Indian Law Research Articles

Humour, Subversion and Voice of a Subaltern: Reading “Truth Vow” as LeitMotif in Habib Tanvir’s Play Charandas Chor

In the cultural and sociological context, “Truth” and “Vow” appear as crucial motifs in Indian myths, Vedas, and epics. Truth is believed to be a virtue and a vow is a solemn promise that we make in different social, cultural, political, and religious contexts, and a truth vow combidly becomes a virtuous promise. The most prominent example of a truth vow is used in court cases, where the witness proclaims that “solemnly I vow to speak only and only truth” in Indian law proceedings (no one can assure that it really happens but the court believes it so). Other examples of vowing include marriage communion, religious occasions, and constitutional and self-motivation. One such leitmotif of “Truth Vow” extrapolates the dramatic narrative of the play “Charandas Chor”(1975) written by playwright Habib Tanvir. The truth, as a leitmotif, ferments subversive humour for the spectator and reader of the play. Playwright Tanvir presented truth not only as a virtue but binds it with a vow, thus enlarging it as a characteristic trait of the Protagonist. This leitmotif becomes a subjugating tool and with this, the marginalised character locates his own voice in the end. Therefore, this paper discusses the role of “Truth Vow” as leitmotifs in the play “Charandas Chor” (1975) along with its humour and utterance. The play has previously been read as a social critic, for its folk elements, and its subaltern representation, but here, the aim is to read truth as a voice, which even when suppressed by the hegemonic powers, resists in its disappearance. Here, the method of textual analysis is used to evaluate the play. The text is read to locate instances of the truth and its positioning and to negotiate with masses subverting aspects.

Revising the Indian Plenary Power Doctrine

The federal Indian law doctrine of Congressional plenary power is long overdue for an overhaul. Since its troubling nineteenth-century origins in Kagama v. United States (1886), plenary power has justified invasive Congressional interventions and undermined Tribal sovereignty. The doctrine's legal basis remains a constitutional conundrum. This Article considers the Court's recent engagement with plenary power in Haaland v. Brackeen (2023). It argues that the Brackeen opinions may signal judicial readiness to reevaluate the doctrine. The Article takes ahold of Justice Gorsuch's critical assessment and runs with it, ultimately proposing a method for cleaning up this destructive and constitutionally dubious line of caselaw.

ADMISSIBILITY OF CONFESSION UNDER INDIAN EVIDENCE ACT, 1872

In Indian criminal law, confessions are defined by the 1872 Indian Evidence Act. Confessions of guilt have legal implications. The Act classifies admissions as judgemental, out-of-court, and retracted. Judgemental confessions are admissible, whereas extrajudicial confessions are examined for pressure. Retracted confessions are carefully reviewed and may need third-party verification. Coerced, forced, or promised confessions and law enforcement confessions are illegal. Voluntary confessions protect the accused's identity. Mind, confession, and accused rights awareness determine voluntariness in court. Legal balance between law enforcement and private liberty ensures confession voluntariness in India. Other states prohibit forced confessions less strongly than the Indian Evidence Act. Unique to India, the Act forbids police confessions. Torture is defined, investigated, compensated, and punished under the 2017 Prevention of Torture Bill. It must be narrowed to balance law enforcement and freedoms enjoyed by individuals. Law enforcement and personal liberty deal effectively with detainee admissions. The Indian police and judge approach confessions differently to avoid prisoner torture and coercion. Section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act forbids police admissions for wrongdoing and power imbalance. According to Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, magistrate confessions are voluntary and honest. Courts consider the confession's conditions, medical records, and the accused's education, social status, and mental health. Criminal confession retraction affects trial evidence and poses admissibility and evidentiary value questions. Retracted confessions are less trustworthy than uncontested ones, thus courts must closely check them before convicting. If followed, procedural and technological flaws do not invalidate confessions, but Section 164 noncompliance does.

