Articles
Law On Reels - 'Ardh Satya': A Nuanced Movie On Working Of Indian Police
"Jab court ki date aane wali hoti hai to hum chhuti lekar case diary bharte hai",[1] said a police officer in a conference I recently attended. Police reforms in India have been talked about for almost 4 decades now. But our police continue to be overburdened. It continues to operate under archaic laws and colonial mind set with all kinds of prejudices. And this is where Ardh Satya becomes relevant; a movie which till date remains one of the most nuanced films on police machinery in India....
Indian Civil Liberties Union: Ensuring Right To Legal Representation To All
In 2018, Indian Civil Liberties Union was conceptualized in the wake of increasing hate crimes and the need for an organization to provide quick legal response. Today the ICLU is a vibrant network of lawyers, activists, paralegals and students from all over India who work untiringly to defend constitutional values and preserve the rights and freedoms of citizens and others. Led by Advocate Anas Tanwir, the association has lent a hand in the drafting of the anti-lynching laws and execution of the...
Walayar Case: Commission Of Inquiry Reduced To A Mockery
Today the local news channels of Kerala have flashed the breaking news that the State Cabinet has appointed a retired District Judge as a Commission of Inquiry to go into the lapses in the investigation and prosecution of the Walayar case in which two juvenile girls who were allegedly ravished and subjected to sexual abuse repeatedly, committed suicide. The Sessions Court, after trial acquitted the accused persons who were charge sheeted by the Police. 2. There is no dispute...
The Right To Protest (with Face Masks)
Earlier this morning, the High Court of Hong Kong handed down an important judgment on the "balance" between personal liberty and national security. Readers will be aware that for the last few months, there have been mass public protests in Hong Kong. In response, the Hong Kong government passed the Prohibition on Face Covering Regulation ["PFCR"] which, as the name suggests, prohibited protesters in public spaces from wearing face masks to hide their identities. The PFCR was passed under the...
Sabarimala Review : Majority Order Is Without Jurisdiction
The majority order in Sabarimala Review Petitions is beyond the scope of Article 137 of the Constitution which confers power of review on the Supreme Court. The reviewing power is subject to law made by the Parliament and Rules made by the Supreme Court under Article 145 of the Constitution. [Order 47 embodied in the Supreme Court Rules, 2013]. The ambit of the review power is limited and circumscribed. Review is not an appeal or a denovo consideration of the matter. Its not a rehearing....
Cryptocurrency In India : Legality, Challenges And Sustainability
If during the 'barter era' of stone age, you proposed payments through e-wallets and other electronic/digital modes of payment and termed currencies as legal tenders, one would consider you lunatic, maniac and obnoxious. With passage of time, necessity gave birth to innovation and with innovation came the unimaginable. However, with every advent of an 'unimaginable' came the need to regulate the thing and assess the same on the touchstone of national security and commercial viability. One...
The Tribunals Judgment – II: On Independence
In yesterday's post, I discussed the significance of the Tribunals Judgment on the vexed issue of money bills. Today's post discusses the judgment's engagement with the principal legal provision under challenge – Section 184 of the Finance Act. While the majority upheld the constitutionality of the Finance Act – but struck down the Rules framed under it – Chandrachud and Gupta JJ, writing separate dissenting opinions, struck down the primary legislation as well.Recall that Section 184 of the Act...
