Citizens for Justice and Peace
All about AFSPA: The contentious law explained in detail Is the time ripe to call for its repeal?
16-Dec-2021
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is and has always been in the news for all the wrong reasons, primarily for blatant acts of human rights violations committed by armed forces shielded by the Act. At present the draconian law is still active in the states of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, some parts of Arunachal…
AFSPA: A colonial remnant that continues to haunt India The law gives unbridled powers to armed forces
11-Dec-2021
December 4, 2021, marked a dark day for Nagaland, as the state, unwillingly under the control of armed forces, suffered a loss of 13 innocent civilian lives at the hands of personnel of 21 Para Special Forces. It is such unfortunate incidents that remind the rest of the country of the plight of such states…
Ordinances that mocked the Constitution Were they promulgated as per prescribed procedure?
15-Feb-2021
In Indian Constitution, the power to enact laws has been primarily given to Parliament and state legislatures as they enjoy the mandate of the public vote in their respective territories. At the same time, to meet the extraordinary situations demanding immediate enactment of laws, the Constitution empowers the President and Governors to enact laws in…
Do the three 2020 farm laws meet the constitutionality test? Do these legislations actually limit farmers’ chance to legal recourse?
08-Dec-2020
The aggrieved agricultural sector of India has been agitating, with a spectacular display of unity across India, against the enactment of three legislations that received President Ram Nath Kovind’s assent late September, 2020. The three Acts are: The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on…
J & K’s PSA Law: How Draconian is Draconian? A law that holds persons in detention for months before trial!
21-Oct-2019
On October 10, 2019, The Indian Express reported that the Jammu and Kashmir government informed the J & K High Court that it has revoked the detention orders in response to habeas corpus petitions filed by 3 persons detained under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA). What is the PSA, its genesis and intent?…
Dissent Note: Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 How and why opposition MPs denounced the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016
09-Sep-2019
Former Member of Parliament from the Raiganj parliamentary constituency, CPI (M) leader Mohammed Salim and CPI(M) polit bureau member lost the elections this time. But in January this year, he submitted a crucial dissenting note to the now lapsed Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 to the Joint Parliamentary Committee appointed. Given the key issues raised, and…
Understanding Article 370 A compilation
05-Aug-2019
Article 370 was brought into the Constitution after the events of 1947, when a more popular section of the Kashmiri leadership, led by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, negotiated Kashmir’s unique relationship with the Indian Union. The “special status” granted to the state through Article 370 allows the state to have its own Constitution – that is…
Controversial Anti-Trafficking Bill tabled in Parliament Critics say it could further harm vulnerable communities
20-Jul-2018
On Wednesday, July 18, 2018, the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Maneka Gandhi, the Union Cabinet Minister for Women and Child Development (WCD), tabled a Bill aimed at curbing human trafficking in India. The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018 was first approved by the Union Cabinet in February…
Cow Slaughter Prevention Laws in India How the Law not just protects Cow Vigilantes, but Sanctifies Lynchings
02-Jul-2018
In an environment that is fast getting vitiated due to increasing incidents of cow vigilantism and violence in the name of cow protection, it is a good idea to know about Cow Protection Laws in each Indian states. The Law has created both, the legal and institutional backdrop, within which gau rakshaks and lynch mobs can operate with…
कठुआ के बकरवाल समुदाय के उत्थान हेतु वन अधिकार कानून आवश्यक : तालिब हुसैन विशेष संवाद में युवा वकील-कार्यकर्ता ने हमें बताए कमजोर खानाबदोश समुदाय को सशक्त बनाने के उपाय
25-Apr-2018
क्या जम्मू के जंगलों से बकरवाल समुदाय को जानबूझकर अलग रखना अंतर्निहित कारकों में से एक हो सकता है, जो कठुआ में एक नन्ही बच्ची के क्रूर बलात्कार और हत्या का कारण बन गया? तेजतर्रार वकील और कार्यकर्ता तालिब हुसैन, जो बच्ची के लिए न्याय के संघर्ष में सबसे आगे हैं, वन्य अधिकार अधिनियम, 2006…
Land Acquisition Act Legislative Brief and Factsheet
20-Nov-2017
Land Laws Under BJP Regimes In 2014 itself, months after assuming power, the Modi regime tried to test the political waters by bringing in a Land Acquisition Ordinance to overturn a 2013 Law that had, itself re-visted colonial legislation that empowered the forest official and timber mafia to exploit forest dwellers and tribals. United Opposition…