A fortnightly feature inspired by I-CONnect’s weekly “What’s New in Public Law” feature that addresses the lacuna of a one-stop-shop public law newsletter in the Indian legal space. 

What’s New at LAOT

1. Hamza Khan, A case for Differential Treatment of the creamy layer among SC/ST for affirmative action (argues for giving preference to the non-creamy layer from the SC/ST communities in affirmative action measures).

2. Sarthak Sahoo, Recusals Long Written – A Reply to Anshul Dalmia’s Rejoinder on Intellectual Bias – Part I and Part II (examines the justification for the reference rule, the arguments supporting it, and how they fail in light of the Anshul Dalmia’s rejoinder). 

3. Garvit Shrivastava and Adithi Rajesh, What You Said as You Refused to Speak: Supreme Court of India’s Dismissal of Petition to Halt Military Exports to Israel – Part I (analyses the Supreme Court’s decision in Ashok Kumar Sharma & Ors v. Union of India in light of a Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) critique)

4. Garvit Shrivastava and Adithi Rajesh, What You Said as You Refused to Speak: Supreme Court of India’s Dismissal of Petition to Halt Military Exports to Israel – Part II (examines the Court’s prioritization of contractual obligations over international humanitarian concerns and its preference for leaving critical decisions to the executive, perpetuating the structural inequalities critiqued by TWAIL scholars)

5. Aakriti Rikhi, Analysing The Admissibility Of The Testimony Of A Co-accused Through The Bayesian Framework Of Law And Economics  (argues that Section 30 of the Indian Evidence Act harms the rights of the accused and problematizes its impact using two law and economics frameworks—system inefficiency and confirmation bias)

6. Aakriti Rikhi, Analysing The Admissibility Of The Testimony Of A Co-accused Through The Bayesian Framework Of Law And Economics (focuses on the Kashmira Singh judgement, and how it aligns with the Bayesian approach to appreciating evidence. It further analyses the impact of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 in chipping away the safeguards under the above judgement)

7. Kruthika Senthil Kumar, The Right to Truth – A Millian Perspective on Free Speech in India Part I and Part II (examines the recent Kunal Kamra judgment in light of John Mill’s philosophy on truth, misinformation, and State interference. It attempts to modernize his ideas and present a convincing alternative that aligns with constitutional values)

Listen Up 

1. Varsha Pillai, Gender Equity: A Fundamental Right, All things Policy, Takshila Institute [discusses the idea of Gender equity and its importance in the Indian constitution]

2. ThePrint Pod, Politically Correct: ‘One nation, one election’ is a bad idea– and not because of Opposition’s ‘Modi phobia’ [Discusses the issue of “one nation one election” and the logistical and constitutional challenge to the same].

3. ThePrint Pod, Why legal community is calling Allu Arjun’s arrest in stampede case an ‘overreach’ on the part of authorities  [Discusses the arrest of Allu arjun and why his arrest is controversial and how it departs from established case laws on the subject]

4. Ann McGinley, Masculinities, Feminism and Law with Ann McGinley (Part 2) – Feminist Law,  [multidimensional masculinities theory and its relationship with feminism and law]

5. Aditi Malik, Party Instability and Political Violence in India , Grand Tamasha [how the levels of party instability inform the decisions of political elites to organize or support violence]

Opportunitie

1. Call for papers by the 4th Edition of GNLU International Conference on Business, Law & Public Policy. The last date to submit is 20 January 2025.

2. Call for Papers: 2nd GNLU GCESCJ International Conference on Climate Justice and Sustainable Environment. The last date to submit abstracts is January 20, 2025.

3. 11th DD Basu Essay Writing Competition by NUJS and The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. The last date to submit is January 20, 2025.

4. Call for papers by DSNLU Journal of Science, Technology & Law. The last date to submit is 5 February 2025.

5. Call for Chapters: Monograph on ‘International Parental Child Abduction’ by CCYJ, NALSAR. The last date to submit by February 15, 2025.

Lately in Academic Articles

1. Prakriti Shah, Swimming to the Shoreline: Adopting the Federal Indian Trust Doctrine for Protection of Mumbai’s Koli Fishing Community,  George Washington Journal of Energy and Environmental Law (proposes adopting a hybrid trust responsibility doctrine, combining India’s Public Trust Doctrine and the US Federal Trust Doctrine, to better safeguard the livelihood and cultural rights of the Koli fishing community of Mumbai).

2. Niranjana Raj & Anitha V, Empowerment of Tribal Women in India: Impact of the Forest Rights Act 2006, Forum for Development Studies (analyzes the role of land rights under the Forests Act 2006 in empowering tribal women in Kerala, emphasizing the impact on autonomy, political participation, and mobility while highlighting persistent challenges such as patriarchal norms and limited economic gains).

3. Amit Upadhyay & Arvind Tayenjam, Interrelationship of Legal Gender Identity and the Right to Health of Transgender Persons in India, Elgar Online (examines the barriers transgender individuals face in accessing healthcare, the impact of legal recognition on health rights, and the persistent gaps despite the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 and the NALSA judgment).

4. Kingshuk Sarkar and Santanu Sarkar, Code on Industrial Relations, Economic and Political Weekly (analyzes the provisions in the latest Industrial Relations code designating a trade union with at least 51% worker membership as the sole bargaining agent, its implications for trade union plurality, and the resultant unitary tendencies discouraging growth and collective bargaining).

5. Vishwas Gupta and Prashant Dev Yadav, Challenging the Narrative: Debunking Majoritarian Fundamentalism and Minority Insecurity in India, International Journal on Minority and Group Rights (examines the manifestations of majoritarian influence in Indian society, critiques media sensationalism, and highlights the importance of inclusive leadership, dialogue, and evidence-based analysis to address systemic injustices and promote social cohesion).

Blogs

1. Akshay Sriram, Navigating Temporality within Manifest Arbitrariness – Unpacking the Contentious Nature of the Dissent in In re: Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy. 

2. Kiran Suryanarayana, Citizenship for a Civilization – (Re)Examining the Temporality of Part II of the Indian Constitution, India Constitutional Law and Philosophy. 

3. Prabhash Pandey, An Analysis of the Supreme Court’s AMU Judgment, India Constitutional Law and Philosophy.

4. Kiran Correia, Citizenship, Rights, and Article 355 in the Supreme Court’s Section 6A Judgment, Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy. 

5. Harikartik Ramesh, Dodging and Misfires: Justice Chandrachud on Gender Equality, NLSIR Online.

6. Anmol Jain, Democracy and the Election Commission of India: 2024 in Review, Verfassungsblog.

7. Yogendra Yadav, What’s Indian about the Indian Constitution?, The Indian Express. 

8. Neha Vinod and Nikhil Erinjingat, Caste Discrimination in Indian Prisons Case – Part I and Part II, Oxford Human Rights Hub. 

9. Richa Maria and Sarthak Sahoo, Speaking Differently on the Polyvocal Court, CCAL NLUJ. 

[Ed Note: This newsletter is created by Archita Satish, Harshitha Adari, Aadvika Anandal and Jeetendra Vishwakarma from LAOT Blog with the guidance of Surbhi Karwa and Anubhav Kumar.]