Events
On 16th and 17th February 2019, NSLR will hold its 1st Symposium. NSLR is the Student Law Review at NALSAR University of Law. The Symposium aims to improve the visibility and effectiveness of law as a tool to protect and promote public health in India from a human rights perspective.
Publications
This policy brief examines the law on health warnings in India and the future of tobacco packaging legislation.
Publications
This Booklet explores litigation on tobacco vis a vis public health.
Events
CLPR will hold a State-level consultation in order to get inputs from various stakeholders interested in the removal of tobacco subsidies. These stakeholders include representatives from civil society and public health NGOs, academia and community organisers.
Publications
The article is about a Public Interest Litigation filed in the High Court of Karnataka, Bangalore on the pitiable state of the government hospitals in Bangalore which are short of doctors, beds and equipment, thereby raising pertinent questions about public health being a right for people. The court, however, has taken up this issue quite seriously and this is very essential given the state of government hospitals now. One hopes that more pressure is applied to ensure quality in public healthcare because this is a basic constitutional right in a welfare state.
Publications
This systemic fracture in access to information is rarely visible. What is visible are queer characters on our television screens and Pride parades in our cities, but visibility without infrastructure is insufficient. With the overcommercialisation of Pride Month and large corporations stepping in to celebrate Pride on LinkedIn, Pride Month in urban cities may represent a genuine expansion of cultural spaces, but Pride also requires a call for institutional accountability.
Blog
From 5th to 7th December 2025, the Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) organised…
News & Media
Senior advocate Jayna Kothari appearing for the petitioner, pleaded for a declaration from the Supreme Court that palliative care is part of Right to Health under Article 21 of the Constitution, stating that, “There is no uniform provision of palliative care under the public health system in the country.”
Blog
Discrimination and exclusion faced by transgender and gender-variant persons is heightened in the public avenues…
Blog
The right to equality and non-discrimination involves not only formal equality in law but obligations on the State to provide substantive non-discrimination for those persons and groups who suffer differential impacts. In the context of healthcare, this means recognizing stigma, discrimination, and exclusion as a result of disability, health status, gender and gender identity, and other social, economic, and cultural categories. Positive obligations, in that case, should extend beyond the prohibition of discrimination, to inclusive policies, reasonable accommodation, and affirmative action’s accounting for special needs and acknowledging existing barriers in the access to healthcare. As the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted, healthcare as an occupation is also in need of protection with multiple reports of attacks on healthcare workers stigmatized as carriers of the virus.
Blog
In 2013, the Supreme Court passed an order categorically stating that no person should suffer for not getting the Aadhaar card and warned that only persons entitled to the card under the law should have it. In 2015, the Supreme Court passed a judgment which, among other things, directed the government to ‘give wide publicity in electronic and print media that it is not mandatory for a citizen to obtain an Aadhaar card.’ Despite these orders, Aadhaar has been linked to every aspect of people’s lives. While there has been much opposition to the invasion of privacy by the Aadhaar scheme, the systemic denial of basic entitlements to the most vulnerable citizens has not been highlighted with the same vigour.
Blog
The Counsel began by explaining that, as on 28th September 2015, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MHFW) had stated that the impugned 2014 Amendment Rules would come into force on the 1st of April 2016. After the Parliamentary Committee on Subordinate Legislation (PCSL) gave its Final Report against the implementation of the impugned 85% health warnings, the Counsel submitted that the MHFW should have rescinded its notification.
Blog
The Counsel argued that the Preamble to the COTPA indicates the intention to enact a comprehensive law to prohibit the advertising of tobacco products and does not contemplate any prohibition on the sale of tobacco products.
Blog
In continuation of the arguments on behalf of the bidi manufacturers, Mr. Raghavan sought to argue that for bidi manufacturers, it was impossible and impracticable to comply with the 2014 amendment rules and to that extent, these rules were violative of his right to trade and business guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.
Blog
Today, the Counsel for the Tobacco Institute of India commenced his arguments. He mainly argued that there was lack of adherence to pre-consultative and procedural processes for bringing the impugned Rules into force.
Blog
Day 10 saw the Counsel for the Tobacco Institute of India continue his arguments, challenging the 2014 Amendment Rules as being arbitrary and ultra vires the parent Act.
