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Articles by Madan B Lokur
An Indian passport cannot be reduced to just a travel document
A recent public controversy has raised an important constitutional question: is an Indian passport merely a travel document, or does it signify something more? The issue arose from an unsolicited official statement that a passport is “ only a travel document ” and not proof of citizenship. Former Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao rightly reminded us that citizenship is governed by the Citizenship Act, 1955, not the Passports Act. That proposition is legally unexceptionable.
An Indian Passport Cannot Be Reduced to Just a Travel Document
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Full Text | Has the Rule of Law Been Replaced by the Rule of Non-State Actors?
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On Sonam Wangchuk's Detention, the Government Must Face the Supreme Court's Judgment
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By standing up for stray animals, India can show the world a better way
First, the SC’s judgments make reference to a newspaper article’s headline, ‘City hounded by strays, kids pay the price’. Unfortunately, irrespective of the veracity of the reporting in this or other similar articles, such headlines tend to be misleading in the false binaries they create. As a polarising narrative gets picked up, crucial details get forgotten or are deliberately ignored.
A Wishlist for the Chief Justice of India
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The 130th Constitution Amendment Bill: Where the Rule of Law Gets Substituted by the Rule of Flaw
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When a Delhi lawyer wasn’t recommended as a judge because his nickname was ‘Boozer’
Another reason why the assumption is basic is that the HCC is fully conversant with the competence, character and integrity of the lawyer or a judicial officer recommended for appointment. If there is some doubt, it is unlikely that the HCC would recommend that person for appointment. But, as mentioned above, the views of consultee judges are obtained by the CJI.
The dangerous wiring together of a ‘conspiracy’
India warns Pakistan of flood threat in first known official contact for months ISLAMABAD (AP) — India has alerted Pakistan about possible cross-border flooding after heavy monsoon rains in the South Asian region, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday, in what marks the first public official contact between the two nuclear-armed rivals in months. The ministry said New …
When the State Picks and Chooses: The Troubling Disparity in How India Appeals Terror Acquittals
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Indian justice system fails children every day: Madan Lokur
The Crime in India Report 2022 reveals that the crimes committed against children in India are more than three times those committed by children. A staggering 1,62,449 crimes were committed against children that year, while crimes committed by children was 30,555. This highlights the urgent need for more effective and accessible remedies for child victims of crime.
From Bench to Bar, the Executive Tightens Its Grip on Justice
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Why district court judges need research assistants like High Court and Supreme Court judges
Why this slow growth? Increasing judge strength requires a commensurate increase in the number of secretarial staff and infrastructure such as courtrooms and residences. Similar amenities need to be provided for the secretarial staff. For each new judge at the district court level approximately eight more staff including a registrar, stenographer and two clerks would be required. Therefore, the additional financial load on a state would not be insignificant.
My Wishlist for the 51st Chief Justice of India
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Why political bias should be kept out of anti-defection law
THE 52ND AMENDMENT to the Constitution was made in 1985 to incorporate the Tenth Schedule, commonly known as the ‘anti-defection law’. The Statement of Objects and Reasons for the Amendment is rather lengthy, but the substance is in the introductory paragraph, which reads: “The evil of political defections has been a matter of national concern. If it is not combated, it is likely to undermine the very foundations of our democracy and the principles which sustain it.
The Many Inversions of Justice and Accountability in Manipur
O horror, horror, horror!Tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name thee! Macduff’s words keep echoing, again and again, every time another skeleton tumbles out of the Manipur cupboard, after the horrific parading of naked women and the gruesome murders on May 4. The savages leading a mob of about a thousand will pay for their sins of depravity (I hope).
The Collegium System of Appointing Judges Is Close to a Technical Knockout
Frankly, I don’t know what to make of it, but it does seem to me that the collegium system of appointment of judges is getting unscrambled and it’s pretty close to a technical knockout. Consider the following jabs and uppercuts. The case of Justice Muralidhar Justice S.
Watch: How the Supreme Court Has Interpreted Hate Speech Over the Years
Justice Madan Lokur, who retired from the Supreme Court of India, spoke on the constitutional limits and judicial interpretations of hate speech at an online discussion on ‘Defeating Hate, Defending the Constitution’ organised by ANHAD and the Satark Nagrik Sangathan on October 2, 2022.
