the district courts of Karnataka. The High Court also reduced its staff vacancy from 26% to 17%.
The IJR 2025 has reiterated both immediate and foundational corrections. It has flagged urgent filling of vacancies and increased representation. To effect irreversible change, it has exhorted that Justice delivery be designated as an essential service.
