COVID-19 : Penal Laws For Enforcing Pandemic Protocols [Explainer]

Many states in the country have declared lockdown as a precautionary measure to curb the transmission of COVID-19 pandemic.These orders are imposed invoking the powers under Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and Disaster Management Act 2005. On the top of it, District Magistrates have imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in several districts.In this...

Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 : The 123 Year Old Law Invoked To Combat COVID 19 [Explainer]

The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 invoked by the Central and State governments to combat the impending threat of COVID-19 is a special law, empowering the government to adopt special measures and enforce stringent policies, so as to prevent the outbreak of any dangerous epidemic disease. This legislation, which empowers the government to imprison any person found to be in violation of...

COVID-19: How World Health Organization Names New Infectious Diseases?[Read Guidelines]

The peculiar official name given to the Coronavirus disease— COVID-19, stems from a lot of thought and deliberation made in light of the 2015 World Health Organization guidelines on "Best Practices for the Naming of New Human Infectious Diseases". The 2015 guidelines discourage the naming of a disease after the place of its alleged origin, causative species of animal, industry,...

International Women's Day : 30 SC Judgments On Women Empowerment

On this occasion of International Women's Day, a day dedicated to honor the accomplishment of women across the globe who fought and are still fighting for gender equality and rights, let us have a look at some of the landmark decisions of the Supreme Court on gender justice. 1. The Secretary, Ministry of Defence v. Babita Puniya & Ors. (2020)"Permanent Commission should be granted...

All You Want To Know About "Wills"

Sir John Salmond, the acknowledged authority on jurisprudence has in a statement which I consider as locus classicus said that "Inheritance is in some sort a legal and fictitious continuation of the personality of the dead man, for the representation is in some sort identified by the law with him who he represents. The rights which the dead man can no longer own or exercise in...

Landmark Judgments Of Justice Muralidhar In Delhi High Court

Justice Dr S Muralidhar received an astounding farewell from the members of the Delhi High Court Bar Association on Thursday, on the occasion of his transfer to Punjab and Haryana High Court.The ceremony witnessed an unprecedented turnout of lawyers, and Justice Muralidhar won hearts with his speech punctuated with wit, wisdom and humility.In this context, let us have a look at some...

The Procedure Laid Down By The National Commission For Women For Dealing With Complaints Of NRI's

National Commission for Women under section 9(2) of the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 (20 of 1990) has formulated "The National Commission for Women(Procedure)Regulations,2016". This procedure is laid down for appropriate and effective handling of complaints registered in the NRI Cell of the Commission as per the provisions of Sec 10(4) of the National Commission for Women...

Constitutional Amendment And Fundamental Rights [Explainer]

We often commit a tactical blunder while subscribing to the fallacy that the Fundamental Rights enshrined under the Part III of the Constitution of India (hereinafter, "The Constitution") have been vouchsafed (to us) by the State. Our Constitution just reiterates that individuals possess some basic and inherent fundamental rights and the State must facilitate the enjoyment of...

Major Supreme Court Judgments On Reservation In Promotions

The Supreme Court's recent decision that there is no fundamental right to claim reservation in promotions has become a subject matter of intense debate. The decision was discussed in the Parliament, and the Centre has told the House that the matter was under the study and consideration of the Government at "high level".In this backdrop, this article traces the legal evolution of the concept...

15 Nine-Judge Bench Decisions In Supreme Court's History

A nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court is at present considering the issues of religious freedom and fundamental rights mentioned in the Sabarimala review order.In this backdrop, it is pertinent to note that there have been 15 nine-judge bench decisions in the history of Supreme Court. Here is a list of 15 landmark decisions by nine-judge benches in the history of the Supreme Court...

71st Republic Day : A Look At The Constitutional Amendments Struck Down By Courts On Basic Structure Doctrine

Constitution of a country is the basic norm - Grund Norm - which includes fundamental principles which lay down the foundation of a society. Though the phrase 'basic structure' is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, this was recognised in the case of Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala. The 13-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in this case said that every...

Preamble To The Constitution : Ideals And Visions

The Preamble to our Constitution (in brief, 'Preamble') is more than just 63 words perfectly arranged and catalogued (in a certain way) in some normative sentences; most importantly, it is all about the democratic aspirations and ideals of the people of India (I. C. Golaknath & Ors vs State of Punjab & Anrs. 1967 SCR 2). It is pertinent to note that the Preamble does not...