Supreme Court’s five-Judge Constitution Bench comprising the CJI, Justices S.H.Kapadia, Raveendran, Sathasivam and Sudarshan Reddy will begin hearing from today a series of eight cases, beginning with SLP [C] 13571 – Union of India v. …
Continue readingMonth: August 2009

Panel Discussion on Sting Journalism
There will be a panel discussion this Thursday, August 20, on sting operations or undercover investigations conducted by the media. This issue has acquired urgency because of the charge of abetment levelled by the Delhi …
Continue readingTime article on gay rights activism in Asia
The latest issue of Time has an article with the arresting title, ‘Why Asia’s gays are starting to win acceptance.’ Not surprisingly, the Naz Foundation case features prominently in the piece, though its principal focus …
Continue readingIntroducing Pratiksha Baxi and some reflections on the blog
I am delighted that Pratiksha Baxi has agreed to join us as a regular contributor. Her previous guest posts on contemporary academic culture in India (available here and here), and her post on the tabloidization …
Continue readingChief Justices’ Conference
Today and tomorrow the Chief Justices of the High Courts and Supreme Court of India are having a conference in Delhi on how to expedite the disposal of cases. Although the meeting is not public, …
Continue readingCruelty: Legal meaning, semantic meaning and strict interpretation
The Supreme Court’s decision in Bhaskar Lal Sharma v Monica has raised a furore, and the government seems set to seek a review. The media (including the venerable Hindu) reported the case as one where …
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The Right that Dares to Speak its Name: A Primer on the Naz Foundation Judgment
Dear All Given the importance of the Naz Foundation decision, and despite the fact that it is an excellently written judgment, we recognize that a 105 pages can be a challenge for many people. We …
Continue readingRight to Education Act and the Disabled
The Right to Education Act is by any account a landmark legislation (take just one: cost, which is around 15 billion dollars a year). Details of the legislation and amendments are available on the PRS …
Continue readingDeclaration of Compatibility
(Former) Chief Justice J.S. Verma’s opinion in the Indian Express today welcomes a proposal previously made by F.S. Nariman in the Indian Express regarding voluntary declaration of judges’ assets. M.C. Setalvad had once said that …
Continue readingShould Musharraf Be Prosecuted?
Yesterday, a FIR was registered by the police against former President Musharraf on order of a sessions court judge. The FIR charges Musharraf with wrongfully confining certain Supreme Court justices when he declared the Emergency …
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