Articles
Supreme Court's Refusal to Stay Legislation On Election Commissioner Appointments: Analyzing Implications For Democracy
With less than a month left for the 2024 General Elections, the Supreme Court on Friday (March 22) refused to stay on the legislation concerning the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs) which had dropped the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the selection panel, vesting ultimate power and authority in the panel comprising Prime Minister,...
OpenAI vs. The New York Times: A Pioneering Legal Battle Over AI and Copyright
The inception of the legal skirmish between OpenAI and The New York Times took root in late December 2023, when The New York Times took a bold step by filing a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft. This marked a significant escalation in the ongoing discussions about the use of copyrighted material to train advanced artificial intelligence technologies, including the widely utilized...
Law Entrance Exams, A Closer Look
In the grand theatre of Indian legal education, the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) and the All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) have emerged as the gatekeepers to esteemed halls of legal learning. Yet, as the CLAT nears its quindecinnial, marred by a series of challenges and inconsistencies, its credibility wanes. The AILET, while prestigious, shares a similarly flawed...
The Uniform Civil Code- Reigniting Debate
In the midst of the current debate on the Uniform Civil Code in India, a pivotal question remains unanswered: will it be declaratory, as advocated by Dr Ambedkar, or mandatory—a concern exacerbating tensions among minority communities? The issue of implementing a UCC has sparked heated debate and controversy in recent times. Proponents argue that the existence of diverse personal...
Study On The Protection Of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act, 2001
As the country faces another farmers' protest soon after the father of agrarian reform in the country, MS Swaminathan, was conferred the Bharat Ratna posthumously. We examine a lesser-known statute, the Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers' Rights Act, 2001, introduced to protect the rights of farmers, and whether it has, through a study of case-law on it, fulfilled its...
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (“BNSS” For Short) At A Glance-Comments By Justice Ramkumar
This is in continuation of my earlier article titled “IS THE LEGISLATIVE MEASURE OF REPEAL AND SUBSTITUTION OF THE THREE EXISTING MAJOR PENAL STATUTES, AN INEVITABLE DESIDERATUM?”. On a closer scrutiny I find BNSS fraught with certain other illegalities and improprieties, although some of the provisions are welcome changes. I am sharing my thoughts with respect to the same. A The...
Section 303 Of IPC: Judgement In Mithu V. State Of Punjab And The Newly Added S. 104 Of BNS
As we all know, Section 303 of the Indian Penal Code, which mandates the death sentence for a person who commits murder while undergoing imprisonment for life was struck down by the Supreme Court in Mithu v. State of Punjab (1983) since it violated Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.In the new penal code, The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (BNS), the old Section 303 is replaced...
Uttarakhand's UCC – Unifying Laws Or Dividing Communities? [Part-II]
Read the First Part of this Article hereProbate and Letters of AdministrationA cumbersome and expensive step has been added to intestate succession in a chapter dealing with testamentary succession, probate, and letters of administration. Letters of administration (LoA) for intestate succession under the Indian Succession Act are applicable in a very limited way to a narrow class of non-Indians and do not apply to Hindus, Muslims or Christians. As of now, it is a purely voluntary...
CAA's Discriminatory Nature : Explaining With The Help Of A Supreme Court Case
After keeping the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019(CAA) on the backburner for over four years, the Union Government on March 11 notified the rules to implement the legislation, which purports to give citizenship to persecuted minorities in our neighbouring countries who fled to India. The interesting aspect is that neither the Act nor the Rules mention fleeing from...
Why The Case Against Constitutional Activism Fails? A Response To Its Critics
There has been a swirl of criticisms levelled by those who for convenience alone we call 'the anti-activists'. The central thesis of their argument' is that those who are critical of the judiciary demanding constitutional activism are both undermining the judiciary and posing a danger to democracy. They target lawyers, retired judges, members of civil society, academics, and...
Uttarakhand's UCC – Unifying Laws Or Dividing Communities? [Part-I]
All the transient provisions in the Constitution, such as for language, reservation, special status to Jammu and Kashmir, or the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), were treated as transient because there was no unanimity at the time of the Constituent Assembly debates. Now, the BJP-led Uttarakhand government has passed the UCC Bill into law on February 7, 2024. Here, I deliberately skirt any potent argument[1] against framing a law that even the 21st Law Commission headed by Justice B.S. Chauhan declined...