Don’t Kill the Voices – Punish the Expression Killers

If message is bad, messenger shall not be killed. Bad reports reflect bad society. By reporting it, a journalist is helping the world to correct itself.  We have a Constitution which guarantees that no person shall be killed without the procedure established by law.  But the lives of journalists are being taken by those who never respect the law.  Leaders who take oath to work according to Constitution established by law, are hand in glove with the thugs and black money launderers in killing the...

Court takes suo moto action on Chhatishgarh sterilization death; Bail granted to the Doctor-accused in the case as his counsel stated doctors cannot be arrested in the cases of medical negligence before a proper probe is conducted

The death of women in sterilization camps has brought to the forefront several issues. It has not stopped at the death of these women but has led further to talk about rights of these women and punitive actions being taken against those responsible. It has opened up debates which have been pending for a long time in India. Chhattisgarh State Legal Services Authority has also been directed by the court to conduct camps in villages and use various means of communication to spread awareness among...

Lack of legal compliance and non-payment of tax by Uber brings to the forefront the lacunae in law and lack in implementation of the existing law

Uber is an international internet based company, based out of San Francisco; it is wholly based on technology. Valued at around 18 billion, various entities have invested in Uber, including big-wigs such as Google ventures, Blackrock, Goldman Sachs and also Jeff Bezos (CEO, Amazon).Lately Uber has been catching the backdraft of the for the unfortunate rape incident where Cab driver using the Uber application raped a woman in Delhi. This has brought to the forefront a lacunae in the law.However,...

After the death of women due to sterilization in Chhatishgarh; Odisha bans sterilization camps due to probe showing bicycle pumps were used during tubectomies; today Indian doctor feel asleep as he was drunkand was suspended

The abysmal stories of botched sterilization and incompetence of doctors continue. Today’s news shows authorities in Himachal Pradesh have suspended a doctor who allegedly fell asleep in the midst of performing sterilisation surgeries.A report showing bicycle pumps being used on 56 women during tubectomies at a camp in Odisha's Angul district on 28.11.2014 was shown by the media. The state government took action and after an administrative probe, issued a blanket ban on sterilization camps."The...

Barriers/Challenges and Related Issues to Reproductive Rights

Following from the first article there are several barriers in the way of realizing the right to reproductive health. Some of these challenges are real and can be overcome by appropriate funding and change at a national policy level and with proper implementation of the effective policies in place. For example issues dealing with clinical care, level of health systems and training of healthcare practitioners. Other challenges are political and have made the implementation of the Cairo Programme...

Human Rights Day Special; Absence of Rule of Law = Absence of Human Rights

December 10 is remembered as Human Rights day all over the world, but in India November recalls the bloodshed of Sikhs in Delhi and in December citizen remembers the gassassination of millions in Bhopal. Human Rights along with rule of law are under challenge.The Constitution enshrined Rule of Law. It is called rule book of the nation. If a poor is arrested for theft, the rich also should be arrested for cheating. The Government has spent Rs 27 crore to arrest a fugitive in the name of God,...

Reproductive Rights International Framework: Informed choice before sterilization

(This is the first paper in this series. The second will deal with the barriers to Reproductive Rights)Women, be it in a positive or negative connotation, have always had an immense role to play in the population of the world- from the ages of monarchy where the woman bore the heir to the throne and determined the legacy of any dynasty, to the world wars where she has been referred to as a ‘child bearing machine’ or even the modern day woman who is involved in in-vitro fertilization, to ‘rent a...

Inheritance Rights of Christian Women since ‘Mary Roy’

The Church and the patriarchal Christian Community found it hard to contain the Supreme Court ruling that repealed the Travancore Christian Succession Act 1916.  In Mary Roy v. State Of Kerala the Supreme Court declared that the Christians in the former State of Travancore are governed by the provisions in Chapter 11 of Part V of the Indian Succession Act 1925 since the extension of Part B States (Laws) Act 1951. Consequently the Christians all over India are brought under the provisions of...

Putting Your Mark Across the Globe: Protection of Trademarks having Trans-border Reputation in India

With the astronomical development in communication technology and advent of globalised market, every country can be a market place for traders who dream of expanding their reach across nations. The role played by trademarks in identifying the source of the product has become extremely important in these case as we identify a product by its trademark- be it name, logo, colour combination, script style, etc. Whenever a product gains reputation, its trademark also gains reputation often...

Down and Out, yet Alive and Kicking!

It is time to end the dilemma- What is to be done with archaic laws in India?“Law is for Society” - This saying is attributed to Hammurabi of Babylon, acclaimed to be the world’s first real law-maker or law giver. “So, the law will change as and when society changes” but “changes in society cannot be determined by the law”.In the past century and a half, the socio-economic framework of India has undergone radical changes, but the legal structure has failed to keep pace with the change and the...

Judgments with Human Touch

Though his judgments are two decades old it is still golden, being followed to determine many of the issues raised. A clear example is the recent judgment of the Supreme Court of India  on the propriety of the constitution of National Tax Tribunal excluding the writ jurisdiction of the High Courts. The bench relied on the observations Justice Krishna Iyer. The judgment quoted on three places the observations made Justice Iyer on jurisdiction. The Constitutional Bench observed:-The necessity of a...

A socialist stands for Social justice – Justice Krishna Iyer lives in Centennial year

Legal fraternity celebrates the centenary of a humane judge of this century, Rtd. Justice V R Krishna Iyer. Justice Krishna Iyer, is well known in the legal field, for his remarkable contribution to the Indian Judiciary, particularly, for his role in the Supreme Court, during the tenure from 1973 to 1980, during which he officiated the seat of a Judge of the highest court in India. He has more than 700 judgements in his credit and many of them are classics in Indian jurisprudence, due to its...