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

Sughosh Joshi, Marriage Equality Case: What did the SC say? (summarises what the various opinions in the Marriage Equality Judgment held on the issues raised by the petitioner).

Shashank Tripathi, Unraveling Ethnic Strife: Navigating Justice, Gender, and Accountability in the Aftermath of Manipur (examines the recent conflicts between the Meiti and Kuki tribes in Manipur, emphasizing the sexual violence directed at the women of the minority tribe employing a feminist-intersectional approach)

Ananya Giri Upadhyaya, (Outr)Age of Reason: Child Marriage, Personal Laws and Close-in-Age Exemptions | Law and Other Things (suggests close-in-age exemptions, recently recommended by the Law Commission of India, as a better means to protect adolescent relationships from criminalisation than religion-based grounds)

Lately in Academic Articles

Nakul Nayak, Legalizing executive control: on the law of online journalism in India, Indian Law Review (Critiques the Information Technology Rules 2021, as they relate to online journalism).

Nandini Sundar, The Supreme Court in Modi’s India, Journal of Right-Wing Studies (Analyzes how the Supreme Court has responded to executive actions under the Modi regime since 2004, specifically an unwillingness to hear major constitutional issues, and judgements that reinforce an anti-minority orientation).

Shatakshi Arya, In Cases of Rape: Evidentiary Value of Medical and Forensic Evidence, National Journal of Criminal Law (highlighted the importance and reliability of digital and DNA evidence in establishing guilt or innocence in rape cases).

Salmoli Choudhuri, Sovereignty Before Law, Global Intellectual History (A book review of Shruti Kapila’s Violent Fraternity: Indian Political Thought in the Global Age, highlighting the focus of sovereignty as a central force in modern India’s intellectual history and constitutional reading).

Elsewhere in India

The Supreme Court recently concluded its hearings on the constitutionality of abrogation of Article 370. The verdict is anticipated to be released in December. The following articles discuss various aspects of the same:           

Kushagr Bakshi, Constitutional Pluralism and Article 370, Verfassungsblog.

John Simte, The Basic Structure Doctrine, Article 370 and the Future of India’s Democracy, Verfassungsblog.

Gautam Bhatia, The Indian Constitution through the Lens of Power – III: Asymmetric Federalism, I.CONnect Blog.

The Women’s Reservation Bill was passed, introducing a 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies. The following articles analyse the background in which this Bill was introduced and passed:

Alok Prasanna Kumar, Delimitation and Reservation, Economic and Political Weekly.

Anmol Jain, Using the Constitution for Partisan Benefits, Verfassungsblog.

Rosalind Dixon and Surbhi Karwa, Democratic versus Abusive Feminism in India, I.CONnect Blog.

The Supreme Court, on 17th October,declined to legalise same-sex marriages, placing it upon the Parliament and State legislatures to take necessary steps if they deemed fit. The following articles delve into the nuances of the judgment and its implications:

Akshat Agarwal, When Discrimination is Not Enough, Verfassungsblog.

Kartik Kalra, On the Right to Marry and a Case of Abstention through Delegitimisation, Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy.

Masoom Sanyal, “Do I Contradict Myself?” and Judicial Creativity and Justice Kaul’s Dissenting Opinion,  Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy.

Mihir Rajamane and Deeksha Viswanathan, Between Gendered and Neutral Approaches – Untying the Bench’s Self-Made Knots, Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy.

Listen up

Carole Spray and Milan Vaishnav, What the Women’s Reservation Bill Means for Women, Grand Tamasha (discussing the current state of female political representation alongside the impact of the introduction and implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill).

Nikita Sonavane and Zubeda Hamid, What happens under the proposed new law if you break a promise to marry?, In Focus by The Hindu (explaining clause 69 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, dealing with instances of sexual relations under a false promise to marry). 

Mihira Sood, Subha Sri Balakrishnan and Arun George, What Supreme Court’s flip-flop on abortion case reveals, The Times of India Podcast (decoding the Court’s decision of the initial grant and subsequent withdrawal of permission to a woman seeking abortion).

Apurva Vishwanath, Premankur Biswas and Shashank Bhargava, Why Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage verdict is a letdown, 3 Things (examining the court’s arguments, the implications of the verdict, and the reactions of the queer community to it).

Opportunities and Other Things

1. 1st National IP Article Writing Competition organized by CIIPR of RGNUL.The last date for registration is  November 15, 2023.
2. Call for papers by NLIU Journal for Legislative Drafting and Parliamentary Research.The last date for submission is November 15, 2023.
3. 1st RVU National Essay Competion,2023 by RV University.The last date for submission is November 20, 2023.
4. Blog Writing Competition on Constitutional Law at IILM Law School.The last date for submission is November 24, 2023.
5. 1st Contract Drafting Competition by MNLU Aurangabad.The last date for submission is November 24, 2023.
6. National Article Writing Competition by CCLHR of Jagran Lakecity University.The last date for registration is November 26, 2023.
7. 1st CLS Essay Writing Competition, 2023 by NLU Odhisha.The last date for registration is November 30, 2023.
8. IDIA-NLIU Law Review Essay Writing Competition by NLIU, Bhopal.The last date for registration is  December 7, 2023.
9. Call for Papers by NLIU Trade-Law Journal.The last date for submission is December 31, 2023.
10. Call for Papers by Oxford University Undergraduate Law Journal.The last date for submission is December 31, 2023.
11. Call for Papers for 10th Annual Junior Scholars Conference by Michigan School of Law.The last date for submission is January 5, 2023.

This initiative was started by Eeshan Sonak, Aditi Bhojnagarwala, Jeetendra Vishwakarma, and Saranya Ravindran from the Law and Other Things Student Team.

Please contact the student editorial team of the LAOT Blog for any queries or to write for us at [email protected].