The article was originally published in Article 14. Read here. Three critical cases impacting the PMLA and its use remained pending before the Supreme Court of India for the past 12 to 55 months. Despite promising to address the larger concern around the weaponization of these laws against political dissidents, Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud has…
The article was originally published in Article 14. Read here. The three new criminal laws, effective from 1 July 2024, to overhaul India’s criminal justice system have faced criticism for increasing police powers and introducing offences like terrorism without proper safeguards. Experts worry about the potential misuse of these new provisions. Right to Information requests filed…
The article was originally published in Article 14. Read here. The government of India has blocked the website and X account of Hindutva Watch, which documents hate crimes and hate speech against India’s religious minorities, latest evidence of secrecy surrounding India’s internet censorship framework. Legal experts said the current laws and rules lack transparency and appeals…
The article was originally published in Article 14. Read here. Nine Muslims facing charges of terrorism in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case are enduring systemic failures in their judicial quest for bail. Petitions pending for between 11 and 19 months in the Delhi High Court amid administrative hurdles, changes in a special bench, and a…
The article was originally published in Article 14. Read here. An analysis of eight politically sensitive cases shows they were moved to Justice Bela M Trivedi of the Supreme Court over the past four months, even though the rules of assignment say they should remain with the senior judge or before a judge hearing a similar…
The article was originally published in Article 14. Read here. Delays, adjournments, and lengthy court proceedings are hindering India’s 17-year-old right-to-information framework, a study of 18 pending court cases shows. While cases arising out of RTI languish before the courts—16 years is the longest we found—after judges stay commission orders, frequent adjournments, and poor management by…
The article was originally published in Article 14. Read here. A September 2023 affidavit in the Supreme Court has alleged that two out of the six members of the Supreme Court-appointed expert committee investigating possible regulatory lapses in dealing with allegations against the Adani group have a “conflict of interest” and one is named in…
The article was originally published in Article 14. Read here. In this second of the two-part series, we look at the challenges faced by the Indian legal system to eradicate the widespread prevalence of perjury and fabrication of evidence. Overburdened judges, a lack of incentive for lawyers, unreliable police investigations, and long delays in the disposal…
The article was originally published in Article 14. Read here. Though perjury, or lying under oath, and fabrication of evidence remain widespread in India’s justice system, prosecutions for the two offences are rare. In the first of a two-part series, we analyse five recent court judgements that reveal how the police followed a similar modus operandi…
The article was originally published in Article 14. Read here. New Delhi: An April 2023 Law Commission of India report that recommended retention of India’s colonial-era sedition law relies substantially on a 2018 book, which approves of a law criticised for its misuse, before the Supreme Court suspended its use in May 2022. There appears to be scant evidence of “extensive…
The article was originally published in Article 14. Read here. New Delhi: “The subject your lordships are dealing with is the creation of a socio-legal relationship of marriage which is the domain of the competent legislature.” That was the argument solicitor general Tushar Mehta made on behalf of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of Prime Minister Narendra…
The article was originally published in Article 14. Read here. New Delhi: A 2 March 2023 decision by the Supreme Court of India to create a committee of experts to analyse the regulatory framework in India’s securities market in wake of allegations against the Adani group, has dampened criticism of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and—given the…