Articles
[Column] 'Article 19(1) (a) Is Antithetical to Intolerance' by Navroz Seervai
"And what if she had seen those glories fade;Those titles vanish, and that strength decay;Yet shall some tribute of regret be paidWhen her long life hath reached its final day;Men are we, and must grieve when even the ShadeOf that which once was great has passed away."– On The Extinction of the Venetian Republic–William Wordsworth. It would be useful to start a consideration of this...
Insolvency Resolution Process And Exclusion Of Lockdown Period: Uncertainties And Challenges
Time is the essence of the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) and with that intent alone, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code), prescribes an outer limit of 180 days for completion of a CIRP, which may be extended by a period of 150 days, as per the relevant provisions of the Code and while, there is no explicit provision under the Code, which entitles the...
Stifling Democracy Sans Emergency
The strength of a democracy lies in the robustness of its regulatory institutions and their ability to safeguard the fundamental rights of citizens. We frequently say that the Emergency of 1975-1977 was the worst period for India's democracy. Why do we say this? It is firstly because, fundamental rights had been suspended, and about 1 lakh people, primarily those seen as opposed...
Rebooting Tribunals And Recalibrating Delivery Of Justice
One of the lesser realised aftershocks of the Emergency was tribunalisation as it exists today. A blow so hard that despite multiple efforts by our High Courts and the Supreme Court, including Constitution Benches, to wipe out the deleterious consequences, the ruinous scars remain. Tribunals in the present form were introduced through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment when...
"Does The Ghost Of Gopalan Still Haunt Our Jurisprudence?" : A Search For The Contemporary Relevance Of A.K.Gopalan Vs State Of Madras
For a landmark case that was decided in the first year of working our Constitution, I believe Gopalan does not get its due credit. I consider this rather unfortunate because a reading of the several opinions in Gopalan reveals the sheer erudition, judicial discipline and clarity of thought that guided the judges in the rendering of their respective verdicts, not to mention the...
Examining Locust Invasion In India From A Legal Perspective
INTRODUCTION Time and again, India which is still largely an agrarian economy has been marred by the invasion of the crop devouring swarms of locusts. Such an invasion on a wider scale is termed as a 'locust plague'. A plague (Level-3) is usually preceded by an outbreak (Level-1) and an upsurge (Level-2). It refers to a situation when the attack on crops by these...
Growing Opaqueness Of Virtual Hearings And The 'Open Court' Ideal
If it has never been said more often, so it shall be repeated - 'Not only must justice be done, it must also be seen to be done.' From the philosophical connotation of this term, as Kant or Lord Hewart would have seen it, the ongoing COVID19 pandemic has brought the literal meaning of this phrase into consideration. What is access to justice in the age of virtual...
Reflections On S. 47 Of The Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973
On several occasions, while referring to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973(hereinafter referred to as the Cr.P.C or the Code), one comes across provisions which may seem simple enough on the surface, but which leave a lot of scope for interpretation, that too, in diametrically opposite ways, when it comes to their implementation. The proviso to Section 47 of the Cr.P.C is...
Reproductive Justice Not 'Personhood Of Foetus': Lessons Learnt From Safoora Zargar's Experience
The question that needs to be settled through judicial deliberation is not pregnancy as a standalone fact and its relation to bail, but pregnancy as embedded in the larger field of the gendered tropes of personal autonomy, freedom from surveillance, and the right of minorities to dignity, personhood and citizenship.
The Prevailing Uncertainty In Discharge In Summons Cases
The present article discusses the law regarding discharge (on merits) in summons cases based on complaints (predominantly affecting, inter alia, Defamation and NI Act), once accused has been summoned and how conflicting decisions have caused this issue to crop up repeatedly. In summons trial, there is no specific power to discharge the accused post summons, except as provided...