Civil Justice

In its recent judgement, the High Court ruled that no student enrolled in any recognized law college, university or institution in India shall be detained from taking examinations on grounds of lack of attendance.

Eight years after the Modi government repealed the colonial era Dramatic Performances Act, remnants of the law in Maharashtra and Gujarat continue to uphold a regime of censorship for theatre artists.

Twenty years since its passing, one good news is that the DV Act is indeed being used, even as challenges remain in its implementation. This special series honours the journey of the PWDVA through the insights of its drafters, campaigners and implementers, and intends to create a living archive of the law.

In June, bulldozers razed down a Kali temple in Bhoomiheen camp in Delhi. Selective application of zoning laws, nuisance doctrines, environmental norms and master plans have enabled demolition of mazārs, dargāhs and wayside shrines of working class devotees - clipping away the last remnants of citizenship entitlements for the poor across India’s cities.

In the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack in May earlier this year, a Quran teacher was killed protecting children in Kashmir’s Poonch by Pakistan’s shelling. News 18, Republic TV and Zee News called him a terrorist who was eliminated. With little to lose, his family now seeks reparations.

While the top Court affirmed Patkar’s conviction, it set aside a 1 lakh rupees penalty imposed by the trial court in this case stemming from a statement made in 2000-2001.

When procedural abuse becomes an institutional habit, who ultimately pays the price? The SC’s 2024 decision in Tushar Rajnikantbhai Shah gave some important answers.

The report, launched in Delhi’s Teen Murti last weekend, also claims that the Gauhati HC has actively entrenched the procedural biases of the exclusionary Foreigners Tribunals, which have so far declared 165,000 people “foreigners”.