Featured Articles

Official Secrets Act invalid?

August 18, 2008 09:58

A very interesting article in the Outlook claims that the Official Secrets Act, 1923 was never notified in the Official Gazette and is therefore not law. To quote:'Here's the untold story of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1923:It was passed in April 1923 by the Legislative Council.The Act was never...

Recent Articles

Official Secrets Act invalid?

August 18, 2008 09:58

A very interesting article in the Outlook claims that the Official Secrets Act, 1923 was never notified in the Official Gazette and is therefore not law. To quote:'Here's the untold story of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1923:It was passed in April 1923 by the Legislative Council.The Act was never...

Social Justice :Dream or Reality?

August 17, 2008 07:03

This year's Rosalind Wilson Memorial Lecture was delivered at IIC, New Delhi, by Justice B.N.Srikrishna. IIC's website has this review by Anjali Ghate, which also invites comments and discussion on the subject with the speaker. Rosalind Wilson was a champion of social justice and rights of the...

Conventions on Indian Speaker

August 15, 2008 10:29

Comments to my earlier post provoked me to research the subject for a better understanding of conventions on Indian Speaker. The Supreme Court in the Supreme Court Advocates-on-record Association vs. Union of India has effectively blurred the distinction between convention and the law (AIR 1994 SC...

The root cause of J&K turmoil

August 15, 2008 09:28

Independence Day has occasioned two insightful comments in today's papers. The Hindu carries Mr.Harish Khare's Manmohan's Task while the Indian Express carries an edit on A Pilot for Patil. Both trace the roots of the present crisis in J&K to the MHA. Mr.Khare makes the point the PM left J&K...

Thomas Committee on damage to public property

August 14, 2008 16:25

Justice Thomas Committee on damage to public property, which is due to submit its report to the Supreme Court on the 31st of August, 2008, was instituted lasy year in the aftermath of the violence during the Gujjar agitation. The Home Ministry website has a document giving brief information on the...

Terrorism and Organised Crime

August 13, 2008 17:16

I have long been intrigued why some States have been pressing the Centre to clear their Bills intended to control organised crime, even though they wish to use the law against terrorism. I have had some success in getting the Government of India come out with an answer, which I have explained in...

SC directive on non-registration of FIRs

August 13, 2008 08:50

The following is a guest post from Vijay Nair, one of the Founder-Partners of KNM & Partners, Law Offices who has been in litigation practice for the last 14 years. He may be contacted at vijaynair.advocate [at] gmail [dot]...

Lawyers’ Boycott of Terrorist Cases in Uttar Pradesh: Whither Fair Trial?

August 13, 2008 03:21

We bring you a guest post by Talha Abdul Rahman, a recent graduate of Nalsar University of Law, Hyderabad. Talha will soon leave for the UK to pursue post graduate studies (BCL) at the University of Oxford as a Shell Centenary-Chevening Scholar.Talha brought to our attention an Indian Express...

Guest Blogger: Bikram Jeet Batra's review of a recent SC Judgment on Death Penalty

August 12, 2008 17:36

The judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Swamy Shraddananda on 22nd July deserves much more attention than it has received. It is a strong statement against the death penalty. Although it does list a few reasons why the instant case was not considered ‘rarest of the rare’, it is clear that t...