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Who owns Mumbai’s streets? The Bombay High Court, street vendors and a decade of regulatory failure
What began as a case about encroachments has become a searching inquiry into the State's failure to implement the Street Vendors Act, the rights of pedestrians and informal workers, and the growing role of identification and verification in urban governance
BJP govt’s ‘inhumane deportation of 40 Rohingya refugees’ condemned: PUCL
PUCL -
The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has condemned...
One woman against a thousand superstitions, Birubala Rabha’s battle against the superstition of ‘Witch-Hunting’
Though this pioneering feminist activist breathed her last on May 13, 2024, her work with the Thakurvilla Mahila Samiti and Missiom Birubala has been recognized internationally and May 13 has been declared Anti-Superstition Day in Assam
A Republic That Listens: The Supreme Court’s poetic defence of dissent through Imran Pratapgarhi judgment
In quashing the FIR against MP Imran Pratapgarhi, the Supreme Court reasserts that metaphors are not misdemeanours and that in a democracy, the right to dissent is not a crime but a constitutional commitment
Censorship: The Wire, India’s credible news and analysis portal blocked, widespread condemnation
The Wire, founded by Siddharth Varadarajan, MK Venu and Siddharth Bhatia a decade ago, was served blocking orders by the government of India on the morning of May 9; the censorship action has been widely condemned
Following executive order from government, X asked to block 8000 accounts in India
Social media platform ‘X’ (former Twitter) informed on its Global Affairs account that, “we have begun that process, however, we disagree with the government’s demands, blocking entire accounts is not only unnecessary—it amounts to censorship of both existing and future content,” X acknowledged the decision wasn’t easy but “keeping the platform accessible in India is vital to Indians' ability to access information,” X also added it had received no evidence or justification for the sweeping block order, in a controversial move, even X’s own @GlobalAffairs account was temporarily withheld in India—though later restored
Maharashtra’s Special Public Security Bill, 2024 faces massive pushback, receives record 12,750 objections
The Maharashtra government’s proposed bill, allegedly aimed at enhancing public security, has sparked unprecedented opposition, with rights groups and citizens raising serious concerns over its impact on civil liberties, democracy, and dissent
India’s Free Speech Crisis Deepens: 329 violations recorded in just four months of 2025
From murdered journalists to banned films, the first quarter of 2025 marks a disturbing escalation in censorship, intimidation, and law fare—highlighted by the Free Speech Collective's latest findings
Gujarat HC refuses stay demolition, AMC launches massive demolition in Muslim-majority Chandola Lake area
Suspected as illegal Bangladeshi migrants, over 6500 Siyasatnagar residents faced a massive roundup, undeterred by their urgent Gujarat HC petition, a force of 2000 police, 15 SRP units, and 74 JCBs descended, as the AMC initiated the razing of 2000 homes, 3 resorts, and parking in the Muslim-majority area, the High Court having refused to intervene, residents called it “illegal and arbitrary”
The Price of Dissent: In India, demanding accountability in times of grief must toe the line
From folk songs to Instagram posts to digital newsrooms, voices of resistance are under attack. FIRs against Neha Singh Rathore, Dr Madri Kakoti, and the shutdown of 4 PM News reflect a deepening free speech crisis in India
Pahalgam attack sparks nationwide turmoil, Kashmiri students face a chilling wave of hate across India
Following the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam that claimed over two dozen lives, Kashmiri students across Indian states report threats, evictions, and violence, prompting urgent calls for protection and solidarity
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ALL STORIES
ALL STORIES
Rule of Law
The Supreme Court in 2025: Deference, technicality and the retreat from rights
From citizenship and reservation to encounter accountability, privacy, environmental protection and minority rights, the Court's most contentious judgments of 2025 reveal an increasing preference for institutional deference and procedural compliance over substantive constitutional justice
Rights
Who owns Mumbai’s streets? The Bombay High Court, street vendors and a decade of regulatory failure
What began as a case about encroachments has become a searching inquiry into the State's failure to implement the Street Vendors Act, the rights of pedestrians and informal workers, and the growing role of identification and verification in urban governance
India
Defectors & Democracy: A critique of the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution
The right of voters to recall representatives who defect—as seen in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Goa and Arunachal Pradesh—and the requirement of intra-party democracy could form part of a broader institutional redesign. Such measures would deepen democratic values and, above all, signal a refusal by citizens to accept the corruption of their mandate. These may be among the reforms that India's Parliament and democracy most urgently need
Gender and Sexuality
A regressive 2026 amendment to rights of Trans persons is under legal challenge even as pride month is celebrated
Unable to stay the statute, High Courts have charted a middle path—protecting petitioners already undergoing hormone therapy while the broader constitutional challenge awaits adjudication by the Supreme Court
India
The what’s & why’s of Data Centres and how are they hijacking the India Story
While countries such as Singapore and Sweden are curbing the environmental costs of data centres through regulation and innovation, India is actively courting these resource-intensive facilities with little regard for their water and energy demands. From Stockholm's waste-heat recovery systems to zero-water cooling technologies, solutions exist. Yet India continues to trade away land, water and public resources with scant consideration for environmental sustainability or local communities.
Politics
Telegram before NEET: When governance fails, censorship takes its place
Invoking exam security to suspend access to a platform used by millions raises serious questions about proportionality, transparency and the growing tendency to restrict communications whenever governance challenges arise
India
Yes, Savarkar did file 10 Mercy Petitions before the British, revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh refused to Compromise: Grandnephew tells Pune Court
Savarkar’s grandnephew who had lodged a criminal defamation case against LOP Rahul Gandhi, stated and admitted during his testimony that while there were other freedom fighters who refused to file clemency petitions before the British, his uncle Vinayak Savarkar had filed as many as ten!