About the Author

7Mk26c7-min My name is Swapnil Tripathi and I am an advocate/attorney based out of New Delhi. I am currently reading for the DPhil (in Law) as a Gopal Subramanium Scholar at the Somerville College, University of Oxford. Previously I read for the Bachelor of Civil Law at the Mansfield College, University of Oxford and pursued by undergraduate BBA.LLB (Hons.) degree from the National Law University, Jodhpur, with a specialisation in Constitutional Law . I take an active interest in the subjects of Constitutional Law and Legal History.

I try contributing towards the scholarship on Constitutional Law through academic writing. I have written on forums like Live Law, Bar & Bench, The Quint, Firstpost, the Leaflet etc. My work has been cited in the Times of India.

You may read about my contributions (in detail) below.

Journal Articles:

“Cinema and Censorship in India: A Political Restriction on Freedom of Speech”, University of Baltimore Journal of Media Law & Ethics, Vol. 9 No. 1 (Spring/Summer 2021) 64.
“What does my belief have to influence? Analyzing the legal position of an Atheist in relation to Family Laws in India”, co-authored with Prof. Poonam Saxena, Vice Chancellor, NLU-Jodhpur, Chandni Ghatak, International Family Law- LexisNexis (UK), Issue 4, 2017.
“A Report Card of the NGT at the end of seven years since establishment: The Present and Future Ahead”, 1Q Environmental Claims Journal (Taylor & Francis Online) 1 (2018).
“Enforcement of the Right to Privacy against Private Entities in light of the Privacy Judgment in India”, [2018] 6 SCC-Practical Lawyer
“The National Court of Appeal: Addressing the docket explosion in the Apex Court, impeding the growth of constitutional jurisprudence in India”, [2017] 4 SCC-Practical Lawyer.
“The Interplay of Freedom of Speech and Censorship of movies in India”, [2019] 3 SCC Practical Lawyer.
“S.K. Mahajan v. State of Maharashtra: SC’s failed attempt at curbing the misuse of the SC/ST Act and the side effects”, 8.1 C.U.L.J. 103 [2019].
“Climate Refugees: Acknowledging the Existence of an Imminent Threat”, [2017] 4 NLUJR. 1.
“A Constitutional Analysis of the Idea of Affirmative Action: Exploring New Standard in Light of the Gujjar Reservation in Rajasthan”, [2016] 5.2 NLIUR. 94.
“My Curtailed Freedoms: A Jurisprudential Take on the JNU Incident”, [2016] 6 GNLU L.D.P. 59.
“253 Law Commission Report- Is the judicial system ready for such a change?” [2016] 6 RMLNLUR. 51.
“The Non-Fundamental Nature of Fundamental Rights in Gujarat: Discerning the Legality on the Mobile Ban for Women in the State”, co-authored with Chandni Ghatak, 5 ALSDJ., 54.
“Salem Advocates Bar Association, Tamil Nadu v. Union of India: The case that changed the course of Civil Litigation in India”, [2016] 4 L.R. 78.
“The aftermath of Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation in Delhi: Constitutional and Electoral Peculiarities” [2015] AJMS 89.
“Policy Analysis of the Telangana Government’s Manifesto”, [2015] Univ. L.J.

Short Articles:

