Articles
From 'Jhakaas' And 'Bhidu' To Sadhguru: The Celebrity Scramble For Personality Rights
India, that is Bharat, is a profoundly diverse and heterogenous union of states marked by its sublime contradictions. Apart from being a millennia-old civilisation racing through a digital revolution, two disruptive forces now define the modern Indian experience: celebrity worship—from Bollywood to spiritual gurus—and the breakneck speed of its digital landscape, pioneered by cheap internet access and now complicated by the spectre of AI-generated deepfakes.At the volatile intersection of these...
No Representation, No Governance': The Constitutional Mandate vs. Political Delay In Local Body Polls
When street lights stop functioning or garbage isn't collected for days, citizens naturally reach out to their elected local leaders. These corporators and councillors are supposed to be the first point of contact for solving everyday problems. But what happens when there are no elected representatives at all?This isn't a hypothetical question for millions of people in Maharashtra. For nearly five years now, the state's urban and rural areas have been governed by administrators appointed by the...
Beyond Madness Of Marks And Metrics: Recognition Of Mental Health As A Constitutional Right In India
The Supreme Court judgment in Sukdeb Saha v. State of Andhra Pradesh[3] marks a key point in Indian law on mental health and education. The decision was taken in the case involving the demise of a 17-year-old NEET aspirant in Visakhapatnam. The CBI was ordered by the Court to oversee the investigation due to inconsistency in police investigation and conflicting statements from doctors and the educational institution. Additionally, the Court through this judgement laid down a rights-based...
The Verse Of Verdicts: When Law Finds Its Soul In Poetry
Life, in its purest form, is poetry. But lately, it feels more like a user manual—mechanical, perfunctory, and devoid of soul. We rush from one task to the next, our days dictated by notifications and deadlines. The old Hindi song from the movie Mausam often plays in my mind, where Sanjeev Kumar's character yearns for “Dil dhoondta hai, phir wohi fursat ke raat din” (The heart searches, once again, for those leisurely days and nights). It's a universal ache for a time of reflection, for lazy...
Section 138 BSA Is The Misconceived Product Of Judicial Misinterpretation
SECTION 138 BSA IS THE MISCONCEIVED PRODUCT OF JUDICIAL MISINTERPRETATION C O N T E N T SSl. No: I N N E R T I T L E SPARA NO:1INTRODUCTION12THE INTER-RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN “ACCOMPLICE” AND “APPROVER” AND THEIR TESTIMONIAL COMPETENCE 23WHY AN “ACCOMPLICE” OR AN “APPROVER” ?34THE RELEVANT LEGAL PROVISIONS IN THE EVIDENCE ACT SECTION 133 of Evidence Act SECTION 114 of Evidence Act Illustration (b) to S. 114 of Evidence Act44445NO INTERDEPENDENCE BETWEEN SECTION 133 AND...
When Exceptions Swallow The Rule: Problem With Section 479 BNSS
According to the National Crime Report Bureau, over the last 10 years, the number of undertrial prisoners in jails has risen constantly, and around 77% of the population of total prisoners are undertrial prisoners1. The crisis of prolonged pre-trial incarceration is not merely administrative; it raises serious constitutional concerns related to personal liberty, the presumption of innocence, and the right to a speedy trial under Article 21, also defying the principle that bail is the...
Cognizance At Crossroads: An Analytical Examination Of The Proviso To Section 223(1) Of The BNSS
With the enactment of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for brevity, 'BNSS'), the Indian criminal justice delivery system has undergone a significant procedural overhaul. While the new codified law aims at to modernize the legal framework to expedite the justice delivery system in India, certain provisions capsulated therein have raised concerns about their compatibility with constitutional values and established jurisprudence. One such provision is the proviso to Section 223(1) of...
Hidden Doctrine In Gayatri Balasamy: How Supreme Court Used Implied Powers To Transform Arbitration Law
When the Supreme Court ruled on Gayatri Balasamy v. ISG Novasoft Technologies Ltd[1] it made waves, earning the title of the “modification judgment.” Most discussions centered on a key takeaway: Indian courts can now, in certain situations, modify arbitral awards rather than just nullifying them. However, if you dig a little deeper into those 61 pages, you'll uncover a more subtle yet significant shift. For the first time, the Court tapped into the Doctrine of Implied Powers to broaden the...
When Bulldozer Becomes The Law
The Indian Constitution was meant to protect citizens from arbitrary power; the bulldozer has come to symbolise its return. In recent years, India's skyline has changed not only through construction but through demolition, a spectacle where accusation replaces adjudication. When governments raze homes of those merely accused of crime, they bypass the courts and collapse the presumption of innocence. The bulldozer becomes a language of instant justice, its steel blade speaking louder than due...