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This article is written by Hemant Kumar, a student of LC1, Delhi University

Abstract: The women’s empowerment is very important for a developing country and India has done a lot from the time of Raja Ram Mohan Roy. One of the developments is the POSH Act which is enacted in the year 2013 that is a right step taken to achieve safe and secure environment at the workplaces one can learn about the VISHAKHA Guidelines by reading this article.

INTRODUCTION

Policy for Prevention of Sexual Harassment (Posh Act), 2013 was developed to check the harassment cases against the women in the workplace. The places which are full of educated persons and that are built for professional purpose only was being the centre for harassment for the women. This lead to stress among them and complaints were being made which were not addressed properly. Posh Act, 2013 was enacted in comprehensive legislation to provide a safe, secure and enabling environment free from harassment for the women.

Vishakha and others vs State of Rajasthan

Facts: Bhanwari Devi was employed as a social worker under the Women’s development Project under the Rajasthan Government to wipe out child marriages. When she intercepted the marriage of one Gujjar family the marriage does take place but after that Bhanwari Devi was gang-raped by five men. The police did not write her FIR and the medical investigation took place after 52 hours. The Trial court acquitted them on a lack of evidence. It provoked VISHAKHA (Group for women’s development and research) an NGO and filed a petition in the Supreme Court.

The case was fought on violation of Human Rights i.e. Article 14, 15, 19 and 21. Issues raised were:

Whether an employer has any responsibility for sexual harassment by its employees?
Whether an employer has any responsibility for sexual harassment to its employees?

Analysis of the Judgment:

The court observed that the fundamental rights under Article 14[2], 19[3](1)(g) and 21[4]of Constitution of India that, every profession, trade or occupation should provide a safe working environment to the employees. It hampered the right to life and the right to live a dignified life. The basic requirement was that there should be the availability of a safe working environment at the workplace. It also gave guidelines to be followed at the workplace and to implement of proper techniques to check sexual harassment. The main aim was to ensure gender equality and to provide a safe workplace to women.

After this case, the Supreme Court made the term Sexual harassment well defined, accordingly any physical touch or conduct, showing of pornography, any unpleasant taunt or misbehavior, or any sexual desire towards women, sexual favor will come under the ambit of sexual harassment.

Vishakha Guidelines

The court laid down certain guidelines with the definition of human rights in section 2d of the POSH Act, which are as follows:

Duty of the employer or other persons in workplaces and other institutions.
The employer in workplaces and other institutions are responsible to prevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual harassment.
Complaint mechanism: An appropriate mechanism of prevention should be created for the redressel of the complaint.
Disciplinary action: The employer should take action by complaining about the same to the authority responsible when sexual harassment takes place.
No prejudice of any rights available under the protection of the Human rights act, 1993.
Workers Initiative: Employees should be allowed to raise issues of sexual harassment at worker’s meetings.
Awareness: Awareness of the rights of female employees in this regard should be created by notifying the guidelines.

These guidelines and judgment lead to the safety of women who can feel safe and work with no fear and they can ensure that any wrong will be heard before the appropriate committee no one is powerful enough to take their respect and dignity and will roam freely.

Most of the cases are on sexual harassment are dealt with Human Resources (HR). To effectively handle such cases there should be an expert in POSH. Whenever such a case comes in front of the HR first thing to do is the formation of an internal committee that will move further with the case. The law mandates that every organization with more than 10 people must have an internal committee to look for the cases of sexual harassment.

Investigation

Type of Complaint: The complaint should be given the utmost attention and it should be analyzed what the victim wants to convey through the complaint and what has happened to it.

Knowledge of what victim requires: In most cases the victim wants to stop the incidents but the authority i.e. internal committee can do what is best but the victim should be heard.

New Incidences comes after first complaints these should be dealt with properly as it can affect the image of the person and the image of the company or workplace.

Essential Tips for the Internal Committee

While handling a sexual harassment complaints, an inquiry should be conducted on the principles of natural justice and not as a formality. The Internal Complaints Committee is vested with the powers of a Civil Court and comes with great responsibilities. A wrong decision can destroy the career, reputation and family life of a man/woman if wrongly disciplined.

Criteria for the constitution of the ICC:

(a) Presiding Officer

The chairperson of an ICC referred to by the nomenclature Presiding Officer, shall be a senior level female employee. The idea for a woman presiding officer so that women are more approachable to women, they would feel more comfortable with a reporting and redressal mechanism headed by a woman.

(b) External Member

The ICC should include an external member being a person familiar with issues relating to sexual harassment, or from a non-governmental organization or association committed to the cause of women.

(c) Employee Members

The ICC should also include two or more members from its employees, preferably individuals having legal knowledge, experience in social work, or committed to the cause of women. Such requirements, while desirable attributes to be borne in mind by employers selecting employee members, were deliberately not made mandatory to ease the burden of compliance in forming a committee, given that it may be practically unviable for many organizations to find employees with suitable qualifications.

Conclusion

POSH Act helps women workers to file complaints in their respective offices and the procedure is rather simpler to avoid the police and courts. ICC is provided with a lot of powers and they can do justice but every step is to be taken with utmost care to counter fake cases. Women can now do their jobs respectfully without any fear of sexual harassment at the workplace.

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INTRODUCTION

A special bench of Delhi HC consisting, Chief Justice D N Patel and Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh, taking note of the prevalent situation gave the order that all its prevailing interim orders are extended till October 31st. This decision has been taken in view of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier around 2,900 under-trials had been released on bail because of their risk of contracting COVID inside jails or the risk of them spreading the disease inside jails. The last time the court had extended all its interim orders till July 15. The bench said, “The idea is to ensure that the released prisoners do not return to prison as asymptomatic patients of COVID19, especially when the prisons are overcrowded”.

WHAT ARE INTERIM ORDERS?

Interim orders are temporary orders while the Court makes its decision. They are usually made when there is an urgent issue that needs action while the court process is going on.

