Articles by Gautam Bhatia
When the Supreme Court takes on the bulldozer
The Court must fix accountability to ensure restitution for the illegalities that have occurred, and deterrence for the future
Published on Sep 16, 2024 08:57 PM IST
K’taka Bill misses gig workers’ primary ask
The Bill has important provisions for platform workers but fails to define their employment status, as a result of which they have little recourse to legal protection under the labour laws
Published on Jul 29, 2024 09:08 PM IST
The importance of being the Speaker
Constitutional reform that guarantees the independence of the office– and removes some of its contentious roles – is of utmost importance to ensure the sanctity of parliamentary democracy
Published on Jun 24, 2024 08:10 PM IST
The Bombay high court strikes a blow for liberty
The Bombay high court’s judgment on April 23 marks an important judicial pushback against what we can call LOC impunity.
Published on May 03, 2024 10:53 PM IST
Apex court muzzles a media silencing tool
In its ruling against interim injunctions in defamation, the Supreme Court has restated basic principles with respect to the freedom of speech and expression
Published on Apr 15, 2024 10:00 PM IST
A restatement of the basic law on obscenity
It is important that the law be restated by the Supreme Court from time to time, to prevent the frivolous weaponisation of the obscenity law in cases like this.
Published on Apr 01, 2024 10:00 PM IST
Code that is neither uniform nor lawful
Uttarakhand UCC is only the latest of the State’s attempts to control intimate relationships. It should be consigned to the dustbin of illegality
Published on Feb 25, 2024 01:19 PM IST
Heed the advice of justices on evictions
Allahabad HC order on resettlement and rehabilitation can help in crafting a meaningful, humane jurisprudence on evictions and constitutional rights
Published on Jan 31, 2024 10:00 PM IST
In Bilkis Bano order, the rule of law is upheld
The SC has resisted the temptation to issue a sweeping moral condemnation or to undermine the law on remission while addressing the plea for justice in the case
Published on Jan 09, 2024 10:15 PM IST
New Bill casts a cloud over EC appointments
It has missed the spirit of the Supreme Court order that sought to protect the autonomy of the Election Commission
Published on Dec 22, 2023 10:17 PM IST
Will Big Brother be watching?
The Broadcasting Bill aims to provide a modern legislative framework, but there are concerns because its framework replicates a command-and-control model
Published on Nov 28, 2023 10:11 PM IST
State regulation of film reviews is a risky business
‘Review bombing’ is distasteful and unethical, but government intervention can have a chilling effect on free speech
Published on Nov 03, 2023 10:40 PM IST
Gig workers law deepens industrial democracy
Rajasthan's gig workers law mandates transparency in gig companies' transactions and creates a welfare board for gig workers
Published on Oct 17, 2023 10:22 PM IST
Safeguard the election panel’s independence
A new bill to select the CEC and ECs has sparked a row. But the real issue with the legislation is that it cedes control of the body to the executive
Published on Aug 17, 2023 09:55 PM IST
Bhima Koregaon bail curbs State impunity
The SC’s decision to grant bail to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira attempts to infuse some measure of due process into the stringent provisions of UAPA
Published on Aug 02, 2023 10:06 PM IST
Bail hearings in Delhi riots cases can be a test for liberty under UAPA
Delhi Riots cases have tested the commitment of the judiciary to upholding personal liberty. The SC can clarify on the law and protect personal liberty.
Published on Jul 11, 2023 09:09 PM IST
Courts and law enforcement must combat hate together
The Uttarakhand saga revealed a gap between the law on hate speech, and what happens on the ground. Here, law enforcement and higher courts must play joint role
Published on Jun 27, 2023 09:46 PM IST
Top court must strike down the sedition law
The Law Commission has recommended that sedition be retained in the statute books. But it fails proportionality and incitement tests, making it unconstitutional
Updated on Jun 06, 2023 01:22 PM IST
Andhra HC’s model for shielding citizens’ rights
The HC’s judgment, which reaffirmed the right to protest, is an excellent example of the judicial safeguarding of rights against executive impunity
Updated on May 28, 2023 08:06 PM IST
The real bite of SC’s MediaOne ruling
It provides lessons in how the judiciary should respond when faced with invocations of national security and sealed covers by the State. The real test, however, will be when the next case comes before a court somewhere in India
Updated on Apr 09, 2023 08:29 PM IST
A desolation Called Peace: Finality of Bhopal gas leak case is another tragedy
The curative hearings were an opportunity for the victims of the tragedy to have their day in court. It was incumbent upon the SC to parse their claims with care and rigour. Instead, however, the SC did the opposite.
Updated on Mar 24, 2023 09:36 PM IST
A new deal to protect India’s gig workers?
Rajasthan announced that the state will enact a law for the protection of gig workers. Why is this necessary? Because, at present, gig work exists in a legal vacuum.
Published on Mar 18, 2023 07:18 PM IST
SC order on ECI will bolster democracy
The judgment is neither activism nor judicial overreach. Parliament can take up alternative appointment processes for ECI but will have to secure institutional independence
Published on Mar 05, 2023 06:34 PM IST
Trial courts need to act as first line of defence
A recent order passed by additional sessions judge Arul Varma on February 4 is an excellent illustration of how trial courts can serve as that first line of defence
Published on Feb 07, 2023 07:47 PM IST
Haldwani case: SC ruling is laudable
Its observations — evictions cannot be done without a rehabilitation plan, and there must be proper consultation with the people — stem from a fundamental realisat-ion that ‘encroachments’ are a result of the State’s failure to provide shelter to all citizens
Updated on Jan 09, 2023 06:53 AM IST
Uniform Civil Code: Reframe the debate
The starting point of the discussion should not be whether India needs a UCC, but how to ensure every Indian is governed by a gender-just civil code of their choice
Published on Dec 27, 2022 08:23 PM IST
Preventive detention cannot be normalised
The Madras high court’s judgment, thus, strikes an important blow for individual freedom against State impunity. It reminds us that, for all our criticism of the courts, an independent judiciary is the surest bulwark against authoritarianism
Updated on Dec 12, 2022 08:41 PM IST
Why the new draft data bill must be reconsidered
A closer look at the provisions reveals some serious shortcomings within the proposed legal framework.
Published on Nov 29, 2022 08:09 PM IST
Criticism of judiciary needs more nuance
The Centre criticised the Supreme Court’s system of picking judges and accused it of judicial activism. Such criticism is fair to an extent, but it requires more nuanced deliberation than what is being offered at present
Published on Nov 16, 2022 06:52 PM IST
SC’s Saibaba order raises doubts about safeguards in UAPA, authority of HCs
Apart from depriving the accused of the liberty they were entitled to by virtue of the HC’s reasoned judgment, the order sends a signal across the judiciary, ie, that the sanctity of procedural safeguards under UAPA is negotiable, at best.
Published on Oct 18, 2022 07:16 PM IST