FREE SPEECH in India came under attack on all fronts in 2018. Alarmingly, even as assaults continued unabated, the State was all set to take on the mantle of the chief censor with repressive regulatory and surveillance mechanisms being put in place even as the year was winding down. There was no respite from the killings…
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The decision of the Modi Government to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from Dassault Aviation, a French company, was upheld by the Supreme Court recently. The judgment says in para 25 that the pricing details were already “shared with the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the report has been examined by the Public Accounts…
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It has been 13 years since Sohrabuddin Anwarhussain Sheikh died. He was killed in an “encounter” with the Gujarat police, which is widely believed to be a case of “fake encounter”. He died on November 26, 2005 and since then his brother Rubabuddin has fought for justice. Rubabuddin filed a writ petition in the Supreme…
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In the first column on Sexual Harassment at Workplace in our Know Your Rights series, it is only fair to start it by understanding what is meant by “Sexual harassment at workplace”. At the outset, it should be distinguished from “sexual harassment” in a non-workplace context as the hierarchal set-up that is definitive of an…
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In an unusual gesture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to personally announce an increase in honorarium for scheme workers like anganwadi workers and accredited social health activists (ASHAs) on September 21, 2018. He even called it a “landmark increase in remuneration”. However, the increase turned out to be quite paltry in absolute terms. Anganwadi workers…
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A look at social media trends and hashtags suggests that an Orwellian state or a police state has been unleashed by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The Leaflet published a legal analytical piece ringing alarm bells. This current piece is an endeavour to examine the MHA Order dated December 20, 2018 solely from the point…
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In a major development, a review petition against the Supreme Court of India’s Aadhaar judgment delivered on September 26, 2018 — in the matter of Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India & Others — has been filed in the apex court today, December 24, 2018. The review petition has been filed in the Supreme Court…
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Even as the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2018 passed by the Lok Sabha denies equality to transgender persons in relation to sexual offences, the Delhi High Court has affirmed that Section 354A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) extends protection to victims of sexual harassment, who are transgender. The order in Anamika…
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On December 20, 2018 the Central Government through the Ministry of Home Affairs brought out a notification in exercise of its powers under Section 69(2) and Section 87(2)(y) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 read with Rule 4 of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring, and Decryption of Information) Rules 2009 —…
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In a big blow to transparency, the Ministry of Law and Justice has turned down an RTI application filed by Paras Nath Singh, a Delhi-based advocate, seeking information on the material that formed basis for the promulgation of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance, 2018 (commonly known as the “Triple Talaq Ordinance”),…
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