Keyword : Law

Sedition law: a primer

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), where I spent a decade studying and researching hi

Kuldip Nayar on JNU row: Let pluralism survive

On their way to independence, the Muhammad Ali Jinnah-led Muslim League chose to create a separate nation on the basis of religion. While Pakistan was conceived under the two-nation theory as a hom

On JNU, North Block has a mental block

2014 – ghar wapsi; 2015 – cow slaughtering; 2016 – anti-nationalism. This has been the year-wise growth in India under the slogan of ‘achche din’. With the trampling o

Cloaking `Aadhaar` with the sanctity of a law on disputable grounds

The government of India has tabled the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016 in the Lok Sabha. The proposed legislation seeks to give a lega

‘People’s hero is born!’: Kanhaiya overwhelms twitterati

Kanhaiya Kumar has captured the imagination of many with his measured, calm and yet witty words during his speech Thursday night and the press conference on Friday. He was ‘trending’ on

Letter to my daughter: Why JNU matters

Dear daughter, You asked me about the JNU episode the other day. For

Nationalism and its discontents

Here is an anecdote of 2007 vintage. A well researched book on the history of Gujarat’s maritime trade with central Asia was being released. The small audience in the hall was largely made up

Why Nehru would not have taken sides in the JNU debate

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has always been a bastion of the left. Decades ago, people in power saw to it that JNU moved on the left beat. Recently, JNU students (and possibly some unidentifi

Jaitley argues why Aadhaar is money bill

 The Rajya Sabha witnessed the kind of debate it has not seen at least in recent decades as it took up for consideration the Aadhaar bill on Wednesday. Essentially, the opposition in the upper

Aadhaar presupposes privacy is fundamental right: Jaitley

Right to privacy is one of the hotly debated issues when the matter of Aadhaar comes up. On Wednesday, initiating a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the Aadhaar bill, finance minister Arun Jaitley

Increasing penalty for eco-vandalism will help: Expert

Close to the World Cultural Festival organised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living (AoL), purportedly, causing damage to the flood plain of river Yamuna in Delhi, the centre is mullin

Being anti-national

Of late, we’ve been hearing a lot about the charges of sedition, anti-nationalism, anti-democratic, being levelled against the students of JNU commemorating Afzal Guru and Yakub Memon. The qu

Poriborton: once a promise, now a threat

She still remembers that warm day in May in 2011, when the unimaginable happened and the bastion of the left rule came crashing down. One woman almost single-handedly achieved this feat. Sharbani,

To be on vacation or not to be is the question

The debate over the practice of summer vacations in the Indian judiciary has been reignited after the chief justice of India, Tirath Singh Thakur, stood in a defensive mode against prime minister N

Fundamental rights vs fundamentalism

The Shayara Bano case has placed the Muslim personal law under the judicial scanner yet again. The supreme court is set to examine triple talaq, polygamy and other discriminatory practices against

Procedural changes from 1978 may have created huge loopholes

On November 8, the Government of India announced its decision to pull high-value currency notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 denomination out of circulation, with immediate effect. A detailed procedure

Unless SC stays it, Aadhaar law will prevail: Ravi Shankar Prasad

 Law and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday said that the interim orders of the supreme court on Aadhaar delivered in 2015 are meant for an "interim arrangement" and "it

India’s labour problems: better education and laws can be the answer

Ever since Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1439 and paved the way for the Industrial Revolution, two new classes of society emerged – the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. Th

State, vigilantes and the right to way of life

1. A worrying phenomenon has become widespread on the political horizon of our country. Extra-legal forces and vigilante groups have emerged under the wings of political parties. Most parties formi

Campaign launched against mob-lynching

A group of activists on Monday launched a national campaign against mob-lynching and demanded a new law to curb it. The panel comprised JNU student leaders Kanhaiya Kumar, Shehla Rashid,

How to manufacture slur: The case of Gopalkrishna Gandhi

Gopalkrishna Gandhi, many believe, is one of the last few examples of probity in public life, with a spotless career as administrator and governor. But, even for him, it would be too much to expe

The long road to separation

It is 10.15 in the morning, and 33-year-old Surabhi is standing inside the court room on the groundfloor of the sub court, Poonamallee, a northwestern neighbourhood of Chennai. It’s is the fi

9-0 to privacy!

