Article 21 of the Indian Constitution states “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law”. In this episode, Apurva Kumar and Sarthak Pradhan discuss the history, evolution, interpretation of article 21 and also shed light on the concept of “due process”.
Here is the book referred to in the podcast – Liberty After Freedom: A History of Article 21, Due Process and the Constitution of India, By Rohan J. Alva
The first amendment of India’s Constitution allowed the right to freedom of speech and expression to be “reasonably restricted”. This amendment created a distinct space for the judiciary and the legislature to produce an ambiguous stream of interpretations to address the vagueness associated with terminologies such as ‘reasonable’, ‘in the interest of’, ‘public order’, ‘decency’, ‘morality’, ‘incitement’ etc.
Ratika Gaur and Apurva Kumar explore the possible reasons for this ambiguity. They also examine the immediate effects of this ambiguity on the reach and scope of Article 19(1)(a), which lays out the right to free speech. Finally, they consider possible solutions that can be achieved through creative policy interventions.
Ratika is a political scientist who has been researching freedom of speech and expression. She is an Assistant Professor at Miranda House and is also pursuing PGP at Takshashila.
The Constitution of India forms the basis of the republic and influences all aspects of our lives. But is it really that powerful? Suman Joshi and Apurva Kumar talk about the role common citizens played in building constitutional values through the years.
This discussion is premised on Rohit De’s book, A People’s Constitution, in which the author challenges the notion that the constitution was a document created by the elites and for the elites.
Further readings:
What is constitutional morality? By Pratap Bhanu Mehta
Rohit De – Law and Life in India
Two cases from the book, Hanif Quereshi vs state of Bihar and Pesikaka vs state of Bombay
How does the Constitution of India codify democratic principles? Why does it see an overarching role for a centralized state? How does it address the issue of representation? In this episode, Apurva Kumar and Sarthak Pradhan discuss the motivations and intentions of the framers of India’s constitution.
This episode is based on the book – India’s Founding Moment: The Constitution of a Most Surprising Democracy by Madhav Khosla (https://www.amazon.in/Indias-Founding-Moment-Constitution-Surprising/dp/0674247981)
Ameya Naik and host Pavan Srinath discuss long-overdue police reforms and provide a primer on how to reimagine policing in India in the 21st century, on The Pragati Podcast. [iframe src=’https://webplayer.adorilabs.com/e/IEjAzN2HrohFjMT4′ width=’100%’ height=’304′ frameborder=’0′ scrolling=’no’ allow=’autoplay’] Ameya Naik and Pavan Srinath record Episode 146 of The Pragati Podcast at a time when there are daily reports of …
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