GENDER DISCRIMINATION

Over the course of the last several years, there has been a significant amount of attention paid to the grave issue of women in India misusing the judicial system. The fact that women in India are often subjected to discrimination and do not have equal rights and opportunities contributes to the existence of gender bias in many aspects of Indian society. However, the fact that women often take advantage of the judicial system just helps to exacerbate the gender bias that already exists. Throughout the history of the legal system, there have been several instances of women attaining their objectives, sometimes at the expense of men. This behaviour is not only inappropriate from a moral standpoint, but it also goes against the Constitution. In the Indian Constitution, there is no section that specifically addresses the issue of gender equality. Over the course of its history, the Constitution has been subjected to several amendments in order to ensure that women are afforded equal legal protection. It is a fundamental human right to ensure that women are protected from any kind of discrimination, regardless of circumstances. Despite this, prejudice against women continues to exist in many aspects of society, such as the marriage market, the job, and educational institutions. In India, the most prevalent instances of women misusing the judicial system are those that include domestic violence and offences involving dowries. According to Indian law, crimes that include dowries are considered to be of a criminal character and entail criminal consequences. Instead, women often create charges of dowry harassment against their husbands or in-laws in order to achieve what they want in a divorce or property dispute. This is done in order to get what they want. Because of this misuse, men are deprived of the rights that are rightfully theirs, in addition to eroding the value of the law. To add insult to injury, when confronted with charges of domestic violence, law enforcement officers often do nothing, so allowing the perpetrators of the abuse to take the blame. This violates not just the rights of the victims but also sends the message that violence against women is acceptable. One of the most significant issues that has to be addressed is the fact that women in India are misusing the judicial system. In accordance with the provisions of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees gender equality, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that women are afforded equal rights and opportunities. It is imperative that we take precautions to prevent women from exploiting the legal system and to ensure that they are afforded enough protection against discrimination on the basis of their gender. Furthermore, individuals who are culpable for this crime should be subjected to the full force of the law, and victims of gender-based violence should get proper assistance and protection while they are victims.

Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in Law in India

Gender equality and women's empowerment have long been central tenets of social progress and human rights. In the context of India, a country marked by a rich cultural tapestry and a complex legal landscape, the pursuit of gender equality is a multifaceted challenge. This research paper delves into the intricate web of laws and regulations aimed at addressing gender disparities and promoting women's empowerment in India. This paper scrutinizes key legal instruments that impact women's lives, including laws related to marriage, divorce, property rights, and domestic violence. It also examines the role of affirmative action policies, such as reservations for women in local governance, as mechanisms for promoting their participation in decision-making processes. Furthermore, the research discusses the effectiveness and implementation challenges of these legal frameworks, taking into account the ground-level realities and the persistence of gender-based discrimination. The paper reviews court cases and judicial pronouncements that have been instrumental in shaping the interpretation and enforcement of gender-related laws. This comprehensive analysis sheds light on the complexities, achievements, and challenges of gender equality and women's empowerment in Indian law and serves as a valuable resource for policymakers, scholars, activists, and anyone interested in the progress of women's rights in India.

Navigating the Skies: an Overview of Aviation Law in India

Its related to Space law in Aviation sector of India

LGBT+ rights claims for marriage equality and the possibilities of transforming Indian family law

Abstract The Indian Supreme Court decriminalized homosexuality in 2018 and recognized the equal constitutional citizenship of LGBT+ Indians. Since then, several petitions seeking marriage equality have been filed before Indian courts. In parallel, critics have argued that traditional approaches to LGBT+ equality ignore problematic family law institutions, and have stressed the need to think beyond legal inclusion to recognize diverse families. These arguments are not unique to India. Claiming LGBT+ rights within existing family law institutions has divided LGBT+ activists the world over. The commonly advanced argument is that assimilation into existing patriarchal social institutions disregards radical transformational possibilities. However, experiences in jurisdictions like the United States challenge this premise and show how family law can potentially be transformed through LGBT+ rights claims. While we still await an authoritative judicial pronouncement on marriage equality in India, this article argues that legally recognizing marriage equality may positively impact existing family laws by generating arguments for expanding recognition of diverse families. It shows that achieving marriage equality through the recognition of LGBT+ relational rights, comprising LGBT+ family equality and the right to legal recognition of LGBT+ relationships, has the potential for progressively expanding Indian parenthood laws. The article specifically demonstrates how this is possible in guardianship, assisted reproduction, and adoption laws and may benefit diverse different-sex families, single parents, and persons in non-marital relationships.

