Articles
Remembering B. N. Rau's Contribution In The Making Of Indian Constitution
The Constitution of India, it is often said, is an extension of the ideals cherished by our freedom fighters. The history of the Constitution, for this reason, is often conflated with Indian nationalism. In such accounts, the study of the Constitution by historians puts the role of politicians and leaders of the liberation struggle at the forefront. In this sense, it is not surprising...
Preventive Detention Laws Allow State To Carve Out Exception For Its Lawlessness : Mihir Desai, Senior Advocate
[This lecture on the topic 'The Problem Of Preventive Detention In India' was delivered on 23 November 2020 as part of the KG Kannabiran Lectures on Law, Justice and Human Rights – organised by the family of KG Kannabiran (1929-2010) to celebrate his life, work and its futures]. ABSTRACT Preventive detention laws and special legislations like UAPA -- anti-terror laws...
A Tale Of Two Dissents
When we think of dissents, we are reminded of the powerful words of the 11th Chief Justice of the United States Charles Evans Hughes that "a dissent in a court of last resort is an appeal to the brooding spirit of law, to the intelligence of a future day when a later decision may possibly correct the error into which the dissenting justice believes the court to have been...
[Constitution Day 2020] Reminiscing India's Constitutionalism: Homage to the Indian Constitution
"However good a Constitution may be, if those who are implementing it are not good, it will prove to be bad. However bad a Constitution may be, if those implementing it are good, it will prove to be good." -Dr. B.R. Ambedkar At the time when the Constitution of India was framed, democracy was meant to be its utilitarian manifestation. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru while moving...
Where Free Speech Is A Path To Lose Personal Liberty: After 70 Years Of Constitutional Democracy
We celebrate 70 years of Constitutional Governance in India, i.e., Bharath on 26th November 2020 with Damocles sword on free speech that could deprive personal liberty. None is bothered about those innocent, not very popular, common journalists and protestors who were arrested for talking against the establishment or protesting against Government policies like the Citizenship...
When Heavens Will Fall For Justice To Others…?
While inaugurating'Nyay Kaushal' – e Resources Centre of the country at Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court on 31-10-2020, CJI S A Bobde said: "Let justice be done, though heavens may fall."[1] However, late Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer in his famous book "Off the Bench" narrated " … the delightful account by Lord Denning of the barbaric origin of fiat justitia in Rome" which...
Section 28 DA Of Customs Act 1962 & CAROTAR Rules 2020: Is The Remedy Worse Than The Disease?
India is a signatory to trade agreements with several countries, including Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with countries like Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, various ASEAN members etc. The said FTAs are international treaties . In terms of the FTAs, a preferential tariff treatment is given to originating goods of the exporting country. In this regard, 'Rules of Origin' (RoO)...
The Exorcism Of UAPA
Even after the advent of the NIA Act, 2008, covering the investigation and prosecution of offences under UAPA, the shadow of CrPC still looms large.Prior to the enactment of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 ('NIA Act,' for short), the investigation and prosecution (trial) of offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 ('UAPA,' for short) was governed by...
A Police Constable's Constitution
Commenting about the section prepared by the Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee for the Draft Constitution of India, Somnath Lahiri famously said that the provisions on fundamental rights appear to have been drafted from the point of view of a police constable. Considering that the final version of the fundamental rights clauses retained much of this draft (and, frankly, only narrowed...
Discouraging Article 32 Habeas Corpus Petitions – The Legal Basis
Observations by a bench of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice of India while hearing a habeas corpus writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution that the court is trying to discourage Article 32 Petitions - has understandably received coverage critical of the judicial attitude of the court. Particularly, as it came in the backdrop of an order granting interim...
The SC/ST Act- Reduced To Yet Another Footnote In The Quest For Social Justice?
"A caste system gives us false comfort, makes us feel that the world is in order, that we automatically know the good guys from the bad guys." ― Isabel Wilkerson Siddharth, a young Hindu College graduate from Delhi moved to Bhojpur, a non-descript village about 500 km from Delhi, sometime in 1969-70. He was there to be a part of the communist movement, to ignite the revolution...