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All essays
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The Mighty Pauper – A review of Francis Wheen’s Book – Karl Marx: A Life
Like many other people who’ve changed the course of history, Marx lived a life of deep contradictions. Marx craved and was used-to the trappings…
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On Giving Back
by Bharat Chugh I have been thinking, lately, about luck. Someone defined it as the specific point where preparation meets opportunity. I have been…
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The Library That Was My Storm and My Harbour
Coming back from a matter today in Tis Hazari, I visited the Delhi Public Library today, after decades. This is where it all began…
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Book Review : Hitler by Ian Kershaw
Travels through Europe over the past several years have yielded experiences that are, in equal measure, enriching and deeply unsettling. The continent’s culture is…
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When the court sees only one side: The sad state of charge and disclosure hearings in India
First published on Bar & Bench here Indian criminal procedure promises an early checkpoint and filter against injustice. The charge or discharge hearing is…
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The Mamata Banerjee–ED Faceoff: From the Legal Lens
The Mamata–ED standoff is not about personalities or politics. It exposes a deeper rule-of-law fault line. A law that allows searches without prior judicial…
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The One-sidedness of Disclosure & Discharge hearings in India
India’s discharge hearing—meant to filter out baseless prosecutions—is structurally one-sided. Courts rely solely on what the prosecution presents, while exculpatory material stays hidden. This…
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2025 in Books
This year’s reading felt less like a sprint and more like a long, deliberate walk—through history, conscience, exile, law, love, and the quiet corners…
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Book Review – Flesh by David Szalay
This book doesn’t manipulate. Its omissions are not laziness but craft. A strategic silence in a negotiation. An awkward pause at dinner. A shadow…
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How courts distinguish between rape and consensual sex: Adv Bharat Chugh explains
First published in the Indian Express here Written by Ashish Shaji. The Karnataka High Court recently quashed a rape case against a man in which the…
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Book Review: These Truths by Jill Lepore
Jill Lepore’s These Truths is a sweeping yet intimate portrait of America’s 500-year journey—its ideals, contradictions, and constant reinvention. Part history, part moral inquiry,…
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The Question as a Weapon: How Suggestions Shape (or Misshape) Truth in a Criminal Trial
Cross-examination is not mere questioning—it is confrontation with purpose. The duty to “put one’s case” ensures fairness, prevents ambush, and tests truth itself. From…
