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THE FUTURE OF RIGHTS BASED LITIGATION IN INDIA (PART II)                                                                                                                                     Ragini Gupta, B. Sc. LL.B (Hons.),National Law University Jodhpur Law Researcher to Justice Prathiba M. Singh, Delhi High Court Editorial Note: In continuation of the previous blog post, the author explores some other aspects of the progress of rights based litigation in the Indian legal system. The earlier part is available here . Strengthening ‘Judicial Legislation’ With the advent of judicial activism, we have seen writ courts in addition to being court of first instance, also play the role of administrator, as not they not only lay down declaratory reliefs, but extensively monitor the implementation of their orders as well. We also see it playing the role of legislator, in cases where there is a lacuna in legislation. The best example is Vishaka, [1] where the guidelines lai

THE FUTURE OF RIGHTS BASED LITIGATION IN INDIA (PART I)                                                                                                                                     Ragini Gupta, B. Sc. LL.B (Hons.),National Law University Jodhpur Law Researcher to Justice Prathiba M. Singh, Delhi High Court Editorial Note: In this blog, the author comments on how litigating on rights has become a key identifying factor in the Indian legal domain. The author has sought to outline how rights based litigation has shaped out in India, with an aim to discuss the trends that are emerging for the future. Introduction: The Courts as the Guardians of Rights Courts have been long viewed in India as the ultimate protectors of the rights of people. They have been viewed as enablers of social change amid perceived executive inefficiency and the guarantors of people’s rights where majoritarian executives are seen to have failed. Whilethe ruling government’s brute majority

PRIVACY AS A RIGHT: HURDLES AND OPPORTUNITIES (PART II) Tamish Kumar, 1 st Year, BBA.LLB (Hons.), Symbiosis Law School, Pune Editorial Note: In continuation of the previous blog post, the author looks at some other issues concerning the right to privacy in the Indian context. The earlier part is available   here. III. Surveillance Laws India’s position towards phone-tapping is built around the 1996 judgement of Supreme Court [1] which involved the case of rampant telephone tapping of politicians in New Delhi. The Court held that ‘t elephone conversation is an important facet of a man’s private life. Right to privacy would certainly include telephone-conversation in the privacy of one’s home or office’. With people now moving more towards electronic storage and means of communication, mere mention of telephonic conversation would render the judgement archaic. The government still orders for active surveillance, disregarding the citizens’ right to privacy. For inst

PRIVACY AS A RIGHT: HURDLES AND OPPORTUNITIES (PART I) Tamish Kumar, 1 st Year, BBA.LLB (Hons.), Symbiosis Law School, Pune Editorial Note: The recently recognised right to privacy has been the subject of much celebration. Yet, its recognition in the current legal system brings with it some hurdles as well as opportunities, as discussed by the author in this blog. “There are cases where a decision one way or the other will count for the future, will advance or retard sometimes much, sometimes little, the development of the law in a proper direction. It is in these types of cases where the judge is to leap into the heart of legal darkness, where the lamps of precedent and common law principles flicker and fade, that the judge gets an opportunity to mould the law and to give it its shape and direction. This is what we have been trying to do in India.” - Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati, 17 th Chief Justice of India Former CJI P.N. Bhagwati’s words took shape inth