'Pub' In Republic- Interesting Court Room Exchanges

Part IV of the Constitution of India contains the Chapter on Directive Principles of State Policy ("DPSP"). The Part casts a non-binding obligation on the government, to promote and achieve certain objectives mentioned therein. The debate and furore over protection of cattle, implementation of the Uniform Civil Code and recognizing labour rights, all have their genesis in Part IV. Interestingly, Article 47 of the Chapter also obligates the government to prohibit consumption of...

Increasing Incidences Of Depression And Suicide Necessitate Compulsory Mental Health Education In Jharkhand Schools

Severity of Mental Health Issues in the students Being home to two premiere institutions: Central Institute of Psychiatry (CIP) and Ranchi Institute of Neuro Psychiatry and Allied Sciences (RINPAS), Jharkhand is well-known in the Indian Map of Mental Health. But when we look at the statistics, they are very alarming. As per the National Mental Health Survey of India (2015-16) conducted by Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and NIMHANS, at least 11.1% population of Jharkhand ...

'My Constitutional Right To Fair Trial Will Be Violated If This Court Doesn't Intervene': Mehul Choksi Submits Before Delhi HC In Plea Against Netflix's Big Boy Billionaire

Mehul Choksi has submitted before the Delhi High Court that his constitutional right to fair trial will be severely affected if the court doesn't exercise its writ jurisdiction against Netflix's docu-series Big Boy Billionaire. While addressing the Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan, Choksi submitted that the investigation against him is going on and he has agreed to join the same through video-conferencing. Mehul Choksi has moved an appeal against the...

Professor Ranbir Singh: An Appreciation

Professor Ranbir Singh is widely respected as a great institution-builder and a celebrated academic leader in the legal world. After serving as the founding Vice-Chancellor of two National Law Universities, that is, NALSAR, Hyderabad, and National Law University, Delhi, for more than twenty years, he is going to retire next week. He is a great and innovative law teacher and a wise and very important academic leader who has made a Himalayan contribution to the Indian legal education system...

Farm Bills: Abuse of Legislative Due Process Vitiates the Law

The indecent haste with which the divisive farm bills have been legislated into law raise several disquieting questions about the future of our parliamentary democracy. The voice of the Opposition was suppressed and dissent against the Bills bludgeoned to ram through with their passage in both Houses of Parliament, in a brazen abuse of power without a meaningful debate. The audacious bypassing of parliamentary processes will remain etched in public memory as a watershed event in the...

A Critical Note On Supreme Court's UGC Judgement

On 6 July 2020, the University Grants Commission ('UGC') released guidelines directing all colleges, universities and institutions of higher education to conduct final year/ terminal semester examinations before 30 September 2020 ('Guidelines'). These Guidelines had been released at a time when the number of COVID-19 cases continued, and still do, to increase exponentially with every passing day; and have added to additional stress on universities, colleges and students across the country....

How Judges Judge?

We have been reading the criticism against Justice Arun Mishra, a judge, recently retired from the Supreme Court for quite some time now particularly, with respect to the performance of his judicial functions as a judge. In his farewell speech he said that: "I have dealt with every case with my conscience and took every decision with conviction." He went on to urge the legal fraternity to analyse every judgement of his "but do not give them this colour or that colour." This statement...

Mapping The Human Rights And Environmental Perils Of Illegal Coal Mining In Meghalaya: An Analysis

The problem of mining in the North-Eastern region of the country has been incessantly perturbing the ecology over a while now. A year ago, newspapers were flooded with articles pertaining to excessive coal-mining in Meghalaya. However, the sad part was the inability of the state government to tackle the herculean problem which was taking up menacing proportions. The situation became so chaotic and grim that the National Green Tribunal had to intervene. The Tribunal's intervention was...

A Tribute To Late Prof (Dr.) Mool Chand Sharma

This heartfelt tribute is in remembrance of Prof (Dr.) Mool Chand Sharma, a law professor extraordinaire, an esteemed academician, a prolific author, an indefatigable institution builder, and one of the kindest human beings I have known. His sudden demise has come as a rude shock causing immense grief to all those who knew him and worked with him, especially scores of law students who learnt from his knowledge and wisdom. Prof. Sharma was a distinguished Professor of Law at the Faculty...

"You Can't Spell Truth Without Ruth" – Remembering RBG

As I woke up this morning, I learnt of the passing of the iconic Ruth Bader Ginsburg, at the ripe age of 87. When I first heard of the Justice back in law school, I wondered what the fuss was all about – after all, she was just another Judge of the American top court. Curiosity made me read about her and watch her speak on YouTube – only then did I learn that she was a giant and an inspiration, which perhaps was the reason for her Rockstar image. Born in a 1933 in a Jewish family in...

Ruth Bader Ginsberg: The Greatest Liberal Judge Of Our Times

As the news broke out across the world, crowds began gathering outside the Supreme Court of United States. This spontaneous burst of emotion is a unprecedented tribute for one of the greatest of the liberal judges of our time – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. It is but a rarity in history, particularly in judicial history, when a judge's passing away evokes so much of choking emotion across the globe. This is because no other judge in recent history has left such an indelible and an...

Is the Central Government Bound To Pay GST Compensation To The States?

The decision of the Central Government to not pay Goods and services tax compensation to the States have met with protests. The States have accused the Centre of evading its "constitutional and moral" responsibility, while the Centre has cited insufficient tax collection to defend its austerity. The question that arises here is: Is the Central Government legally bound to pay Goods and services tax compensation ('GST') compensation to the States? The answer lies within the legal...