In a hard-hitting and at times brutal critique of India’s lower judiciary, one of the country’s most senior and respected lawyers has said that increasingly the lower judiciary and the magistracy is either not conversant with the law or not willing to apply it. Dushyant Dave calls this “a clear case of insubordination” and adds “it is becoming more prevalent in recent years”. Dave also says that frequently the lower judiciary and magistracy is intimidated by the government or by the high profile cases that come before it.To sum up his position, he says: “There is something seriously wrong with the subordinate judiciary … India is increasingly becoming a police state.” These are three reasons why he believes that people like Aryan Khan can be arrested and jailed for 23 days without getting bail whereas, in fact, Dave believes that bail in the case should have been granted by the magistrate’s court on the very first day.In a 14-minute interview with Karan Thapar for The Wire, Dushyant Dave, a former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, said with specific reference to the lower judiciary’s handling of the Aryan Khan case: “The entire approach of the lower judiciary reflects a complete lack of understanding of the law.” He also said in this case the lower judiciary’s decisions reflect a lack of understanding of the rulings of both the Bombay high court and the Supreme Court.Dave said lower judges are “intimidated again and again”. He said judges either get intimidated by the high profile cases brought before them or by the fact senior people like the assistant solicitor general appear on behalf of the government.Summing up, Dushyant Dave said, “There is something seriously wrong with the subordinate judiciary.” He added, “The judiciary is making mistake after mistake in applying the law.”Dave ended the interview by saying that as a result of lower court judges failing to stand up for the rights of Indian citizens, “we are increasingly becoming a police state”. He said India is “supposedly a democracy but to make it function properly you need all institutions to function as well”.The above is a paraphrased precis of Dushyant Dave’s interview with Karan Thapar for The Wire. Though recounted from memory it is not inaccurate. There is, however, more in the interview. Please see the interview to fully appreciate Dushyant Dave’s viewpoints.