Author: Adarsh Shukla

The High Court of Madras recently made important remarks about Article 17 of the Indian Constitution. It said that untouchability cannot be defined in narrow terms and needs to be interpreted to include the various ways in which ritual practices lead to the perpetuation of hierarchies, social ostracization, and exclusion. The remarks were made by Justice SM Subramaniam. What was the case? Senior Advocate Elephant G Rajendran had filed a case in the Madras High Court against the Madras Bar Association. He claimed that his son had been denied access to drinking water at the Madras Bar Association Hall. He…

The former Supreme Court Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman in his recent speech called the collegium system of appointment of judges as the best alternative available in the present times. India has an independent judiciary and the manner of appointment of the judges in the highest court of the land has been a subject of intense debates over several decades. While some argue that the collegium system is essential to the independence of the Indian judiciary and is in line with the doctrine of the separation of the three organs of the government that the Indian Constitution envisages, others raise the…

The High Court of Allahabad has granted interim protection to a man who had called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “virus” for the country which needed an “urgent antidote”. The post was made on social media. The order was passed by a division bench of Justices Anjani Kumar Mishra and Nand Prabha Shukla on June 21, 2024. The Case A First Information Report was filed against the man for the use of insulting and derogatory language by the Prime Minister. The First Information Report alleged that the comments made by the man constituted under Section 504 of the Indian Penal…

The Himachal Pradesh High Court today in an important judgement held that maternity leave falls under the purview of fundamental rights. The bench consisted of Justices Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Virender Singh. The Ruling The court upheld the order passed by the Himachal Pradesh Administrative Tribunal. The Himachal Pradesh High Court, ruling in favor of the respondent woman it held that Articles 29 and 39D of the Indian Constitution confer upon women the right to maternity leave. It also said that maternity is a fundamental right. Background of the case The respondent, who is a woman, had availed of a…

On Friday 16th June, the High Court of Kerala dismissed the habeas corpus petition filed by a woman claiming that she had been separated forcefully from her lesbian partner by her partner’s parents. A bench of Justices PB Suresh Kumar and Shobha Annama Eapen delivered the verdict. The Petitioner’s Case The petitioner Sumayya Sherin, who is a lesbian woman, claimed that her partner had been separated from her owing to the orthodox Muslim beliefs of the latter’s family. The petitioner also alleged that the police have been slack in taking action despite several complaints. She alleged that the inaction was…