Twenty Years on, Inclusion Remains a Distant Dream for India’s Disabled
Even as India’s principal legislation for the empowerment of the disabled, the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, (“PWD Act”) completes 20 years of...
I am not here to delight you’: Indira Jaising and gender justice in India
Welcome to RightsUp, a podcast from the Oxford Human Rights Hub. We look at the big human rights issues of the day, bringing in new perspectives from all over the...
The Out of School Children Case: A Model for Court-Facilitated Dialogue?
An Indian citizen enjoys a constitutionally guaranteed right to free and compulsory primary education (Article 21A of the Constitution of India and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory...
Law Commission of India Recommends Abolition of the Death Penalty: A Historic First Step
In what can be termed as a watershed moment in the fight against death penalty in India, the Law Commission in its 262nd report (‘2015 report’) has recommended the abolition...
The (Patel) Quest for Reservation
In the Indian state of Gujarat, a ‘movement’ led by a young man named Hardik Patel is demanding that the Patel caste be entitled to an allocation of jobs in...
The Indian Supreme Court and the Missing Connection between Faith and Dress
The Indian Supreme Court’s recent comments trivialising the importance of religious dress to faith have troubling implications. The Court has rejected a bid to quash guidelines prohibiting candidates from wearing...
Santhara: Jains’ Right to Exit with Dignity
The Jain religion of India has been embroiled in legal controversy surrounding the practice of Santhara or Sallekhana. The Jains, a religious minority in the country, believe in the immortality...
Tackling Moral Policing in Mumbai: A Human Rights Approach
In the latest news on moral policing, earlier this month the Mumbai police conducted a round of raids across lodges, resorts and hotels in the holiday region of Madh Island...
Subramaniam Swamy v Union of India: Criminal Defamation and the Countours of Free Speech
The Supreme Court of India recently concluded its hearings in Subramaniam Swamy v Union of India, challenging the constitutional validity of criminal defamation - Sections 499 and 500 of the...
India, the Land of Ironies: A Constitutional Democracy’s Dance with the Death Penalty
India is a country of ironies. Barely a fortnight ago, we had a consultation on the death penalty organised by the Law Commission of India where participants advocated for the...
The Pornography of Policing: The “Rape Bait”
In Bombay, two men posing as cops raped a 17-year-old girl and filmed the violence they perpetrated on the phone they stole from her. Her assailants subsequently threatened to release...
Single Mothers, Absent Fathers and the Best Interests of the Child: Drawing a Fine Balance in the ABC Case
India is a country where religious rights of different communities are constitutionally protected. However adoption is legally permitted only for the Hindu community. Such adoptions are regulated by the Hindu...