Blog
On Day 9, the Counsel for the Tobacco Institute of India continued his arguments. The arguments focused on the 2014 Rules. Citing Rule 3(1)(b) juxtaposed with Section 7(4) read with Section 20 of COTPA, the Counsel argued that the Rules had the effect of amending Section 7(4).
Blog
On Day 8, the Counsel for the Tobacco Institute of India continued with his submissions. He indicated, at first, that an independent argument would be made by the Petitioners for the Beedi Manufacturers Association, on Article 19 (1) (g), relating to the freedom of trade.
Blog
Day 7 saw the continuation of arguments by the Counsel for the Tobacco Institute of India, which focused on Article 21 and whether the 2014 Rules exceed its mandate as against the provisions of the parent Act, namely COTPA.
Blog
The Counsel for the Tobacco Institute of India continued with his arguments on Day 6 of the hearing before the Karnataka High Court. The Counsel began by referring to a constitutional challenge to pictorial health warnings that were imposed on tobacco products, in the United States in the case of R.J. Reynolds v. FDA. The petitioners, in this case before the Trial Court (No. 11–1482, 2012 WL 653828) and consequently, the Court of Appeal [No. 11-5332 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 24, 2012)], sought to have this mandatory imposition declared as constituting “compelled speech”.
Blog
The hearing before the Hon’ble Karnataka High Court continued on Day 5 as the counsel for the Tobacco Institute of India cited decisions of the Indian and the US Supreme Courts, in support of the existence of a right to commercial speech within the ambit of Article 19(1)(a). The arguments on this day, focused mainly on proving that the petitioner’s right to commercial speech is being curtailed by the impugned rules notified by the Government which excessively restrict the ability to advertise on the packaging of tobacco products.
Blog
One of the other arguments made today by the Petitioners was alleging lack of legislative competence of the Central Government to enact the COTPA and promote it as a public health measure since the same is a state subject. It also argued that the Supreme Court held in Ghodavat Pan Masala case that COTPA is not a legislation for the furtherance of public health. This argument will be explored in subsequent proceedings before the High Court.
Blog
The main arguments made today were that the packaging and labeling rules of 2008 and the 2014 amendments to these rules are ultra vires Article 19(1)(a), which guarantees free speech and Article 19(1)(g), which guarantees the right to freedom of trade.
Blog
CLPR is representing the Consortium for Tobacco Free Karnataka as an Intervenor on the grounds of public health. Starting today, we are reporting the summary of arguments taking place every day in court in these matters. A report of the court proceedings would not only serve as information for the public health community in the country to be aware and upto date with these proceedings, but also to document the arguments made in these petitions as these proceedings are one of the most important ones in the field of tobacco and public health in the country today.
Blog
The thrust of Day 2’s arguments by the Petitioners was on highlighting how the 2014 amendment to the 2008 Packaging and Labelling rules was an act of excessive delegated legislation. He referred to Tobacco Board Act, 1975 and, the now repealed Cigarettes (Regulation of Production, Supply, and Distribution) Act, 1975. The counsel made a submission that they were mainly aggrieved by the rules and therefore, they would focus mostly on pointing out the lack of constitutionality of the rules and the fact that it was an act of delegated legislation rather than focusing on the constitutionality of the act per se.’
Blog
After India ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) which came into force in 2008, there was a clear need to overhaul the existing disability laws in India to bring them in compliance with the UNCRPD. It is in pursuance of this that the Mental Health Act 1987 (“MHA”) is sought to be replaced the new Mental Health Care Bill 2012 (“2012 Bill”). This is a brief overview of the 2012 Bill.
Blog
India currently does not have any specific laws for the implementation of Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which deals with the protection of public health policies with respect to tobacco control, from commercial and other vested interest of the tobacco industry.
Publications
In this article, the author calls for the implementation of internationally accepted guidelines to protect public health policies from being influenced by the vested interests of the tobacco industry. This article was written with reference to Rules that made it mandatory for health warnings to cover 85% of the total display area on packages of tobacco products. The author suggests several proactive measures to address conflicts of interest.
