Decoding The ICJ Order On Rohingya Genocide In Myanmar

Yesterday, the International Court of Justice issued its decision relating to the request for provisional measures in the case brought by The Gambia against Myanmar, relating to the Genocide Convention and the Rohingya. This order is the result of an application filed by The Gambia on 11 November 2019 at the ICJ. As I have previously written about the application, as well as days 1, 2 and 3 of the hearings held in December 2019, I will not recap the arguments raised but instead...

Challenge Against The Citizenship (Amendment) Act : Beyond The Basic Arguments

Thus far, the constitutional debate around the Citizenship (Amendment) Act has been framed around the following arguments: (a) does the grant of immunity and citizenship to a select group of migrants violate the principle of "reasonable classification" under Article 14, by virtue of the individuals and groups it excludes?; (b) does the selection of groups lack any "determining principle", and is therefore unconstitutionally arbitrary?; and (c) by privileging religious persecution over other...

Analyzing Section 44A Of CPC In The Light Of Recent Govt.Notification Declaring UAE As A Reciprocating Country

Section 44A of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 encapsulates the principle of reciprocity, i.e. execution of foreign decree passed by a foreign country(reciprocating) in India and the manner in which it is to be done. The said provision is reproduced as under: 44A. Execution of Decress passed by Courts in reciprocating territory— (1)Where a certified copy of a decree of any of the superior Courts of any reciprocating territroy has been filed in a District Court, the decree may be...

UAPA Cases - Does The NIA Act Affect The Federal System?

NIA and Its Jurisdiction. National Investigation Agency was constituted by the NIA Act, 2008 (NIA/Agency) for the investigation and prosecution of offences affecting the national security, sovereignty and integrity of the nation. The Agency became well-known among the public as the investigation of offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (the law of terrorism) is mainly done by it. UAPA is one of the Acts adhered to the schedule to the NIA Act. The Agency is...

Decoding The Enquiries Under Prevention Of Money Laundering Act, Customs Act Vis-A-Vis The Personal Liberty: (PART 1)

India is one amongst the country who is apart from transforming its own economy, is proving its mettle at the world's stage. The spine of an economy certainly depends upon its tax, revenue regimes, and allied economic policies. For a country to grow, it is equally responsible for its law enforcement agencies how do they deal with the alleged tax and duty violators. Many cases allege harrying, pertaining to the enquiries made by the Directorate General, be it under Prevention of Money...

How Governments Sidestepped Compliance With The Salwa Judum Decision

In July 2011, a panel of Justice B. Sudarshan Reddy (who was slated to retire from office that week) and Justice S.S. Nijjar declared the establishment of Salwa Judum unconstitutional and ordered that it be disbanded immediately. It also directed an immediate end to the deployment of the SPOs in counter-insurgency operations. The state and central governments were censured for their conduct from the time of the filing of the PIL in 2005.The state government was criticized for making misleading...

Kashmir : Why SC's Omission To Address 'Emergency' Argument Of Petitioners Is Problematic?

The judgment has not dealt with the argument that lockdown of an entire state can be done only by declaring formal Emergency.

Right To Free Speech Versus Right To Reputation

Legal implications for Social Media Platform providers in India

Cry Me A Constitution

Come on and cry me a river Cry me a river Cause I cried, I cried, I cried a river over you -Ella Fitzgerald 1961, song written by Arthur Hamilton.

Law Relating To Encounter Killings By The Police

"Encounter killings" or "retaliatory killings" or "extra-judicial executions" by the Police are disconcertingly on the increase now-a-days. Such killings most of which are alleged to be "fake encounters", however, evoke rapturous joy and exhilaration among the general public and also in the print, electronic and social media. Paying rich encomiums to the trigger-happy Police personnel, opinions are even aired that rapists and hardcore marauders should be exterminated through lynching in...

Attack On JNU : What Explains The Trust Deficit In Constitutional Courts?

It is saddening to see the massive erosion of public confidence in Courts.

The Onus To Declare Rarest Of The Rare: Subtle Failures Of Substantial Justice

Judgments of criminal courts, more often than not, serve as messages to the society. Apart from settling the questions of law urged by the parties before the court, they go on to convey the message of judicial conscience to the society at large and this message emanating from the judicial conscience of the courts becomes crucial to be conveyed when criminal minds achieve new levels of depravity through criminal acts. The Indian society is venturing into newer areas of criminal depravity ...