Articles
'Incitement Of Insurrection' And The Brandenburg Test
With the acquittal of President Donald Trump by the Senate his impeachment trial saga has come to a close. There are however, several takeaways from the debates and discussions involved in the process, the most important being the Supreme Court case of Brandenburg Vs. Ohio 395 U.S. 444 (1969) which had laid down the famous 'Brandenburg test' on 'Free Speech' and 'Protected Speech' – a right guaranteed by the First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment to the American Constitution. The...
New GoI Limitations On International Webinars: Not Just Freedom Of Speech, Even The Scientific/Academic Freedom At Stake!
England was in height of civil war on 23rd November 1664. Famous writer John Milton was questioning the license Raj for printing books in historic writing of pamphlet called Areopagitica. Milton says: God endowed every person with the reason, free will, and conscience to judge ideas for themselves, so the ideas in a text should be rejected by the reader's own choice, not by a licensing authority. We have the history of Galilieo Galilei prosecuted by Church, 400 years ago for having...
Safoora Zargar And Disha Ravi: A Tale of Two Bail Orders
The order granting bail to Disha Ravi in a sedition case is remarkable not so much because of its outcome, but because of the short shrift that it gives to the State's hysterical accusations of conspiracy-by-Google-Docs. In ordinary circumstances, this would not be remarkable either – judicial skepticism towards the State's claims of far-reaching conspiracies to justify keeping people in jail, when there exists no evidence linking them to actual violence, should be par for the course. However,...
Insolvency Law In Review – January 2021
The enactment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (Code) has had significant ramifications on the corporate insolvency landscape. Over time, the Code has witnessed a manifold increase in litigation, and consequently in the number of decisions. This has made it difficult for insolvency practitioners to stay updated with developments in the field. The purpose of this column is to fill this gap by providing brief summaries of latest decisions, from the various fora dealing with...
Appointing The Chief Justice of India–What Is The Criteria?
The current Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde, is due to retire in April. Justice NV Ramana, the next senior most Judge, is in the line to be next CJI. The Constitution is silent on the procedure for appointment of the CJI and the matter is governed purely by Convention.The Supreme Court of India is presided over by the Chief Justice of India ('CJI'). Although, the CJI is merely the first amongst equals, s/he is the master of the administrative side of the Court and takes certain crucial...
A Reminder On The Statutory Provisions Of Arrest And Remand In The Context Of Disha Ravi's Arrest
The 18th century Italian criminologist, jurist and philosopher Cesare Beccaria was probably the first person to have theorised rules of legislation in a series of articles on various aspects of criminal law published in English as An Essay On Crimes and Punishments. He propounded the theory of separation of powers by saying it is not for the sovereign who represents society to say whether any individual has violated the law. In case of a violation, there are two parties: the state, which insists...
India's First Dictatorship : The Emergency 1975-77
A recent book titled " India's First Dictatorship : The Emergency 1975-77 " by Christophe Jaffrelot and Pratinav Anil, sets out how the Judiciary Capitulated - Or Resisted - During the Emergency. This article seeks to highlight, a brave judgement delivered by Justice Sesha Iyengar Rangarajan of the Delhi High Court in a writ petition filed on behalf of the journalist Kuldip Nayar, father of Shri Rajeev Nayyar Senior Advocate. I would like to elaborate on this, since I have been...
Union Of India v K.A. Najeeb – A Ray Of Hope For UAPA Undertrials?
The Supreme Court (SC) on 1st February 2020 delivered an important judgment, Union of India v KA Najeeb (K.A. Najeeb), related to granting of bail in Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) 1967 cases. The Court held that any constitutional court has the power to grant bail to people accused of offences under UAPA irrespective of Section 43-D (5), so as to enforce the right to speedy trial which is guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. The judgment has been hailed as the step in...
Under RTI Lok Pal Minutes Are Not 'Secret'
Wrong invocation of two Supreme Court judgments While denying the minutes of appointment of Lok Pal, recently the Central Information Commission has wrongly quoted the two Supreme Court judgements and gave order exactly opposite to the letter and spirit of RTI jurisprudence and prudence. The Lok Pal as an institution is the result of the people's struggle against corruption. The civil society wanted a high-level body which can even question the allegations of corruption...
Important Judgments Passed By The Orissa High Court: January 2021
The High Court of Orissa has passed several vital judgments in January 2021. This month holds more importance as Hon'ble Dr. Justice S. Muralidhar took over as the new Chief Justice of the High Court on 4 January. Jurisprudence of several laws was evolved through some remarkable verdicts delivered throughout the month. Some of the most important decisions are briefly discussed below.1. High Court cannot act as a second court of first appeal in disciplinary proceedings. Case Details:...
A Truly Uniform Judiciary Through A Hybrid Hearing System
When we entered 2020, it was unimaginable that the Supreme Court of India would start its functioning completely online. The corridors till February were packed with lawyers and litigants, the court halls over-crowded, physical files being loaded in tons by the clerks and court staff to and from the court halls, internal arrangement of the court halls being constantly altered to accommodate the ever-growing assemblage of advocates. One recalls, with much nostalgia, even those moments of...
The Supreme Court Should Go Back To Doing What It Is Designed To Do By Our Constitution
In a village brawl a village elder ends the brawl by advising withdrawal from the ego fight and to let the by-gones be by-gones. Supreme Court tried to be that wise old elder unsuccessfully and drew a huge flack. Basically it is constitutionally unsuitable for such a role. However whether or not it was appropriate for it to do so, it halted the implementation of the Farm laws indefinitely. It constituted a 4 member Committee of experts in the field, to hear the grievances of the farmers and...