The Not-so-paramount Right to Vote
Last week, the Election Commission of India announced the time frame for the general elections to constitute the 16th Lok Sabha (“House of the People”) of the Parliament of India....
India
Indian Supreme Court Changes Stance on Death Penalty: Holds Delay to be a Ground for Commutation
Recently, in the case of Shatrughan Chauhan v. Union of India, a three-judge bench of the Indian Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment on the death penalty: holding, in particular,...
Reviewing Koushal: Counting Down the Errors Apparent on the Face of the Record
The seven review petitions filed in the case of Koushal v Naz Foundation (“Koushal”) are an exercise in drawing up the rather lengthy list of errors apparent on the face...
Should There Be A Human Rights Approach for Environmental Protection?
Is climate change just an environmental issue or also a human rights issue? Do we need a new international environmental treaty to address the rights of people displaced from their...
Naz and Reclaiming Counter-Majoritarianism
The term “counter-majoritarian” has, more often than not, been used in a derogatory fashion – especially when it is used to describe an institution like the Supreme Court. However, after...
Naz Foundation: Reading Down the Supreme Court
There is no doubt that the Supreme Court in Suresh Kumar v Naz Foundation held that section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalizes ‘carnal intercourse against the order...
Of Koushal v NAZ Foundation’s Several Travesties: Discrimination and Democracy
There are many things wrong about the 98 page decision of the Indian Supreme Court in Suresh Kumar Koushal v NAZ Foundation. The Court’s extensive quoting but tenacious refusal to...
Sexual Harassment in the Indian Legal Profession
Two big sexual harassment complaints have sent shock waves in India this month– one by a legal intern complaining of sexual harassment from a retired Supreme Court judge and another...
Secret Executions in India: Another Reason to Rethink the Death Penalty
Secret executions of death row prisoners are increasingly becoming the order of the day in India. At least three (two ‘successful’, one failed) have been attempted in the last few...
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...
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