Key points of the order…

The bench stated that “Needless to clarify that in case the aforesaid extension of interim order causes any hardship of an extreme nature to a party, they would be at liberty to seek appropriate relief, as may be advised.”
This order of extension shall be applicable to criminal matters of bail/ interim bail/ parole as well.
The high court also made it clear that it will slowly start physical hearing with the consent of all.
The court further said that the aim of the decision is to ensure that the return of the released prisoners does not translate into a reason for the virus being spread into the prisons.
In respect of anticipatory bail, arrest & bail, it is iterated that an accused should not be arrested unless the same is inevitable. However, in respect of cases relating to recovery of material objects used in the commission of offences & such cases, the State is at liberty to take appropriate decisions.
Presently the hearings on high courts and districts are being done through video conferencing.
It directed that the interim bail or parole granted to undertrials or convicts by the high court or trial courts, either before or after March 16, are being extended till October 31 or further orders except where the Supreme Court may have passed any contrary orders in any such matter during the period.
While the limited functioning of the courts continued, the interim orders were given three extensions. The latest version is set to expire on 31^st august.

Report By- RIDDHIMA BHADAURIA

This article is written by Bhavna Arul, a fourth-year law student from Symbiosis Law School.

INTRODUCTION

The term was coined in 1939 by American criminologist Edwin Sutherland. It drew attention to the typical attire of the perpetrators, who were generally businesspeople, high-ranking professionals, and politicians. Today the scope of what collar crimes has been greatly widened. White-collar crime refers to a set of nonviolent crimes committed with a motive of financial gain. These crimes are often characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust. The motivation for these crimes is to obtain or avoid losing money, property, or services, or to secure a personal or business advantage. Examples of white-collar crimes include securities fraud, embezzlement, corporate fraud, and money laundering.

Theories of White-Collar Crime

Since the time the term “white-collar crimes” was coined by Sutherland, there have been various theories that suggest reasons for such crimes. The most popular ones are as follows-

Differential Association theory by Edward Sutherland
General Theory of crime by Travis Hirschi and Michael Gottfredson
Rational Choice theory by Cesare Beccaria
Routine Activity theory by Marcus Felson and Lawrence E
General Strain Theory by Robert Agnew
Differential Reinforcement theory by Burgess and Akers

Each theory gives its own set of reasons as to why a crime is committed. Most theories are entwined with each other in a manner where they support each other or entirely dismiss the other.

Sutherland’s Theory of Differential Association

Sutherland’s Theory of Differential Association was the first formal effort in explaining criminal behaviour. It was also one of the most influential social learning theories of modern criminology. The theory went through different stages of development. Sutherland first proposed seven statements in the 1939 edition of “Principles of Criminology ” which he later proposed in the form of nine key postulates in 1947.

Sutherland’s Principles of Differential Association:

Criminal behaviour is learned.

This assumption presents a principle that is different from the classical theories of criminology. Lombroso, for example, defended the opinion that criminality is inherited, and someone is a “born criminal”. Sutherland, however, disagreed with the classical theory and said criminal behaviour is learnt by a criminal over time.

Criminal behaviour is learned in interaction with other persons in a process of communication.

Sutherland postulated that communication plays a crucial role in learning criminal behaviour. The term “association” in differential association refers to the various people the subject had contacted that led to this respective behaviour of theirs.

The principal part of the learning of criminal behaviour occurs within intimate personal groups.

According to this principle, Sutherland stated that the more intimate association causes a bigger impact on behaviour. The most intimate social contacts such as family, friends or peers have the greatest influence on deviant behaviour. Impersonal communication, such as movies or newspapers hardly play a role in committing criminal behaviour.

When criminal behaviour is learned, the learning includes:

a) Techniques of committing the crime, which are sometimes very complicated, sometimes very simple

b) The specific direction of motives, drives, rationalization, and attitudes.

The specific direction of motives and drives is learned from definitions of the legal codes as favourable or unfavourable.

Sutherland´s central statement is derived from the deliberation that every person has both definitions favourable to violation of law and definitions unfavourable to violation of law. This statement explains the term “differential” in differential association theory. This proposition in simple terms can be put as weighing the pros and cons of doing an act when compared to not doing it.

A person becomes delinquent because of an excess of definitions favourable to violation of law over definitions unfavourable to violation of law.

The sixth statement embodies “the principle of differential association”. People become criminals not only because of contacts with criminal patterns, but also because of isolation from non-criminal patterns.

Differential association may vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity.

Sutherland assumed that all associations do not carry equal weight and that their quality influences whether a person becomes criminal or not. Frequent contacts have greater effects than infrequent contacts. Those of long duration have a greater influence than those of short duration. Priority refers to the time that particular associations are initiated. Childhood experiences have a greater impact than experiences in later life. Finally, intensity explains the degree of identification with special associations. For example, the influence of a close friend outweighs the impact of an acquaintance.

The process of learning criminal behaviour by association with criminal and anticriminal patterns involves all of the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning.

This statement emphasizes that the process of learning criminal behaviour does not vary from any other learning processes, such as writing, painting, reading, etc.

While criminal behaviour is an expression of general needs and values, it is not explained by those general needs and values, since noncriminal behaviour is an expression of the same needs and values.

The final statement of differential association suggests that both criminal behaviour and common behaviour are products of similar needs and values. Regarded as an example, thieves generally steal in order to save money, but likewise honest employees work in order to make money.

To sum up Sutherland’s Theory of Differential Association, it states that criminal behaviour is learned in association with those who define such criminal behaviour favourably and insolation from those who define it unfavourably, and that a person in an appropriate situation engages in White-collar Crime if, and only if, the weight of definitions favourable exceeds the weight of the unfavourable definitions.

CRITICISM

Sutherland’s theory of differential association was developed into the Differential Reinforcement theory by Burgess and Akers. This theory criticized the Differential Association theory by stating that it’s not just social factors such as family, friends or peers who can influence someone to commit a crime but also anti-social factors such as depression, drugs, etc. that can influence criminal behaviour. It was also criticized for not considering individual differences. People are independent, individually motivated beings. As a result, they may not learn to become criminals in the ways differential association predicts.

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-Reported by KARTHI SHANKAR

The Administrative and general supervision committee of Delhi High Court headed by Chief Justice D N Patel, have planned to proceed the Court operations from September 1.

An order has been passed related to the functioning of Delhi High Court where the functioning of the Court has been suspended till 31.03.2020 due to the increase in the spread of the Coronavirus Disease among the people. Other than that all the benches of Delhi High Court may function through Video Conferencing. It is to be noted that earlier the Delhi High Court suspended it’s functioning till August 14. The pending matters listed from August 17 to August 31, before the High Court Of Delhi except the Court of Registrars/Sub-Registrars, were adjourned to the dates from October 9 to October 31.

