National Law University Odisha
The author explores the state specificity doctrine with respect to reservations and argues that the reading of Article 341 of the Constitution to bar citizens from claiming benefit of reservation in states other than their states of origin as a misreading of the provision.
In this interview conducted by CLS, we talk to Swapnil Tripathi.Swapnil is the Lead at Charkha (Centre for Constitutional Law) at Vidhi. His areas of specialisation are judicial review and constitutional interpretation, with a particular focus on Public Interest Litigation. He is also an Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society, nominated in recognition of his work in the United Kingdom.
This blog piece discusses the development of court fees in India and the implications it has on access to justice as a fundamental right of people, especially given the socioeconomic reality of the country.
This essay examines how states use citizenship as a tool of mass exclusion, as seen in Myanmar and Assam, for political and material gain. The humanitarian consequences of these scenarios are governed by the international order, which neutralizes the humanitarian crisis, but does not supervise the sovereign entity. The essay proposes a thought experiment "Sovereign Human Rights Risk Rating"(SHRR) to analyze the state of accountability. It poses the question as to whether a purely technical, monetary system could achieve such accountability. The essay posits that SHRR would fail. The act of exclusion in this instance is not merely a political choice; rather it is a fundamental act of political sovereignty. The absence of accountability is what this global arrangement is built upon.
This piece examines the Patna High Court decision in Youth for Equality v. State of Bihar. It argues against the Court's pronouncement of the Bihar state's legislature's competence to carry out a census and challenges the the manner in which the Court arrived at its decision.
This blog analyses the characterizstion of arbitrariness as an enemy to equality, contending that while the Classification Doctrine and the older Non-Arbitrariness Doctrine both operate primarily as formal, process-based rationality requirements, focused on the means-end connection, the Manifest Arbitrariness Doctrine introduces a more normative, effects-based evaluation of both ends and means.
This blog analyses the characterizstion of arbitrariness as an enemy to equality, contending that while the Classification Doctrine and the older Non-Arbitrariness Doctrine both operate primarily as formal, process-based rationality requirements, focused on the means-end connection, the Manifest Arbitrariness Doctrine introduces a more normative, effects-based evaluation of both ends and means.
The institution of marriage and the acts committed between a husband and a wife witnesses a dilution of the public-private divide. The article focuses on the offence of marital rape in the light of such divide by analysing the split verdict the Delhi High Court delivered in the case of RIT Foundation v. Union of India.
This blog critically examines the sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes in India, highlighting its role in redefining equity and ensuring fairer distribution of affirmative action benefits. While it promises to empower the most marginalised, it also raises concerns about reinforcing caste divisions and political motivations behind such policy shifts.
In recent years, the Union Government’s push for Hindi in governance and education, particularly through the National Education Policy, has triggered constitutional concerns. Though framed as promoting multilingualism, the policy's implementation effectively coerces non-Hindi speakers, especially in Tamil Nadu, into linguistic assimilation. This article argues that such imposition violates fundamental rights and fails the proportionality test outlined in Puttaswamy, undermining India’s federal structure and commitment to linguistic diversity.
This article critically examines India's diluted separation of powers, stemming from the *Ram Jawaya Kapur* (1955) ruling that favored executive efficiency over strict separation. It argues that this model, particularly with majority and coalition governments, leads to legislative undermining through mechanisms like bypassing parliamentary scrutiny (guillotine, reduced committee referrals). The article concludes by advocating for strengthening legislative oversight mechanisms to counter this "silent shift" towards executive aggrandizement.
This article attempts to understand the differences between the concept of religious freedom in India and the United States. It seeks to locate these differences in the context of the nature of religion in the two countries and its relationship with society. Moreover, it highlights the changing social realities which necessitate a review of the secularism in these countries.
Constitutional Law Society 