Publications
In this article, Jayna Kothari and Aparna Ravi highlight the conflicts of interest between the government and the tobacco industry and note how the intervention of the tobacco industry led to the indefinite suspension of the proposed tobacco packaging rules by the Indian Government. The new rules mandate that warnings should cover up to 85% of the cigarette packaging. The halt in implementation indicates the industry’s influence on government policy making and the serious implications this can have on public health. The article concludes that immediate steps need to be taken to isolate the tobacco industry from the Government’s policy-making wing.
Publications
Earlier this year, we wrote about a series of unusual manoeuvres by the Supreme Court in three significant cases: the recall in the Bhushan Steel insolvency, the modification in the Allahabad judge’s matter and the larger bench reference in the Delhi stray dogs matter. At the time, the apparent randomness of those decisions felt like the story.
The last week of Chief Justice B.R. Gavai’s tenure makes the earlier chaos appear less random and more like a new judicial playbook, one in which the finality of a signed judgement seems increasingly negotiable and the question of relief depends on who is asking. We write again not to offer a full reckoning of his tenure, but because it is striking, and perhaps telling, that these final-week retreats come under his leadership. It cemented what had already begun to emerge: a legacy of judicial undoing.
Publications
The Court’s quick reversals in three recent cases raise questions about procedure, legitimacy, and finality….
Blog
Sex education plays a crucial role in how we view consent. This is especially important in a country like India whose culture and legal system have historically normalised sexual violence, and where victim blaming is prevalent. In this blogpost, Nayantara discusses the necessity of a culturally sensitive sex-ed curriculum and the positive impact that it could have on students.
Blog
The CLPR Broadcast (September 2021): Covering all important developments from CLPR and ConstitutionofIndia.net.
Blog
Unlike many other Indians, LGBTIQ+ Indians don’t yet have equal rights. They, in reality, are still sub-legal citizens. This reflects abundantly in our laws spanning across anti-discrimination, education, sexual crimes and harassment, civil and criminal law, healthcare, housing, the labour code, and much more. Our laws exclude LGBTIQ+ communities and that leaves a huge legislative vacuum. Despite NALSA and Navtej judgments and the contentious Transgender Rights Act, many states remain non-starters.
Blog
On January 8, 2021, Twitter permanently disabled the account of @realDonaldTrump, the personal account of…
Blog
On 11 and 12 December 2020, CLPR organised a workshop on the Philosophy and Law of Information Regulation in India, which brought together scholars and practitioners across disciplines to present research and reflections on different aspects of information regulation and law in India. This blog summarises day 1 of the workshop.
Blog
In James C. Scott’s book ‘Seeing Like a State’, Scott argues that the modern…
Blog
The CLPR Broadcast (June 2020): Covering all important developments from CLPR, CAD India and SCObserver.
Blog
One of the first steps that many Indian States embarked on as part easing coronavirus related lockdown measures was to allow liquor shops to sell alcohol. Serpentine queues were a common sight at liquor shop across States in India. The restlessness of the State governments to open liquor shops was quite evident – bringing its dependence on alcohol-based revenue into sharp relief.
Blog
On May 6th, the Uttar Pradesh government issued an ordinance suspending the operation of 35 out of 38 labour legislation for the next three years. While the ordinance will only come into effect if it receives Presidential assent, this is almost a given due to the constitutional requirement that the President acts on the advice of the Prime Minister’s cabinet, and that UP is a BJP-ruled state.
Blog
The CLPR Broadcast (May 2020): Covering all important developments from CLPR, CAD India and SCObserver.
Blog
The Centre for Law and Policy Research is offering an elective course this…
Litigation
In this petition, CLPR is representing the Indian Medical Association, Karnataka State Branch (IMA-KSB) which was impleaded as a party. CLPR had initially filed an application to implead the IMA – KSB and also the Consortium for Tobacco Free Karnataka. While the application for the former was accepted by the Court on 23rd June 2017, the impleading application of the latter was rejected because it is an unregistered collective. The application has been filed in support of the Petitioners, advocating the public’s the right to health and life.
