Indian Constitution

The Punjab government has cancelled the 813 gun licenses across the state in a bid to clamp down on the “gun culture” in the state. The Indian Arms Act of 1959 scrapped the erstwhile Act of 1878. The Act of 1878 passed by the British in the aftermath of the 1857 mutiny, restricted Indians from …

As the recent majority judgment of the Supreme Court on demonetisation comes under criticism, the minority judgment by J. Nagarathna is being hailed for its challenge to the RBI’s institutional acquiescence to the Central government. This questions our blind acceptance of numerical majorities in judicial decision-making. What is judicial majoritarianism? …

In her first and customary Republic Day address to the nation, President Draupadi Murmu reiterated the founding ideals of the Republic on the eve of the 74th anniversary of the adoption of its Constitution. As the first tribal woman to occupy the highest office in the country, the 15th President …

The raging controversy over the very meaning of ‘We the People’, after the speech made by the Vice-President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Jagdeep Dhankhar at the 83rd all India conference of presiding officers’ in Jaipur, Rajasthan, on January 11, needs a closer look. With its particular reference to …

The Chief Justice of India, D. Y. Chandrachud compared the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution to the North Star, an unfailing guide which shows the way when the path appears convoluted. His observation marks the response of the Supreme Court to a recent statement made by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar …

The democracy that is functional around the world today — even as it has a long history of evolution — was essentially a 19th century to 20th century western creation. Every civilisation, of course, claims to have had some form of democratic origin. But the institution of universal adult franchise …

To begin with, elections divide voters into a dubious majority and a minority. The majority-minority division of 50% plus one and 50% minus one is, in principle, hardly a decisive mandate even as this is treated as one empirically. But the practice of elections belies even this notion of “majority”; …

There is something rude and unpleasant in the way the Government is going about the task of demanding a big say in the appointment of judges in constitutional courts. The latest salvo is from Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, who has written to the Chief Justice of India to request …

The Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) is mobilising Muslim support to create a “caliphate”, it wants to replace Indian nationalism with an “international Islamic order” and considers idol worship a “sin”, the Union Home Ministry has listed objectives before the Supreme Court for banning the organisation. A petition seeking …

Come April and it will be 50 years since the Supreme Court of India delivered its verdict in Kesavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala. The judgment is widely recognised as a milestone in India’s history. In holding that Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution was not plenary, that any change that …