Articles
Voyeurism In India: How To Combat
Cyber Voyeurism could be around us for a longer time, but its aspect is changing continuously with the changing time, and now it is considered an emerging sex crime in cyberspace. Indian legal system provides laws against cyber voyeurism but with the advent of technology, it can be committed easily without being physically present and often not illegal, creates the need to make...
The Constitutional Importance Of Election Of The Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker (Part-II)
"…The Speakership is not a job for light weights. Its duties are onerous and of fundamental importance to the Parliamentary system. It calls for qualities of character which will sustain the authority of the Chair and the prestige of Parliament in any situation which might arise. The task in many respects a thankless one. Impartiality, that quality so essential in a...
Pass Cigarettes And Other Tobacco Products (Amendment) Bill And Make India, A livelier And Less Smoky Place
As a member of World Health Organisation (WHO) community, India observes 'World No Tobacco Day' on May 31 every year to highlight the colossal health risks associated with the use of tobacco. Despite the fact that tobacco use causes more than 1.3 million deaths every year in the country, more than 28% or nearly 270 million adults and 14.6% of youth (ages 13-15) currently use some form...
Law on Reels - 'Ajeeb Daastaan': Domestic Worker's Right Against Sexual Harassment At Workplace
The recently released Hindi anthology film, Ajeeb Daastaans presents four complex stories of caste, patriarchy, sexuality and marginalization. One of the stories 'Khilauna' is story of Meenal (played by Nushrat Bharucha), a domestic worker in an upscale colony. In this layered story, Meenal faces sexual harassment at the hands of Vinod Agarwal (played by Maneesh Verma) in whose house...
Law On Reels: 'Karnan': A Melancholic Ode Of Oppression
The movie Karnan (2021), released on 9th April 2021, a week after Mandela (2021), unleashes the political quotient and intricacies of caste oppression in rural India. My review of Mandela (here) focused upon the act of manual scavenging through the cinematic angel. In comparison, Mandela dealt with the significance of caste in the election sphere, whereas Karnan questions the...
Revisiting The Age Of Consent In India
In India, the notion revolving around the legality of live-in relationships is not expressly recognized by the legislature, however, the judiciary has time and again upheld the validity of such relationships. In the landmark judgement of S. Khushboo v Kanniammal, the Supreme Court of India held that live-in relationships come within the scope and ambit of Article 21 of the...
Plummeting In The Swamps Of Stereotype: Verdicts Premised On Antiquated Perceptions
Indian Courts have never shirked from their responsibility to satiate the looming needs of society. In fact, the courts have been exceptionally forthcoming in appreciating legislative lacunae and patching-up these voids with their ingenious verdicts. However, regrettably, in recent past, there have been several instances where the courts have demonstrated a lack of gender...
Effects Of Covid-19 Lockdown On Sex Workers In India: An Empirical Study
"If nobody wants to sell sex, it is a crime to force anyone to do so. But when men or women do want to sell their bodies, they should have that full right without encountering punishment or discrimination. If the client behaves decently, the relationship between the sex buyer and the sex seller must be considered a purely private transaction." -Nils Johan Ringdal in Love For...
Disaster Management Act, Epidemic Disease Act And COVID-19
Natural disasters such as cyclones and floods have primarily caused disasters in India, which is located in the heart of the Indian Ocean region, dubbed the "World Danger Belt." For the first time in the world, a pandemic has been declared a "notified tragedy" by the Ministry of Home Affairs, following the global spread of the novel CoronaVirus Disease (COVID 19). In order to...
Women Are Victims Of Witchcraft
Witchcraft is the practice and belief in magical abilities. Witches and wizards are often labelled as pagans who were entrusted with devil's work. It dates back to classical antiquity, when women who held views against the church were labelled as witches and regarded as the portents of misfortune who were socially ostracized and even burnt to death in some cases. Norman Miller, a...
Pandemic Of The 'War' Rhetoric
'Madagascar' may seem to be a harmless children's movie about Alex, the lion – the star of New York's Central Park Zoo, and his friends Marty – the zebra, Melman – the giraffe and Gloria – the hippopotamus, who escape the captivity of the zoo to explore "the wild". On their journey, they cross paths with King Julien, a ring-tailed lemur, the self-proclaimed King of the Kingdom...
Government vs. WhatsApp Blame Game: Let User Privacy Win!
The relevance and dependence on technology has increased over the years and the kind of impact that any misuse of technology may attract is manifold. It is therefore, necessary to only legislate provisions that have been ably thought through and carefully drafted. Such provisions also demand meticulous review before enforcement through pre-legislative processes (including inputs /...