How the media framed the COVID‐19 crisis on Native Nations: A case comparison ofThe New York Timesand theNavajo Times

AbstractObjectiveThis article examines how the limited national media reporting covered the pandemic in American Indian communities across the United States, specifically the Diné (Navajo) Nation, and whether and how this coverage differs from American Indian news sources.MethodsThis article compares coverage related to COVID‐19 byThe New York Times(NYT) with coverage by theNavajo Times(NT), a Diné newspaper. The authors compiled their own database of news‐based articles published by theNYTand theNTcovering the pandemic and its impact on Native Nations between January 1, 2020, and September 30, 2020, and conducted a comparative content analysis of these articles.ResultsWhile coverage was limited, theNYTarticles highlight social inequities that settler colonialism and federal Indian law have fostered in the past and present, the cultural backdrop, which contributed to greater adverse impacts from COVID‐19. However, coverage differs from theNTin important ways, particularly when considering the distinction between the Navajo Nation as a bureaucratic entity versus the Diné people, the framing of Native peoples as adaptive, and Indigenous investment in future creation.ConclusionsTheNTwas more nuanced in its coverage of stories of the impact of COVID‐19 on American Indian communities as compared to theNYT.

Duration of exposure to inheritance law in India: Examining the heterogeneous effects on empowerment

AbstractThe impact of public programs involving legal protection may depend on the duration of exposure, especially in developing countries with persistent social norms. A longer duration of the program is likely to be associated with gradual positive changes in these norms that beneficiaries could leverage in their favor. However, program effects might also decay if the norms do not change with time, even several years after the legal reforms. This paper examines the heterogeneous impact of the duration of exposure to gender‐neutral reforms in the inheritance law in India on women empowerment. We use the time lag between the year of the amendment in the respective states and the year of marriage to generate exogenous variation in reform exposure among women. The findings indicate a significant non‐linear increase in empowerment because of higher exposure. The gains are more pronounced for instrumental empowerment that relates to the ability to make decisions and to a lesser extent, albeit positively for intrinsic, which pertains to expansion of agency. The impact remains significant across women from rural/urban sector or social groups. At a more disaggregated level, greater exposure led to higher mobility, higher household decision‐making ability, reduced husband controlling behavior, and lesser emotional violence.

Analysis of Judicial Trends of Sedition Laws in India

The law of Sedition forbids speech or actions meant to stir up dissatisfaction or insurrection against the government. Since the colonial era, there has been a struggle between freedom of speech and sedition laws. This law was enacted by the British in order to silence leaders or freedom fighters and minimize the threat against them. The Author has analysed sedition law in India in light of Freedom of speech and expression and reviewed the judicial trends thereof.

Wife’s Right To Maintenance And Human Right: Concerns And Issues

In the context of family law in India, maintenance refers to the legal obligation of a person to provide financial support to their spouse, children, or dependent family members. This obligation arises in situations where individuals are not able to support themselves adequately due to factors like marriage, separation, divorce, or other family-related circumstances. Maintenance is governed by various provisions in different personal laws, and sought through legal proceedings, typically maintenance order issued by a court. Exploring the human rights perspective on a wife's right to maintenance in the context of Indian law and society is crucial for several reasons like to evaluate whether existing legal provisions to promote gender equality and non-discrimination, to see whether maintenance laws are consistent with constitutional guarantees of equality, to ensures compliance with international conventions, to identify areas where Indian laws may need reform to align with international standards on women's rights, helps to assess the accessibility of justice for women, emphasises the importance of ensuring that women are not economically disadvantaged post-divorce or separation etc. This paper highlights historical background, legal framework of maintenance laws and their Alignment with International Standard, challenges faced by the women, gaps and shortcomings in the existing legal framework and on the basis of which some recommendations are being made in this paper.

