No gender, religion bias in orders by district courts, finds study | The Indian Express

The Indian Express reports on a recent study by CEGA Research Director Bilal Sidiqqi and coauthors, which found no evidence of in-group bias based on gender or religion in India’s lower judiciary courts. The results come from their current project, Using Administrative Data Systems to Improve Court Efficiency, which is funded through CEGA’s Economic Development and Institutions Initiative. Their findings come in stark contrast to evidence from other parts of the world where judges are found to favor litigants which similar gender or religious backgrounds to their own:

“Does the religion or gender of a judge in a lower court play a role in their orders?

A study by the Development Data Lab, a US-based research organisation, has found scant evidence of any systemic gender or religious bias in district and subordinate courts across the country.

“In both of these specifications, we find a robust null estimate of in-group bias among Indian judges. Judges of different genders do not treat defendants differently according to their gender, nor do judges display favouritism on the basis of religion,” the study said.”

Source: No gender, religion bias in orders by district courts, finds study