Criminal Procedure Identification Act, 2022

The recently enacted Criminal Identification Act, 2022 has spurred a lot of protests among human rights activists. This law replaces the colonial Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920 and authorizes the executive to take measurements of convicts and other persons for the purpose of identification and investigation in criminal matters. It also authorizes the preservation of records and data. The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 28th March...

The Digital Data Protection Bill, 2022 And The Concerns Associated

Center's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) recently tabled another version of the data protection bill called the Digital Data Protection Bill, 2022. This is the fourth instance when the Center presented a bill on data protection. The Supreme Court, in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) &Another vs. Union of India & Others, 2017, held that the right to privacy is a fundamental right enriched in Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Subsequent to this, the...

Victim Participation In Criminal Justice System: An Indian Perspective

The crime victims' rights movement advocates for the rights of the victims of crime in criminal justice process. The concern for victim's rights had long been subdued. Eventually over a period, the victims' rights have become a focal point of the discussion. Starting from the point when an offence is reported to the investigating agency, till the stage of filing of charges and commencement of trial, the role of victim is overshadowed by the prosecuting officers. In earlier times, the...

Interpreting MTP Act From A Pro Choice Perspective

The debate on right of a woman to terminate pregnancy is divided between two main groups: pro-life and pro-choice. Attempt here is to examine development of law on the subject in India from a pro-choice perspective. Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 ("the MTP Act") that governs the field in India aimed to address the issue of illegal abortions resulting in risks to life of women. It was enacted as it was realized that the provisions of IPC dealing with illegal abortions were...

'Some Files Approved Fast, Some Kept Pending' : A Look At The Time Taken By Centre In Accepting Different Collegium Recommendations

Some recommendations are approved fast, but some others are kept pending for months, observed the Supreme Court recently while hearing a case filed against the Union Government for delaying approval for collegium proposals.There is no definite time-line set for the Centre to decide on collegium proposals, except in respect to names reiterated by the collegium as High Court judges, where there is a definite judicial direction to the Centre to make the appointment within 3-4 weeks. Due to the...

Some Suggestions To Improve The Collegium System of Appointments

We are back to square one upon Supreme Court of India striking down 99th Constitutional Amendment Act which (brought into force w.e.f. 13/4/2015) which inserted Articles 124A,124B,124C in the Constitution of India and made corresponding changes in the Articles 124 and 217, 222. [Please refer to SCORA vs. UOI (2016) 5 SCC 1] In view of the aforesaid development, the collegium system evolved by the Supreme Court in SCORA vs. UOI (1993) 4 SCC 441 as modified in Re Presidential Reference AIR...

Nani Palkhivala-The Gentle Colossus

December 11 marks the 20th anniversary of the passing of the one and only Nani Palkhivala. It is appropriate to remember him and light his memory on this occasion. Lawyer, jurist, expert in constitutional law, public finance and taxation, educationist, diplomat and statesman, Nanabhoy Ardeshir Palkhivala was all this and more. His was a multi-splendoured life marked by integrity and versatility. Very few are called upon to play such diverse and distinguished roles and fewer still acquit...

Justice Krishna Iyer- A Tribute

If greatness consists in the combination of character and intellect and is to be judged by the lasting value of work done and the impact it has had on men and matters, Justice Vaidyanathapuram Rama Ayyar Krishna Iyer was amongst the greatest. It is given to very few to be a legend in one's own life time and earn universal admiration, affection and reverence. A multi-faceted personality with signal achievements, Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer was undoubtedly one such. Born on November 15,...

Objection Milord!

Skirmishes between the Court on the one hand and the Executive or the Legislature on the other hand are not unknown. The Judiciary is often considered the custodian of the Constitution – to the protest of the elected. Scholars, some scholarly politicians and most politicians have termed the power of the judicial organ as the "tyranny of the unelected". Yet, over the years, history and experience show that the legitimacy of the judicial organ is akin to the legitimacy of the rule of law –...

An Open Letter To The Law Minister: The Origin And Not An Unqualified Rationale Of The Collegium System Of Appointments

Dear Sir, This is with regard to your observation that the collegium system of appointments is alien to the Indian Constitution. Like all constitutions across the world, not everything is written in the constitution. And, not everything written in the Constitution is immutable. Our Constitution provided for nebulously "consultation" with the Chief Justice of India, for judicial appointments. The word "consultation" has legitimate interpretations given the immensity of the scale of the...

An Act Of Judicial Indiscipline

Occasionally, the outcome of the judicial process is shocking. One of them is the recent order of the CentralInformation Commission making remarks about an earlier Supreme Court judgement. I feel those remarks amount to a serious judicial indiscipline. The issue before the Commission was about the disclosure of information relating to honorarium (salary) payable to the Imams in Muslims mosques through the Delhi Waqf Board and the Commission felt that the Delhi government was not giving...

Maintaining Equality In Claiming Maintenance

Recently, the Supreme Court of India has given yet another decision explaining the scope of Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ('the Code') contained in Chapter IX,[1] adding to a legion of cases doing the same. Though, as the name suggests, the Code is by and large a procedural enactment. Section 125 is one of the exceptions that creates a substantive right for claiming maintenance. An often overlooked aspect of Chapter IX is the procedural provision which has been...