Methodological directions of Latin American legal science

The methodology of legal science in Latin America has common features with the global trends in the development of the methodology of legal research; at the same time, there are features of the development of legal thought and legal understanding that have a cultural and historical nature. The purpose of the study is to consider certain areas of the methodology of Latin American legal science. Philosophical and legal thought in Latin America develops within the framework of jusnaturalism and positivism and various variants of these theories. Latin American legal science is characterized by an appeal to customary Indian law, and its elements are included in the current legal systems of Latin American countries (legal pluralism). In the focus of the Latin American legal doctrine, law appears as a social phenomenon, a cultural phenomenon and part of social philosophy. The development of information technologies, their introduction into lawmaking and legal proceedings, the creation of machine-readable law raises the question of further ways of developing law and legal thought in two areas - technical improvement and traditional reflection on social processes in the humanitarian science.

The Impact of Medical Negligence on LGBTQIA+ Community

ABSTRACT The umbrella phrase ‘medical negligence’ has gained popularity for describing wrongdoings committed by medical personnel while practicing their trade and interacting with patients. In none of the Indian laws that have been passed, the phrase is defined or even mentioned once. This article aims to describe the fundamental aspects of "medical negligence". Additionally, this article is meant to enlighten rather than debate the complex problems raised by the topic. Instead of being an exhaustive list of authorities, this article is informative and the methodology used is descriptive. Outlining some of the medical negligence histories, the general effects of medical negligence are described at the beginning of this article, followed by an outline of the fundamental elements of medical negligence, a description of the obligations of doctors, some examples, and the legal minimum standards of care. The article then discusses the type of information that must be given to the patient for consultation and treatment before coming to a conclusion with a mention of the general advice that the Supreme Court issued for doctors to heed as a precaution and the guidelines it issued to protect doctors from harassment if criminally prosecuted. In the end it suggests that bringing awareness in people's mind will not only help the people of the LGBTQIA+ Community feel safe in the society but also help them be their true self and reduce mental health stressors. Key Words: Medical Negligence, Awareness, Homosexuality, Sexual Orientations, Mental Disorder

Corporate ownership and insolvency law: An evidence from India

Reorganization or revival of the financially distressed corporate person is the prime objective of insolvency law. To rationalize the said objective, the insolvency law in India— Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 has adopted the manager-displacement model of the insolvency regime. It has become progressively evident from existing literature that the development of corporate governance mechanisms may have imperative implications on the aptness of a nation's legal system and its accomplishments. The existing evolutionary theory asserts that corporate bankruptcy and corporate governance structure complement each other. The historical account of corporate ownership structure in India represents a predominance of concentrated ownership patterns. Through the perspective of the existing evolutionary theory of corporate insolvency, the paper analyzes the corporate ownership structure and development of corporate insolvency law in India. The article also explores whether corporate ownership structure as a corporate governance mechanism can explain the progression of the insolvency regime in India. The findings of this paper would be of significance for jurisdictions that are considering reforms within their existing corporate insolvency law.

The incremental growth of unfair competition law in India

Abstract In keeping with other common law jurisdictions, India lacks a unified legal basis for protection against unfair competition. There is no single legislative reference point, or standalone tort of unfair competition. India instead offers up a menu of specific statutory options, common law torts and the equitable action against a breach of confidence, to satisfy its international obligations to prevent unfair competition. There have been two noteworthy developments in recent years: (i) the tort of malicious falsehood has gradually abandoned a strict malice requirement, such that (objectively assessed) disparaging advertising is now actionable; and (ii) an emerging right of publicity, to prevent image misappropriation, is taking shape but its foundations are unclear. One (non)development also deserves closer scrutiny. A claim drafting trend has emerged whereby plaintiffs petition courts to prevent ‘unfair competition’, or ‘misappropriation’. This implies that a nominate tort of unfair competition, or one of misappropriation, exists in Indian law. However, when directly approached to create a tort against misappropriation per se, Indian courts have declined this invitation, based on compelling reasons. Both litigants and courts need to be more careful in their use of such terminology. As things presently stand, there is no tort of unfair competition, nor of misappropriation, in Indian law.

