Taking White Collar Crime Seriously

A rising tide lifts all boats.[1]It is only when the tide goes out that you learn who has been swimming naked.[2]Afinancial crisis is often followed by a rise in financial crimes. A crisis, such as the one we now face, not only presents an opportunity (and greater motivation) for all sorts of financial shenanigans but also lays bare – the true financial position of a lot of corporations. You'd recall when the proverbial economic tide went-out in 2008 (because of the global financial crisis)...

The Reading List Project : Must-Read Books For Law Students & Lawyers

The Idea Most law students in India find their legal education to be outdated and incomplete. Colleges and universities often teach foundational theories and concepts with a few basic procedural and substantive laws. While this helps in creating a basic understanding, it is in no way enough. To fill this void of knowledge, most law students take to reading — only to realize that they do not know what they should or shouldn't read. Also, while a number of reading lists are already ...

Justice YV Chandrachud: A Gentle Colossus-A Centennial Tribute

A hundred years since he was born and thirty five years after he retired, it is appropriate to remember and pay tribute to Justice Y. V. Chandrachud, the 16th Chief Justice of India. He has the unique distinction of having had the longest tenure of about seven and half years as Chief Justice of India which would in all probability remain unparalleled. He was indeed a great judge, one who could hold his own among the great of all time anywhere, and a gracious human being. To borrow what was...

Women In Constituent Assembly : Engaging With The Role Of Hansa Mehta

('Women In Constituent Assembly' series will discuss the role played by women in the Constituent Assembly of India. This is the second article of the series. The first one was about Dakshayani Velayudhan)Constitutions impact women. Even when constitutional provisions appear to be neutral, they impact lives of women differently. From distribution of power amongst Union and States to rights provisions in Constitutions, women are important stakeholders in constitution making processes.[1] ...

Drone Rules : Privacy Concerns In The Draft Unmanned Aircraft System Rules, 2020

The draft Unmanned Aircraft System Rules, 2020 ("Draft Rules"), which was released for public comments earlier this month, appear to have left a chasm by having inadequately addressed privacy concerns. Privacy emerges as a core concern as an imminent consequence arising out of civil/commercial operations of drones. Rule 35(1) of the Rules state as follows: "An imagery may be captured by an unmanned aircraft except in the non-permissible area after ensuring the privacy of an...

[Law On Reels] "Who Are You People?" 'Boston Legal' And The Death Sentence For Rape

'Boston Legal' (2004-2008) is one of the more popular American TV series on the 'Law' genre. Created by David E. Kelly, 'Boston Legal' ran for 5 seasons and 101 episodic narrations of the lives and the cases conducted by the lawyers of the fictional law firm 'Crane Poole and Schmidt' based out of Boston, Massachusetts. The only real lawyer in that series and that too an alumnus of Boston University School of Law, was the creator David E. Kelly himself!The two main protagonists in this TV...

Fixing Accountability Of Judicial Magistrates

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings." The brutal custodial killing of the father and son in Tamil Nadu has not only triggered a public outcry against the police which continues to function under colonial law and with a colonial mindset but has also raised serious questions about our judicial magistracy and its functional attitude towards custody jurisprudence. The family of the deceased has accused the judicial magistrate of...

Chinese App Vs The Tradition Of Bar

Recently, two very well-known learned Senior Advocates of the Supreme Court of India declared that they will not appear for a Chinese App against the Government of India. The same became the talk of the town to the extent that social media started praising them for showing their Patriotism towards the Country. This obviously meant that any other lawyer accepting the brief for the Chinese App would be considered either less patriotic or as they say 'ANTI NATIONAL'. Be that as it may,...

Covid-19,Climate Change And Planetary Health

1. INTRODUCTION Exposing the inadequacy of dominant western ethical tradition to provide a satisfactory basis for an environmental ethic and decrying human chauvinism, Richard Routley in his Last Man Arguments, asked us to visualize a hypothetical situation in which the last person, surviving a world catastrophe, acts to ensure the elimination of all other living things and non-natural world after his demise. Anthropocentrically, the last person would do nothing morally wrong, yet...

[Courts And Corona] Functioning Of NCDRC In The Post Covid Era

While most Courts and major Tribunals in the country quickly adapted to the new normal and shifted to video hearings in the first phase of the lockdown itself, the Hon'ble National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ["NCDRC"] has been slightly slower to adapt and started video hearings of matters only from 15th June, 2020. However, all notices issued on the website of the NCDRC during the lockdown do indicate that litigants / counsels were allowed to mention urgent matters at the...

Liability Immunity & Compensation Programmes During Public Health Emergencies

Introduction: Over the past few months, we saw this nation collectively coming forward with various gestures and events to appreciate the efforts of our health care workers amidst the Covid-19 outbreak. Simultaneously, we also witnessed an increasing violence against these frontline warriors which led to the promulgation of an ordinance[1] to curb the same. This puzzling contrast itself is a definite indication for the state to ensure further policy safeguards to protect the interest...

Mediation/Settlement Talks - A New Lease Of Life For Time Barred Arbitration Claims?

Focus on Mediation/Settlement under the Indian regime Contemporary legislative and judicial trends suggest that Indian commercial litigation has been focussing on mediation as a tool to resolve disputes, more than ever before. For instance, Section 12A of the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act, 2015 ("Commercial Courts Act") introduced the concept of mandatory 'Pre-Institution Mediation and Settlement' under Section 12...