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Political crisis will have a prelude in any country in the form of economic crisis. This fact is underscored by the political and economic developments in India too. The fuming crisis in the economy, was recently manifested by the resignation of Urjit Patel, the governor of Reserve Bank of India. Even though it was announced on ‘personal grounds’, everyone knows that it was not personal.

On 14th December, 2018, the Supreme Court of India, in a three-judge bench decision headed by the Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, dismissed the bunch of petitions questioning the Rafale defence deal, and seeking a court-monitored investigation. Though the court primarily dismissed the petitions on the ground of jurisdiction, it did get into certain issues of procedure followed in the Rafale deal, the pricing issue and the choice of off-set partner. Before the judgment is analysed, it is important to understand that the court had not issued notice to the Union of India in this case, but had asked them to submit details of pricing of the aircraft in a ‘sealed cover’, and the note submitted by the government on the procurement process was undated and unsigned. In fact, this practice of the court asking the government to submit information in sealed cover has been much criticised by legal scholars and jurists for being anti-democratic and against the basic principle of having ‘open courts’. After Judge Loya’s case, this was the second time that the court was hearing arguments on merits without requiring the government to submit their response in an affidavit.

Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat is asked a question and he answers it honestly, maybe aware that his views on allowing women in combat roles in the Army will draw not only flak but also ridicule. And within hours of the General speaking his mind, as he was expected to, he’s the butt of sexist slurs and downright arraignment in the court of Social Media; where, by the way, people yap and yak, most of them without application of the mind, punning and gunning away at will. The world will attest that Social Media Warriors are the most obnoxious lot on Good Earth.

BHOPAL: Kamal Nath’s oath taking ceremony was unusual in many ways. Besides the presence of leaders of several parties that are likely to be partners in the future Mahagathbandhan, representatives of various faiths were given place on the main rostrum. Perhaps the most striking feature was the respect extended to three former BJP chief ministers – Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Kailash Joshi and Babulal Gaur. Kamal Nath, before taking oath, went to Chouhan and greeted him. Also, Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia greeted the crowd holding their hands together. On the dais Digvijaya Singh escorted Babulal Gaur to his seat, holding his hand.

Optimism about translation of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan Niazi’s dream of carving out ‘Naya Pakistan’ is increasingly apparent as an ‘intellectual error’. To put it bluntly, the dream was taken kindly to by most seasoned analysts with acknowledged grasp over the polity of Pakistan. The grim reality is that the troubled state is now in a penumbra of unprecedented financial crisis that mocks at the slogan.

In recent past, a lot has been written about farm loan waivers. Studies have pointed out loan waiver programmes do not make much economic sense (N. Banik (2018) Are Loan Waivers a Panacea for Rural Distress? Economic and Political Weekly). However, if current political discourse is any indication then loan waiver is the flavour of the month.

For a party that appeared to be in existential crisis, the Congress has much to cheer about following the win in three big states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh this month. Success in polls is always heartening and it becomes even better when the Congress has been facing political wilderness since 2014. Though it seemed as if the BJP had all the momentum since 2004 but after December 11, the saffron space has shrunk a little.

Weekly Round-Up of Major Decisions of the Courts in India as also Legal Policy Developments

Irrespective of the general impact of the recent Assembly elections in five states, resulting in a major setback for the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the political situation in West Bengal has just got much more complex.

The defeat of BJP in the three states Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh is being ascribed as an anti incumbency mandate, but such a view overlooks the fact that the dalits and tribals have returned to the Congress fold. It is an open secret that the tribals and Scheduled Castes powered Congress victory in Chhattisgarh. Congress won 25 of the 29 seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes and 7 of the 10 seats reserved for Scheduled Castes. The two communities account for over two out of every five residents in the state.