Summarize, Simplify and Explain!
[Happy 74th Independence Day to my fellow Indians!] 74 years ago, India attained independence from its erstwhile colonial masters. On the eve of 15 August 1947 Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru (first Prime Minister of India) made his famous ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech wherein he remarked that ‘at the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world... Continue Reading →
10 August 2020, marks the 45th anniversary of the Constitution (Thirty-Ninth Amendment) Act, 1975. The Constitutional Amendment was passed during the infamous Emergency in India, with the aim of nullifying the Allahabad High Court’s judgment which had quashed Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s election on grounds of electoral malpractice. The Amendment took away the power of the... Continue Reading →
Eminent Scholar and Member of Parliament Dr. Shashi Tharoor in a recent article has argued that India should move to a presidential system of governance, from the present parliamentary system. The premise of his argument is that a parliamentary system produces governments which focus more on politics rather than their actual performance of serving the... Continue Reading →
Earlier this month, Russia voted on an important referendum that brought significant changes to its Constitution. The Russians decided to grant President Putin the option of leading the country until the year 2036, by limiting a President’s Rule to two six-year terms in total rather than two consecutive terms. They also voted to effectively ban... Continue Reading →
Last month, Americans were on streets protesting against the tragic murder of George Floyd, an African-American national who died due to police brutality. Floyd’s episode gave rise to questions about racism and status of other races (particularly African Americans) in USA. One cannot talk of African-Americans without bringing up the infamous case of Dred Scott... Continue Reading →
45 years ago, on this day, the central government led by Late Mrs. Indira Gandhi imposed the infamous National Emergency in the country (“Emergency”). The Emergency lasted for 21 months and is considered to be one of the darkest phases of independent India. It saw widespread human rights violations, censorship of the press, rampant arrest... Continue Reading →
‘I can’t breathe!’ These were the last words of George Floyd, an African-American citizen of the United States of America who died due to police brutality, recently. Floyd was arrested for allegedly using counterfeit currency for buying cigarettes. He was pinned down by officer Derek Chauvin who knelt Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes, causing... Continue Reading →
Next month, Professor Andrew Burrows (University of Oxford) shall be sworn in as a Justice/Judge of the United Kingdom Supreme Court. Prof. Burrows is following the footsteps of the great Baroness Lady Hale (former Chief Justice of the Court, who delivered the judgment quashing the prorogation of the UK Parliament) who had also travelled from... Continue Reading →
The post has been republished by Live Law. In April 1976, when the infamous Emergency was in place in India, the New York Times wrote an article eulogising a Judge of the Indian Supreme Court, for his dissenting opinion in a judgment. The article titled ‘Fading Hope in India’ lauded Justice H.R. Khanna for his... Continue Reading →
[This post is part of a special series celebrating 47 years of the decision in Kesavananda Bharti v. State of Kerala, wherein the Supreme Court of India laid down the ‘Basic Structure Doctrine’]. It has been republished by Live Law. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Kesavananda Bharti v. State of Kerala [(1973) 4... Continue Reading →
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