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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.
Promising Principles Poor Outcomes: What the judicial record on security force accountability actually shows
CJP Team -
The Supreme Court has said that AFSPA is not a license to kill, sovereign immunity does not protect the State from liability for custodial death, and rape by a soldier requires no special court. At the same time, the number of armed forces personnel convicted by an ordinary civilian criminal court for rape in a conflict area is, on the available record, low.
State cannot escape liability for custodial suicide: Delhi HC
Court awards ₹18.44 Lakh Compensation to Father of 19-Year-Old Who Died in Police Custody, Rules that every unnatural custodial death, even if classified as suicide, raises constitutional liability
Nazia Elahi Khan faces multiple FIRs over alleged hate speech
CJP Team -
A viral podcast featuring alleged derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad has placed Nazia Elahi Khan at the centre of nationwide controversy, triggering multiple FIRs, police complaints and protests across several states. The episode has also renewed scrutiny of her record of alleged communal hate speech through speeches, campaigns and online interventions
Bombay HC condemns use of externment to silence political dissent; says opposition to government cannot be treated as a crime
Court quashes the externment of SDPI leader Saeed Ahmad Abdul Wahid Chaudhary holding that peaceful protests against government policies cannot justify banishing a citizen from his
From Outrage to Acquittal: The Raja Singh hate speech case comes to a close
CJP Team -
Mass protests, preventive detention, political fallout and four years of criminal proceedings culminated in the acquittal of Telangana MLA T. Raja Singh
Karnataka HC allows Hindu convention but bars invitee seer from speaking to prevent law-and-order concerns
HC permits the Basavadi Shiva Sharana Bruhat Hindu Samavesha to proceed while imposing stringent conditions, including an unprecedented cap on attendance and an absolute ban on hate speech
Judging the Judge: The communal backlash against a lynching verdict
A reasoned criminal judgment gave way to an organised campaign of communal abuse, threats and intimidation targeting the judge who delivered it
Not What the Court Decided: Re-reading the Bombay High Court’s passport judgment
The MEA's recent clarification on passport has centred on a single judicial decision that may not support the sweeping proposition now attributed to it
From Protest to Petition: Maharashtra’s Public Safety Act in the dock
CJP Team -
After months of state-wide protests, thousands of objections and sustained civil society opposition, Maharashtra's controversial security law now faces a constitutional challenge before the Bombay High Court
The Court spoke, the police paraded anyway
CJP Team -
The Rajasthan High Court's landmark judgment on public shaming was ignored within the month it was delivered; what have other High Courts said on this depreciable practice?
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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.
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