The Order also mentioned that “The Court of Registrars & Joint Registrars may take up matters through Video Conferencing. The evidence should be recorded in ex-parte and the uncontested matters are to be tendered by affidavit.” According to the Order, the Courts are said not to pass any adverse orders because of Virtual mode and this will be followed till the Physical functioning of the courts.

The Committee has said that it is planning for physical reopen of the courts from September 1 after the complete availability of Public Transportation throughout the state and also based on situation in Delhi, whether it is advisable or not.

Order issued by Mr.Manoj Jain stated that physical functioning of the courts would resume, where only one-fourth of the court would work, as it would be done on an experimental basis, and the virtual mode would continue as such. The Order also mentioned that a comprehensive plan will be prepared by the Registrar General and placed before the ‘Committee for Preparation of Graded Action Plan’ and thereafter, before the full Court for consideration.

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This article is written by Tulip Das, currently perusing BBA L.L.B(H) from Amity University Kolkata.

INTRODUCTION

“Forgetting it is difficult.

Remembering it is worse.”

Sexual harassment is one of the most committed crimes all over India. Some mentally sick wicked-minded people at the workplace always tend to harass employees working under them. One out of every four women and even men face such a problem at the workplace, irrespective of any profession. Harassing someone sexually is a grievous crime be it face-to-face or virtual. Nowadays, incidences of virtual harassment are vigorously coming up. Laws are unable to stop this crime. However, the concept of sexual harassment via virtual harassment is being taken seriously.

Sexual Harassment at Workplace

Sexual harassment is an unwelcome sexual advance, unwelcome request for sexual favours or other uncomfortable conduct of a sexual nature which makes a person feel offended, humiliated and intimidated, where a reasonable person would anticipate that reaction in the circumstances.

The Sex Discrimination Act of 1984 defines the nature and the circumstances in which the concept of sexual harassment is unlawful. It is also unlawful for the harassed victim for making or offering to make a charge of sexual harassment to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

Examples of sexually harassing behaviour include:

unwelcome touching;
staring or leering;
suggestive comments or jokes;
sexually explicit pictures or posters;
unwanted invitations to go out on dates;
requests for sex;
intrusive and rude questions about a person’s private life or body;
unnecessary familiarity, such as deliberately brushing up against a person;
insults or taunts based on sex;
sexually explicit physical contact; and
sexually explicit emails or SMS text messages.

A working environment or workplace culture that is sexually pervaded or hostile will also amount to unlawful sexual harassment. Some of the circumstances emerging from the case law which may indicate a potentially hostile environment constitute the display of obscene or pornographic materials, general sexual ridicule, crude conversation or innuendo and offensive jokes.

Virtual Harassment

Virtual harassment can also be termed as cyberbullying or online harassment. This coronavirus pandemic has made work from home a necessity. However, this has brought home more virtual harassment than what used to before this 2020 pandemic. From online hackings to forced pornography to #MeToo Movements, all have been examples of virtual harassment. Although the camera and internet have helped build an informal work environment while smooth working, it has also brought home an old disease that hasn’t been cured yet, i.e., workplace sexual harassment.

This lockdown has not only moved the workplace to homes but in some cases, the harassment as well, say human resource consultants. Since March, when Covid-19 forced the country to stay indoors, it also compelled companies to shift to work from home (WFH) method. But with it have also come a new set of challenges — arise in complaints of virtual harassment.

This COVID-19 pandemic has made work from home a necessity. However, people are still being victims of sexual harassment in this virtual workplace. We often hear instances like an employee showing up shirtless to a virtual meeting with his manager, a woman. Then in another article, I read that, an employee takes screenshots of his female co-worker. Then at another virtual workplace, a manager insists that his colleague, a woman, attend an improvised 11 pm meeting and insists on her turning her video on and then continues to berate her when she refuses. When she finally does, she realises he is intoxicated. Sexual harassment at virtual workplaces are increasing day-by-day. On a regular basis we come across the following types of virtual sexual harassment at workplace: –

Harassing: Repeatedly sending inappropriate, hateful, sexual, and hurtful messages.
Outing: Sharing a victim`s secret or personal information in a public forum.
Exclusion: Intentionally and publicly excluding a victim from the group and tormenting him/her or them after exclusion.
Stalking: Electronically following someone and sending targeted messages with the intention of scaring, harming, or intimidating him or her.

“Home is an extended workplace now,” says Viji Hari, running a Chennai-based HR consultancy firm KelpHR. A survey conducted in the month of March by global research firm Gartner found that 88% of organisations world over have encouraged or required employees to work from home and that nearly 75% plan to move at least 5% of their previously onsite workforce to permanently remote positions post-Covid19, which would mean that it is imperative that companies re-look at what constitutes a workplace and by the expansion of what constitutes workplace harassment.

The Legal Ways

The Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act (POSH), 2013 deﬁnes harassment as ‘any unwelcome, sexually determined physical, verbal, or non-verbal conduct.

Personal and intimate comments on someone’s social media platform, inappropriate emojis and messages, stalking, both physical and virtual, bullying about performance ratings, insisting on having video calls after office work hours, inappropriate or sexist jokes to “lighten” the mood, not maintaining a dress code during video conferences and calls and undefined work hours.

It would also be pertinent to note here that since such an act of sexual harassment happens in cyberspace, i.e. on an electronic platform, an added layer of protection of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) is also extended in this regard. Section 67 of the IT Act prescribes punitive measures for publishing and/or transmitting obscene content on an electronic platform. Section 67A provides punishment for publishing or transmitting material containing any sexually explicit act, in an electronic form. Such cases of online harassment can also attract penal provisions of Sections 354A, 354D or 509 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. These provide punishment for a perpetrator who sexually harasses a woman by stalking her on the internet, and through his words or act or gesture intends to insult the modesty of a woman.

Section 354A of the IPC deals with Sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment. It states that –

A man committing any of the following acts—

physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures; or
a demand or request for sexual favours; or
showing pornography against the will of a woman; or
making sexually coloured remarks, shall be guilty of the offence of sexual harassment.

Any man who commits the offence specified in clause (i) or clause (ii) or clause (iii) of sub-section (1) shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend upto three years, or with fine, or with both.
Any man who commits the offence specified in clause (iv) of sub-section (1) shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend upto one year, or with fine, or with both.

