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This article critically analyses the legal provisions on rape by deception in India. It begins by examining the strength of jurisprudence established by the courts in India for criminalising deceptive sex using doctrinal and theoretical methodologies. The article would then engage in an analysis of appellate judicial decisions in India on the said law. Thereafter, the article engages in a critical analysis of jurisprudence of the law on deceptive sex in the English jurisdiction in order to draw valuable lessons for the Indian jurisdiction. Then, the article would attempt to formulate a test for criminalising deceptive sex. Finally, the article will conclude by emphasising on the need to enact an offence independent of the existing rape law in India, that criminalises procuring sexual relations using deceptive means, based on the principle of fair labelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The children of incarcerated parents remain a highly vulnerable and underrated population in academic discourses, and very little is known about the impact of parental incarceration from the perspective of the children in Kashmir. The passing glimpse into children's experiences comes from some previous studies that have researched conflict-linked incarceration and its impact on family members, including children. To fill this gap in research, the current article was designed to explore and document the lived experiences of children of incarcerated parents imprisoned for purely nonpolitical offenses or offenses under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Data was collected by interviewing the children of 17 prisoners. The analysis of the data led to the emergence of the following key themes: denial vs shame, ambiguous loss, impoverishment of the prisoner's family, experiencing stigma, living in constant fear of reprisal from the victim's family, and coping mechanisms used by the children to overcome the challenges developed due to their parental incarceration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background : Even in the presence of stringent laws dowry-related violence, cruelty and dowry death is common in India. Understanding the cause and the manner of suspected dowry death is essential not only to bring the culprits to book but also to prevent these offences. Objectives: This study attempts to elucidate the cause and manner of suspected dowry deaths. Patients and methods: This is an Observational Descriptive Epidemiological study, Cross Sectional in design. This study was conducted at an autopsy centre of Kolkata, India for a period of one year. Data was obtained from reports of postmortem examinations, police and the magistrate inquest of suspected dowry deaths as reported in the institute. Compilation of the data was done in Microsoft Excel. Analysis of the compiled data was done by simple table. Results: The study reveals 35% of the deceased died due to burns, 31% by poisoning and 25% by hanging. Suicide is the manner of death among 69% of the deceased and in 31% it is accident. No case of homicide was reported. Among the suicides, 46% are committed by consuming poisons, 36% by hanging and 18% by burns, while 70% of accidents are due to burns. Conclusion: The study reveals that commonest cause of suspected dowry death is burns followed by poisoning. Suicide is the manner of death in 2/3 of the study population and in 1/3 it is accident. There is no homicidal death in the study population.

This article critically analyses the standard of consent in rape law in India by engaging in a doctrinal analysis of the current jurisprudence. It also analyses various extraneous circumstances influencing the determination of consent in Indian rape law. The article will then assess the status of consent jurisprudence and related issues in the English and Canadian jurisdictions for a comparative assessment. Thereafter, it will critically assess the arguments in favour of an affirmative standard of consent before concluding with possible solutions for better interpretation of the law in determining consent by courts during rape trials in India. En este artículo se analiza críticamente el estándar de consentimiento en la ley india sobre violación mediante un análisis doctrinal de la jurisprudencia actual. También se analizan diversas circunstancias ajenas que influyen en la determinación del consentimiento en la legislación india sobre violación. A continuación, el artículo evaluará la situación de la jurisprudencia sobre el consentimiento y las cuestiones conexas en las jurisdicciones inglesa y canadiense para realizar una evaluación comparativa. A continuación, se evaluarán críticamente los argumentos a favor de una norma afirmativa del consentimiento antes de concluir con posibles soluciones para una mejor interpretación de la ley a la hora de determinar el consentimiento por parte de los tribunales durante los juicios por violación en la India.

