Law

A nine-judge Constitution bench is examining whether privacy is a fundamental right. The bench was formed in response to petitions challenging government orders that made Aadhaar mandatory. The petitions had right to privacy as one of the arguments. While petitioners claim that right to life and liberty inherentily include right to privacy, government believes it's more of a social notion like 'pursuit of happiness' and should not be a legal...

The premise of Aadhaar is that it’s put to use as a universal proof of identity by public and private entities. So, even when you have surrendered that LPG subsidy and don’t take any benefit from the welfare schemes, you may still be required to get the unique ID. Banks continue to ask for linking the account with Aadhaar numbers, private schools want parents to furnish the UID numbers of their children even though there’s no subsidy to be...

Dr Kunal Saha's wife Anuradha died due to medical negligence in 1998. He pursued the case for 15 years through various consumer courts, MCI, high court until Supreme Court passed a historic order three months back. It not only awarded the highest compensation so far in a medical negligence case but also questioned the treatment of doctors, a first in Indian legal history. Here Dr Saha talks about the shortcomings in present Indian law and his...

June 16 was 'Father's Day' and lovely quotes on fatherhood spilled over from mainstream media to facebook and twitter. June 16 was also the 'International Domestic Workers' Day' and it seems nobody really noticed. A few women workers with placards marched on the streets of Chennai seeking fixed minimum wages but then again nobody was really interested. As long as houses were cleaned, dishes done and kids put to bed there was not much trouble...

Javed Abidi, the convenor of Disabled Rights Group, and a vocal activist who has been at the forefront of disability revolution in India, talks to GOI Monitor about the present state of affairs and lacunae in laws 

Q. After being involved in protracted battle in 1998 for implementation of Persons With Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, how do you react to instances of...

On July 5 this year, the Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad seemed to have reinvented the wheel by saying that the government may not be in a position to foot the treatment bill of those living with HIV. The provision of free treatment is one of the key features of the draft HIV/AIDS Bill which has been hanging fire for last five years and this disownment is not acceptable to the community. It wants the government to acknowledge that...

July 26, 2009: Himanshu Sabharwal was arrested along with 25 others under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for taking out a candle light vigil at India Gate. The group was organising a peaceful demonstration seeking justice for Himanshu’s father Prof H S Sabharwal who had died after being beaten up by ABVP activists in an Ujjain-based college. Such incidents are not uncommon in our 'free' country. Think of Section 144 and...