Balancing the Protection of Witnesses in English Criminal Law with the Right to a Fair Trial
Like other national and international criminal justice systems, English criminal law has incorporated measures to protect witnesses in adversarial criminal proceedings. While these measures are necessary to keep witness safety/privacy...
Maharashtra’s Special Public Security Bill: Vague Law, Clear Danger
The Maharashtra State Assembly in India recently passed the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill (MSPS) with the stated objective of combating left-wing extremism, including what it terms the urban “frontal...
Constitutional Liberty under UAPA: Pre-Trial Punishment and the Criminalisation of Dissent in India
India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (“UAPA”) was originally enacted to regulate “unlawful associations”. Later amendments included a definition of “terrorist act” (2004), created the restrictive bail bar in Section...
Mob Justice, State Failure: The Right to Life Betrayed in Bangladesh
On 18 September 2024, a man named Tofazzal Hossain was seized inside Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall at the University of Dhaka, beaten repeatedly by a group of students who accused...
Overlapping Sabotage Provisions in Hong Kong’s National Security Laws: Risks and Implications on Prosecution Decisions
In response to the widespread public unrests that engulfed Hong Kong in 2019, the Central Authorities of the PRC enacted the Hong Kong National Security Law (“HKNSL”) to explicitly criminalise...
Weaponizing Vagueness: The Chilling Effect of Karnataka’s Fake News Bill on Free Speech and Democratic Pluralism
In March 2025, the Government of Karnataka introduced the draft Misinformation and Fake News (Prohibition) Bill, currently under cabinet review. At first glance, the Bill seems to respond to a...
Narco-Analysis and Procedural Abuse in Bail Proceedings in India
Recently, in Amlesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2025), the Supreme Court of India set aside a bail order passed by the Patna High Court. The order accepted the proposal...
The ECHR Directs France Towards Better Protection of Minors against Sexual Offenses
On 24 April, 2025, the European Court of Human Rights ordered France to pay compensation to three applicants on the grounds that it had failed to effectively protect them against...
The Curious Case of Custodial Torture in India
In February 2025, the High Court of Justice in London, King’s Bench Division, rejected the extradition of Sanjay Bhandari to India on the ground of custodial torture. Bhandari is an...
Reassessing Preventive Detention Laws in Bangladesh After the Meghna Alam Incident
The recent controversial arrest of Meghna Alam under the draconian Special Powers Act, 1974 (‘SPA’) in Bangladesh comes at a time when the nation is aspiring toward reforming its justice...
When Bulldozer Justice Breeds Injustice: Indian Supreme Court Curtails Arbitrary Demolitions
On 13 November 2024, the apex court of India delivered a landmark judgment in In Re: Directions in the matter of demolition of structures addressing the important injustice being caused...
The Legality of Indore’s Anti-Begging Notification
The District Administration of the city of Indore, India has issued a notification under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 (the new Criminal Procedure Code), penalising...
