-The Hindu The Supreme Court’s verdict that ordinances are subject to judicial review, and do not automatically create enduring effects, places a timely check on a power rampantly abused by governments On January 2, in one of many judgments delivered on its first working day of the year, the Supreme Court, in Krishna Kumar Singh v. State of Bihar, made a series of pronouncements with potentially huge implications for the future of...

-The Hindu The Supreme Court has declared that animals have a right to protect their life and dignity from human excesses In recent years, the Supreme Court has upheld the rights of animals and birds to lead a life of “intrinsic worth, honour and dignity,” even at the cost of popular faith and practices of human beings. The starting point of the trend dates back to May 7, 2014 — the day of...

-Caravan Magazine Since the Aadhaar programme, which aims to provide Indian citizens with unique identification numbers, was launched in 2009, several petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court that oppose its application by the government. These petitions have challenged the Aadhaar programme on various grounds: the government’s right to ask the citizens to provide biometric data for Aadhaar verification without adequate safeguards against its potential misuse; the legality of the...

-Quartz India On Dec. 30, 2016, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi cajoled president Pranab Mukherjee into promulgating the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Ordinance, 2016. Two days later, on Jan. 02, 2017, the supreme court, in a separate matter, delivered a verdict that changed the law of ordinances in powerful ways. It scrubbed out old meanings, unearthed new ones, and further garrisoned judges’ hold on the constitution. A prohibitive change...

-Hindustan Times Low-cost State-sponsored food schemes are mushrooming across India. Inspired by Tamil Nadu’s Amma Canteens – where meals are sold for as little as Rs. 5 - Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana and Rajasthan have followed suit and started similar canteens in their states. Madhya Pradesh too is planning to launch a similar subsidised food scheme. The growth of such canteens across India underscores several issues related to the Right to...