Law

Essay

Why has the Rule of Law become so Fragile?

‘There is law that applies to certain criminal activities, which are usually connected to older, corporal forms of power and profit, but there is a clear lack of law, or its applicability, to newer…
▶13-Sep-2023
Tabish Khair

The Sophistry of Calls to Replace the Constitution

India’s Constitution is more robust than the politics of those who call for its replacement.
▶23-Aug-2023
Rohin Bhatt

Demolitions: Rule by Law or Rule of Law?

We demand that governments follow the rule of law when clearing ‘illegal’ settlements. But if laws permit the same outcomes as those that might be caused by the state ignoring them, is this variant…
▶17-Aug-2023
Abhinav Sekhri
Book
Book Review

Regulating Religious Expression

The experience of legal provisions against “outraging religious feelings” demonstrates the pitfalls of modern states resorting to penal secularism.
▶07-Aug-2023
Abhinav Sekhri

Muslim Women’s Quest for Gender-Just Laws

Muslim women are in favour of gender-just laws, but Muslim women’s groups recognise that the women have to contest both the Muslim Personal Law and the politics around the demonisation of everything…
▶04-Jul-2023
Sabah Khan

Improving Preventive Detention Laws

The 44th Amendment to the Constitution was enacted 44 years ago, but the clause that deals with improving the preventive detention framework has still not been brought into force. This goes against…
▶15-May-2023
John Sebastian, Faiza Rahman
Explainer
Book
Explainer

‘Basic Structure’: Defence against Parliamentary Hegemony

The 'basic structure' ensures that some constitutional features remain unamendable by Parliament, a defence against parliamentary hegemony and Constitution rewriting.
▶12-Apr-2023
Sriram Panchu, Aprameya Manthena, Vikas Muralidharan

The Curious Case of ‘Due Process’ in the Indian Constitution

The Constituent Assembly considered an American-style 'due process' clause for the Constitution but adopted a formula to limit judicial review. Unwilling to heed that limitation, judges…
▶13-Feb-2023
Vikram Raghavan

India’s Supreme Court and High Courts: Imbalance in the Power Equation

The High Courts no longer have the powers that were accorded to them in the Constitution, their authority having been whittled away by the Supreme Court. It is time for a reform that introduces a…
▶13-Dec-2022
Sriram Panchu

A Letter to Justice Bela Trivedi from an ‘Untouchable’ Ex-colleague

‘The facts you are aware of are based on the echo chambers in which judges who are mainly from privileged castes/communities interact with each other. They are also based on the defensive silence of…
▶22-Nov-2022
Rajesh Chavda