What Is the Hallmark of Justice—Truth or Law?

--Mohan Rao B

This paper aims at analyzing the judgment of the Supreme Court of India keeping in view the object sought to be achieved by the welfare provisions, viz., Section 112 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. In the judgment of the Apex Court in Nandlal acase, the Court deviated from the law. The Apex Court remarked ‘Truth must triumph,’ which is the hallmark of justice, unwittingly bastardizing an innocent girl, which is untenable. The Court was anxious to render justice, bypassing a deserving girl and her mother and ruling in favor of an ‘undeserving’ man, deviating from the law. The Court also obviously overruled its precedents which are binding on it.b The Court also failed to invoke purposive rule c of interpretation. The Court must have restrained itself from the deviation as it was done in the Naaz Foundation case. d The Court must have invoked the example of Badshah vs. Sou. Urmila Badshah Godse ecase. This paper attempts to delineate the provisions and the rationale and the reasoning given by the Courts in treating the law as a means to render justice.

© 2015 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

Sexual Violence Against Women in India: The Legal Safeguards

--B Vijayalaxmi

The paper consists of two parts: one discusses the concept and recent incidents of rape and gang rape, and the other discusses specifically incidents of rape of dalit women in India. The framework of existing laws on rape is also explained along with its pros and cons. Using government statistical data, the paper seeks to highlight the cases of sexual violence against women in India and offers suggestions for combating the same.

© 2015 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

The Role of Indian Judiciary in Upholding Gender Justice Through Protective Discrimination: An Appraisal

--Aneesh V Pillai

The last few decades have seen a growing recognition of women’s rights as human rights and as an integral and indivisible part of universal human rights. In international law, the issue of women’s rights is emerging as one of the main slogans and rapidly developing subfield of international human rights protection. The Constitution of India recognizes the rights of working women and ensures equal rights and opportunities. There are numerous provisions which not only ensure equality before law and prohibit any discrimination on the basis of gender, but also empower the state to make special provisions for working women. Many laws have also been enacted in accordance with these Constitutional provisions and international obligations for the protection and promotion of gender justice for women. The Indian judiciary also has been playing a significant role in upholding the equal status of women. During the last decade, the Indian judiciary has recognized gender-based discrimination in favor of women, i. e., protective discrimination, and upheld its constitutionality on the basis of their peculiar conditions—physical, mental and psychological—if it protects the interests of women. This paper seeks to examine the role played by the Indian judiciary in ensuring gender justice through protective discrimination.

© 2015 IUP All Rights Reserved.

Child Emotional Abuse: Causes, Effects and Remedies

--Anubha Srivastava and Sunitha Abhay Jain

Child emotional abuse is severe and persistent ill-treatment of a child and it can have longlasting and devastating effects on the child’s emotional health and psyche and development. Child emotional abuse needs to be addressed in relation to the relationships and the environment of a child. It is very important to focus on the safety and wellbeing of the child and also to identify the factors involved in child emotional abuse. Child emotional abuse can affect a child from infancy, through adolescence and into adulthood. Signs of emotional abuse may also be present in a child’s actions, or their physical, mental and emotional development. In the light of the above, in this paper, an attempt is made to analyze the concept of child emotional abuse; various types of emotional abuse in relation to children; and the causes, effects and identification of child emotional abuse. Further, an attempt is also made to suggest certain solutions to deal with child emotional abuse.

© 2015 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

Rethinking the Limits of State Action Concept in India in the Light of Globalization: Lessons from the US

--Sanu Rani Paul and M Suresh Benjamin

Globalization has transformed the concept of ‘statehood’. A number of public functions have now fallen into the hands of private sector because of the governments’ policy of liberalization. Unlike in the past, the realization of fundamental rights is a task which lies with the government as well as private sectors. But Article 12 which defines State for the purpose of enforcement of fundamental rights is constrained in a set of narrow doctrines evolved from time to time and this poses a threat to the enforcement of fundamental rights against private rights when their act violates the fundamental rights of the citizens. In this background, the authors compare the respective situation in the United States wherein the state action depends on a more realistic and flexible criterion on the basis of case-to-case analysis.

© 2015 IUP. All Rights Reserved.