The year is nearing its end. I have lot of pending work. One of the important among them is pending book reviews for all the books I devoured this year. So here comes another one.
Finished book by Zia Mody on 10 judgements that changed India. I finished this one during the flight back home from Portland. One reason which got me excited about this book was a similar question asked in 2014 UPSC general studies paper-2. It asked for five judgements which changed India. This book described ten of them. Moreover just few days before taking flight, I was listening to FM Jaitley speech on judgements which changed India. This ignited some curiosity about this book and among the available six to seven books (courtesy Kiran Ji), I chose this one to become part of my cabin baggage.
Anyway, coming to substance. Book lists ten judgements which proved pivotal in Indian judicial history. The judgements are chosen not merely for judicial innovation but also for the political, social, environmental impact generated by them. The book is easy read. It describes complicated judicial cases in layman language. It balances legal jargon with common day explanation of cases.
Zia Mody's chart is topped by predictable Keshvananda Bharti. She described pre-history of each case without getting into unnecessary details of the case. The description of cases is supplemented by her own thought on developments of the case and thoughts of various legal luminaries on the issue. She has frequently quoted lines from court verdicts. She also does a comparative analysis of various court cases.
She has exercised caution in criticizing some judicial failure but this has not kept her from highlighting judicial failure in certain cases. As she goes into the pre-history of each case, she happens to cover a large canvass of judicial history of post-independent India. For example, Her description of Menka Gandhi case mentions ADM Jabalpur, A.K. Gopalan, Satwant Singh and reference list of large number of related cases.
She has covered a huge spectrum covering women empowerment, free speech, due procedure of law, environmental activism or second generation rights like in Olga Tellis vs BMC. She has captured the essence of each case with an apt-heading. For instance, Shan Bano was described by line "Whose Law Is It Anyway?" or SCARA vs Union of India as "Courting Liberty".
However, Indian judicial history is so vast and dynamic that any attempts to condense it in 230 page would eventually leave some important cases. One very striking omission was no mention of S.R. Bommai Case of 1988 which re-defined application of article 356 and appointment of governors. Similarly FM Arun Jaitley emphasized on role of free speech cases in Judicial history. This is not emphasized enough. Free speech cases are given a soft pass in the book.
Book has captured some cases from 21st century like Aruna Shaunbeg case. However, recent activism of supreme court requires a separate book in itself. Cases like National Judicial Appointment Commission vs. Union of India, Death penalty case of Machchi Singh/Bachchan Singh case of 1980's which defined rarest of rare doctrine in India, judicial activism against corrupt politics on Representation of People's act requires a second book.
Overall, this book is a must read for law students. It is also a informative read for civils candidate. The easy language and pre-history makes it a good read for common readers. Zia Mody has done a good job but she could also contemplate writing 10 cases where judiciary failed to change India or a sequel to this book which list the recent themes of 21st century.
Finished book by Zia Mody on 10 judgements that changed India. I finished this one during the flight back home from Portland. One reason which got me excited about this book was a similar question asked in 2014 UPSC general studies paper-2. It asked for five judgements which changed India. This book described ten of them. Moreover just few days before taking flight, I was listening to FM Jaitley speech on judgements which changed India. This ignited some curiosity about this book and among the available six to seven books (courtesy Kiran Ji), I chose this one to become part of my cabin baggage.
Anyway, coming to substance. Book lists ten judgements which proved pivotal in Indian judicial history. The judgements are chosen not merely for judicial innovation but also for the political, social, environmental impact generated by them. The book is easy read. It describes complicated judicial cases in layman language. It balances legal jargon with common day explanation of cases.
Zia Mody's chart is topped by predictable Keshvananda Bharti. She described pre-history of each case without getting into unnecessary details of the case. The description of cases is supplemented by her own thought on developments of the case and thoughts of various legal luminaries on the issue. She has frequently quoted lines from court verdicts. She also does a comparative analysis of various court cases.
She has exercised caution in criticizing some judicial failure but this has not kept her from highlighting judicial failure in certain cases. As she goes into the pre-history of each case, she happens to cover a large canvass of judicial history of post-independent India. For example, Her description of Menka Gandhi case mentions ADM Jabalpur, A.K. Gopalan, Satwant Singh and reference list of large number of related cases.
She has covered a huge spectrum covering women empowerment, free speech, due procedure of law, environmental activism or second generation rights like in Olga Tellis vs BMC. She has captured the essence of each case with an apt-heading. For instance, Shan Bano was described by line "Whose Law Is It Anyway?" or SCARA vs Union of India as "Courting Liberty".
However, Indian judicial history is so vast and dynamic that any attempts to condense it in 230 page would eventually leave some important cases. One very striking omission was no mention of S.R. Bommai Case of 1988 which re-defined application of article 356 and appointment of governors. Similarly FM Arun Jaitley emphasized on role of free speech cases in Judicial history. This is not emphasized enough. Free speech cases are given a soft pass in the book.
Book has captured some cases from 21st century like Aruna Shaunbeg case. However, recent activism of supreme court requires a separate book in itself. Cases like National Judicial Appointment Commission vs. Union of India, Death penalty case of Machchi Singh/Bachchan Singh case of 1980's which defined rarest of rare doctrine in India, judicial activism against corrupt politics on Representation of People's act requires a second book.
Overall, this book is a must read for law students. It is also a informative read for civils candidate. The easy language and pre-history makes it a good read for common readers. Zia Mody has done a good job but she could also contemplate writing 10 cases where judiciary failed to change India or a sequel to this book which list the recent themes of 21st century.
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