K. Venkataramanan

Chennai

Associate Editor at The Hindu

Associate Editor, The Hindu

Featured in: Favicon

thehindu.com Favicon

apdirect.in

Articles

Why has the Supreme Court clarified POCSO provisions?

Sep 28, 2024 | thehindu.com | K. Venkataramanan

The story so far: In a far-reaching verdict that clarifies the penal consequences of dealing with online sexual material involving children, the Supreme Court has underscored that viewing, downloading, and storing of such content are all offences under the Protection of Sexual Offences Against Children (POCSO) Act, and that criminal liability not be limited to creating, uploading and transmitting the material. How did the matter reach the Court?
Why is sanction for prosecution needed?

Aug 24, 2024 | thehindu.com | K. Venkataramanan

The story so far:The issue of granting sanction to prosecute a public servant has once again come to the fore, following Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot’s approval to open an investigation against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and to prosecute him in connection with alleged irregularities in the allotment of compensatory plots to his wife whose land had been lost to the acquisition process by the Mysore Urban Development Authority.
When Governors moved against Chief Ministers in the recent past

Aug 17, 2024 | thehindu.com | K. Venkataramanan

Law and politics yield a complex mix. The issues arising out of the Karnataka Governor, Thaawarchand Gehlot, granting sanction to prosecute Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for alleged irregularities in the allotment of plots by the Mysore Urban Development Authority are a good example. The law relating to a Governor granting sanction for a serving CM’s prosecution is governed not by statutory provisions alone, but also a string of court judgments.
Why did courts revisit bar on sub-quotas? | Explained

Aug 3, 2024 | thehindu.com | K. Venkataramanan

The story so far: A seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court has ruled that States have the power to sub-divide Scheduled Castes (SC) into groups so that it can give sub-quotas within the quota for Dalits. In the process, the Bench overruled a 2004 judgment by a five-member Constitution Bench that said such sub-classification was impermissible as Parliament alone was empowered to modify the list of SCs notified by the President under Article 341 of the Constitution. What was the 2004 judgment?
Will local job quotas pass the legal test? | Explained

Jul 20, 2024 | thehindu.com | K. Venkataramanan

The story so far: The Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 2024, which aims to provide reservation for Kannadigas in the private sector in the State, has been put on hold after severe backlash from business leaders and industry representatives. The Bill was cleared by the Cabinet, but is yet to be introduced in the Assembly. The government has promised wider consultations with stakeholders before it takes the next step.
How did the law on disclosure of assets evolve? | Explained

Apr 13, 2024 | thehindu.com | K. Venkataramanan

The story so far: Two recent developments have brought under focus the disclosure norms that candidates are expected to comply with in election law. One relates to reports that the BJP candidate in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, had allegedly failed to report all the assets he owns in the mandatory affidavit accompanying his nomination papers.
How were the new Election Commissioners selected? | Explained

Mar 17, 2024 | thehindu.com | K. Venkataramanan

The story so far: The President has appointed Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, both retired IAS officers, as Election Commissioners (ECs) to fill up two vacancies in the three-member Election Commission of India. The two officials are the first to be appointed under the new law governing appointments to the constitutional body, the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. How were the new ECs selected?
Why did the Supreme Court invalidate electoral bonds? | Explained

Feb 17, 2024 | thehindu.com | K. Venkataramanan

The story so far: The Supreme Court has declared the Electoral Bonds Scheme as unconstitutional. Donor anonymity was the main feature of the scheme, which has been criticised for long by transparency activists. These bonds constituted an important means of funding political parties since 2018. The court found that the scheme violated the citizens’ right to information about the sources of finances raised by political parties.
The legal dispute over Varanasi, Mathura mosques | Explained

Feb 3, 2024 | thehindu.com | K. Venkataramanan

The story so far: The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, is once again in focus, albeit in a context in which its objectives are being ignored. Civil suits questioning the religious character of mosques at Varanasi and Mathura are progressing apace. These developments show that legislation freezing the status of places of worship is inadequate to stop Hindu claimants from making determined legal efforts to achieve their goal of replacing them with temples.
Why has South Africa dragged Israel to the ICJ? | Explained

Jan 13, 2024 | thehindu.com | K. Venkataramanan

The story so far: The two-day proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague between South Africa and Israel attracted global attention. South Africa had in late December moved the ICJ, invoking the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 1948, against Israel, accusing it of committing genocide during its ongoing military campaign in Gaza.