We need to protect whistle blowers Original
Ignoring the fact that Right to Information users are facing death for keeping democracy alive is a threat to democracy itself Ignoring the fact that Right to Information users are facing death for keeping democracy alive is a threat to democracy itself “Words, words, words” was Hamlet’s reply to Polonius’ question, “What do you read, my lord?” That is what our Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, is being reduced to.
Liberty is too precious to be lost: A former SC judge on the decay in the criminal justice system
“What’s going on?” a young lady asks quizzically in a television advertisement. The same question must be asked of criminal justice and India’s prisons. Bail, not jail has been reduced to a mere slogan to be whispered once in a while. The reality is jail, not bail. Another reality is that innocent until proven guilty has been transformed to guilty until proven innocent. Are we doing anything about reversing these realities?
Condemned by Innuendo: Some Questions on the SC's Order That Led to Teesta Setalvad's Arrest
Did the Supreme Court intend or suggest that Teesta Setalvad should be arrested? Whatever your answer, the implications are horrendous. The reference is, of course, to the recent judgment in the appeal filed by Zakia Ahsan Jafri. If your answer to the question is ‘yes,’ don’t you think it is tragic that the Supreme Court has taken upon itself to unilaterally decide who should be arrested and why?
As Zubair Is Hounded by Deliberate Chicanery and Legal Malafides, Is UAPA Next?
Franklin D. Roosevelt was wrong when he said, ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.’ We have also to fear the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Let me examine the case of Zubair Mohammed, the Alt News co-founder. A First Information Report (FIR No. 172/2022) was lodged against him by Sub-Inspector Arvind Kumar a police officer of the Special Cell, Delhi on June 20, 2022 at 2.10 am.
Bulldozer injustice to ‘teach a lesson’
In today’s interpretation of the law in some States, the tempter’s provocation is overlooked and the tempted found guilty In today’s interpretation of the law in some States, the tempter’s provocation is overlooked and the tempted found guilty Shakespeare, speaking through Angelo in Measure for Measure, asks a pertinent question that resonates even today: “The tempter or the tempted, who sins most?” In the law on sedition, the Supreme Court of India made it clear that the one inciting...
Supreme Court Collegium Is Now Nothing More Than a Post Office With a Fancy Pin Code
The Department of Justice of the Government of India has finally decided to treat the Supreme Court collegium as nothing more than a post office with a fancy pin code. Appointment of judges and transfer of judges is now beyond the control of the collegium. It has been reduced to nothing more than any other non-statutory body whose recommendations can be disregarded.
When It Comes to Illegal Buildings, Justice Must Not Favour the Rich
Do we have two legal systems prevailing in the country?
Demolishing a home is akin to a civil death
The demolitions in Jahangirpuri were a travesty and an assault on the rule of law, as they went against principles of natural justice. The SC must use this case as an exemplar and punish the officials involved PREMIUM The Jahangirpuri demolitions represent a double-engine assault on the rule of law.
The Attorney General Is Right, Justice Delivery in India Is Indeed Looking 'Hopeless'
Thank you Attorney General K.K. Venugopal (respectfully and popularly referred to as KKV) for speaking your mind and addressing the “hopeless situation” caused by the pendency of millions of cases in the high courts and the district courts. An update: the number of pending cases at the time of writing has crossed 48 million. You are right sir, the situation is hopeless. Justice P.N. Bhagwati said in his Law Day address in 1985 that our judicial system is on the verge of collapse.
The Things We Learnt When the SC Collegium Finally Became 'Transparent'
Thank you, Mr Kiren Rijiju, honourable Minister for Law and Justice for your insistence on the Supreme Court Collegium being transparent in its functioning. If it hadn’t been for your sustained support for transparency, we would not have known of many things regarding the appointment of judges to constitutional courts.
These investigations are a face without a heart
There is no longer any respect for the citizen’s rights but only a single-minded assertion of unaccountable authority Gasping for breath — that is how our investigating agencies leave our citizens and now the press. Two recent cases clearly demonstrate that our investigating agencies are a face without a heart. On September 10, 2021, officers of the Income-Tax Department visited the premises of NewsClick and Newslaundry.
