TECHNOLOGY
COVID-19 | How the State must deal with citizen’s personal data
The same privacy concerns in the Kerala government’s Sprinklr deal exist with the Union government’s Aarogya Setu app too. Anonymising data or even obtaining ‘informed consent’ hardly addresses these
INDIA
COVID-19 | Courts making small steps towards accepting technology, but don’t expect a leap
A shift to online dispute resolution — hearings from remote locations, exclusively online filings — are likely to be discarded the moment the COVID-19 crisis passes
POLITICS
Legal Matters | Why does the police enjoy immunity against misconduct?
Fifteen years later, States have still not complied with the Supreme Court directions on police reforms. Consequently, accountability is a concept that is almost alien to law enforcement in India.
INDIA
Legal Matters | Democracy in the dock
Our plight is that we have made a mockery of our democracy that such a large number of candidates with criminal backgrounds can compete for our votes effectively.
POLITICS
Legal Matters | Why SC judgment on NGO funding is a half-hearted assertion of rights
The Supreme Court did not weigh on the right to receive foreign funding, but merely held that an organisation that is politically connected cannot be arbitrarily designated as a political organisation
INDIA
Legal Matters | Courts must be vigilant against encroachments on our rights
The Andhra Pradesh government’s Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, is a blatant attempt by the State to usurp powers that ought to be with a neutral and independent body — the election commission.
BUSINESS
Cyrptocurrency | SC order does not clear the road ahead for virtual currencies
This Supreme Court judgment is a hyper-technical analysis of the RBI’s powers to regulate a pseudo-currency. The judgment does not legalise cryptocurrencies — that will be decided by Parliament.
POLITICS
Legal Matters | It’s an irony when death penalty saves lives
Many murder convicts, are left rotting in jail for life because unlike in death penalty cases, life sentences hardly evince judicial interest.
POLITICS
Legal Matters | The takeaways from SC’s order on Internet shutdowns
The SC judgment on Kashmir lockdown has much to cheer for all Indians, but for the people of Kashmir, on behalf of whom the cases were fought, it offers scarce respite.
POLITICS
Is 2020 going to be a litmus test for Supreme Court?
There are many issues on the table. The mounting case backlog is one of them
TECHNOLOGY
Policy | The good and bad of the Data Protection Bill
There can be simply no scenario in which allowing the government to intercept, access, and process personal data without strict safeguards can be good for a democracy.
INDIA
Society | The answer to barbaric crimes is not more barbarism
The public clamour for extra-judicial killings, as happened in Hyderabad, is not only dangerous, but is also taking us back as a society by centuries, and towards philosophies such as that of the Islamic State, which we derisively look down upon.
INDIA
Legal Matters | SC’s Sabarimala review makes a bad judgment worse
The cases clubbed with the Sabarimala case for consideration by a larger bench of the Supreme Court are so distinctly different that it is unlikely that an authoritative pronouncement will come out of considering each of them in combination.
POLITICS
Ayodhya verdict: It was the assertion of beliefs that clinched the title
Was the defect in the Muslims’ claim that they didn’t cantankerously protest the Hindus’ practice of praying in the outer courtyard for a century?
LEGAL-TRENDS
Supreme Court should speak up. UK ruling is a test case
The Constitution is paramount, and the top court is failing in its duty as protector of citizens
INDIA
Legal Matters | Kerala High Court reminds us that adults can decide for themselves
One oft-forgotten facet of the right to live with dignity is the ability to make one’s own choices, without the State, or any other authority or organisation, fretting over the corruption of the person — mind, body, or soul.
INDIA
Legal Matters | SEBI failed in prosecuting PwC because its hands were tied
If Indian regulators were rendered toothless in prosecuting Satyam’s auditors, it is only a testament to our legal system’s inadequacy in dealing with violators.
INDIA
Legal Matters | Why increasing the number of judges will not solve the problem the Supreme Court is facing
Pendency at the Supreme Court has many causes, but the most glaring is that it has been reduced to a mere appellate court (where all high court decisions are appealed and heard) rather than a court to interpret the Constitution, as it was originally intended.
INDIA
Legal Matters | Constitutional issues on proposed ban on Bitcoins
The Draft Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019 not only bans any use of cryptocurrency within India, but also recommends a maximum jail sentence of 10 years.
INDIA
Legal Matters | Is the Consumer Protection Bill as good as it looks?
The new consumer protection law has many laudable provisions, but its success will depend on having adequate judges of good quality.
POLITICS
Karnataka Crisis | It’s time we strengthened anti-defection laws
Elected representatives abdicating electoral mandate should come with some consequences that disincentivises, and if not, penalises unprincipled defections. A moratorium on standing for election or occupying any electoral post for a period of five years is a great place to start.
INDIA
Legal Matters | Judicial pendency is a crisis unfolding in real time
India’s budgetary expenditure on the judiciary is under 0.5% of total budget. It is difficult to expect that an independent judiciary will exert its weight as the third pillar of our democracy, if it is expected to survive on such a paltry budget.
