Magazine

From messy, divisive politics to a series of mass shootings, and now black officers brutally beating another black man to death as seen in bodycam videos, America’s domestic convulsions are cause for serious introspection.

There are few judicial appointment procedures in the world that are completely bereft of the overarching presence of either the executive or the legislature, or both. In the end, the judge is left with all the powers vested in him/her by the constitution to uphold the rule of law, within an atmosphere of external influences.

The Calcutta High Court slammed a husband for initiating divorce proceedings due to his wife’s infertility and asked him to be a pillar of support for her. Courts have often taken an empathetic view in such matters.

There is a rainbow on the cover of this issue of India Legal. When our editorial team sat to discuss how best to illustrate the theme of our latest cover story, we unanimously invoked the rainbow—the Indradhanush. Why? Because nature in no other form depicts its “vibgyor” colours more emphatically than in the vibrant arc that cuts a swathe across the skies after a rain.

When the hi-tech sector in America sheds tens of thousands of jobs, the tsunami of firings is felt globally, especially in India, because so many Indians work abroad in the technology sector. These companies are not on the brink of financial ruin. Quite the contrary, so why shed people?

Protests have erupted across Kerala after the state government made public a satellite survey report on areas that are to fall within the proposed buffer zone around 22 wildlife sanctuaries and parks in line with the Supreme Court directions. The protests are against what they say is the government’s “hasty” satellite survey of forest areas.

Government’s objection to Saurabh Kirpal’s appointment as a High Court judge because of his sexual orientation goes against the Constitution. Should a lesson be learnt from diverse benches of the UK and US judiciaries?

In various judgments, the Court has reiterated that bail is the rule and jail is the exception. The accused must have his freedom in order to establish his innocence, it said.

A famous liquor distilling factory in Punjab has been shut down on the orders of the chief minister. The grounds for closure are to do with environmental concerns, which is in line with current trends in other states.

The Delhi High Court recently held that while children cannot be barred from exams for non-payment of fees, private unaided schools cannot be forced to retain them.