Section 354D of IPC talks about stalking. It says that –

Any man who—

follows a woman and contacts, or attempts to contact such woman to foster personal interaction repeatedly despite a clear indication of disinterest by such woman; or
monitors the use by a woman of the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication,
commits the offence of stalking

Provided that such conduct shall not amount to stalking if the man who pursued it proves that—

it was pursued for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime and the man accused of stalking had been entrusted with the responsibility of prevention and detection of crime by the State; or
it was pursued under any law or to comply with any condition or requirement imposed by any person under any law; or

(iii) in the particular circumstances such conduct was reasonable and justified.

Whoever commits the offence of stalking shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine; and be punished on a second or subsequent conviction, with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Section 509 of IPC deals with words, gestures or act intending to insult the modesty of a woman. It says that –

Whoever, intending to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object, intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen, by such woman, or intrudes upon the privacy of such woman, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, and also with fine.

CASE LAWS

Workplace sexual harassment in India, was for the very first time recognized by the Supreme Court of India in its landmark judgment of Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (“Vishaka Judgment”), wherein the Supreme Court framed certain guidelines and issued directions to the Union of India to enact an appropriate law for combating workplace sexual harassment.

In the absence of a specific law in India, the Supreme Court, in the Vishaka Judgment, laid down certain guidelines making it mandatory for every employer to provide a mechanism to redress grievances pertaining to workplace sexual harassment which were being followed by employers until the enactment of the POSH Act.

The guidelines led down by the Supreme Court, in this case, are as follows:

It is the duty of every employer to deliver a sense of security to every woman employee.
The government should make strict laws and regulations to prohibit sexual harassment.
Any act of such nature should result in disciplinary actions and criminal proceedings should also be brought against the wrongdoer.
The organization should have a well set up complaint mechanism for the redressal of the complaints made by the victim and should be subjected to a reasonable time.
This complaint mechanism should be in the form of complaint committee which needs to be headed by a women member and at least 50% of the committee members should be women so that victims do not feel ashamed while communicating their problems. This complaint committee should also have third-party involvement in the form of NGO or other body which is familiar with this issue. There is a need for transparency in the functioning of this committee and for that, there is a requirement of submission of the annual report to the government.
Issues relating to sexual harassment should not be a taboo in the workers meeting and should be discussed positively.
It is the duty of the organisation to aware the female employees about their rights by regularly informing them about the new guidelines issued and legislation passed.
The employer or the person in charge is duty biased to take the necessary and reasonable steps to provide support to the victim if sexual harassment takes place due to the act or omission of the third party.
These guidelines are not limited only to government employers and should also be followed by employers in private sectors.

These guidelines came to be known as the Vishaka Guidelines.

In the case of Saurabh Kumar Mallick v. Comptroller & Auditor General of India, the respondent who was facing departmental inquiry for allegedly indulging in sexual harassment of his senior woman officer contended that he could not be accused of sexual harassment at workplace as the alleged misconduct took place not at the workplace but at an official mess where the woman officer was dwelling. It was also argued that the one who complained was even senior to the respondent and therefore no ‘favour’ could be extracted by the respondent from the complainant and thus the act would not constitute ‘sexual harassment’. The Delhi High Court while considering this matter held this as ‘clearly misconceived’.

CONCLUSION

Information and Communications Technology as a whole has its own advantages but at the same time has the potential to be abused in a way that adversely affects the moral fabric of the society. The crime of sexual harassment in the cyber workspace is one such example of gross misuse of technology and needs to be curbed in an expeditious manner.

The practise of telecommuting has now been adopted in the face of the ongoing pandemic across the globe, including India. Due to the existence of undesirable elements in Indian society, women always face the danger of being subjected to sexual harassment/unwanted sexual advances, especially at the workplace. Despite the protection of POSH Act, the current conditions require a certain widening of its ambit. To quote the noted jurist and academician, Salmond, “The essence of law lies in the spirit, not in its letter, for the letter is significant only as being the external manifestation of the intention that underlies it”.

Sexual harassment at the workplace is highly prevalent in India and there is a need to provide a positive environment to the women workers. The government should make separate laws dealing with this issue. It should also realize that women worker also constitutes a part of the working population in India and it’s the duty of the government to provide them security at work. New strategies should be made by the employers and managers to protect the organisation from this wrongdoing. Government and employers should ensure that women should be treated equally and gender discrimination should not take place at the workplace. Effective implementation of the policies can reduce the manifestation and mutilation of sexual harassment to the minimum. One organisation can modify its approach to handle sexual harassment by viewing other organisations tactic. This will reduce or eliminate glitches caused by this harmful transgression. The government should understand that separate laws may not bring about equality in gender relations but a law dealing with sexual harassment would provide women with immense support in their struggle. At last, we want to say that women should not accept anything as it is because now it’s the time to speak out against all the injustice done to them

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This article is written by Shambhavi Shree, a student of KIIT School of Law, Bhubaneswar (4th year).

INTRODUCTION: DOCTRINE OF SEPERATION OF POWER

Earlier the power was with one single individual ruler because of which the people’s voices were not heard. The process of this undivided rule was referred to as the Monarch system. It was difficult to look after the rights of the individuals or citizens by a single person therefore the powers were separated by the three jurists. The separation of powers was originated by Aristotle, principles were developed and designed by Locke and were propounded by Montesquieu based on the British constitution. The USA was the first country to adopt the separation of power. Article 50 of the Constitution of India states that the state should take necessary steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in all the states of the union.

Separation of power by Wade and Philips states that:

One person cannot be a member of more than one organ of the government.
One organ of the government cannot interfere with the functions of the other.
One organ of the government cannot perform the functions of the other.

Concept laid down by Baron-de-Montesquieu

Montesquieu, a French scholar introduced this concept in his book ‘Espirit des Louis’ (The Spirit of Laws) published in 1748 to ensure the liberty and freedom of an individual. And for this, there must be a rule of law and an impartial and independent judiciary.
The objective of separation of power was not to interfere in the working of each other.
French jurist, Montesquieu further stated that the separation of powers also includes checks and balances.
If one organ intervenes the function of the other organ is known as checks and balances.
There are three main organs of government:

The legislature or primary legislation are entitled to make laws in our country. It is headed by the parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) and the house of representatives.
The executive enforces the law headed by the President, Vice President, and the Cabinet. They act on the advice of the Council of Ministers. The executive is the administrative head of the government.
Judiciary is there to interpret the laws and they are handled by the Supreme Court, High Court, and all other Subordinate Courts.

ADVANTAGES

This system was appreciated by English and American jurists and accepted by politicians.
According to Blackstone if the authority was given to one organ then there was an end of personal liberty.
Separation of power plays a vital role in the creation of a fair government.
Justice and fairness.