Blog
CLPR has engaged in research, policy advocacy and litigation in the field of tobacco control…
Blog
By Aparna Ravi and Apurba Kundu When it comes to tobacco control in India,…
Publications
The op-ed criticizes the Union Government’s decision to put a hold on the amendments to the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2008 which sought to increase the size of health warnings from the current 40% to 85% of the packets’ surface area.
Blog
Discussion and debate on regulation of tobacco sale must highlight that it is not the concern of the Government to safeguard tobacco company shares. It is, however, unquestionably the duty of the Government to ensure that every sale of cigarette is accompanied by a statutory warning and that regulations do not make it easier for children to afford and access cigarettes.
Litigation
The Government of Karnataka issued a notification on 30th May, 2013, banning the manufacture, sale and storage of gutka within the entire state of Karnataka. Ghodawat Pan Masala (I) Pvt. Ltd., filed a Writ Petition before the Dharwad Bench of the Karnataka HC on the ground that this notification was an impediment to its fundamental right of freedom of trade and profession guaranteed by Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India. CLPR, on behalf of Cancer Patients Aid Association, sought to implead itself in the Petition before the Dharwad Bench.
Litigation
This petition was filed by CLPR on behalf of the Cancer Patients Aid Association, seeking enforcement of Section 6 of the COTPA and the prohibition on the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products within 100 yards of educational institutions, and requiring the installation of signboards that proclaim the same.
Litigation
CLPR represented two young women advocates who were impleaded in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL)…
Blog
The Government of Karnataka drafted Karnataka Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Employment and Education Bill, 2025 (hereinafter ‘the Bill’) dated 24 November 2025. The Bill is designed to safeguard and advance the rights of persons with disabilities in employment and education by regulating the private sector in the state. This blog analyses the content of the Bill by examining the , and practical enforcement.
Blog
On 26th July 2025, CLPR, along with Access to Justice to All, Nisarga and Karnataka Vikalachetanara Sanghatane (KVS) organised a KYRE session on ‘Access to Legal Protection and Welfare Benefits for Transgender Persons’ in Taluk Panchayat Hall, Chikkaballapur, to empower transgender persons with awareness of their legal rights and welfare benefits.
Blog
On 15th February 2025, the Centre for Law & Policy Research in collaboration with in collaboration with Swatantra, Payana, and Karnataka Vikalchetanara Sanghantane (KVS) held a ‘Know your Rights and Entitlements’ session at the CLPR Office in Bangalore. The event aimed to build the capacities of transgender persons on the legal rights and entitlements under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 and related welfare schemes. The session was attended by over 45 people including transgender persons, activists, paralegal volunteers and writers, leading to engaging and in-depth discussions on legal frameworks, discrimination, and welfare initiatives.
Blog
The Roundtable was part of CLPR’s ongoing research on the gender gap in the higher judiciary in India. The Roundtable brought together senior women lawyers including women Senior Counsels and other women advocates from the Madras High Court.
Blog
In an era where technology and human interaction are increasingly intertwined, the boundaries of personal space and consent have extended to the virtual realm.
Blog
CLPR recently organised a National Consultation on the Resource Book on Women’s Rights Judgments in India with the aim of making landmark women’s rights judgments accessible to communities, legal practitioners, researchers and activists.
Blog
The consultation brought together leading transgender rights activists, academics, and lawyers to gather their feedback and inputs on the first draft of the book “Transforming Courts: Courts Decisions on Transgender Rights in India”.
Publications
In this opinion piece published by the Splainer, CLPR Executive Director Jayna Kothari & Research Associate Medha Garg, trace and analyse the complexities of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and interrogate the idea of a ‘good’ UCC.
Blog
This blog post explores New York City’s recent legislation that prohibits height and weight discrimination, appreciating its positive impact while questioning how effective it would be when it comes to the fashion industry.
Blog
On October 17, 2023, the Supreme Court held in Supriyo Chakraborty v Union of India…
Blog
Positive portrayals of queer characters in the media can be instrumental in how young queer people view themselves and the world around them. This blog explores the importance of queer representation and the adverse impact of negative representation in an Indian context.
Blog
In India, the idea of marriage is associated with several patriarchal rituals/norms which act as an institution to strengthen existing norms. Upholding a traditional family structure and therefore, the perpetuation of heterosexual normativity is still prevalent. The existence of ‘honor killing’ shows that any deviance is met with dire consequences.
