Law and Society

Rakesh Shukla 2
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Law and PsychologyLaw and Society
August 12, 2020

Contempt Powers of Indian Courts Don’t Measure Up to the Principles of Natural Justice

Perhaps the paradigm of an all powerful judiciary sending down bolts of righteous wrath on a cowering populace needs to be set aside and the emerging complex issues in the…
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Rakesh Shukla 4
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Human RightsLaw and Society
August 12, 2020

Custodial Torture: It Is the Criminal Justice System That Requires Investigation

From judicial apathy to society's acceptance of the police's methods, there are several factors that have eroded the rights to life, liberty and dignity. According to one view, the lockdown…
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Rakesh Shukla 3
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Law and Society
March 10, 2020

Opinion | Oh, Solomon Ayodhya Verdict

Ayodhya Verdict The knowledge that it had been the second longest hearing in the history of the Supreme Court, lasting 40 days, had whet our appetite and increased excitement over…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
October 22, 2017

Is the ‘Next Friend’ the Best Friend?

The Supreme Court's ruling in the Aruna Shanbaug euthanasia case seems to be solely based on the views of the nursing staff of the Mumbai hospital who have been looking…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
May 6, 2017

Criminal Defamation Versus Free Speech And Liberty

In the criminal defamation case against Kejriwal, media reports manage to convey the palpable pleasure of Mr. Jethmalani in cross examining Mr. Jaitley. In the midst of the bickering over…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
March 23, 2017

To Remove Caste Bias From the Judicial System, Judges Need to Self-Correct

There are numerous cases that highlight the extent to which implicit caste biases creep into Indian courts. The complaint of Justice C.S. Karnan, then of the Madras high court, to…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
October 20, 2015

The Perils of Practising Law in a Polarised Environment

The Jagdalpur Bar Association in Bastar, Chattisgarh recently passed a resolution barring “outsider” lawyers from appearing in courts, a move aimed at a group of courageous women lawyers functioning as…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
January 21, 2015

Judging the judiciary

India’s Supreme Court in the age of neoliberalism. The Supreme Court of India deals with a variety of matters ranging from the death penalty to promotion in services. Public Interest…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
January 20, 2015

The muddle of contempt laws in Judgements

Dhaka-based journalist David Bergman has been convicted of contempt over his blog on the Bangladesh War of Liberation. RAKESH SHUKLA argues for the law to be revised. Dhaka-based British journalist…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
November 18, 2014

For a law that liberates sex workers

By adopting a moral and paternalistic approach, laws governing sex work fail to address the rights of sex workers The proposal to legalise sex work by the Chairperson of the…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
April 1, 2012

RTE as a social experiment towards equality

Rakesh Shukla examines the recent Supreme Court judgment on the Right to Education, which clarified that the obligation on un-aided non-minority schools to admit 25% children from disadvantaged groups is…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
September 2, 2011

Codify Parliamentary Privileges to protect free speech

If privileges of our elected representatives are not codified, they can be misused, undermining fundamental rights to life, liberty and expression, says RAKESH SHUKLA. The notices for moving breach of…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
August 1, 2011

The language that fosters social change

Caste bias and prejudice runs deep in India. But when court judgments display such conscious or unconscious biases they confer legitimacy on an institution we are trying to uproot, says…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
April 1, 2011

The making of the Lokpal Bill

A comparison of the government’s draft Lokpal Bill and the Jan Lokpal Bill of Anna Hazare and other civil society members reveals that the likely areas of contention for the…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
March 1, 2011

Grey areas in the right to live – and die

The argument of possible misuse cannot be grounds to oppose the legalization of euthanasia, says Rakesh Shukla in this comment on the Aruna Shanbaug judgment. If misuse were grounds to…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
February 26, 2011

Revisiting defamation: the demand for decriminalisation

The law of criminal defamation has several ramifications, affecting the right to privacy and contempt too and can be misused by the high and mighty to curb criticism, says RAKESH…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
December 2, 2010

The sedition case against Roy and Geelani: a case of the reluctant prosecution

The directive of a Delhi metropolitan magistrate to police to file an FIR charging sedition against the writer and the Kashmiri separatist leader, exposes our law-enforcers intolerance for dissent, says…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
July 1, 2010

Beyond the Khushboo case

The Supreme Court judgment quashing all criminal cases of obscenity against Khushboo is a welcome blow against hypocritical morality masquerading as virtue. But it isn’t enough. We need to debate…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
June 1, 2010

Buckling under pressure from MNCs

The sorry 26-year saga of the Bhopal gas leak case -- in which the Supreme Court reduced charges from culpable homicide not amounting to murder to death by negligence while…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
April 6, 2010

Contempt powers and free speech

The present definition of criminal contempt is arbitrary and can lead to unreasonable restrictions on freedom of speech. A critical appraisal by RAKESH SHUKLA. The power of superior courts to…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
April 1, 2010

Crime and Punishment

The recent conviction of caste panchayat leaders in Haryana who killed a young couple for marrying within their gotra is historic. But the knee-jerk reaction of calling for new laws…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
April 1, 2008

SC upholds the importance of informed consent

Can a doctor remove a patient’s organs without informed consent, in the course of surgery, even if he thinks it’s in the patient’s best interest? In a recent judgment, the…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
May 2, 2007

Morality Play

In India, a programme or channel that 'offends good taste and decency, contains criticism of friendly countries, contains obscene, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendoes or denigrates women' can be banned.…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
February 1, 2007

The limits of judicial activism

Today, everything from river pollution to the selection of the cricket team has become the purview of judicial activism. Is it time to put the genie back in the bottle…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
October 21, 2006

Judicial Pronouncements and Caste

How has the judiciary dealt with cases relating to upper-caste humiliation of dalits, as also sati and its glorification? An examination of the judicial pronouncements of the courts delivered in…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
September 2, 2006

Rights of the Poor: An Overview of Supreme Court

The Supreme Court's recent declaration which says that the slum dwellers have no right to a notice before eviction and demolition is an indication of its attitude towards the poor.…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
August 18, 2006

Don’t punish victims

The declaration of Bharti Yadav as a proclaimed offender in the Nitish Katara murder case is being touted as a crowning achievement for the prosecution. The move highlights disinclination of…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
June 9, 2006

Looking after children of women prisoners

In response to a public interest litigation, the Supreme Court of India has issued directions to the central and state governments to provide children of women prisoners in jail, and…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
April 28, 2006

Rape of Justice

In a rare case of sensitivity, the Alwar court in Rajasthan convicted B H Mohanty for rape of a German woman within 22 days of the incident. The attitude of…
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Rakesh Shukla 0
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Law and Society
February 13, 2006

Nothing unnatural about it

The Supreme Court is right in observing that the constitutionality of Section 377, which criminalises homosexuality, needs to be looked into. The Delhi high court had rejected a petition by…
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