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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
October 28, 2010
Arushi murder: ambivalence in child-parent relationship
Arushi, a 14-year-old schoolgirl and the family’s domestic help were found murdered in her house in NOIDA, a satellite town of the capital New Delhi, on May 16, 2008. Her…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
April 1, 2010
Khap killing 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…
Read More
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…
Read More