Citizens for Justice and Peace
आतंक और क़ानून राजनैतिक हथियार बन के रह गया है UAPA
17-Sep-2021
कुछ ऐसे विनाशकारी लम्हे, जिनके होने की एक संभावना होती है। भले ही वे कुछ रूढ़ियों और अनसुलझे सवालों को पूरी तरह से नहीं बदलते हों पर कुछ ज़रूरी गुत्थियाँ खोलने और महत्वपूर्ण बदलावों के शुरुआत की वज़ह बन जाते हैं। दशकों से मानवाधिकार की रक्षा के लिए समर्पित चौरासी वर्षीय जेसुइट पुजारी फादर स्टेन…
What are the Rights against being handcuffed in India? Iron fetters and handcuffs violate human rights
12-Jun-2021
For a lay person the visual of a person getting arrested or being escorted to court, includes him being restrained by handcuffs. That is how arrests were and are portrayed in movies and pop culture for decades. However, the use of handcuffs, while once a common practice, has now been restricted by directives of the…
CJP helps Assam man secure bail from Guwahati HC The Bengali Hindu man had been dragged to the FT twice, despite being pronounced Indian the first time
10-Apr-2021
CJP has come to the aid of Uttam Chakraborty, a Bengali Hindu man who was forced to defend his citizenship before a Foreigners’ Tribunal twice! While he was declared Indian the first time, he was shockingly found to be a ‘foreigner’ a second time. But CJP provided him legal aid and helped him secure bail…
Personal Laws vis-à-vis Fundamental Rights, Part III of the Constitution Analysing State of Bombay v. Narasu Appa Mali, 1951
19-Mar-2021
In India, personal laws deal with marriage and divorce, maintenance, guardianship and succession, joint family and partition etc. These are broadly be characterised as ‘family laws’. While India is a secular country otherwise; in the context of its personal laws, it is essentially pluralistic. Thus, while the Indian Constitution guarantees equality before the law, and…
When rights weigh down laws and bail is granted When courts invoke discretionary jurisdiction to uphold right to liberty
02-Mar-2021
The grant of bail to 82-year-old Telugu Poet Varavara Rao on medical grounds has highlighted that a prisoner is not denuded of his fundamental rights, just because he has been remanded to custody through due procedure of law. It is relevant to examine how courts have upheld the rights of prisoners despite the crimes alleged…
Pushing Human Rights Jurisprudence a Challenge A tribute to legal luminary KG Kannabiran
15-Feb-2021
Kanna advanced the argument that there should not be any form of prior sanction for prosecuting a policeman in a Human Rights Court. The fact that there is the establishment of a Human Rights Court at the district level under the protection of Human Rights Act is by itself a statutory sanction. No separate sanction…
Ramifications of Bom HC judgement on ‘media trials’ Court warns news channels against abusing Right to Freedom of Speech
05-Feb-2021
A Bombay High Court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta delivered a rather lengthy judgment analysing media trials and whether the media over stepping and obstructing investigation in criminal cases amounted to criminal contempt of court. While the court refrained from issuing any notice of contempt of court for obstructing administration of justice, it…
The best of Indian courts in 2020 CJP takes a look at various court orders that positively shaped human rights’ jurisprudence
28-Dec-2020
As the year 2020 draws to a close, here is an annual round up of orders and judgements of India’s constitutional courts — High Courts and the Supreme Court of India. In a month by month look, CJP brings you a calendar of the year gone by: through judgements and orders that paved new paths…
High Court striking down Central law: Impact on Jurisprudence Ramifications of recent SC direction in petition challenging Epidemic Act
20-Nov-2020
The Supreme Court recently refused to entertain a plea challenging validity of a central law questioning why the petitioner had not approached the High Court where the cause of action had arisen. The petitioner was challenging the Epidemic Diseases Act and the bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee were hearing the petition. Justice Chandrachud…
Role of courts in delayed justice: Article 21 violation An analysis of the flawed mechanism of reserving judgments and the time lapse till pronouncement
06-Nov-2020
Law may or may not be an a**; but in India it is a snail – it moves at a pace which would be regarded as unduly slow in a community of snails.” -Nani Palkhivala The Indian legal system is infamous for its backlog of cases, high pendency levels and delayed justice. As of…
A closer look at the new Criminal Law Reforms Committee Concerns raised about it being hasty and non-inclusive
26-Aug-2020
The Ministry of Home Affairs has commissioned a Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws in May, to “recommend reforms in the criminal laws of the country in a principled, effective, and efficient manner which ensures the safety and security of the individual, the community and the nation; and which prioritises the constitutional values of justice,…
Did the Supreme Court use its judicial power enough to prevent the major crises during lockdown? Prominent advocates discuss lockdown and the role of Supreme Court of India
24-Jul-2020
In this video, prominent advocates and lawyers try to find out the various ways in which the Supreme Court could have used its power of judicial review and dealt with the major crises of migrant workers, food and employment during the country-wide lockdown. Speakers include: Mihir Desai, Senior Advocate; Clifton D’ Rozario, Advocate (Manthan Law);…
The Lower Court – Higher Court paradox Is it always our higher courts that deliver substantial justice?
24-Oct-2019
Recently we saw two judgments, one from a district court and one from a High Court, both dealing with gender justice (the rights of women and crimes against women) and both resulting in contrasting outcomes. While the lower court, in a civil case, upheld and recognised a woman’s maternity benefit to be an integral right, the…
More than 200 new FT members appointed in Assam New FTs coming up to hear cases of people excluded from NRC
11-Sep-2019
The government of Assam has appointed 221 new Foreigners’ Tribunal (FT) members to hear appeals of over 19 lakh people who have been left out of the final National Register of Citizens (NRC). The list of names of new appointees and the FT to which they have been assigned was released on Monday via a…
Where is the justice in the Pehlu Khan murder case? Did Alwar court's failure to haul up prosecution for botched investigation derail the case?
16-Aug-2019
It is a question that Indian courts will have to answer. On the eve of India’s 73rd Independence Day, a travesty of a verdict blotted India’s jurisprudential landscape. Rejecting the weak links in the process of collection of evidence during investigations –which included a video that was not forensically tested by the state’s prosecution—but which…