What’s New at LAOT
1. Nivedita Menon, Secularism as Misdirection: Critical Thought from the Global South (a thematic summary of her book).
2. Kalpana Kannabiran, Secularism as Misdirection: Response by Kalpana Kannabiran (provides her comments on the first and sixth chapters of the book).
3. Khushi Saraf, Examining the Issue of South Asian Climate Refugees From the Lens of Human Rights: India’s Policy in Focus – Part I and II (analyses the inadequacy of the current refugee law framework in addressing the pressing issue of climate change).
4. Jyotpreet Kaur, Wild Gains and Dirty Deals: Tackling Environmental Crime through Anti-Money Laundering Laws – Part I and II (explores an intersection between environmental harm and financial regulation by following the taint in environmental offences and using a new line of defence against environmental harm).
5. Ayush Dutta, Harnessing Faith within Religion – A Critique of the Judicial Discourse around Fundamental Right to Freedom of Religion (highlights the inadequacies of the ERP doctrine, and argues for a change in the judicial approach towards the Right to Religious Freedom).
6. Surbhi Karwa, Parliamentary Rules, the JPC on Waqf Bill, and the Need for Deliberative Culture – Part I and II (argues that while Parliamentary Rules and Procedures promote non-partisan deliberation, they function as soft rules with limited enforcement).7.
7. Sharnam Agarwal, Conduct of Elections (Second Amendment) Rules, 2024 – Another Blow to Electoral Freedom (analyses the recent amendment in light of relevant Supreme Court judgements and legal principles, emphasizing the need for voter transparency).
8. Vishwaroop Chatterjee, A case for Euthanasia for Non-Terminally Ill Patients (advocates for extending euthanasia to non-terminally ill patients, emphasising autonomy and dignity under Article 21).
Elsewhere Online
1. Aparna Bhatnagar, “The private is political”: horizontality of fundamental rights as an antidote for trans discrimination, LSE Human Rights Blog.
2. Gautam Bhatia, Parasites, perversion, and brazenness: On Judicial Temperament and Oral Remarks from the Bench, Constitutional Law and Philosophy Blog.
3. Kanishta Naithani, Commercial or Altruistic Surrogacy: The Indian Supreme Court Finds Middle Ground, Oxford Human Rights Hub Blog.
4. Yusha Rahman, In States With Few Job Opportunities For Women, Corruption in Govt Exams is Pushing Them to Marriage & Motherhood, Article 14.
5. Niharika Srivastava, Misinformation, Executive Overreach, and the Future of Free Speech: Lessons from the Kunal Kamra Case, Centre for Communication and Governance Blog.
6. Arohi Malpani & Simone Vaidya, To Review or Not to Review: Delimitation Dilemma in the Context of Kishorchandra Changanlal Rathod v. Union of India, Law School Policy Review.
7. Abhinav Ravi, Beyond Constitutional Design: Institutional Independence and the Fourth Branch, NLSIR Online.
8. Jeet Singh, The Updated Environmental Regulations, Economic and Political Weekly.
Lately in Academic Articles
1. Sania Mariam, Role of Public Justification in Pledge to Policy Linkage: Evidence from India’s Uniform Civil Code, International Journal for the Semiotics of Law (analyzes public justifications for the Uniform Civil Code using a Habermasian framework, mapping stakeholder arguments from 1947 to 2023 and highlighting ideological conflicts between national integration, gender equality, and cultural diversity).
2. Tarun Tarun, et. al, Inclusive Sports in India: Navigating Trans-Athlete Rights and Global Standards, The International Sports Law Journal (analyzes the historical and socio-political context of trans-athletes in South Asia, examines global and Indian policies on inclusion, and proposes a gender-inclusivity model balancing meaningful competition and public policy).
3. Alok Prasanna Kumar, An Assault on Privacy and Dignity, Economic and Political Weekly (critiques the Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code, arguing that it prioritizes control over individual choices rather than uniformity, violating constitutional rights to privacy and dignity).
4. Arpitha Kodiveri, Colonial Legacies and Decolonial Futures: Environmental Law and Indigenous Resistance in India, Elgar Online (examines the colonial roots of India’s environmental laws, particularly in forest governance, through the case of Adivasi resistance in Odisha, arguing for decolonization by reclaiming Indigenous land rights, challenging exclusionary conservation, and reviving concepts like the commons).
Listen Up
1. ThePrintAM: What did SC say on Ranveer Allahbadia controversy? – ThePrint | Podcast on Spotify (breaks down Supreme Court’s observations in the Ranveer Allahbadia controversy).
2. ThePrintPod: Maharashtra enforces Marathi for govt officials, violators to face action – ThePrint | Podcast on Spotify (discussed the Maharashtra government’s reiteration of its Marathi language policy finalised on 14 March, 2024).
3. Live Law, India’s Got Latent Row on Smartphones In Schools, Caste Certificate Issue, Wayanad Landslide And More (discussed varied latest legal news updates on key highlights of the month).
4. All Things Policy, Out with The Old, In with The New – India’s Industrial Policies (recommends policies to enhance industrial policy to boost domestic manufacturing).
Opportunities
1. Call for Abstracts for Symposium on AI: Privacy, Security & IPR at MNLU Mumbai. The last date for submission is 20 March 2025.
2, Call for Papers: 5th CLRS Conference on Contemporary Legal Issues by Centre for Legal Research and Studies. The last date for submission is 23 March, 2025.
3. Call for Papers by Centre for Business and Financial Laws at NLUD. The last date for submission is 27 April 2025.
4. Call for Papers by Indian Journal for Constitutional Laws by NALSAR. The last date for submission is 31 May 2025.
5. Call for Papers by University of Oxford for the International Law Workshop. The last date for submission is 17 June 2025.
