Redressal

noun (uncountable and countable)

/rɪˈdresəl/

The act or process of remedying a grievance, wrong, or injustice through legal, administrative, or political mechanisms, restoring or compensating those harmed. In Indian constitutional and administrative law, redressal of grievances is a fundamental expectation underpinning Article 32 (Supreme Court's writ jurisdiction), Article 226 (High Court writs), the National Human Rights Commission (Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993), and Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS). The SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, creates specialised redressal courts for atrocity victims.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, streamlined the redressal architecture by allowing consumers to file complaints online from anywhere in India and by raising the pecuniary jurisdiction of District Commissions, making access to consumer redressal more practical for ordinary citizens.

Synonyms

remedyreparationgrievance redressrestitutionrectificationrelief

Antonyms

neglectinjusticenon-remedyimpunitydenial of justice

🌱 Word Family

redress (verb/noun), redressable (adjective), redresser (noun), redressal mechanism (noun phrase)

🔡 Root

Old French redrecier = to set right again (re- = again + drecier = to straighten, set right; from Latin directus = direct, straight); -al = pertaining to/process of

📜 Etymology

From Old French redrecier (to straighten again), via Middle English redress (14th century). The base drecier derives from Latin directus (straight, direct — past participle of dirigere). Redress as a noun and verb meant to set a wrong right; redressal is a later South Asian English formation used in legal and administrative contexts to denote the systematic process of grievance remedy, common in Indian official and judicial language.

🧠 Memory Hook

RE-DRESS-al: to re-dress a wrong is to dress it again — like re-bandaging a wound. Redressal is the bandaging of a social or legal wound: you SET IT RIGHT (direct) once again (re-). The RE- shows it's a repair job.

📝 Seen in UPSC Question Papers

Prelims 2023 — Constitutional Bodies
Mains 2019 · GS2 · 10 marks — Governance

Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Redressal” — proof this word earns its place on your list.

⚖️ Social Justice 📖 Seen in: Dalit Rights & SC/ST Atrocities Act — ...

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