DHCBA hosts ‘Fight for Justice Awards 2023’ to honour litigants for landmark legal victories

New Delhi : The Delhi High Court Bar Association, in collaboration with Live4Freedom LLP, organised the inaugural ‘Fight for Justice Awards 2023’, to honour litigants who have secured victories leading to landmark judgments.

The event, set to be an annual occurrence, was graced by former Chief Justice of India, Justice NV Ramana as the Chief Guest. Joining him were key figures from the legal community, including Delhi High Court Bar Association's President, Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur; Vice President, Advocate Jatan Singh; and Honorary Secretary, Advocate Sandeep Sharma.

The jury, comprising esteemed legal personalities, including former Chief Justice Rajendra Menon, deliberated on the nominations. There are various categories for the ‘Fight for Justice Awards, 2023’ that include the Lifetime Achievement Category, Women Cases Category and Criminal Cases Category, to name a few.

The Lifetime Achievement Category award has gone to Neelam Krishnamoorthy, the mother of Uphaar cinema fire tragedy victims who contributed to improved fire safety norms and a trauma centre in Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi.

In the Women Cases Category, the winner is Shayara Bano, who advocated against the practice of triple talaq. The Criminal Cases Category the award went to Asha Devi, the mother of Nirbhaya, the victim of the 2012 gang rape case that shook the nation.

In the Specially-Abled Person Cases Category the winner is Nipun Malhotra a disability rights activist; in the Child Rights Cases Category is Bachpan Bachao Andolan as litigation resulted in the establishment of SOP on enforcing provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act.

In the Administration and Governance Cases Category it was Commander Annie Nagaraja and Commander Priya Khurana, who advocated for permanent commission to female officers in the armed forces and in the Labour Cases Category it was Bezwada Wilson, activist and National Convenor of Safai Karmachari Andolan, advocating for the rights of manual scavengers.

In the Environmental Cases Category it was late Abdul Jabbar Khan who advocated for victims of the Bhopal gas leak tragedy. The nominees were shortlisted through a meticulous process conducted by a team of legal researchers.