Concerns over lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in recent years have established a global standard for the defense of gender-nonconforming groups. India, one of the countries that is home to the "Hijra" community, is gaining up in terms of the rights of the transgender minority. Having once served as the queen's aide, they now beg on the streets despite once being held in high regard by the general public and honored at ceremonial religious and spiritual gatherings. We have abused them after having used and rejected them. Who will reveal their real identity to them? Who will put an end to this prejudice? Who will assist in giving them a new life? Who will speak up and defend the rights of transgender people in India? The transgender person protection of rights Act 2019 is the result of recent bills that the Indian legal system introduced that resulted in the repeal of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, a problematic colonial provision of the law. As we see new Bills, Acts, and other legislation focused on preserving and providing a livelihood for the community, we are witnessing a repetition of Indian history, which once served as a haven for the transgender population. However, compared to other countries, India has a larger transgender community and requires much more than just written legislation. For the transgender community to fully enjoy their rights and freedoms, legal gaps must be filled and processes are streamlined. Transgender people are becoming more prevalent in India. With the exception of the transgender Act of 2019, they do not have adequate laws. This Act does not address many of the problems that the transgender population is dealing with in real life. Personal laws are required in this community concerning issues like marriage, adoption, job security, safety, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In patriarchal cultures, like the one prevalent in India, rigid, polarised and hierarchical gender roles work to establish a strong normative relationship between gender and the treatment of offenders committing violent crimes such as homicide. While most of the common law countries have already undergone a social change towards making their criminal laws more gender-sensitive by accommodating the experiences of battered women, the situation in India is quite different. Indian courts have recognised Battered Woman Syndrome very recently in only three cases, much differently than courts in other jurisdictions. While in other countries, Battered Woman Syndrome has been adduced by the advocates of battered women to support defence pleas, Indian Courts have resorted to it only to explain the effects of a battering relationship. The fact that Battered Woman Syndrome has only been recognised in such a small number of cases and the lack of scholarship in this particular area clearly resonates the resistance of the Indian criminal law towards women’s accounts of their experiences. Drawing on the example of the three cases, the author makes an attempt to put forth feminist legal arguments and offer a fresh perspective on the possibility of using Battered Woman Syndrome as a defence to address the concerns of battered women who end the cycle of violence by ending the lives of the abuser in a “kill or be killed” situation. Since Battered Woman Syndrome as a subject has been extensively researched in other common law countries, the present study limits itself to the Indian jurisdiction only. This paper also challenges the effectiveness of the existing defences under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 in accommodating the cases of battered women, and highlights the need for the introduction of a new justificatory defence as a plausible solution.

In patriarchal cultures, like the one prevalent in India, rigid, polarised and hierarchical gender roles work to establish a strong normative relationship between gender and the treatment of offenders committing violent crimes like homicide. While most of the common law countries have already undergone a social change towards making their criminal laws more gender-sensitive by accommodating the experiences of battered women, the situation in India is quite different. The Indian courts have recognised Battered Woman Syndrome very recently in only three cases, much differently than courts of other jurisdictions. While in other countries Battered Woman Syndrome has been adduced by the advocates of battered women to support defence pleas, the Indian Courts have resorted to it only to explain the effects of battering relationship. The fact that Battered Woman Syndrome has only been recognised in such small number of cases and the lack of scholarship in this particular area, clearly resonates the resistance of the Indian criminal law towards women’s accounts of experiences. Drawing on the example of the three cases, the author makes an attempt to put forth feminist legal arguments and offer a fresh perspective on the possibility of using Battered Woman Syndrome as a defence to address the concerns of battered women who end the cycle of violence by ending the lives of the abuser in a ‘kill or be killed’ situation. Since BWS as a subject has quite extensively been researched in other common law countries, the present study limits itself to the Indian jurisdiction only. This paper also challenges the effectiveness of the existing defences under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 to accommodate the cases of battered women and highlights the need for introducing a new justificatory defence as a plausible solution.

Public and legal discussion to decriminalize suicide attempts has existed in India for almost four decades. The passing of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 has resulted in alterations to Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, which had until then criminalized all suicide attempts. In this context, this article explores two questions: How is suicide conceptualized within criminal law? And what are the knowledges that inform the complex and shifting views, claims, and legal decisions that constitute the legal regulation of suicide in India today? This article studies law reform efforts, key High Court and Supreme Court of India judgements on cases relating to suicide attempts to demonstrate the eclectic nature of definitions of suicide within Indian law. Concurrently, it highlights a characteristic of law – its ability to juggle multiple knowledges, thereby constantly (re)defining the concepts or actions it adjudicates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a historical inquiry into the sedition trial in 1908 of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, one of the most important anticolonial leaders in twentieth-century India. It argues that Tilak, in the grand spectacle of this political trial, rejected the British discourse of imperial justice that had served as the ground of the British Empire until then, and claimed a new discourse of legislative freedom for the people of India. The trial thus marked a fundamental discursive rupture in the history of empire and paved the way for mass anticolonial movements under the leadership of Gandhi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intent or mens rea and the Act or actus reus are essential components of a crime and absence of one can lead to complete acquittal of the defendant. I report two cases where there are broad similarities in the nature of the mental disorder, but the intent was lacking in one of the cases. The interplay between symptoms of mental illness, presence of intent, and other relevant factors can lead to differing outcomes when the cases go to the court. An opinion from a psychiatrist is valuable in such cases and indeed written and/or oral evidence from a psychiatrist is required under the mental health act in the UK before certain decision can be taken in the court.