The year is 2017 and a nine-judge bench of the supreme court of India has unanimously upheld the

Let’s not look at Gurmeet Ram Rahim in black and white

The conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a rape case by a CBI court on Friday must be seen as a positive step towards the evolution of a “scientific and rational” s

Leadership? Learn it from Jaising, Ambani, Doshi

The Fortune magazine has named three Indians – lawyer Indira Jaising, industrialist Mukesh Ambani and architect Balkrishna V Doshi – among the world’s greatest fifty leaders.

Should adultery be decriminalised?

Should adultery be decriminalised?

Sexual harassment at workplace: Let’s look at it from male perspective too

Indian society is in a stage of rapid transition. In case of social development, we as a nation have made progress in various sectors and have repealed, modified and abolished those laws which were

Beyond Justice

You will not find God or grace in legal concepts, in formal notions of criminal justice. Certain values and ideals are beyond justice. These include mercy, forgiveness, redemption, dignity. Also lo

Allegations against CJI: Inquiry will strengthen the independence of the judiciary

Yes, we must stand rock solid with the judiciary and the judges. We must protect the independence of the judiciary too. What does this mean in the present context of a very serious charge of sexual

How the new law aims to make roads safer

India tops the list of countries witnessing the highest number of road accidents, and more lives are lost to traffic accidents than to any other cause. The motor vehicle amendment bill, passed by t

Traffic fines: Find the sweet spot between penalty and self-goal

When close to five lakh people are killed in road accidents every year in India, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari should have been complimented on his not-so-populist move to impose higher fin

Why the abortion law needs to be amended

Since the enactment of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, women in India have been legally allowed to terminate unwanted pregnancies. The Act sets a threshold of 12 weeks, based on the

Hotel responsible for vehicle in valet parking: supreme court

Once a guest hands over the car keys to the valet, the vehicle is under the hotel’s responsibility, and it will have to compensate any damage to it, the supreme court has ruled.

Women’s panel seeks CJI intervention over rape-murder convict’s penalty

The Maharashtra State Commission for Women has urged the chief justice of India to take suo moto action in the matter of the Bombay high court converting to life imprisonment the death sentence of

Title Insurance: new product for old issues

Real estate is among the priciest investments around. More so for the common man who has to live with the burden of monthly EMIs. Yet, it is an art to discover the real owner of any property. Gover

POSH: Level-playing field for all, women and men

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“POSH”) was enacted in 2013. Seven years since then, fears of misuse are rife. Are the fea

Covid19, lockdown, legal profession: Grief, justice & contingency plans!

Sixteenth March at Hammurabi & Solomon Partners was a usual Monday at work with colleagues starting the week on a turbo-mode. But this Monday was different. It had something unusual about it.

Wait for more evidence before legalizing marijuana: Experts

Amid the trend in several countries of granting legal status to marijuana, a team of doctors from the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, have called for more tests to find out its supposed benefits.

Justice Srikrishna on the importance of absolute truth

Former Supreme Court justice BN Srikrishna believes understanding truth in absolute sense is imperative, and quotes Indian scriptures, western philosophers, the Constitution and case laws in suppor

Media not muzzled, maintains Nalin Kohli

India has a robust media and if that was not the case news channels and outlets would not be reporting against the government and the ruling parties, BJP national spokesperson Nalin Kohli has said.

