Is Article 32 available against the judiciary?

September 11, 2020

I n the previous piece, this author had demonstrated through application of principles of interpretation and with the aid of Constituent Assembly Debates (CAD) that the Judiciary does not fall within the meaning of “the State” for the purposes of Article 12. This effectively leads to the conclusion that the...

Is judiciary part of the ‘State’ under Article 12?

September 4, 2020

In the previous piece under this column, this author had expanded on the relationship between constitutional morality, public morality and moral diversity. As part of the said discussion, this author had opined as follows: “Is the Judiciary part of “the State” under Article 12? While there exists a significant amount...

Constitutional morality, public morality and moral diversity

August 28, 2020

In the last piece, in examining the relationship between constitutional morality and public morality, this author had raised the following questions: ‘Given that public morality gives recognition to societal norms and is therefore meant to foster moral diversity, would it not be fair to contend that constitutional morality lies in...

Constitutional morality versus public morality

August 21, 2020

In the last piece, this author had highlighted the views of Dr. Ambedkar on “Constitutional Morality” as expressed in the debates of the Constituent Assembly on November 4, 1948. While his views on the subject cannot be interpreted as being representative of the entire Assembly, at the very least what...

Dr Ambedkar on constitutional morality

August 14, 2020

There are quite a few myths that abound in relation to the Indian Constitution, in particular in relation to its preparation and its nexus with the Government of India Act, 1935. Contrary to popular perception which gives the impression that the Constitution is the product of a solo act, the...

Shri Ram janmabhoomi: Reconciling truth & secularism

August 7, 2020

The Bhoomi Pujan ceremony performed at the Shri Ramjanmabhoomi in Ayodhya two days ago has predictably evoked diametrically opposite reactions from various quarters. These reactions include celebrations by those who succeeded in proving their case before the Allahabad High Court as well as the highest Court of the land after...

The places of Worship Act 1991, decoloniality and indigenous rights

July 31, 2020

The Bhoomi Pujan for the proposed Shri Ram Temple in Ayodhya is scheduled to take place in five days, marking the culmination of a five-century old indigenous movement to reclaim a site which is of both religious and civilizational importance. In all the years that the issue has been hotly...

The deep-seated coloniality in the Indian legal system

July 24, 2020

Last week, this author had the occasion to take part in a virtual panel discussion on the intersection between faith and law organised by the department of law of a Pune-based institution. The specific theme of the discussion was the continued relevance of the Bombay High Court’s well-known and widely...

The Sree Padmanabhaswamy verdict: A case for Indic civilisational identity

July 17, 2020

Five days ago, on July 13th, a Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice U.U.Lalit and Justice Indu Malhotra pronounced the verdict in the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple case, which was pending before it since 2011. The 218-page verdict has finally put to rest all the unnecessary controversy surrounding the worldrenowned...

Addressing transgenerational trauma through history education

July 10, 2020

Two days ago, legendary West Indian cricketer Michael Holding delivered a powerful message on the ongoing #BlackLivesMatter movement which has taken the United States of America by storm and has started a global conversation on racism, in particular with respect to the stereotypes associated with members of the African community...