Articles
Rescuing A Democracy In Retreat
This is a moment of reckoning for a nation scarred. The unspeakable tragedy in Lakhimpur Kheri has wounded the nation's sensitivity to its core. The 30-second video vividly depicting the gruesome murder of innocent citizens by a bunch of goons sheltered by 'netas' drunk on power has once again exposed the fault-lines of our politics and constitutional democracy in decline. The...
Plugging InvITs Into IBC - Risking National Assets
The Central Government in August this year announced a 4-year National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) of existing revenue generating assets to bring an estimated ₹6 lakh crore into the national coffers. NMP envisages long lease of revenue-earning operating concessions in several state and sovereign brownfield projects to private players in exchange for upfront payments or investments. One...
Carbon Comes At A Cost
Post the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement[1], there is a growing pressure on states to shift to a low-carbon economy. Climate change is being recognized as the greatest global threat, and with China, the world's largest carbon dioxide emitter, taking the world by surprise by pledging to stop releasing carbon emissions by 2060, onus lies on the USA and India, countries that rank[2]...
Stealthing And The Law: A Call For Redefining The Limits Of Conditional Consent In India
Stealthing refers to the act of secretly removing one's condom while having sexual intercourse with a partner who consented to having 'protected sex.' Not only does this insidious form of sexual assault brazenly violate the limits of consent, but it also exposes the non-consenting partner to unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, etc. The wide-spread prevalence...
Law Concerning Written Submissions
"Written Submissions will not only be the first impression. They will often be the last impression too". Recently, in Kaushal Verma and Ors. vs. State of Chhattisgarh[2], an impressed Hon'ble Apex Court not only recorded the written submissions verbatim but further recommended making them a standard format for all state cases. Therefore, in light of the above, the author's aim...
Supreme Court's Orders On Extension Of Limitation
In a recent development, the Supreme Court vide its latest order "IN RE: COGNIZANCE FOR EXTENSION OF LIMITATION"[1] dated 23rd September 2021 disposed of the "M.A. No.665 of 2021" and observed that the period from 15.03.2020 to 02.10.2021 will be excluded from the period of limitation for any suit, appeal, application, or proceeding. Subsequently, any remaining limitation...
The Horizons Of Privacy And The Right To Be Forgotten
The Constitution is not a charter of servitude', argued Senior Advocate Shyam Divan in the stone-setting Aadhar case. The terrains of transformative constitutionalism and the right to privacy under a democratic state cannot be guided by the notion of prejudice in the balance of power constituting flesh and blood of any constitutional order. While talking about the constitutional freedom...
The Basic Structure Doctrine: An Inventive Saviour Of Democracy
The "Basic Structure Doctrine" is one of the most potent tools of the Judiciary for the maintenance of checks and balances, and balance of power needed for the smooth functioning of the democracy. This doctrine has changed the course of the constitutional law jurisprudence in India. It is often said that there is a need for the constitution to be a living one so that it can endure...
Critical Analysis Of The Emigration Bill, 2021
India has the largest number of emigrant population in the world recorded at a staggering eighteen million.[1] The Draft Emigration Bill, 2021 ("Bill") aims to replace the existing Emigration Act, 1983 which was passed by the legislature as a direct response to the Apex Court judgment in Kanga and Others v. Union of India[2]. The new Bill seeks to "consolidate and amend the law...
Recognizing Mental Health Within The Contours Of The Criminal Justice System – An Overview
Administrative apathy coupled with legal quagmires has made prison a breeding ground for human rights violations, and prisoners[1] a vulnerable population[2]. Overcrowding, custodial violence, enforced solitude, lack of privacy, inadequate health services at the prison has a negative effect on the mental health of the prisoners.[3] Rather than overcrowding the prisons with victims of...
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021- Progressive But Not Far Enough
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021[1] ('Act') has come into force with effect from 24th September 2021. The Act amends the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971 ('MTP Act') which regulates the conditions under which medical termination of pregnancy be pursued. The Act inter alia modifies Section 3 of the MTP Act to extend the upper limit for...