Law & Justice

SC: Article 142, Mass Amnesties, and the Panchayatisation of the Rule of Law

Within a month of youth-led protests in Delhi and at least half a dozen other locations, the Supreme Court’s September 1 Order invoked its extraordinary powers under Article 142 to quash criminal cases registered across at least five states. This examines the limitations of this ad hoc jurisprudence, arguing that while protection from abusive state prosecution is welcome, linking it to the cancellation of the September 5 march sets a troubling precedent. Constitutional scrutiny demanded a rigorous examination of alleged executive and police overreach, including blanket prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS and the shutdown of metro stations and internet services. Instead, the alleged excesses of Delhi and other police forces remain unadjudicated.

Khargone riots case collapses: Four years after Ram Navami violence, MP court acquits 11 accused, finds prosecution failed to establish guilt

A sessions court points to hostile witnesses, unexplained delays, lack of identification procedures and forensic inconsistencies; accused, all of whom who were Muslim, spent up to 827 days in jail

The Supreme Court’s Uneasy Middle Path on Protest Policing

The July 28 interim order preserves evidence and contemplates an SIT, but leaves unresolved who should investigate when the police themselves stand accused

From Feeding Students to Fighting in the Supreme Court: The story of Mohammad Junaid Malik

How a young law graduate who spent 35 days feeding student protesters became a petitioner before the Supreme Court, alleging illegal detention, intimidation and coercive action against his family

Governments begin rolling back cases against protesters, but questions over violence, arrests and accountability remain

Official notifications in Bihar and Assam mark the first implementation of commitments made to protest leaders, even as fresh arrests in West Bengal, allegations of police excesses and questions over protest violence keep the movement alive

Reforming policing beyond force

Real change demands democratic policing, rigorous training, and accountability that makes officers answerable for brutality, sexual violence, and unlawful crowd control

July 2026: A dissent that was brutally put down, a crackdown after the protest ended

Police and RAF conduct was brutal, FIRs have been filed despite assurances, protesters arrested, and Muslim families, especially, have faced scrutiny

Permission to Protest? Why the right to dissent needs no licence

In the light of the nation’s vibrant 100-citywide protests, the author, a legal researcher questions, why, the right (to protest) that is supposed to speak against power is, at its very threshold, made to genuflect before power (police permission)

Bail Stays, But Under Tight Curbs: Delhi HC’s order in Parvez-Mehraj UAPA case

Court finds trial judge failed to apply the stringent Section 43D (5) test, but declines to send accused back to prison; imposes sweeping restrictions as NIA's appeal continues

Three High Courts, One Message: Police power has constitutional limits

Recent High Court rulings reaffirm that violence, procedural shortcuts and administrative negligence are equally incompatible with the rule of law

A deleted tweet, an NSA order, and the shadow of past crackdowns

The clarification may address the immediate controversy, but years of preventive action against movements have deepened distrust

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SC: Article 142, Mass Amnesties, and the Panchayatisation of the Rule of Law

Within a month of youth-led protests in Delhi and at least half a dozen other locations, the Supreme Court’s September 1 Order invoked its extraordinary powers under Article 142 to quash criminal cases registered across at least five states. This examines the limitations of this ad hoc jurisprudence, arguing that while protection from abusive state prosecution is welcome, linking it to the cancellation of the September 5 march sets a troubling precedent. Constitutional scrutiny demanded a rigorous examination of alleged executive and police overreach, including blanket prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS and the shutdown of metro stations and internet services. Instead, the alleged excesses of Delhi and other police forces remain unadjudicated.

Need for Clarity on the SIR: An Open Letter to the Congress Leaders of Karnataka

While the national leadership of the party, leads and articulates the national campaign for the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, the state leadership of Karnataka, a state governed by the party, gives conflicting statements almost endorsing a process that has disenfranchised close to 10 million there

From Arunachal to Delhi, anti-dam protesters face state crackdown; detained allege sexual assault

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After 22 years under suspicion, Assam’s Kashem Ali declared Indian by Foreigners Tribunal

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From treating Adivasi communities to being branded an instigator: Odisha jails doctor Randall Sequeira

Arrested in a case in which his name did not figure in the original FIR, Dr Randall Sequeira faces serious criminal charges amid an intensifying crackdown on Adivasi communities resisting bauxite mining in Odisha