Articles
Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020- Slapdash Drafting, Reflects Lack Of Vision And Unconstitutional
The Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020 (Hereafter, referred to as "the Act" for convenience) has been enacted by the Government of Gujarat by notifying the same in the Gujarat government Gazette/extraordinary volume LXI dated 09/10/2020 and the same has been brought into force from 29/08/2020. From the reading of the Act, it is clear that it is a special law providing civil and criminal remedies and liabilities under one roof with regard to the act of land grabbing. It provides ...
Victim Restitution- A Vanishing Point In Criminology
"Victimology must find fulfillment not through barbarity but by compulsory recoupment by the wrongdoer of the damage inflicted, not by giving more pain to the offender but by lessening the loss of the forlorn." - Krishna Iyer J. in Maru Ram & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors[1]. The traditional methods of criminology have been unsuccessful in furthering the aims of criminal justice. A shift from retribution to restitution began in the mid-1960s and gained momentum in the following...
The Helpless Custodians!
Lately, there has been public distress about policing which calls for strong police reforms. The "2019 Data on Police Organization by Bureau of Police Research & Development" suggests that there is a shortage of policing resources and tools, and thus, to tackle the same, India not only needs an augmentation of budget and grants, but also an evaluated resourcing. This blog employs the latest government data and survey reports by civil societies and research groups, to evaluate the ...
International Best Practices For Whistle-Blowers: What India Can Adopt?
Whistleblowing is an act whereby an individual discloses any unethical, illegal or unauthorised act of an individual to the public at large. The RTI Act, 2005 has come to be as 'twin sister' of whistleblowing. The Act has been used effectively to expose off the illegal activities. Much of the information that comes out through this is related to development projects, illegal mining, land acquisitions, welfare schemes, money laundering, etc. But, the large number of whistle-blowers has to...
Does Election Commission Possess The Power To De-Register A Political Party
In India, not every association requires to get itself registered by the Election Commission. Only an association or body of individual citizens of India referring to itself as a political party and intending to avail itself of the provisions of Part-IV-A which relates to registration of political parties of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, is required to get itself registered with the Election Commission of India. Part-IV-A of the Representation of the People Act contains...
The Forgotten Hero Of India's Constitution Making: Remembering K.T. Shah On His Birth Anniversary
I shall not die, these seeds I've sown will save My name and reputation from the grave And men of sense and wisdom will proclaim When I have gone, my praises and my fame! -Persian poet Ferdowsi concluded the Shah Nama (The Books of Kings), a long epic poem that is still considered as the national epic of Iran, with the above verses. As far as contemporary India is concerned, its national epic is its Constitution. Many towering statesmen played remarkable roles in the moulding of...
Grappling With The Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020
With the enactment of Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020 ("the Gujarat Act" or "the Act") that came into effect from 29.08.2020, Gujarat became the fourth State to have a Land Grabbing Act. Andhra Pradesh was the first State to enact it in 1982 followed by Assam in 2011 and Karnataka in 2014. The Gujarat Act draws heavily and selectively from the earlier acts giving us a maze of an Act. An effort to understand its scope and effect throws many questions with no easy answers. ...
Plea Bargaining In India
Plea bargaining is an agreement in a criminal case in which a prosecutor and an accused arrange to settle the case against the accused. The accused agrees to plead guilty or no contest in exchange for some concession from the prosecutor, such as a reduced or lessor category of charge, or a reduced sentence.The Law Commission of India advocated the introduction of plea bargaining in India (even though the Supreme Court was not in favour, in its 142 nd, 154 th and 177 th reports. The...
Rampant Misuse Of Criminal Justice System calls For Interventionist Approach From Supreme Court
The rampant misuse (if not abuse) of the Indian criminal justice system certainly calls for an interventionist approach from our Supreme Court (SC). A hands-off approach is no good and, in fact, seems to be encouraging those who want to take advantage of the law to inconvenience anyone who is perhaps an annoyance to them. I refer to the spate of First Information Reports (FIRs) filed by different people in different parts of the country so that the accused is harassed and made to run from one...
Cryptocurrency And Regulation Of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 And Legal Framework Ahead
A dubious concern in the banking finance sector in India today is the debate over according legal status to crypto/virtual currencies ("CCs"). The Reserve Bank of India ("RBI"), vide a notification[1] ("Notification"), directed all entities regulated by RBI not to deal in CCs or provide any services for facilitating any person in dealing or settling with CCs. As the blockchain enthusiasts, the crypto-exchanges and individuals holding CCs, across the globe watched in approbation, in March...
Impeachment Trial Process And Significance Of Closing Arguments (Recollections From President Andrew Johnson's Trial)
An impeachment trial in USA is not a criminal trial, as understood in ordinary parlance. It was never intended to be conducted like criminal trials before courts of law, although, it partakes some trappings of such criminal trials like filing of articles of charges, opening statements by the parties, filing documentary evidence, witness testimony, closing arguments and pronouncement of verdict. It is however, remedial in character and is not punitive. A sentence does not necessarily...