South Asia

Examining procedural lapses, judicial interpretations, and investigative pre-conceptions in the Nanded blasts case

Encounters in custody are shockingly common in India and can be said to be a result of the slow and dysfunctional judicial system of India. Often cases are seen to get delayed, evidence is destroyed or lost, witnesses turn hostile, and the defendants buy their freedom. But the response of the police by taking the law into their own hands is even more threatening for the judicial system in India. Encounters usually end with dead criminals and not at all scathed police, raising multiple questions as to the necessity of use of such force by the police.

A surge in hate crimes and divisive rhetoric under the new government reveals a growing threat to Maharashtra’s secular and pluralistic identity, with minorities and marginalised communities bearing the brunt of the assault

After the Maharashtra Cabinet granted CM Fadnavis sole authority to appoint the new SEC days ago, Dinesh Waghmare, a 1994-batch IAS officer, takes charge as SEC on January 21. Waghmare served as the Principal Secretary of Medical Education and Drugs department with additional charge of Employment Guarantee Scheme in Maharashtra and resigned only after this appointment, a development that raises serious questions of a conflict of interest: the SC in 2021 has held that SECs have to be "independent persons" not occupying a post under the Centre or state governments

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s remarks linking independence to the Ram temple consecration have sparked debates on historical revisionism, divisive narratives, and constitutional values.

Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) filed a complaint with CEO, Delhi, R. Alice Vaz, against BJP leader Nazia Elahi Khan for delivering a hate-filled speech on January 5, 2025, in Rohini. Khan’s remarks, including “Tell them (Muslims) to get education, they will not! Tell them to create terror, they will do it immediately,” incited communal hatred against Muslims, violated the MCC and threatened the integrity of the Delhi Assembly elections – 2025

The recent Supreme Court judgement brings to attention the attempts made by the Centre over the past few years to dilute the powers of the one law that has the power to hold the Government accountable