Musings on India, the law, and policy
Posted in Court, Democracy, Rights, Rule of Law, Terrorism on Nov 17th, 2009
This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice – Oliver Wendell Holmes When Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other self-confessed perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks stand trial in the Southern District Court of New York next year, something about the law that’s unique to the justice system in such high-profile, [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Jun 11th, 2009
Today’s Hindu carries an opinion piece about one Jeffrey Destovic, and his memories of Obama-nominated Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Imprisoned at the age of 16 for the killing of a high school classmate, Deskovic, now 35, filed a habeas corpus petition in 1997 in U.S. District Court contesting his conviction. The court denied the request because [...]
Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Politics, Rule of Law on Feb 15th, 2009
A referendum is currently under way in Venezuela where voters are to decide on a proposal that would assist elected officials in seeking as many terms as they wish. Mooted by the Hugo Chavez-led Government, the proposal is set to be a watershed in the political landscape of this South American country. A similar referendum [...]
Posted in Constitution, Court, Democracy, Human Rights, Politics, Rights, Terrorism, Uncategorized on Dec 16th, 2008
Apologies for this delayed post. However, quite fortunately, the last Part of this three-pronged series coincides with two seminal events/publications. 1. CJI K.G. Balakrishnan’s piece on “Terrorism, rule of law and human rights” in The Hindu (Opinion Page). 2. The Union Cabinet’s nod for NSA Amendments and a new Investigation Agency. KGB’s write-up/analysis of our [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Dec 11th, 2008
Noted legal scholar Martha Nussbaum wrote a post on the Univ of Chicago Law School Blog terming the Mumbai Attacks a cloud over India’s muslims. Her post makes some sense and as a believer of free speech, she has the right to do so. Her article focusses on the fact that terrorism in India is [...]
Posted in Court, Democracy, Politics, Rights on Dec 3rd, 2008
(This post forms the second of a three-part article. The next one attempts to debunk the myth of tougher terror laws). The overwhelming public response to laxities in handling terrorist attacks and security threats has prompted the Government to formulate a proposal for a federal anti-terror agency. The proposal, incorporated as an amendments to the [...]