Book Review| Patients' Rights in India by Dr Mohamed Khader Meeran

Past few years, there have been increasing incidents of assault on doctors without adequate condemnation from civil society or effective intervention by Police. There were jury awards of heavy compensation to the patients on avoidable medical negligence. Very often the clarifications provided by the treating doctor about the dilemma in diagnosis and uncertainty of prediction of...

BOOK REVIEW: Rohan Alva's: "Liberty after Freedom: A History of Article 21, Due Process and the Constitution of India"

Rohan Alva seems to be the best sort of dangerous man. The astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, arguably the world's most popular scientist living today, writes in a letter to a well-wisher: "My aim is simply to empower people to think for themselves, rather than have others do the thinking for them. Therein blooms the "soul" of skepticism and the "spirit" of free inquiry."[i] Alva is...

Josy Joseph's 'Silent Coup' : How Inherent Biases of Non-Military Security Establishment Lead to Constitutional Subversion

Democratic erosion in a constitutional democracy, according to Aziz Haq and Tom Ginsburg, occurs either through authoritarian reversion or constitutional retrogression. Reversion is a sudden collapse like a coup. Since the Constitution of India came into force in 1950, around 460 coup attempts have been made across the globe, none of which were in India. In comparison, retrogression is...

Supreme Whispers: Unheard Stories Of Supreme Court

Among the three organs of government, Judiciary has great respect for its working, judgments, and impartiality, and Higher judiciary has more respect than its lower counterparts. Although we see the inclination of the judges towards the government, yet these stories of allurements could not shake the people's faith in the judiciary. It is undisputable fact that if there is a group of persons...

'Law, Humour And Urdu Poetry': Off-Record And On-Record Anecdotes And Poetry

Indian courts are courts of record, which means that the court proceedings are recorded for the purpose of appeal and the precedent value. There is however so much that happens in courtrooms "off the record" which is later discussed in court corridors and at the canteen. These corridor and canteen conversations are probably one of the things the whole fraternity has been missing the...

From Doon to Tihar: Notes from Fractured Freedom

On 17 September 2009, a senior citizen of nearly 62 years with multiple health issues was dragged inside an SUV at a busy bus stop in Delhi. The 'abduction' or an arrest, as Kobad Ghandy writes in his prison memoir – Fractured Freedom was done by none other than the Andhra Pradesh Intelligence Bureau. Little Kobad knew that this arrest on his journey from Mumbai to Delhi for...

Book Review : 'White-Collar Crimes in India: Contemporary Issues and Complexities'

The conceptual genesis of white-collar crimes occurred as early as the latter half of 19th Century. However, it was the renowned American sociologist – Edwin Sutherland, who delved into the meaning of white-collar crimes in 1940s, at a period when crimes were perceived to be committed mainly by the lower sections of the society. According to Sutherland, "white-collar crimes"...

Book Review: We The People: Towards An Accountable Democracy

We The People: Establishing Rights and Deepening Democracy is the fourth volume in the Rethinking India series, assuming its title as the opening phrase of the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. The book is divided into nine essays, including the introduction. These essays altogether make space for many profound arguments on accountability, economic and social inequalities. The...

'Sex and the Supreme Court' : Book Review

The individual is at the centre of the constitutional firmament. Sex and the Supreme Court (2020), edited by Senior Advocate Saurabh Kirpal runs along this theme from cover to cover. This idea is brought to life more often by the Supreme Court of India or High Courts than the legislature. There is a growing trend in recent books to portray the courts, especially the Supreme Court,...

Book Review: "Commentaries On The UAPA,1967 & The NIA Act,2008"

Terrorism is undoubtedly a global menace and India continues to be a target of terrorist groups even today. Hence the need for counter terrorism laws was realized and various laws were enacted. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) is one of the foremost laws in India which was originally enacted to impose reasonable restrictions on associations as provided under...

Book Review- Emergence Of Commercial Justice Insolvency And Arbitration By Vivek Sood

Indian economy was often called a debtor's paradise and a creditor's hell till the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC) 2016 came into being. While companies went bust over decades, the creditors and employees have been at the receiving end. Delays in insolvency resolution would often work in favour of the bankrupt entity where its management would stay in control of daily...

Book Review- "The Punished: Stories of Death-Row Prisoners in India" by Jahanvi Mishra

The debate on the righteousness of capital punishment is going on since time immemorial. From state authority to effectiveness to human rights, there is an umbrella of argument for and against capital punishment. Philosophers ranging from Bentham, Mill, Locke, Beccaria to Immanuel Kant authored texts on the issue. The debates culminated in the abolition of the death penalty in law...