Gendering Judiciary : Reflections By A Woman Lawyer

The collective resistance to women scaling up the career ladder lies in the system of patriarchy that has been ingrained into to familial, cultural and social psyche of India.

Prof Shamnad Basheer : LiveLaw Lost A Visionary Guide

The shocking news about the death of Professor Shamnad Basheer came to me when monsoon showers were mercilessly pouring down on Kochi.We had a conversation two weeks back and were supposed to meet soon. It took me a while to come to terms with the news, which left me shattered. He was a great source of support and encouragement for LiveLaw, especially during its initial days.He found the idea of a new web portal for legal news to be exciting. Without any hesitation, he agreed to be a part...

The Art of Kindness

I stood there, with my jaws agape, staring. Ten feet away stood a young adult, two years my senior, naked from the waist up, his muscled chest glistening with what suspiciously looked like a copious serving of oil. Draped lazily across him was the prettiest girl in college who was being studiously ignored by aforementioned Greek God.Not the sight you would expect at the National Law School, Bangalore in the fall of 1996. Mercifully, this tableau was not the standard fare during torts class, but...

Re-writing Article 370 : The Legal Test Ahead

The President has, on the recommendation of Parliament,issued the "Declaration under Article 370(3) of the Constitution" in exercise of his powers under Article 370(3) read with Article 370(1) of the Constitution to declare that all clauses of Article 370 would cease to be operative from 6 August 2019, except the clause to the effect that "(a)ll provisions of this Constitution, as amended from time to time, without any modifications or exceptions" shall apply to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K),...

Highlights Of Parliament Monsoon Session 2019

The Monsoon Session of the Parliament concluded after the adjournment of Lok Sabha on Tuesday and Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. This was the first session of Parliament after the elections for 17th Lok Sabha. The session which began on June 17, 2019, was scheduled to end on July 26, 2019 but was extended until August 7, 2019 in order to complete legislative business. During the session,...

The Supreme Court On Mandatory Voice Samples – II: The Rise Of The Executive Court

In the previous post, Abhinav Sekhri highlighted some of the flaws with the Supreme Court's judgment on the mandatory taking of voice samples from an accused party. In this post, I want to build upon Sekhri's arguments, and make two further points.To start with, in order to prevent misunderstanding, let us get a few basic points out of the way. The debate before the Court wasn't so much about whether the compelled taking of voice samples would violate the guarantee against self-incrimination...

Supreme Court Bar Association Mourns The Demise Of Advocate Sushma Swaraj

The Executive Committee of the Supreme Court Bar Association on Wednesday issued a statement mourning the passing away of Sushma Swaraj, the former Union Minister for External Affairs.Sushma Swaraj, who had started practice of law in 1973, was also an Advocate on Record at the Supreme Court. Her husband Swaraj Kaushal is a Senior Advocate and her daughter Bansuri Swaraj is an...

'Prima Facie No Evidence For Drunken Driving': Kerala IAS Officer Gets Bail In Accident Death Case[Read Order]

Sriram Venkatraman, IAS Officer, accused of rash driving which resulted in a death of a journalist has been granted bail by the First Class Judicial Magistrate, Thiruvananthapuram. The accident had occurred near Museum junction in Kerala's capital city. K M Basheer, a journalist, had died on the spot. Judicial Magistrate of first class of the Thiruvananthapuram District Court held that...

Payal Tadvi and Her Family Raised Several Complaints Before the Suicide, None Took it Seriously: Bombay HC [Read Order]

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday had some sharp words for the prosecution in the Payal Tadvi suicide case while the appeal filed by three doctors accused of abetting her suicide were being heard. Justice SS Jadhav noted that prosecution should have recorded statements of Dr.Tadvi's colleagues under Section 164 of CrPC. She directed the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Mumbai to take...

Centre To Soon Finalize Extending Time Limit For Abortion Beyond 20 Weeks [Read Affidavit]

The Centre will soon take a stand on extending the time limit for terminating the pregnancy on a women's own will to 24 or 26 weeks from the present 12 weeks, the Delhi High Court has been informed. In an affidavit filed before the high court, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said it has initiated the process of inter-ministerial consultation for amendment in Medical...

Why The Government's Move On Article 370 Is Unconstitutional

This short piece argues that the actions taken by the President on Monday to move towards the nullification of Article 370 of the Constitution of India are unconstitutional. I will first discuss the relevant constitutional provisions, i.e. Articles 370 and 356, and then briefly describe what the Government did today. I will then explain how the Constitution has been violated.Article 370(1) and Article 356Broadly, Article 370(1) says two things of relevance: first, that Articles 1 and 370 shall,...

Rajya Sabha Passes J&K Reorganization Bill To Bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into Two Union Territories [Read Bill]

The Rajya Sabha has passed the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganization) Bill, 2019, which is set to bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories – Jammu and Kashmir, which will have a legislature, and Ladakh, which will be without a legislature. The Bill was introduced by Home Minister Amit Shah, this morning, which led to a massive uproar in the house. As per the Statement...