DISADVANTAGES

Historical incongruity implies that King can do no wrong.
Division of functions or division of responsibilities into the legislature, executive, and judiciary to lessen the burden on one single branch.
This system is not acceptable by a large number of countries in the world.
Organic separation of powers.

CASE ANALYSIS

Indira Nehru Gandhi V. Raj Narain AIR 1975

In this case, the difference was drawn between the separation of powers in India, the US, and the Australian Constitution. In the Constitution of India separation of powers is not followed strictly whereas in the US and Australian Constitution it is in a strict sense. India has adopted a parliamentary form of government therefore there is no strict separation of powers in India.

In Re The Delhi Laws Act, 1951 AIR 332, 1951 SCR 747

In this case, it has been held that it has nowhere expressly mentioned in our Constitution of India to set up the organs separately as American Constitution. Supreme Court held that separation of powers is the basic structure of our Indian Constitution.

Kesvanand Bharti V. State of Kerala and Anr on 24^th April, 1973

The Supreme Court stated that both the supremacy of the constitution and separation of powers is part of the basic structure of our Indian Constitution. None of the three separate organs of the republic can take over the functions assigned to the other. This scheme of the constitution cannot be changed even by resorting to Article 368 of the Constitution of India.

Ram Jawaya Kapur V. State of Punjab AIR 1955 SC 549

The legislature has to make the law, the executive to implement the law, and the judiciary to interpret the law. Supreme Court held that one organ of the state does not perform the duty of the other.

Asif Hameed V. State of J & K AIR 1989 SC 1899

The court stated that legislature, executive, and judiciary is entitled to function in their respective spheres. No organ can perform the function carried out by the other.

CONCLUSION

The development of separation of powers made a tremendous impact on the development of the functioning of the government. Separation of power aimed to grant freedom and not to insert strict separation. The doctrine of separation is accepted in India in its strict sense but complete separation is not possible in our constitution.

REFERENCE

https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1814791/
http://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-35-doctrine-of-separation-of-powers.html
https://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/separation-of-powers-an-overview.aspx
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/257876/
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/1617/Separation-of-Powers-and-Its-Development-with-Special-Reference-to-India.html

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This case analysis is written by Niti Shah studying BLS/LLB from Pravin Gandhi College of Law, University of Mumbai.

Case Number

28 January 2000

Equivalent Citation

2000- 2 SCC 465

Petitioner

The Chairman, Railway Board & Others.

Respondent

Mrs. Chandrima Das & Others.

Bench

R.P. Sethi, S. Saghir Ahmad

Relevant Act/ Section

Article 226

Brief Facts and Procedural History

Mrs. Chandrima Das who is a practising barrister of the Calcutta High Court filed a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution against the Chairman, Railway Board; General Manager, Eastern Railway; Divisional Railway Manager, Howrah Division; Chief Commercial Manager, Eastern Railway; State of West Bengal through the Chief Secretary; Home Secretary, Government of West Bengal; Superintendent of Police (Railways), Howrah; Superintendent of Police, Howrah; Director General of Police, West Bengal and many other Officers including the Deputy High Commissioner, Republic of Bangladesh; claiming compensation for the victim, Smt. Hanuffa Khatoon, a Bangladeshi national who was gang-raped by many including employees of the Railways in a room at Yatri Niwas at Howrah Station of the Eastern Railway regarding which G.R.P.S. Case No. 19/98 was registered on 27th February 1998. She arrived at Howrah Railway Station on 26th February 1998 at about 14.00 hours to avail Jodhpur Express at 23.00 Hours. With that intention in mind, she reached Calcutta on 24th February 1998 and stayed at a hotel at 10, Sudder Street, Police Station Taltola, and came to Howrah Station on the date and time aforementioned. She had, however, a waitlisted ticket and so she approached a Train Ticket Examiner at the Station for confirmation of berth against her ticket

Smt. Hanuufa Khatoon lived in Calcutta and was said to wait at Ladies’ waiting room by a Train ticket examiner for confirmation of her ticket. Two men came to her claiming that they are an influential personality of the railway department and confirmed her ticket. After that, again one of those men came and told her to accompany a boy to a restaurant for food. She went for dinner and returned to the ladies’ room again. When 2 another male came to her and asked her to follow her to the resting room which is also called yatri niwas they are which she doubted earlier about them but after getting confirmation by lady attendants, she accompanied them. They took her to the room which was booked by the name of Ashoke Singh where already 3 male attendants were present. Hanufa Khatun suspected something when Ashoke Singh forced her into the room. The four men who were present inside the room brutally raped Hanufa Khatun. When she could recover, she escaped from the room of Yatri Niwas and came back to the platform where again she met Siya Ram Singh and found him talking to Ashoke Singh. Seeing her condition, he pretended to help her and requested to come to his residence to rest for the night with his wife and children and assured her to help to catch the following train as she missed her train while rescuing herself. Thereafter, He took Hanufa Khatoon to a rented flat of his Ashok Singh and raped her. Hearing the voices from the flat landlord of the building rescued her by calling jorabagan police.

Issues before the Court

Is Railway liable to pay compensation to Hanuffa Khatoon who was a foreigner?

Argument of Petitioner

The first contention made is that the offense has been committed by the person it is an individual act and would not make the Railway or the Union of India liable to pay compensation to the victim of the offense. Since it was the individual act of those persons, they alone would be prosecuted and after being found guilty they would be punished and may also require to pay fine but regarding the facts of this case, the Railways for that matter would not even be vicariously liable.
The second contention for claiming damages for the offense on Smt. Hanuffa Khatoon, the remedy for the same lays in the domain of Private Law and not under Public Law, therefore, no compensation could have been legally awarded by the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.
The third contention by the counsel on behalf of the appellants, that Hanuffa Khatoon was a foreign national and, therefore, no relief under Public Law could be granted under it as there was no violation of the Fundamental Rights available under the Constitution. It was asserted that the Fundamental Rights in Part III of the Constitution are available only to citizens of this country and since Hanuffa Khatoon was a Bangladeshi national.
Hanuffa Khatoon was not the citizen of this country but visited here as a citizen of Bangladesh
The fourth contention by the Learned counsel for the appellants then contended that the Central Govt. cannot be held vicariously liable for the offense of rape committed by the employees of the Railways.