The long road to winning the battle against trafficking
Anti-trafficking policy exists in India, but where the system is found lacking is in the implementation of the laws July 30 is United Nations World Day against Trafficking in Persons. It is also a time to reflect on India’s human trafficking crisis. Between April 2020 and June 2021, an estimated 9,000 children have been rescued after being trafficked for labour, according to a child rights non-governmental organisation (NGO).
Killing Him Softly With His Song: A Requiem for Father Stan Swamy
Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his words Killing me softly with his song Killing me softly with his song Telling my whole life with his words Killing me softly with his song These lyrics from a popular song of the 1970s virtually sum up the last year of Fr. Stan Swamy’s life and the treatment meted out to him. Certain events occurred on January 1, 2018 in Bhima-Koregaon which led to the lodging of an FIR under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including sedition.
Five Questions on the Disgraceful Trial of Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, Asif Iqbal
Appalling. That’s the only way to describe the manner in which the proceedings against Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Asif Iqbal Tanha have been conducted and are being conducted by the police and prosecution till now. In the process, the underbelly of our criminal justice system stands exposed in some respects, and it’s a pretty ugly sight.
Five Questions on the Shameful Proceedings Against Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, Asif Iqbal
Appalling. That’s the only way to describe the manner in which the proceedings against Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Asif Iqbal Tanha have been conducted and are being conducted by the police and prosecution till now. In the process, the underbelly of our criminal justice system stands exposed in some respects, and it’s a pretty ugly sight.
The Case for Compensating Those Who Are Acquitted After Long Periods of Incarceration
This is the full text of former Supreme Court Justice Madan B. Lokur’s speech at a webinar by the Campaign for Judicial Accountability & Judicial Reforms titled ‘Discussion On Democracy, Dissent and Draconian Law – Should UAPA and Sedition Have A Place In Our Statute Books?’. When reparations are considered, we shouldn’t overlook the impact of wrongful arrest and imprisonment manifesting as mental trauma in the acquitted and their families.
When it Comes to the Rule of Law in India, We Need to Pay Attention to Variants of Concern
Three recent developments have been quite disturbing. In the context of these developments, we need to ask ourselves: Are we witnessing the rule of law doing a vanishing trick or are we witnessing variants of concern in the rule of law? Something is definitely amiss and it’s time we identify it and take remedial steps before it is too late. In his seminal book, Lord Bingham enunciated eight principles of the rule of law.
Why Is it So Hard to Fill up the Judicial Vacancies in Our Court?
This is the first article in a two-part series on issues plaguing India’s judicial system. The Chief Justice of India has two options before him: (1) Take revolutionary steps with revolutionary fervour to remedy the malaise afflicting our justice delivery system, or (2) Be ready to light its funeral pyre. Today, our justice delivery system is facing multiple challenges. Two of them are stark and need immediate attention – appointment of judges and managing the humongous number of pending cases.
Hate Speech Is Polarising India. How Should We Tackle It?
Books Rights 10 minutes ago An abridged version of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Shruti Narayan’s chapter in the anthology Religion, Hateful Expression and Violence is published here with the permission of the Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher (TOAEP). In Jafar Imam Naqvi v. Election Commission of India, the issue of political hate speech re-entered the discourse of the Supreme Court during the 2014 parliamentary elections.
Rampant Misuse Of Criminal Justice System calls For Interventionist Approach From Supreme Court
The rampant misuse (if not abuse) of the Indian criminal justice system certainly calls for an interventionist approach from our Supreme Court (SC). A hands-off approach is no good and, in fact, seems to be encouraging those who want to take advantage of the law to inconvenience anyone who is perhaps an annoyance to them.
An ill-conceived, overbroad and vague ordinance
The U.P. religious conversion ordinance is unconstitutional, vilifies inter-faith marriages and violates key rights Article 213 (1) of the Constitution of India provides: “If at any time, except when the Legislative Assembly of a State is in session, or where there is a Legislative Council in a State, except when both Houses of the Legislature are in session, the Governor is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action, he may promulgate such...