“Need a Swatantrata Kanoon Ayog” (Financial Express: Jan 24, 2023)
“Camarederie between the Judiciary and the Executive: The times of Chagla and Desai” (Bar & Bench: Jan. 15, 2023)
“Social media engagement by judges goes against ‘expected’ aloofness” (The Print: Jan. 6,2023)
“Supreme Court Live Streaming of Proceedings Needs a Stronger Push” (India Head: Sept. 28, 2022)
“Why students of National Law Universities are Protesting” (The Leaflet: Aug. 31, 2022)
“The Bombay High Court’s recent observations on PILs indicate a worrying trend” (Bar & Bench: Apr. 9, 2022)
“Indian Supreme Court strikes down arbitrary gender-based restrictions to restaurant orchestras”, (Oxford Human Rights Hub: Mar. 24, 2022)
“Book Review: Justice Ranjan Gogoi’s Justice for the Judge” (Bar & Bench: Dec.19, 2021)
“The Supreme Court’s Judgment granting suo motu powers to the NGT” (Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy Blog: Nov. 2, 2021)
“Law of Abortion: Telangana High Court’s progressive decision” (Bar & Bench: Oct. 31, 2021)
“We need a ‘3 Idiots’ for Indian Law Schools” (Education South Asia – Oxford: Sep. 20, 2021)
“Breaking down the law governing usage of India’s National Flag” (The Leaflet: Apr. 11, 2021)
“When Bollywood for once- got the law right” (The Quint: Feb. 22, 2021)
“India’s sexual harassment law wouldn’t be effective unless we fix the issue of ‘limitation'” (Oxford Human Rights Hub: Feb. 7, 2021)
“On Nani Palkhivala’s 101st birth anniversary, a case for him to be awarded Bharat Ratna”, (Firstpost: Jan. 16, 2021)
“UP Police’s Drone Surveillance: A Step towards ‘Orwellian State’? (The Quint; Jan. 3, 2020)
“Takeaways from the Tripura HC judgment prohibiting animal/bird sacrifice in temples”, (Bar & Bench; Oct. 30 2019)
“Prorogation of the UK Parliament and its challenge before the UK Supreme Court”, (Live Law; Sept. 24,2019)
“Anti-Abortion legislations in USA-Understanding the law in America and India” (Live Law; May 19, 2019)
“Speeches and Elections in India: What can the Electoral Candidates not say?” (Live Law; April 7, 2019).
“Cow Protection Furor: Can the NSA be invoked?” (Live Law; February 21, 2019)
“Statue Politics: Understanding the Law and Procedure” (Live Law; February 9, 2019)
“Government and its Naamkaran Ceremonies: Understanding the procedure of renaming of states and cities in India” (Live Law; December 25, 2018)
“The Impact of Section 377 Judgment on Heterosexual Relations” (Live Law; September 12, 2018)
“April 26- Revisiting the Black Day of Indian Judiciary” (Live Law; April 26, 2018)
“Understanding the Indian Supreme Court Judgment on the Atrocities Act against Backward Classes” (Oxford Human Rights Hub Blog, University of Oxford, Faculty of Law)
“Dignity and Rights of Manual Scavengers in India” (Oxford Human Rights Hub Blog, University of Oxford, Faculty of Law) republished by the LSE Human Rights Blog, London School of Economics and Political Science
“Circumventing the Apex? Telangana’s Recent Stint of Legislative Supremacy” (Oxford India Policy Blog, University of Oxford; September 04, 2017)
“The Unconstitutionality of Prohibiting Differential Pricing”, Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy Blog
“India and its version of the Right to be Forgotten” (Socio-Legal Review Forum, NLSIU; July 23, 2017)
“Confidentiality Clause Restricting Divulging of Information to one’s Attorney? Not quite so” [(2017) 82 Taxmann 470 (Article)].
“Everything wrong with the Madras HC Order, Directing Singing of National Song” (Livelaw; 6^th August, 2017)
“38 years of age, child or an adult? The Special Leave that might be the torchbearer of change in interpretation laws in India” (Livelaw; 4^th May, 2016)
“Interns Not Allowed: How the Apex Court is Stifling its Legacy” (The Quint; 9^th January, 2017)
“How do we ease the SC’s backlog burden? A National Court of Appeal” (The Quint; 29^th August, 2017)
“Jallikattu Row: Customs Greater than an Animal’s Right to Live? (The Quint; 16^th January, 2017)
“Jallikattu Bill a Limp Half Measure That Leaves Scope for Cruelty” (The Quint; 25^th January, 2017)

Cited Work:

Sushmita Choudhury and Rajesh Sharma, “70 years on, India is still fighting over a national language” (Times of India: Sept. 15, 2021).
Girassa, “Intellectual Property Rights and AI” in “Artificial Intelligence as a Disruptive Technology” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020) at pp. 37.
Rishabh Jain, “Women’s Right to Abort: Sharp Rise in Cases Filed in Indian Courts” (The Citizen: Oct. 20, 2020)
Brian Sang YK, “Constitutional Law and Atheists in Kenya: Affirming Associational Rights, Avoiding Non-Religious Freedoms”, 3 Oxford Journal of Law and Religion 2019 at pp. 675.

Research Assistance:

Teaching Assistant to Prof. I.P. Massey, Dean (Faculty of Law) in the subject of Administrative Law [2018-19].
Research Associate to Mr. S.K. Kaushik, Asst. Dean (Faculty of Law) for his book titled ‘General Studies’ published by the Eastern Book Company [2018].

Lectures:

Academic Writing, National Law University, Jodhpur [September 2022]
The Idea of Separation of Powers and the Indian Constitution, Ram Manohar Lohiya, National Law University, Lucknow [August 2022]
Academic Legal Writing, Jindal Global Law School, [September 2021].
Caste and the Legal System, Jindal Global Business School, [April 2021].
Role of the Constitution in Empowering the Youth, Allenhouse Colleges, Kanpur, [November 2020].
Navigating Law School, Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur, [April 2020].
Public Interest Litigation: Law and Practice, Amity Law School Chhattisgarh, [October 2018].
Constitutional Relevancy of the Office of Governor, Second NLU-Jodhpur Youth Parliament [2018]..

Other Scholarly Contributions:

Contributor (What’s New in Public Law Column) to I-CONnect (International Journal of Constitutional Law, New York University School of Law).
Hon’ble Mention for the paper titled “To Repeal or not to Repeal? Section 309, the Conundrum of the Indian Penal Code” at the National Seminar on Criminology, Crime and Justice at the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun (November, 2015).

You may reach me at swapnil.tripathi221@gmail.com for any doubts or queries.

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