The Argument of Respondent

The dispute that Hanuffa Khatoon should have filed her case under the civil court for damages and the issue should not have been considered in a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, which is unacceptable.In this case, it is not a matter of violation of an ordinary right of a person but the violation of Fundamental Rights which is involved.Hanuffa Khatoon is a victim of rape. According to precedent, it has been held that non-citizen cannot claim Fundamental Rights under Articles 20, 21, and 22 which are available not only to “citizens” but also to “persons” which would include “non-citizens”.
According to this principle, even those who are not citizens of this country and come here merely as tourists or in any other capacity will be entitled to the protection of their lives following the Constitutional provisions. They also have a right to “Life” in this country. they also have the right to live, so long as they are here all the citizens of our country should treat them with human dignity. Just as the State is under an obligation to protect the life of every citizen in this country similarly the State is under an obligation to protect the life of the persons who are not citizen It has already been pointed out above that held that “rape” amounts to a violation of the Fundamental Right guaranteed to a woman under Article 21 of the Constitution.
She was entitled to be treated with respect and was also entitled to the protection as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. As a citizen of another country, she had come here with the trust that she will protect even if she is not a citizen and then she cannot be subjected to a treatment which was below dignity. The Right of Article 21 was thus violated.

Judgment

After all the contentions the court says that the operation of Railways is a commercial activity. Establishment of Yatri Niwas at various Railway Stations to provide facilities to passengers on payment of charges is a part of the commercial activity of the Union of India and this activity cannot be compared with the exercise of Sovereign power. The employees who run the Railways and to manage the establishment, including the Railway Stations and Yatri Niwas, are essential components of the Govt. machinery which carry on the commercial activity. Therefore, the appeal having no merit is dismissed with the observation that the amount of compensation shall be made over to the High Commissioner for Bangladesh in India for payment to the victim, Smt. Hanuffa Khatoon. The payment to the High Commissioner shall be made within three months. There will be no order as to costs.

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This case analysis is Written by Akanksha Chowdhury from Amity University, Kolkata.

Case Number

243

Citation:

1994 SCC (1) 243

Bench

Sahai, R.M. (J)

Decided on

5^th November, 1993

Relevant Act/Section

Section 21, 16 and 11 and 2(C) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986

Brief Facts of the Case

This case is basically vested on one argument whether the Land Development Authorities and Housing come under the ambit of Consumer Protection Act,1986 and also in the amendments which came before 1993. The case was fought in the Supreme Court with an in-depth analysis. The section which was mainly focused in this case was section 2(1)(o) which mentioned about the definition of the consumer and the various other ambits which comes under it. The case was filed by the Development Authority in order to get an answer whether they were included in the definition of the consumer as per mentioned in the section of the act and thus they can claim for the damages of the goods which they had faced from the National Commission depending upon the amount of the damages which they had faced actually. The Plaintiff had suffered immense loss in respect to certain goods and because of which they wanted to approach the commission for the compensation of the damages suffered by them at that time. But they were not allowed to claim for the damages because the contention was made by the defendants that Land Development and Housing do not come under Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and also in the amendments that were made before 1993. In this particular case, the court had given a lot of analysis in the definition of the consumers and gave a really fair judgement in order to provide justice to the affected party.

Ratio Decidendi of the Case

This particular case is based on the Principles of Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

Issues

Whether the rights and powers of the National Commission in order to hold all the statutory authorities is accountable for omissions and also award damages?
Whether there is any liability of the state in the case of torts: Sovereign and Non-Sovereign Functions?
Whether there has to be any compensation given for loss and injury even in the cases which results out of any actions that are authorised by law and are carried out without any negligence made?
Whether the acts which are done in bad faith result in absolute liability on the part of the employee?
Whether the compensation has to be made not only on the basis of the value of the goods but also on the damages for the injustices suffered?

Judgement

The Judgement given by the Court was fair and also provided justice to the plaintiff regarding the damages faced by them. The court had looked into the definition of the consumer and stated that the Land Development Authority and the Housing Sector do come under the definition of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and also, the statutory boards like the State Commission, National Commission and District Commission are actually entitled to entertain the cases of these sectors and the plaintiffs can avail the services like banking, finance etc. The Court also took help from various other important cases which come under this matter. The main motive of the consumer protection act is to provide justice to the consumers who have faced a lot of trouble and thus have a demand for strict compensation so as to get justice soon. Also, it came into notice that the builders, building or construction activities came under the ambit of the new amendments too which were made in the year 1993. The appellants had stated that they provide services to the consumers by providing them houses to stay and with luxurious buildings. But the Supreme Court had clearly rejected this contention and said that services mean any sort of work done for the actual benefit of the consumers and not the construction of the buildings or skyscraper apartments. All such activities were discharged by statutory as well as private authorities. The supreme court while agreeing that the amendment did not have retrospective effect ruled that ‘housing construction’ was added as a matter of abundant caution as housing as a service was already there in the Act prior to the amendment. Likewise, in respect of the inclusion of the clause ‘avail’ in the 1993 amendment, the supreme court ruled that this was added in the Act only to dispel any doubt that a consumer means a person who not only hires but also avails of any facility for consideration. Finally, the court ruled that the Commission had all the rights under the Act to award compensation not only for deficient services but also for harassment and agony caused to a consumer. Citing various case laws, it was held that the State is liable to compensate for loss or injury suffered by a citizen due to arbitrary actions of its functionaries. It is now accepted law that even for bona fide action the State is liable to compensate if that action causes loss or injury to a person. Now there is no distinction between sovereign and non-sovereign functions in determining the liability of the State because under our constitution sovereignty vests in the people. No functionary of the State can claim immunity except to the extent provided in the statute itself. Thus, the supreme court was of the opinion that all public authorities are accountable for their actions. In the end, it was held that the judgement which was given by the Supreme Court had upheld the actual principles as per the RULE OF LAW. By giving the judgement, they provided a serious justice which was needed by the plaintiffs because of the amount of loss that they had suffered. By ordering the Lucknow Development Authority to fix their compensation amount and all other things from the concerned authorities, the court had set up a real good standard. It is the right of the plaintiff to raise their voice whenever they face any injustice and it should not be violated by anyone unless and until there is something serious.

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This article is written by Tulip Das, currently perusing BBA L.L.B(H) from Amity University Kolkata.

