Indian Supreme Court Upholds the Right to Negative Voting
In late September, the Indian Supreme Court, in PUCL v. Union of India, upheld the constitutional right of citizens to cast a negative vote in elections. This judgment crystallizes an...
Children of a Lesser God: Food Politics in India
The tragic loss of 23 children who ate contaminated food at a government-run primary school in the East-Indian state of Bihar, near Patna, speaks volumes about the continued policy paralysis...
Using Public Interest Litigation to Combat Acid Attacks in India
Laxmi was 15 years old when her 32 year old neighbour declared his love for her. He sent her repeated text messages and when she did not respond, approached her...
The Liberty-Equality Debate: Comparing the Lawrence and Naz Foundation Rulings
Last month marked the 10 year anniversary of Lawrence v Texas, where the US Supreme Court ruled that laws that criminalised sodomy were unconstitutional. Like June 26 2013, June 26...
Rape and Reform in India: No Legal Fix for a Systemic Problem
by Shishir Bail and Sudhir Krishnaswamy – The brutal rape and mutilation of a 5-year-old girl in Delhi last week has sparked fierce protests reminiscent of the national outrage invoked...
What can we learn from the Novartis case?
By Swaraj Barooah Last week’s decision by the Indian Supreme Court to reject Novartis’ patent application over a leading leukemia drug, Gilvec, has resonated globally. Many hail it as a...
To Whomsoever it May Concern? The Case of Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2013was passed by the Indian Parliament and now awaits the sanction of the President before it replaces the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2013. Despite, what...
Death Penalty in India: What the Future Holds
By Vrinda Bhandari – Constitutionally speaking, the death penalty in India is limited to the “rarest of the rare” cases and should be implemented in a time frame which is...
A Quick Overview
Blog posts have been coming in thick and fast over the last month. To help you get up to speed, the editorial team has put together a quick summary of...
Lifting As We Climb
Upon the formation of the National Association of Colored Women’s Club, the chosen motto read: Lifting As We Climb. This principle was guided by the aspiration that the movement of...
Disappointing Departures from the Verma Committee Report
The Union Cabinet of the Government of India has cleared an ordinance making changes to India’s rape laws. This comes a few days after the Justice Verma Committee submitted...
Clarifying the Law on Consent in The Verma Report
After the tragedy of the gang rape in Delhi on December 16, 2012, the Committee on Amendments to Criminal Law (The Verma Report) has submitted recommendations to the Prime Minister...