Judicial reforms must ensure speedy, timely justice: Gaurav Bhatia

Expressing regret over long trials of court cases in India and acknowledging that the justice delivery system in the country needs reforms, Gaurav Bhatia, BJP national spokesperson, has said that t

SC-appointed panel on farm laws holds first meet

The committee of experts appointed by the supreme court to deliberate with the stakeholders on the new farm laws held its first meeting here Tuesday, with one of its members saying that all stakeho

“TV channels think they are deciders, prosecutors and judges”

Castigating media for cooking up false stories to push TRPs, top criminal lawyer Satish Maneshinde has said that TV channels try to manipulate and manufacture public opinion but once the story is o

Media trial a dangerous trend: Aryama Sundaram

There is a danger in media doing trials of ongoing cases and this must be stopped, says senior advocate Aryama Sundaram. He castigated media trials and said nowadays in media while a

Grossly improper for the minister to express opinion on sub-judice matter: KTS Tulsi

It is grossly improper for Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Mallik to express his opinion and court controversy in the ongoing investigation in the cruise drugs case involving Aryan Khan, son of

Middlemen siphoning off farmers’ interest: Vijay Sardana

Agriculture economist Vijay Sardana has said that middlemen have been siphoning off farmers’ interests, and the repeal of the three farm laws that were brought in to minimise the exploitation

Raising the minimum age of marriage for women is welcome, but...

The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to amend the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. The proposal seeks to increase the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21, bringing it at par with

How the pendency in Indian courts can be lowered

Speedy trial is an integral and essential part of the fundamental right to life and liberty enshrined in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. However, delay in disposal of cases due to the upsurg

State vs Government

Raphael Lemkin`s discourse on genocide followed by a UN debate on issues like Nazi offences against Jews, the sordid tale of Bosnian Serb aggression against Bosnian Moslems, and details of the Jewi

Legal Logjam: Does India need judicial reforms for swift justice?

Justice delayed is justice denied. That is what William British prime minister Ewart Gladstone said two centuries ago. It remains relevant in India today. This principle is held in high regard and

There should be rule of law, not law of rulers: Sanjay Hegde

Coming down heavily on Delhi’s Jahangirpuri demolition drive, senior Supreme Court advocate Sanjay Hegde has said that in recent years many bulldozers have been used at various places includi

Sedition law: Can it have a place in democracy?

Does the concept of sedition have a place in modern democracies? This question became more relevant when the apex court recently put the country`s colonial-era sedition law on abeyance stating that

The not-so-secret sauce of policy-making

It is believed that Otto von Bismark, the first Chancellor of the German empire from 19th century, was often quoted as saying, “Laws are like sausages. It is best not to see them being made.&

‘In Mumbai, society, police forces triumphed over Covid-19’

Crediting the citizens of Mumbai for coming forward to help the police in combating the crisis situation due to Covid-19, Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay Pandey has said that Mumbai Police lost q

How did a policeman move unarmed and fearlessly for 37 long years in Bihar?

Unbounded: My Experiments with Law, Physics, Policing and Super 30 By Abhayanand

Antitrust in the Digital Era: Error 404

‘A market structure characterized by a single seller, which exerts a stronghold over others in the marketplace.’ Monopolies have existed since markets were created, and they present inh

India’s aviation sector yet to come out of air pockets after Covid

India is the third largest aviation market in the world, after the UK and China; and the country’s aviation sector is expected to grow tremendously over the next few years. Most of the major

Banks must hear borrowers before declaring their accounts as frauds: SC

In a judgment with far-reaching implications, the Supreme Court has held that the civil consequences of an account being declared as fraud under the Reserve Bank of India (Frauds Classification and

Corruption and Common Man: What needs to be done?

India has the highest overall bribery rate in the Asian region at 39%, and at 46%, the highest rate of citizens using personal connections to get work done, according to Transparency International.