What Is Stopping Our Justice System From Tackling the Cases Pending Before Courts?
This is the second article in a two-part series on issues plaguing India’s judicial system. You can read the first part here. The second major problem facing the justice system is the number of pending cases. Exactly how many cases are pending in the courts across the country? Perhaps the most reliable figures (but not necessarily 100% accurate) are in the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) which is an interactive page on the ecourts website – even though this plays truant sometimes.
‘Freedom of speech is being mauled’
Written by Madan B Lokur | October 14, 2020 3:09:00 am The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) started keeping a record of sedition cases in 2014 and every year has seen a spike in sedition cases. (File) A gradual erosion of one of our most precious fundamental rights — the right to freedom of speech and expression — is adversely impacting the liberty of all those who dare to speak up.
[Column] 'From Emasculating Fundamental Rights To Selective FIRs: Need A Remedy Against Officers Of State' By Justice Madan Lokur
From emasculating fundamental rights to selective registration of FIRs, citizens need a remedy to against officers of the state who do not act in good faith, When a citizen intentionally violates the law (mens rea) he or she is liable to be tried, convicted and punished. In respect of some offences, intention might be absent but the law casts strict or absolute liability, thereby inviting punishment.
We Need Accountability Jurisprudence to Check Abuse of Law by Officials of the State
When a citizen intentionally violates the law (mens rea) he or she is liable to be tried, convicted and punished. In respect of some offences, intention might be absent but the law casts strict or absolute liability, thereby inviting punishment. The imposition of an immediate ‘fine’ on LG Polymers by the National Green Tribunal for the styrene gas leak in Vizag is a fairly recent example.
Whom does one trust for a just, fair and impartial investigation?
The decision of the Delhi High Court in the case of Sajjan Kumar makes for interesting reading. In 2013, a trial court acquitted Kumar, a Congress leader, while convicting five others for killing Sikhs in the anti-Sikh violence that followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984. Upon appeal, the High Court found Kumar guilty of instigating a mob and participating in the killing of five members of a Sikh family. He was sentenced to a life term.
US Democracy Survives Even When POTUS Attacks SCOTUS But India Can't Handle Prashant Bhushan
When it comes to statements on the highest court of the land, let’s compare the President of the United States (POTUS) and Prashant Bhushan. For more than a hundred years, POTUS, in his different avatars, has been critical, from time to time, of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), including its judges and more recently even the federal judiciary.
Resurrecting the right to know
The All Assam Students’ Union has taken a progressive decision to release the High Level Committee report in public interest The All Assam Students’ Union. Representional image The All Assam Students’ Union has taken a progressive decision to release the High Level Committee report in public interest A significant development in the right to information campaign has largely gone unnoticed.
Violating human rights in the Valley
A few human rights concerns have emerged in the Kashmir Valley over the last one year since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution. Till the time of writing, the national portal of India website india.gov.in continued to show this Article as a part of the Constitution! What is the truth? Unchecked preventive detention — whether in the form of house arrest (admitted or denied) or preventive detention in jail in the Valley or outside the erstwhile State — is a matter of grave concern.
The future of justice
Written by Madan B Lokur | Published: May 8, 2020 1:00:04 am Some high court judges in Delhi and Punjab and Haryana have completely dispensed with paper — everything is on a soft copy, through e-Filing and scanned documents. (Express photo) The lockdown has generated several webinars on justice delivery, technology and the future.
After Humanitarian Law Died a Million Deaths, the Supreme Court Has Finally Stirred Itself
News has come in that on May 26, 2020 the Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the problems and miseries of migrant labourers stranded in different parts of the country. While taking cognizance, reference was made to newspaper and media reports of the “unfortunate and miserable conditions of migrant labourers walking on-foot and cycles from long distances.
Judicial Independence: Three Developments that Tell Us Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair
I’d like to ask Bob Dylan a question for which the answer is not blowing in the wind: How many straws does it take to break a camel’s back? This question arises in the context of the independence of the judiciary which has been tested over the last couple of years as never before, except during the Emergency. There has been debate and discussion with regard to administrative matters such as listing of cases and other serious issues such as the appointment and transfer of judges.
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