Blog
The UP government announced a new population stabilisation draft bill that aimed to reduce the State’s total fertility rate from 2.7 per thousand to 1.9 per thousand by 2030. This draft law incentivised a two-child or less norm and laid down disincentives for those having more than two children. Uttar Pradesh is not alone: 12 states in India have introduced a two-child policy.
Litigation
This Petition is filed in public interest on behalf of the transgender community in Assam and in India to protect their right to adequate representation in the National Council for Transgender Persons as provided under Section 16 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019 (‘The Act’).
Litigation
This is a suo motu public interest litigation taken up by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, to ensure that there is a proper and effective distribution of essential supplies and services during the pandemic to the people of India. In this PIL, CLPR has filed an Intervention application on behalf of Karnataka Rajya Vikalachethanara Rakshana Samithi (KRVRS), a charitable trust working toward the betterment of persons with disabilities.
Litigation
This is a Public Interest Litigation filed against the State Government for failing to implement the provisions of the Prohibition of Employment of Manual Scavengers and Rehabilitation Act, (PEMSRA), 2013.
Blog
The Supreme Court (SC) and High Courts (HC) often take up cases on their own volition, without any party approaching the Court. This is an exercise of their suo moto powers. The SC generally invokes its suo moto powers for cases related to human rights. Environmental issues, such as air pollution in Delhi and the remediation of polluted rivers have been taken up through this route.
Blog
The monsoon session of parliament is likely to witness the tabling of the Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2021 which proposes a common statute that would bring into its ambit all forms of human trafficking including sexual exploitation, indentured labour, slavery, sexual servitude and organ trade. Despite the new Bill expanding the scope and territorial jurisdiction of offences, provisions of the new Bill remain worrisome especially to sex workers in India.
Blog
A day before World Population Day, on 10 July, the Uttar Pradesh Government announced a draft of the Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 (Bill). The Bill has triggered widespread controversy.
Blog
On July 8th, the Center for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) and the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB) co-hosted a webinar: ‘Ethics in AI Talk Series: A Conversation on Information Regulation, Artificial Intelligence, and Governance’. The webinar presented research from CLPR’s ‘Public Law of Information in India’ and IIMB’s ‘AI and Personhood Ethics’ projects.
Blog
It has been a year since the first Lockdown in March 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Yet things seem far from over, not just with this virus but that we still continue to suffer the effects of those months we were isolated and distanced – not just in our well being but in our capacities to gather, to protest, to create the world we need to live in.
Blog
Due to the low availability of vaccines in India, the question of who should get the limited supply, and in what order, has triggered heated public debate. Persons with disabilities are among those who are in crucial need of the vaccine, and paradoxically, they have the most difficulty in procuring it, due to problems accessing registration portals, travelling to vaccine sites, etc.
Litigation
This is a Public Interest Litigation filed by a transgender activist, Grace Banu before the Madras High Court seeking various reliefs for Transgender Persons amid the second wave of Covid-19.
Blog
India has enacted several legislations due to its international commitments. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 was enacted to comply with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities. The Protection of Human Rights Act 1993 refers to human rights as outlined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
Blog
During the 2020 national lockdown, migrant workers in distress walking hundreds of kilometers was an iconic image of India. The pandemic demonstrated how a lack of sufficient social security measures jeopardise their health, work, and livelihood. But the migrant workers are not only deprived of welfare measures but access to political participation as well. In the context of elections recently concluded in prominent states, it is important to relook into this exclusionary character of the current electoral law framework.
Blog
The Supreme Court has consistently held that the State has an obligation towards acid attack survivors and given elaborate judgements for compensation to be provided. However, the principles of equality and dignity are rarely realised for them in practice. This post focuses on their right to seek monetary compensation and also recognized as persons with disabilities.
Litigation
Santa Khurai, a well-known and prominent transgender rights activist from Manipur filed this Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court of India under Article 32 of the Constitution challenging the constitutional validity of Clauses 12 and 51 of the Guidelines on Blood Donor Selection and Blood Donor Referral, 2017 issued by the National Transfusion Council and the National Aids Control Organization under the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Blog
The CLPR Broadcast (January 2021): Covering all important developments from CLPR and ConstitutionofIndia.net.
