Shishir Tripathi

TRENDS

44th Amendment: Restoring constitutional safeguards and limiting emergency powers

The Forty-Fourth Amendment (1978) reversed the Emergency-era changes, strengthening democratic safeguards by restricting executive powers, protecting fundamental rights, and ensuring stricter parliamentary oversight during national emergencies

POLITICS

President’s Role in the Emergency: Fakhruddin Ahmed's unchallenged decision severely criticised

President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed’s approval of the 1975 Emergency proclamation, without Cabinet consultation, has been widely criticised for undermining constitutional norms and raising questions about the President’s discretionary powers and duty 

INDIA

Justice HR Khanna’s dissent in the Emergency’s infamous ADM Jabalpur case still resonates

Emergency was one the worst phases for the Supreme Court as it failed to provide the necessary check on the excesses of the political and permanent executives. This failure was encapsulated in the ADM Jabalpur case when the majority in the five-member bench ruled that people could not question their detention. Justice HR Khanna provided the sole dissent and was superseded for it. His dissent, however, echoes to this day and serves as a reference point

POLITICS

Fali Nariman, a beacon of moral courage when Emergency was proclaimed

Fali Nariman was Additional Solicitor General of India when Emergency was declared. He resigned in protest, displaying moral fibre when it was scarcely discernible in the executive or judiciary. A look at that tumultuous period through his experiences provides an important takeaway. Once laws remove restraints on the executive, they will act with 'hobnailed boots'

POLITICS

Shashi Tharoor and Ram Madhav on the Constitution is about depth versus dispassion

Their recent books on the Constitution approach it through political lens. It makes the comparison interesting as their approach is from different ends of the political spectrum. A reviewer concludes that while Madhav takes a dispassionate look at the role of framers, Tharoor is more polemical

TRENDS

Even cinema calls out POCSO misuse; law needs safeguards

While POCSO aims to protect children, courts and reports reveal growing misuse in consensual teen relationships, prompting calls for nuanced reforms that balance child rights with justice and intent

TRENDS

WhatsApp status in a court of law

With so much of personal and professional communication taking place over WhatsApp, there’s a gradual evolution in the manner the law is viewing it as evidence. In addition, the courts have also set boundaries on its use as evidence. A look at the status of WhatsApp communication as evidence follows 

TRENDS

How the judiciary assumed greater theological authority than high priests of religions

In the ongoing challenge in the Supreme Court to amendments in the Waqf law, the issue of the role of charity in Islam came up. The origin of this argument and similar ones in earlier cases can be traced to a unique Indian judicial invention, the essential religious practices doctrine. It arose from the need for the judiciary to gauge the point of demarcation between secular law of a modern state and traditional religious practices that cannot be tampered with

TRENDS

Land alienation is focal point of SC’s Waqf law hearing

Hearings in the Supreme Court in May on the amendments to the Waqf law witnessed engrossing arguments around alienation of tribal lands and government’s rights and powers when it is one of the interested parties in a land title dispute. A look at the essence of these amendments and nature of arguments around it follow

TRENDS

Criminalising minor offences is how legislature contributes to judicial backlog and unease of living

The State of the System report by Vidhi Centre exposes India's overcriminalisation of minor regulatory offences. Of central laws, 42 % contain criminal provisions. It leads to an overreliance on imprisonment and jails filled with undertrials. Finally, there are signs that the government is taking steps to undo the damage

TRENDS

Tareekh Pe Justice: A book on lower judiciary, the challenges it faces and the road ahead

This book examines systemic issues plaguing India’s district courts, highlighting judicial delays, lack of independence, and flawed oversight, while advocating structural reforms and accountability of higher judiciary to improve justice delivery

TRENDS

India justice report calls for reforms in judiciary through honest assessment

The India Justice Report 2025 highlights major challenges in India’s judiciary, including judge shortages, high caseloads, poor infrastructure, and inadequate legal aid, urging urgent reforms to improve access to justice and system efficiency

INDIA

Challenges to amended Waqf Act: No interim order passed, SC raises key issues as hearing to continue tomorrow

Six BJP-ruled states including Madhya Pradesh and Assam have approached the Supreme Court to support the constitutionality of the amendment.

TRENDS

Police’s unjust mode of seeking justice

Civil and criminal laws are fundamentally different in their aim. Arbitrary usage of criminal law provisions by the police undermines the notion of justice. However, it’s commonly done and often results in scathing observations by constitutional courts

POLITICS

Sorry Guv, even you have a deadline

Politics in India at the sub-national level plays out through the Governor’s office. It’s mainly taken the form of Governors sitting on bills passed by State Assemblies by exploiting loopholes in the Constitution. Supreme Court on April 8 closed one such loophole by explicitly setting a timeline for Governors to act when Bills are presented to them. It bodes well for federalism

TRENDS

'Cash at Judge's Door' case: Obstacles at every stage

Retired judge Nirmal Yadav was acquitted last week in the infamous case involved delivery of cash. If there’s a takeaway in this drawn-out case, it is that the prosecution faces a near-impossible task when it is entrusted with a matter of alleged judicial corruption

TRENDS

The procedure of the in-house probe in case of judicial misconduct

There’s an in-house inquiry on to ascertain the truth in the matter of the discovery of half-burnt currency notes in the residence of Delhi High Court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma. This mode of inquiry is about three decades old and evolved as a measure to cope with allegations of judicial misconduct 

BUSINESS

A 'wall' that is hard to breach

Telangana’s Assembly this month passed a bill with the support of the state’s major political parties to push overall reservation beyond the 50 percent barrier. That’s a tall order as attempts by states such as Bihar and Maharashtra in the recent past have been struck down by the Supreme Court. Decades of jurisprudence on reservation have accommodated multiple points of view but getting past the 50 percent barrier is anything but easy

TRENDS

Can the judiciary ever be made accountable?

Official misconduct and impropriety are not rare in any branch of the state. What sets the judiciary apart is its lack of accountability. The judges of the higher judiciary, that is, the Supreme Court of India and High Courts, are accountable only to Parliament. However, enforcement of accountability through this mechanism is practically non-existent

INDIA

Justice Chandrachud was his own man, a disadvantage in a world obsessed with pigeonholing

A judge’s most important qualification is impartiality and non-commitment to any particular idea or point of view. But, in a highly polarised world, neutrality can be seen as a lack of commitment rather than a principled stance. However, neutrality can also be a form of resistance—an assertion that one refuses to be manipulated into extreme positions 

TRENDS

Bail has to be the rule if clearing judicial backlog matters

The apex court has tilted in favour of privileging fundamental rights over statutory laws if the prosecution takes an inordinate time to finish investigation. In a related area, there are more than four million pending criminal cases which began over a decade ago. Many languish in jail as undertrials. Is there a way to clear the backlog without being more liberal about bail?

TRENDS

The consequential afterlife of judiciary’s oral observations

Oral observations may not find their way into a formal order. However, they can leave a lasting impression on people, even if they are made in an offhand way. They also run the risk of diluting judicial accountability

POLITICS

History and politics of appointments to Election Commission

In Constituent Assembly debates, there was a consensus that the right to vote should be treated as a fundamental right and, therefore, integrity of electoral process is of paramount importance. As Supreme Court hears a challenge to the Parliament’s law on the composition of the selection committee for EC, also at stake is the question of separation of powers between the judiciary, legislature and executive