Picture Credits - Indian Express On 06 September 2018, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India delivered its verdict in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India. The judgment partly struck down the archaic Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalised carnal intercourse against the order of the nature with any man, woman or... Continue Reading →
Delhi HC needs to pay attention to the Supreme Court’s warning on PILs
Recently, the Delhi High Court heard an interesting Public Interest Litigation (‘PIL’) petition. The PIL was filed by politician and serial litigator Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay and sought action against mass religious conversions. The content of the petition consisted of information and data procured from social media. The poor research forced the Court to remark, “Where... Continue Reading →
When the Supreme Court sat outside New Delhi
The Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India recently upheld the constitutionality of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 (Madhya Pradesh High Court Advocates Bar Association v. Union of India, W.P. (C) 433 of 2012). The petition had challenged the constitutionality of Section 14 read with Section 22 of the Act, which provided... Continue Reading →
44 years of the 44th Amendment
The Parliament of India 15 May holds a very special place in the annals of India’s Constitutional History. Just like December 1946 when the Constituent Assembly met to decide the fate of the Indian Constitution, on 15 May 1978, the Parliament saw the introduction of India’s Mini-Constitution i.e., the Constitution (Forty-Fourth Amendment) Act, 1978. This... Continue Reading →
The time when a sitting President deposed before the Supreme Court
The last week of April holds a very special place in the chapters of Indian legal history. On 24th April 1973, the Supreme Court delivered the judgment in Kesavananda Bharti v. State of Kerala (the lengthiest and arguably its most important till date), wherein it held that the parliament while amending the Constitution cannot change... Continue Reading →
Bombay High Court’s recent observations on PILs indicate a worrying trend
Recently, the Bombay High Court made some interesting observations while hearing a Public Interest Litigation petition (‘PIL’) filed by a BJP MLA, challenging the state government’s notification which amends the rules governing the election of the state assembly’s speaker. The amended rules permit only the Chief Minister to advise the Governor on the election of... Continue Reading →
Centre’s stalling before the Delhi High Court is not surprising (on marital rape)
Picture Credit - Zee News India Last week, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta representing the central government told the Delhi High Court that the Centre needed reasonable time to formulate its stand on the issue of marital rape. Mehta submitted, that an ‘amendment to criminal law is a continuous process’ and suggestions have been invited from... Continue Reading →
Ayushmann Khurrana’s Article 15 & the Law punishing Atrocities against SC & ST
The motion poster for the movie. The Republic of India celebrates its 73rd Republic Day today i.e., 26 January 2022. On this day, the erstwhile dominion of India became a Republic i.e., a nation governed by its own Constitution. This Constitution was a result of extensive labour and discussion by a Constituent Assembly consisting of representatives... Continue Reading →
Portraits, Government and Hindi Cinema
A still from the movie Jolly LLB (2013) where the portraits of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Pt. Nehru and Sardar Patel are visible on the wall. There is a famous phrase that ‘devil is in the detail’ and interestingly since law school lawyers are encouraged to have an eye for detail. For a lawyer like myself,... Continue Reading →
Review : Justice Gogoi’s ‘Justice for the Judge’
The internet has been abuzz with news concerning Hon’ble Justice Gogoi’s recent autobiography ‘Justice for the Judge’. The buzz is understandable given the Judge’s polarizing past and the contentious issues the book deals with. There is significant writing (mostly negative) about the book already which got me wondering, how can a book be so reviled?... Continue Reading →
Law and India’s National Anthem- Learning from K3G
Actor Shahrukh Khan has been in the news recently. His son Aryan Khan is accused of possessing contraband substances and was in jail for over a month. News channels are abuzz with this news and questions over Khan’s parenting and patriotism are constantly being raised, given his surname. This gave me the idea to discuss... Continue Reading →