Blog
TransForm is CLPR’s flagship annual conference to discuss debates on emerging issues on transgender rights and this year it was held on 5th and 6th December 2020.
Blog
E D I T O R I A L We are still in…
Blog
We invite multi-disciplinary submissions from fields of law, history of science, science and technology studies, informatics and information sciences, political and economic philosophy, design studies, and other related fields to reflect on the relationship between law, technology and information, with specific reference to the institutions of public law in India.
Litigation
Child Rights Trust (a Bangalore based NGO working extensively in the area of Child Rights) and Ms. Neena Nayak (a child Rights advocate and activist) filed a Writ Petition seeking enforcement of Fundamental Rights, under Articles 14, 15, 19, 21, 21A, 39 and 47 of the Constitution, of migrant children and children of migrant families during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Petition seeks to ensure that migrant children and children of migrant workers are provided with proper living conditions, nutrition, health care/immunization, access to education and their protection. The Petition highlights that the lack of present-day assessment of the number and essential needs of migrant children, infants and pregnant and lactating women of migrant families has aggravated their vulnerabilities during the lockdown.
Blog
The Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated…
Blog
The State legally documents the gender of an individual from birth. For trans persons, the ability to have their gender recognized in official documents is an integral part of their right to life and dignity. Recent developments in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka relating to the legal recognition of the trans community’s right to gender recognition have been hailed as progressive; but do they go far enough? On January 26 2014, the Bangladeshi cabinet formulated a policy creating a distinct third-gender category – ‘hijra’- for trans persons. While this indicates that the State views ‘hijra’ as an umbrella term for all trans people, the term is considered to exclude other communities
Blog
The Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to…
Litigation
A Public Interest Litigation was filed in the Kerala High Court by Aneera Kabeer, a transgender person involved in mobilising persons in the transgender community for the purpose of achieving equal opportunities for the community. The Petition seeks various reliefs relating to transgender people during period of COVID-19 threat. The writ petition sought for measures by the state government for “the distribution of food ration, medicines, access to medical treatment, etc. to the transgender community in Kerala.”
Blog
On 27th May 2020, a tragic image of a child playing beside his dead mother made headlines. Unfortunately, this is only one of the many instances, which has brought to light India’s stark class inequalities during the migrant crisis.
The migrant crisis has certainly brought some attention to class inequality in India. However, we must resist the urge to view the crisis only through class. About 16% of the total intra-state migrants in India belong to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 8% to the Scheduled Tribes (STs), almost equal to their share in the total population, as per data from Census 2011. It is then plausible that a significant fraction of migrants attempting to return to their homes during the lockdown are SC/STs. These communities are vulnerable on the account of their class and caste.
Litigation
CLPR has filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court of India on behalf of Grace Banu, and others, who are members of the transgender community, and well-known transgender rights activists who have been working for the promotion of the rights and entitlements of transgender, intersex, and gender non-conforming persons in India for the last several years.
Blog
Putting this newsletter together became a practice of accounting how we gather together, of holding to our greatest capacity as we shrink in the onslaught of terrible abandonment and destruction. We hope that whenever you find the time to peruse through this, it will remind you that we are in this together.
Posts
The fact is there is always a lot going on. And…
Litigation
CLPR filed public interest litigation in the Telangana High Court on behalf of Vyjayanti Vasanta Mogli, a trans rights activist. The PIL is on relief measures during the lockdown ranging from access to food and essential items, access to medicines, and other welfare measures for the transgender community.
Blog
The COVID-19 outbreak has severely impacted labourers in India especially those working in the informal sector who constitute 90% of India’s workforce. The recent cases in Surat and Mumbai of the unemployed migrant labourers seeking to go back to their hometowns are worrisome. According to the International Labour Organization’s report, Indian informal economy is looking at a job loss for 400 million people.
Litigation
The Karnataka High Court has taken up a public interest litigation on relief measures during the COVID lockdown, ranging from access to food and essential items, access to medicines, animal welfare and parole for prisoners. In these ongoing PILs, CLPR has filed an Intervention Application on behalf of Ondede, an organisation working for the rights of transgender persons, and the Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, which works closely with SC/ST communities especially manual scavenging groups, tribal and forest-dwelling communities, slum dweller and other vulnerable groups.
