By Mr. Abhinav Sekhri Suppose you are ordinarily a resident of Delhi, but come to know that a case has been filed (or is about to be filed) against you in Mumbai, alleging you committed non-bailable and cognizable offences such as "Cheating", punishable under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 [IPC]. Your law-savvy friends tell … Continue reading Anticipatory Bail and Jurisdiction

By Ritwik Sharma On 23rd July 2019, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill 2019 was passed by the Lok Sabha amid protests from both within the House as well as outside it. The opposition staged a walkout after it lost the motion to send the Bill to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for further scrutiny. The … Continue reading Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019: A Draconian Proposal

By Sanjana Hooda INTRODUCTION TO THE CONCEPT The core objective of a criminal trial is to strive towards the attainment of justice and to ensure that the rule of law is maintained. The presence of the accused, in order to be submitted to trial, is indispensable to the foundation of any judicial system and is … Continue reading Conducting Trials ‘In Absentia’

By Jasmeet Singh Chadha INTRODUCTION             The recent judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Manju Surana v. Sunil Arora & Ors.[1]  referring the controversy surrounding the mandatory requirement of procuring sanction for initiating investigation by the Magistrate in exercise of powers enumerated in Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure when a complaint … Continue reading Re-examining the Dicta in Anil Kumar v. M.K. Aiyappa in Light of Pre-Investigation Sanction

By Mr. Abhinav Sekhri “Preventive Detention” is a phrase that is inextricably bound with the history of the Indian Constitution. The Constituent Assembly affirmed the power for future governments to pass such laws, and only later got around to debating the restraints surrounding them. As a result, despite Article 22 having been inserted to serve … Continue reading Dimple Happy Dhakad and Normalising Preventive Detention

By Muskaan Joshi “In cases of xenophobic and communal lynching, one person’s body becomes a site of history.” -Prof. Upendra Baxi Current day politics in India is showmanship that revolves around balderdash ideologies of caste and religious identities [1]. Complementing the same are the legislative and political measures which have in a way created bias … Continue reading Dear Politicians, Kindly Halt the Hate!

             By Kavya Lalchandani Reverse onus clauses are usually found in criminal statutes where the burden of proving innocence is shifted on to the defendant or the accused after certain foundational facts have been proven by the prosecution. Under the POCSO Act, Section 29 and 30 deal with reverse onus … Continue reading Constitutionality of Reverse Onus Clauses Under POCSO Act

By Ratakshi Sarvaria In early societies, when resources were limited, the law of nature was based on survival of the fittest. The early exponents found crime in the conflicts of behavioural norms and saw crime as being rooted in “poverty, misery and depravity.”[1] As societies developed and money gained importance, it is safe to say … Continue reading Crime as a Choice: Crime and Economic Conditions

By Eshani Vaidya Introduction "Custodial torture" is a naked violation of human dignity that largely destroys the individual personality.[1] No violation of any one of the human rights has been the subject of as many Conventions and Declarations as ‘torture.’[2] The Parliament, keeping in mind its international obligations under the Convention against Torture and other … Continue reading A Critical Analysis of the Acts Amounting to Torture under the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2017.

By Mr. Abhinav Sekhri Let's do a thought experiment. Think of the criminal justice system — or criminal process as I like to call it — as a building. Now, the basic architecture of this building is fairly well-known to us, and exists in the form of three statutes: the Indian Penal Code 1860, Indian Evidence Act … Continue reading Guiding Police Discretion: Police Circulars and The Limits of Top-Down Reform