Lessons from Lord Denning’s Life for the Indian Courts today

This year marks the 121st birth anniversary of Lord Denning, arguably the greatest English Judge of the 20th century. Alfred Thompson Denning was born on 23 January 1899 and lived a life that contributed significantly to the law and most importantly inspired generations. In this post, I shall focus on his life at the Bar...

‘You have the Right to Remain Silent’- Story behind the Miranda Rights

Anyone interested in Hollywood crime thrillers or drama, has at least once come across a scene where an arrest is being made by the police. The officer while carrying out the arrest mandatorily utters the following words, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in...

Gender and the Supreme Court of India

A few days ago, the Learned Attorney General for India (‘AG’) Shri. K.K. Venugopal, made some important observations about the representation of women in the Supreme Court of India. Speaking on the occasion to recommend ways to gender sensitize the Judges, the AG remarked that more women judges in Constitutional Courts (i.e. Supreme Court and...

Remembering Mr. Law – A Tribute to MC Setalvad

In a discussion over the greatest lawyers India has produced, the name of Motilal C. Setalvad cannot be left out. The stature and brilliance of this man, is evident from the title ‘Mr. Law’ as he was popularly called. Today, marks the 135th birth anniversary of Shri Setalvad and this post tries to pay a...

Appointment to the Supreme Court: Identifying Trends and Patterns

Earlier today, it was reported that the Law Ministry (Government of India) is currently awaiting the recommendations from the Supreme Court’s Collegium to appoint Judges to the Supreme Court. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, has a sanctioned strength of 34 Judges (including the Chief Justice of India). However, the Court is currently functioning with...

What is the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867?

Image Credits- Business Standards Earlier today, the Indian Express reported that a political leader allegedly put up posters with photographs of former and current leaders of the Bhartiya Janta Party i.e. Mr. Chinmayanand, Mr. Kuldeep Singh Sengar etc. at various places across Lucknow. These individuals are/have been accused and/or convicted in some cases, for offences...

‘Pub’ in Republic- Interesting Court Room Exchanges

Part IV of the Constitution of India contains the Chapter on Directive Principles of State Policy (“DPSP”). The Part casts a non-binding obligation on the government, to promote and achieve certain objectives mentioned therein. The debate and furore over protection of cattle, implementation of the Uniform Civil Code and recognizing labour rights, all have their...

An ode to Justice Ginsburg (The Notorious RBG!)

[This is a guest post by Chandni Ghatak] Dear Justice Ginsburg, I read earlier today that as per Jewish belief, a person who dies on Rosh Hashanah which starts today is considered a ‘Tzaddik’ – a person of great righteousness. That no longer remains a mythical belief today. Ruth Bader Ginsburg. To many, you have...

The Basic Structure is Two Years Old

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...

Procedure for Conferring the Bharat Ratna

Today marks the 115th birth anniversary of India’s hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand. In his honour, the day is celebrated as the National Sports Day in India. Since morning, tributes have poured in for the legend and some quarters have demanded that he should be conferred with India’s highest civilian honour i.e. the Bharat Ratna....