Editor’s Note: In this post, Prateek Joinwal* examines the right to legal counsel in India. After drawing parallels with American jurisprudence, he concludes that this right is a “limited right” in India, and proceeds to examine the ramifications of the same. Introduction In a country like ours, which celebrates H.L. Packer’s ‘due process’ model of [...]
Editor’s Note: In this blog post, Sanchit Khandelwal highlights the nepotism and favouritism prevalent in appointment procedures of the judiciary, selection of senior counsels, and at the bar. Due to such nepotism and favouritism, young lawyers and subordinate judiciary judges from marginalised communities suffer unduly. This necessitates the need for reform. Introduction Recent findings and [...]
Editor's Note: In this blog post, against the backdrop of limited hearings being taken up by the Supreme Court owing to the pandemic, Abhinand Lagisetti critiques the manner of prioritisation adopted by the Registry of the Supreme Court. The author analyses the present norms being adopted and critiques the Registry's prioritisation of matters that concern [...]
Editor's Note: In this Article, Swapnil Tripathi discusses the appointment of "distinguished jurists" as Judges of the Supreme Court of India under Art 124 of the Constitution. Next month, Professor Andrew Burrows (University of Oxford) shall be sworn in as a Justice/Judge of the United Kingdom Supreme Court. Prof. Burrows is following the footsteps of [...]
Editor's Note: In this essay, Shreenath A. Khemka* critically assesses the honorary title of ‘Justice’ used as a prefix by judges of various High Courts and the Supreme Court of India. He argues that the usage of the title ‘Justice’ is unsustainable under Article 18 (1) of the Constitution. When it comes to the practice [...]
Editor's note - In this piece Shreenath Khemka writes about the imminence of a fifth Judges' case. With the CJI recommending the initiation of removal proceedings against Justice S.N. Shukla, the Judiciary's control over its composition can be seen to be extending to the removal of its officers too. While the four Judges' case gave [...]
Editor's Note: In this post, Shreenath Khemka points out the shortcomings of the currently available disciplining mechanisms to regulate the judiciary. As proposals, he suggests using contempt proceedings, the use of the General Clauses Act for penalties and the writ of 'Scire Facias' instead of the arduous removal proceedings under 124(4) of the Constitution. The [...]
Editor's Note - In this post, Abhijit Murthy analyses the policy proposal to decentralize the Supreme Court of India. He identifies the merit of decentralization to enable a more concentrated constitutional review and increased access to justice that is currently being affected by geographical constraints. He also writes about the proposal's drawbacks by identifying the [...]
In this article, Mustafa Rajkotwala makes a case against the proposal to create an All-India Judicial Services (AIJS). While tracking the current debate on the matter, he adds to the criticism that has been leveled against the AIJS. He identifies that not all is bad with all of subordinate judiciary: it is only in some States [...]
“Legal profession requires full-time attention and would not countenance an advocate riding two horses or more at a time". Justice Majumdar in Haniraj L. Chulani v. Bar Council In September 2018, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court (SC) refused to prevent legislators from practising law during the incumbency of their office. Relying on the lack [...]
In this post, Siddharth Sunil and Rama Ratna Sarma* discuss the socio-legal context in which the establishment of the new High Court in the state of Andhra Pradesh is mired. They provide reasons for deferral of the establishment of the High Court, and sensitize us about the urgency of executing the plan of establishing the [...]
Editor's Note: In this article, the author discusses the importance of the right of legal representation and the perils of denying an accused the same. He contextualizes his thesis with pertinent examples and case laws. Then he finally suggests an attitudinal change among the members of the legal fraternity to safeguard the constitutional right of [...]