Labour Laws and Social Security in India

In the presented research paper, it is attempted to clarify the articulation between Labour laws and social security. The paper focuses on what is social security and its need and necessity in Labour law and would inculcate the relevance of social security under Labour legislation. Social Security offers benefit packages that include health care and financial security, protecting not only the subscriber but also his or her entire family. Social Security programmes are intended to provide families with long-term, minimum support in the event that an earning member retires, passes away, or becomes disabled. This research aims to thoroughly examine and evaluate the benefits, drawbacks, and constraints associated with social security following the introduction of labour laws. An extent of the paper would also assess the code on Social Security, 2019 and 2020 giving an in-depth knowledge on the compliances of the social security with respect to that of Labour Laws in India. The research paper also encompasses the legal stands present in other countries, also inculcating the views and regulations of International Society for Labour Law and International Labour Standards on Social security. The rights and privileges of working people in a civilised society are determined by the tenets of contemporary labour regulation. An attempt is made to study the Principles of Modern Labour Legislation and how it differs from that of the previous ones in the domain such as health insurance, old-age pension, maternity benefits, payment of gratuity, etc.

Tracing journey of crime victim’s position under Indian law with evolutionary insights from the United States’ federal code on victims’ rights

Tracing journey of crime victim’s position under Indian law with evolutionary insights from the United States’ federal code on victims’ rights

Navigating the Social Security Landscape in India: a Broad Analysis

Social security and labor laws in India are intended to protect the rights and the well-being of workers. These laws cover many topics, including employment conditions, wages, health and safety, social security benefits, and more. In India, the evolution of social security legislation has been slow, with many laws and changes enacted throughout the years to address the social and economic demands of employees and their families. Here, the social security regulations are largely centered on the Social Security Code, which was implemented as part of labor code amendments in 2020. The Social Security Code strives to offer a comprehensive framework for employees and their families to receive social security payments. However, before this code, there were other significant landmark rulings and measures enacted to safeguard the laborers. This research paper will provide an overview of all the different laws that have been put in place to benefit employees since the awakening of the labor movement. Incorporating evidence from catalogs, historical judgments, gazettes, and other such articles, the paper provides a full and complete understanding of the history, timeline, and all the different laws that have been put in place for laborers under the guise of social security and whether all such statutes are being used for their intended purpose or if any specific areas can be improved.

Developments in trust law in India through the SEBI lens

Abstract Although the Indian Trust Act is an 1882 act which has not seen any change since its enactment, the law on the subject has evolved over time with changes in other laws/regulations. The article analyses the Indian securities/capital market regulator’s Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) perspective on the transfer of promoter shareholdings of a listed entity into private trust structures. The article discusses and examines SEBI regulations, circulars and orders to understand the contours of structuring an SEBI-compliant private trust. It also explores and analyzes SEBI’s thought process and the requirements that a structure must ensure in order to qualify for exemption.

Empirical Research on Reasons for Non-Implementation of Labor Codes

The four labor codes of India, namely the code on wages, the industrial relations code, and the occupational safety, health, and working conditions code, represent a significant overtake of the country’s labor laws. These codes are set to replace 29 labor laws in India. The main aim of introducing these codes was to ensure that all of them enjoy the benefits of labor laws related to minimum wages and social security and to streamline and modernize the labor regulatory framework, providing clarity and flexibility to both employers and employees. Since labor is a concurrent subject, the Centre and states must frame the rules. Although the Centre notified the codes in September 2020, no state has notified the requisite rules under these codes. Just 12 states have published the draft rules so far. So once all the states are on board, the codes will be implemented. The primary goal of this article is to enlighten the readers regarding the reasons for the non-implementation of these four codes in a few states and the benefits of introducing these four codes in India. At the end of this article, an attempt was made to point out the reasons and flaws in these four labor codes.