INTRODUCTION

The principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution, Fundamental Rights (Part III), Fundamental Duties (Part IV-A), and Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV) of the Constitution. Besides granting equality to women, the Indian Constitution also empowers the State to adopt special measures of positive discrimination in favour of women. Within the sphere of a democratic polity, our laws, development policies, plans, and programs have aimed at women’s development and advancement in various spheres. India has also ratified various international conventions and human rights instruments committed to secure equal rights to women. Key among them is the ratification of the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in the year 1993.

Constitutional Provisions for Women

Women’s safety and security is still a question in 21st century India. To curb ill-doings towards women, the Indian Constitution has led down the following provisions: –

In the Preamble

The Principle of gender equality is mentioned in the Indian Constitution in its Preamble. The constitution not only grants equality for women but also empowers the State to adopt measures to positive discrimination in favour of women.
Within the framework of a democratic polity, our laws, development policies, plans, and programs have been aimed at women’s advancement in different spheres.
India has also ratified various international conventions and human rights instruments committing to secure equal women rights.

Fundamental Rights (PART -III)

Art 14 – Equality Before Law: this article says that the everyone is equal in the eye of law.

Art 15(1) and (2) – This article prohibits the nation from discriminating against any citizen on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth and others.

Art 15 (3) – The State has been assigned the authority to make any special provisions for women and children.

Art 16 – Equality amount of opportunity must be given to all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the Government of India.

Article 21 – provided right to life and personal liberty where it greatly emphasises on protecting, maintaining and honouring the dignity of our women.

Art 23 – The Constitution states that traffic in human beings especially women and children and beggar and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with the law.

Directive Principles of State Policy (PART IV)

Article 39(a) – The State must direct its policy towards ensuring that all citizens of India, men and women equally, the right to an adequate means of livelihood

Article 39(d)- The State must look to secure equal pay for equal work for both men and women

Article 39 A – This article says that justice should be provided on basis of equality of opportunity and there shall be provisions for free legal aid for all. It also says that justice shall not be denied to anyone irrespective of their economic or other disabilities.

Article 42 – The State must look to secure just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief.

Article 46 – The State shall promote, ensure and look into with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the society, particularly the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall also protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.

Fundamental Duties (PART IV-A)

Article 51(A) (e) – This fundamental duty aims to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.

The Panchayats (PART IX)

Seatsare reserved in the Panchayat for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe as well. Article 243D (2) of the Indian Constitution says that among the seats reserved in the Panchayat for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe not less than one-third of the seats so reserved in the Panchayat are reserved for women belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes.

Article 243D (3) of the Indian Constitution says that, Panchayats should have one-third of the total seats which are filled by direct election, reserved for women (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribe). Such seats may be allotted by the process of rotation to different constituencies in the Panchayat.

The Municipalities (PART IX-A)

According to Article 243T (1) of the Indian Constitution, seats will be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in each Municipality and the number of seats so saved will bear a similar extent to the complete number of seats to be filled by direct election in that Municipality as the number of inhabitants in the Scheduled Castes in the Municipal region or of the Scheduled Tribes in the Municipal region bears to the all-out populace of that region and such seats might be allocated by turn or by rotation process to various constituencies in a Municipality.

Article 243T (2) says that among the seats reserved in the Municipalities for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe not less than one-third of the seats so reserved in the Municipalities are reserved for women belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes.

Article 243T (3) of the Indian Constitution says that, Municipalities should have one-third of the total seats which are filled by direct election, reserved for women (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribe). Such seats may be allotted by the process of rotation to different constituencies in the Municipalities.

The Co-operative Societies (PART – IX B)

Article 234ZJ of the Indian Constitution talks about the number and term of members of the board and its office bearers. It says board shall contain as many directors as suggested by the Legislature of State, backed by law.

It says that two seats shall be reserved for women on board of every co-operative society consisting of individuals as members and having members from such class or category of persons.

Some Cases Reflecting Victory of Women

The Supreme Court in Muthamma v. Union of India (1979) 4 SCC 260 and Air India v Nagresh Mirza AIR 1981 SC 1829 struck down the discriminatory service conditions requiring female employees to obtain government permission before getting married, denying marriage and pregnant women the right to be employed.

In Vishaka v State of Rajasthan AIR 1997 SC 3011, the Supreme Court observed that equality in employment can be seriously hampered when women are subjected to gender-specific violence, such as sexual harassment in the workplace. Therefore, the Supreme Court issued guidelines to ensure that women have equal working conditions and are protected from sexual harassment.

The Supreme Court stated in Government of A. P. v. P. K. Bijayakumar AIR 1995 SC 164 that under Article 15(3) job opportunities for women cannot be created would be to cut at the very root of the underlying inspiration behind this Article making special provision for women in respect of employments or posts under the state is an important part of Article 15(3).

CONCLUSION

Law cannot change society overnight, but it can certainly ensure that the disadvantages are not given a raw deal. Sadly “she” is the most tortured gender in the Indian society. In spite of so many exclusive rights granted to women by the Constitution, the harsh reality is that women have been ill-treated in every society for ages and India is not an exception to this universal problem. The irony lies in the fact that in our country where women are worshipped as ‘shakti’, the atrocities are committed against her in all sections of life. She is being looked down as commodity or as a slave, she is not only robbed of her dignity and pride outside her house but she also faces ill-treatment and other atrocities within the four walls of her house also. The women are being considered as an object of male sexual enjoyment and reproduction of children. Its high time now. We really need to get together and fight for the welfare of our mothers, sisters and daughters.

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Advocate Akriti Shikha completed her graduation from Symbiosis Law School, Pune. She practiced in the Dispute Resolution team at L&L Partners (formerly known as Luthra & Luthra) and practiced as a Securities Lawyer at Reliance Capital

You’ve completed your Graduation from Symbiosis Law School, Pune. How would you describe your experience?

My experience at Symbiosis Law School, Pune was blissful, not only in terms of academics but also extra-curricular activities. It’s a premier law institute having exceptional faculty and infrastructure including a great library. At SLS, I got a chance to take part in varied activities that have shaped my thought process and consequently, my career choices. SLS gives you an opportunity to intern, moot, write and publish articles, debate and engage in other extra-curricular activities such as sports or participating in events and committees, which would help individuals to hone their skills. I actively participated in the events organised in college and tried to intern as many times as I could.

SLS offered me a rich gamut of opportunities, both academic and personal, and I plunged headlong into making the most of it. It was an intellectual adventure that I thoroughly enjoyed (and that’s very rare for a law graduate to say!). The lessons learnt aren’t available in paperback or otherwise – they flow from the experiences lived. To the future graduates – law school years could define you, so make sure you choose the definition wisely.