Legal framework needed to regulate AI: Experts

As Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has completely changed the landscape, AI is impacting every area of human activity and endeavour. For India, the world’s most populous nation, AI ho

Making sense of a decade in the life of judiciary

Unsealed Covers: A Decade of the Constitution, the Courts and the State By Gautam Bhatia HarperCollins, 496 pages, Rs 699.00

Making sense of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code

From December 2016, the Indian business community at large, bankers and financial institutions, among other stakeholders, were introduced to a new comprehensive legal and institutional machinery &n

A peerless introduction to Constitution – with Fali Nariman as your guide

You Must Know Your Constitution By Fali S. Nariman 500 pages, Rs 799 Published by Hay House Publishers India (Distributed by Penguin Random H

Move to curb film piracy: Nodal Officers to take action against piracy

With the issue of piracy causing losses of Rs 20,000 crore annually to the Indian film industry, the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has now established institutional mechanism of No

2024 in books: Sudhir Kakar and Upendra Baxi, diplomacy and climate change...

In 2024, readers can look forward to selected writings of two of the pre-eminent intellectuals of our times, Sudhir Kakar and Upendra Baxi. Also on offer are essays by S. Jaishankar, a collection o

Lord Ram in the 21st century

India is celebrating the reinstating of Lord Ram in Ayodhya, his birthplace, after almost 500 years of politico-legal struggle. At the same time, politics is inevitable in a modern democracy; ironi

India holds mirror to US over CAA

When it comes to the internal matters of India, particularly those that have elevated sensitive values, the US, despite being a close ally, has developed a habit of producing sound bites which are

What EU’s AI Act means for the world

The recent European Union (EU) policy on artificial intelligence (AI) will be a game-changer and likely to become the de-facto standard not only for the conduct of businesses but also for the way c

Days of Reading: Upendra Baxi recalls works that shaped his youth

Of Law and Life Upendra Baxi in Conversation with Arvind Narrain, Lawrence Liang, Sitharamam Kakarala, and Sruti Chaganti Orient BlackSwan, Rs 2,310

What Prakash Singh feels about the struggle for police reforms

Unforgettable Chapters: Memoirs of a Top Cop By Prakash Singh Rupa Publications, Rs 395, 208pages

Telecom Act marks historic shift, Ushering in a new era of connectivity

The Telecommunication Act 2023, which came into effect on Friday, aims to amend and consolidate the law relating to development, expansion and operation of telecommunication services and telecommun

Law and Economy in India: Before Independence and After

Law and the Economy in India: Before Independence and After By Tirthankar Roy & Anand V. Swamy HarperCollins, pages, Rs. 799

Sanjay Raut gets bail relief after conviction in defamation case

A metropolitan magistrate court in Mumbai Thursday sentenced Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP and editor of party mouthpiece, ‘Saamna’, to 15 days imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 2

Way ahead for queer movement – beginning with more inclusivity

The Urban Elite v. Union of India: The Unfulfilled Constitutional Promise of Marriage (In)Equality By Rohin Bhatt Penguin, 288 pages, Rs 499

An ideal primer on the Equality debate

Who Is Equal?: The Equality Code of the Constitution Saurabh Kirpal Penguin/Vintage, 304 pages, Rs 699

AI can transform healthcare sector…

Over the last decade, India has initiated a range of progress-driven policies to advance the health sector towards greater overall digitisation. Frontline health workers are now trained to adopt di

AI and the copyright dilemma: What India needs to do

As the exponentially growing tech corridors of Mumbai, Delhi, and especially the Silicon Valley of India – Bengaluru, are relaunching the content industry through Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Improving Ease of Doing Business in telecom sector: Addressing legacy challenges is a must

India`s telecom industry stands as a global powerhouse, ranking second in size with a subscriber base of 1.095 billion as of July 2024, including wireline and wireless. With the rapid expansion of

Combating cyber crime

India has faced a significant rise in coordinated threats to airlines, schools, hospitals, five-star hotels this year. These threats were posted on social media or sent through text messages, multi

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


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