Blog
India has witnessed a rise in intolerance over the past few months. From intolerance towards dissent, housing decisions taken based on political leanings to violence towards minorities (religious or socio-economic), show a growing unease and divide in the citizens of India. These acts of violence, discrimination or unequal treatment can be divided into two categories.
Blog
‘The Supreme Court in Review, 2019’ brought together lawyers, academics, journalists and students together from across India. CLPR’s the Supreme Court Observer organised this event to review key Supreme Court judgments from 2019.
Blog
– Aadhirai S, Deekshitha Ganesan and Jayna Kothari India has a robust Constitution and…
Blog
On 15th May, we organised a consultation on our Equality Bill 2019 (“Bill”) in Hyderabad. The CLPR team presented the provisions of the Bill and sought suggestions, inputs and feedback from the participants, which included various academics and members of civil society organisations working with marginalised groups. This blog post presents the key points of the consultation.
Publications
Jayna Kothari, Maya Unnithan and Siri Gloppen note how political parties have been virtually silent on sexual and reproductive rights policy, in the on-going 2019 general election. They urge political parties to “steer the public debate to [often overlooked] crucial issues”.
Blog
In the run up to the 17th Lok Sabha Elections 2019, India’s major political parties have released their manifestos to woo the Indian electorates. In this blog post, Avinash Shahi critically explores the pledges committed by national political parties for the upliftment of marginalized groups, which routinely confronts deprivations and indignities.
Litigation
This Public Interest Litigation filed by Grace Banu, a transgender rights activist, seeks the implementation of horizontal reservations for transgender and intersex persons in admission into educational institutions and public appointment in the State of Tamil Nadu.
Publications
CLPR’s policy brief develops a comprehensive and functional strategy for the implementation of reservations for transgender and intersex persons in educational institutions and public employment. In order to implement reservations, we must address three principal issues: identification of beneficiaries of reservations, legal basis for reservations and the appropriate form of reservations.
Blog
On 21 December 2018, CLPR released its policy brief ‘Making Rights Real: Implementing Reservations for Transgender and Intersex Persons’ at the Bangalore International Centre. The policy brief was released by Hon’ble Mr. Justice L Narayana Swamy of the Karnataka High Court.
Pages
COURSE OUTLINE The Centre for Law and Policy Research recently taught an elective course on…
Litigation
The Citizens Action Group has filed the present petition by way of Public Interest Litigation in order to draw attention to the deteriorating conditions of the water bodies in the city. Due to unchecked discharge of sewage, encroachment and consequent clogging, the drains are in dismal condition and are a serious health hazard for the citizens of Bangalore, depriving them of the right to a clean and healthy environment guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Blog
The Parliament of Pakistan passed The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act on May 8th 2018 marking a historic victory for the trans community in Pakistan. The Act, which protects the rights of gender non-conforming persons and outlaws discrimination both by the State as well as private entities and persons, grants an individual the right to self identity their gender.
Blog
On October 27, 2017, the Karnataka Government introduced a State Policy for Transgender Persons, a…
Blog
On 19.09.2016, a Division Bench of the High Court of Bombay delivered a landmark verdict in a suo motu Public Interest Litigation recognizing that imprisoned women, like other women, have the right to make choices with regard to motherhood and right to facilities to undergo safe abortions.
Events
On the 14th and 15th of December 2016, the Centre for Law and Policy Research,…
Blog
A rapid growth in urban populations has led to a growing and increasingly unsustainable demand for housing in cities. In several cases, governments have resorted to regularisation of illegal constructions. The Karnataka government re-introduced such a scheme by making statutory amendments in 2015 whereby owners of illegal constructions could get them regularised on payment of a fee. This scheme will have disastrous consequences for town-planning and development across the state.
Publications
Rights in Review is a CLPR publication which analyses 15 key judgements ruled by the Supreme Courtin 2014. This publication is aimed at acquainting the reader with various aspects of fundamental rights protection and the relevance and impact of the decisions in public life.
Blog
A brief of the most important international rules in the matter of male/female equality.
