Friend Of The Court: NJAC: Part 3

Description: The Narendra Modi-led NDA comes to power in 2014 and immediately sets its sights on judicial reforms. A new NJAC act is passed in Parliament. A constitutional amendment paving the way for the Act is also passed. Troubled lawyers move the courts opposing the new laws, objecting to the role of the executive that the Act outlines. A vacation bench hears the matter in the summer...

Friend Of The Court: NJAC: Part 2

Episode description: The first major judgement concerning judicial appointments, known as the First Judges case is pronounced. The judgement says that the executive has an upper hand in making appointments. This question is reopened a few years later, in what becomes known as the Second Judges case. A new system is born, in which judges appoint judges. They have the upper hand in...

Friend Of The Court: NJAC: Part 1

Description: The Constitution spells out the procedure for appointing judges as a consultative process between the government and the judiciary. In the early years of independence, conventions evolve to give the judiciary the upper hand, which the government accepts. But not all is well between the government and the courts. Right from the Nehru years, the government's social...

Friend Of The Court: Cauvery River Water Dispute: Part 2

Description: For years the central government delays setting up a tribunal to resolve the water-sharing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, bad monsoons exacerbate issues for farmers on both sides. In 1990, the Supreme Court finally directs the centre to set up a tribunal, a quasi-judicial body to deal with the dispute. Both sides lay their claims before the tribunal...

Friend Of The Court: Cauvery River Water Dispute: Part 1

Episode description: The Cauvery river, which flows through the Southern peninsula has long been the site of disagreements and negotiations. The dispute initially takes off in the 1800s when the princely state of Mysore and Presidency of Madras both lay claim to the river. With new dam building technologies, each side tries to best harness the waters to their ends. Eventually the two...

Friend Of The Court: Episode 3; Jain Hawala Diaries: Part 3

Episode description: The 1996 elections loom, and a beleaguered Congress party struggles to win back power. In the meantime, the Hawala PIL is clubbed with other similar anti-corruption petitions in the Supreme court. In the lower court, LK Advani and other prominent figures, find themselves facing a trial in the Hawala corruption-related cases. As action builds inside and outside...

Friend Of The Court: Episode 2; Jain Hawala Diaries: Part 2

Description: The CBI's investigation into the mysterious set of diaries has stalled, despite evidence of widespread corruption among top politicians and bureaucrats. Public-spirited citizens decide it is time to act. Journalist Vineet Narain picks up the story again and makes it a national issue through his video platform. Senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani joins the crusade. Anil Divan,...

Friend Of The Court: Episode 1; Jain Hawala Diaries: Part 1

Description: It's 1991. Rajiv Gandhi has been assassinated and PV Narasimha Rao has just been sworn in. Militancy is on the rise in Kashmir. The CBI discovers a mysterious set of diaries while investigating terror financing networks. The trail leads to the Jains, a powerful business family That in turn points to Rs 65 crore being paid to various prominent figures, including politicians...

Friend Of The Court: A New Podcast Series That Illuminates Three Major Constitutional Cases

The Friend of the Court is a podcast series from the Anil Divan Foundation in collaboration with the School of Law, Governance and Citizenship at Ambedkar University Delhi. The Anil Divan Foundation was established in 2018 to support legal education and research in India. The podcast is its flagship research project through which it aims to narrate important constitutional stories in...