What motivated you to choose law as a Career?

I am a first-generation lawyer in my family and a litigator by choice. Law was probably the only subject that intrigued me right from the time I got introduced to it during my graduation in commerce (B.Com). I always aspired to be a professional and I was never excited about numbers and accounts, so I decided to pursue a career in law which was sans any of it.

The real inclination in pursuing law stems from my trait of righteousness and personal belief in justice, along with my compelling desire to work amongst people, to help resolve matters and to play a role in shaping the legal landscape in India.

To be completely honest, in my opinion, no combination with LL.B really helps in the profession. All that matters is how focused you are on what you have chosen voluntarily as your career path. B.Com in a way helped me generally to get a quick grasp and understanding of the commercial and business aspects of a transaction which are the subject matter of the contracting and negotiations or non-litigation as we call it.

3. You interned with various organizations during your Law School. How important is it to Intern for a Law Student?

I personally feel that internships are an extremely important part of a lawyers’ education; its like a window into the profession. I had started interning right from my first year at Symbiosis Law School, and one of my greatest takeaways from such internships is the need for lawyers to have an attention for detail. In my zeal to figure my area of interest, my internships targeted corporate laws and litigation as areas of practice. My internships were primarily with corporate law firms. I worked with Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co., Khaitan & Co., AZB & Partners, Nishith Desai Associates, Kochhar & Co. among others. In the hindsight, it has proved to be an enriching experience.

My most memorable internship was with Senior Advocate, Mr. Ashok Mundargi, a distinguished criminal advocate. I was able to strengthen my legal expertise including drafting, application of law and argumentative skills. Working with him, I got the opportunity to closely observe law practitioners, who interpret and apply laws in a very different way, work in a very competitive and unpredictable field and deal with real-life clients/counter-parties/judges. I tried to apply these learnings when I started working as a lawyer.

My advice to law students would be that they must undertake internships in both corporate and litigation practice, which will help them to understand the practical aspects of the subject they are studying in law school. It will also help them in deciding to choose the career path depending upon their interest and liking.

Most of the students in Law Schools are inclined towards getting good grades. Do grades have any significant impact on career in the long run?

Though good grades may not be the sole criterion, I believe that it does play an important role. In my experience, few law firms extensively bank on academic performance of students.

However, legal acumen is not all about exam marks. In the long run, recruiters are interested in evaluating how much you ‘know’ than how much you ‘scored’ or which law school you belong to. Marks and institution may get you to a door but you can enter only with knowledge and whether you are the right fit to their organisation.

5. How important is it to go through the Judgments regularly?

More than securing good marks in legal education, it is important to learn and stay abreast with the latest developments and industry news through interactions and discussions with peers and stalwarts in the field of law.

One of the best ways to stay updated is through reading law journals and updating oneself with the various online law portals which come up with an analysis and bring to one’s attention the developments in the law across the country and by keeping an eye out for notifications from regulators in the legal field. I urge all students and young lawyers to make it a point to read the latest Court decisions and maintain their personal case journal and update the same regularly. Lately, a lot of focus has been on webinars which one should avail the opportunity to attend as many as possible.

6. You have practised in the Dispute Resolution team at L&L Partners. Please share your experience working with L&L Partners.

I had the privilege to join the Dispute Resolution team at L&L Partners (formerly known as Luthra & Luthra, Law Offices) in the year 2018. L&L Partners is one of the biggest and most reputed law firms in the country. Their knowledge base helps you to learn the subject better with each passing day. Normally, my day started with a visit to Court followed with research and drafting. At L&L Partners, I not only got an opportunity to draft for various clients for high stake cases but also to brief Senior Counsels as well as appear before various forums. It is thrilling to argue your own case; it was a very exciting phase. Unlike corporate practice, disputes throw up challenges everyday. The uncertainties and the challenges involved in resolving the disputes matters make this practice quite interesting. L&L Partners will always be a very significant chapter in my career history, where I met some inspiring lawyers and made great friends.

7. You also have practised as a securities lawyer at Reliance Capital. Please share your experience with our Readers.

At Reliance Capital, I worked in the field of securities litigation, mainly dealing with matters before SEBI and Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). The field of securities law, apart from being a niche, is immensely complicated and interesting. Just when you start thinking you have learnt a lot, you realise there is a universe out there waiting to be explored. New challenges keep cropping up every single day and that’s what kept me interested and fascinated. Working as an in-house counsel is more about applying what you learnt in the law schools.

8. Being a lawyer, how difficult is it to maintain a balance between Personal and Professional Life. How do you cope with the Work Stress?

This is a very important question to consider for everyone in the legal field. The professionals are caged due to the hourly billing and timesheet culture. I think it is important to use your free time judiciously and indulge in your hobbies. Given the sedentary lifestyle we as lawyers lead, it is all the more important that one chooses a healthy lifestyle. I’m extremely fond of art and photography and love food and travel. This helps when the work is at full tilt then one doesn’t get burnt out and is ready to put in the long hours at work. Also, in my opinion, working-out and meditation is a great outlet for the stress that builds-up during high-stress situations at work.

9. What’s your opinion on the NLU and Non-NLU divide?

I have personally witnessed the NLU and Non-NLU divide to be true, especially during internships. I think recruiters must focus on whether the individual would fit in their working environment rather than their law school. At the end of the day, the work speaks for itself and the NLU or Non-NLU tag should not create a distinction at the workplace.

10. On a concluding note, what would be your suggestion to the Budding Lawyers?

There is no straight-jacket formula to success. Every individual has their own journey. Law school is an individual experience and prepares you to embrace different perspectives. I would urge people to not be close-minded and to engage in as many activities as possible in law school for a holistic experience. While interning/working as a lawyer, one must have a logical and problem-solving approach, be aware of the basics of law and have a lot of hunger to grow. Reading is an integral part of our field, and by reading I don’t mean legal reading alone – Keep your knowledge updated in the area that you practice primarily. There must be clarity in your thought process and the same must be reflected in your drafts and correspondence. Most importantly, creativity and out of the box thinking would be an added factor.

While applying to law firms /organisations, do not be disheartened if you face any rejections since it is not the right fit or the correct match for you. There is a more suited place /opportunity awaiting for you.

As a parting thought, I feel its a great decision to be a part of this noble profession. Hard work is the key, coupled with due application of mind. I wish luck to all of you.

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