Conversations and writing on law, justice and the legal profession, collected here for readers interested in these questions.
Explore: Media commentary · Interviews & profiles · The Hindu: Opinion & podcasts · Published elsewhere · Related judgments
Selected reading
Know your rights: Kerala High Court explains when arrest becomes illegal
The Indian Express · Comments quoted
Tea Seller & Judge: How poem by railway magistrate brought life into law
The Indian Express · Profile and interview subject
1 year or 3 years, we are asking the wrong question
Bar & Bench · Authored article
The criminal justice system reforms India actually need [Part I]
Bar & Bench · Authored article
Media commentary
Know your rights: Kerala High Court explains when arrest becomes illegal
The Indian Express · 10 March 2026 · Comments quoted
The legal authority and necessity for arrest, safeguards protecting personal liberty, and special protections for women.
Are blanket bans on VPN use in India legal?
Scroll · 14 January 2026 · Comments quoted
The legal basis for blanket VPN bans and the limits of emergency public-order powers in regulating ordinary digital activity.
How courts distinguish between rape and consensual sex: Adv Bharat Chugh explains
The Indian Express · 30 October 2025 · Interview subject
A question-and-answer discussion of consent, the evidence courts examine in sexual-offence cases, and allegations involving promises of marriage.
Insurance claim rejected? A guide for policyholders to seek redress
Business Standard · 28 November 2023 · Comments quoted
Consumer-forum remedies for rejected insurance claims, including filing procedure, limitation periods and the practical advantages of consumer proceedings.
Centralised reporting makes claiming shares after investor's death easier
Business Standard · 10 October 2023 · Comments quoted
How centralised reporting of an investor’s death can reduce paperwork for families, and why clear joint-holding arrangements matter.
Explained | ‘The Kerala Story’: Can a work of fiction or art constitute ‘hate speech’?
The Hindu · 14 May 2023 · Comments quoted
The threshold for criminal prosecution of alleged hate speech in films, the protection of creative freedom, and legal challenges to Censor Board certification.
What borrowers should know about their rights against loan recovery agents
Business Standard · 25 September 2022 · Comments quoted
Legal remedies available to borrowers facing intimidation, unlawful entry or forcible recovery by loan-collection agents.
Cabinet approves amendments to Juvenile Justice Act, empowers DMs to issue adoption orders
ThePrint · 17 February 2021 · Comments quoted
How a narrower classification of heinous offences helps keep more children within the protective juvenile-justice system.
Tea Seller & Judge: How poem by railway magistrate brought life into law
The Indian Express · 29 October 2018 · Profile and interview subject
A reflection on decisions involving impoverished vendors, the humane reasoning behind them, and the poem inspired by those experiences as a railway magistrate.
Interviews & profiles
Love Your Law: In Conversation with Advocate Bharat Chugh on Law, Legal Profession and Life
RGNUL Cosmos · 23 December 2022 · Interview subject
Interview by Paankhurie Shrivastava
Moving between judicial service and legal practice, the value of reading and curiosity, and the place of individuality in young lawyers and internship applicants.
The Unconventional Lawyer – Bharat Chugh
LawBeat · 24 February 2022 · Interview subject
Interview by Ratna Singh
A conversation on law and justice, poetry and clear legal writing, returning from the Bench to practice, and the skills and curiosity young lawyers should develop.
All That’s New: LSPR In Conversation With Bharat Chugh
Law School Policy Review · 20 July 2020 · Interview subject
Interview by Anmol Kohli
Judicial recruitment, freedom of expression, technology law, mediation and arbitration, and the opportunities and evidentiary challenges of virtual court hearings.
In conversation with Bharat Chugh on good legal education, well-formulated resume, art of legal writing and implications of Pandemic
SCC Times · 14 May 2020 · Interview subject
Interview by Vijaya Singh Gautam; published by Bhumika Indulia
Legal education, applications and recruitment, plain legal writing, career choices and the pandemic’s effects on legal proceedings. The publisher also links two companion interview videos.
Bharat Chugh, Rank 1, Delhi Judicial Services, on resigning from judgeship and returning to civil and criminal practice
SuperLawyer · 22 November 2016 · Interview subject
A reflection on entering law, independent practice and judicial service, returning to litigation, and approaches to legal education and preparation for the judiciary.
The Hindu: Opinion & podcasts
Have fast-track courts delivered on the promise of speedy justice?
The Hindu · Print: 31 July 2026 • Podcast: 30 July 2026 · Discussion participant and podcast guest
Bharat Chugh and Shruthi Naik · In Focus-Parley
Why reallocating existing judges may speed up selected cases without reducing overall delays, and the need for stronger investigations, prosecutors and forensic capacity while protecting fair-trial safeguards.
Is the three-year practice mandate for judicial service welcome?
The Hindu · Print: 30 May 2025 • Podcast: 29 May 2025 · Discussion participant and podcast guest
Bharat Chugh and Prashant Reddy T. · Parley
Whether a short period at the Bar meaningfully prepares candidates for judicial office, and the importance of judicial training and fair access to the profession, in a discussion of the restored three-year practice requirement.
Should an All-India Judicial Service be created?
The Hindu · Print and podcast: 22 December 2023 (India) · Discussion participant and podcast guest
Bharat Chugh and Alok Prasanna Kumar · Parley
The proposed centralised judicial service, regional-language knowledge and judicial independence, alongside infrastructure, pay and career prospects in the district judiciary.
Published elsewhere
1 year or 3 years, we are asking the wrong question
Bar & Bench · 28 August 2026 · Authored article
By Bharat Chugh
A case for rethinking judicial recruitment around aptitude, independence, meaningful training and the conditions that attract strong candidates to trial courts.
When the court sees only one side: The sad state of charge and disclosure hearings in India
Bar & Bench · 15 January 2026 · Authored article
By Bharat Chugh
Examines the imbalance created by selective prosecution disclosure and argues that courts should be able to consider exculpatory material before sending an accused to trial.
The criminal justice system reforms India actually needs [Part II]
Bar & Bench · 12 September 2024 · Authored article
By Bharat Chugh
Proposes practical reforms to case management, plea bargaining, costs and prosecutorial disclosure, alongside investment in the capacity of the justice system.
The criminal justice system reforms India actually need [Part I]
Bar & Bench · 6 September 2024 · Authored article
By Bharat Chugh
Sets out reforms addressing the everyday workings of criminal justice, including judicial independence, misuse of criminal process and illegally obtained evidence.
Voice Samples in Criminal Investigations and Legal/Constitutional Issues that Remain
SCC Online Blog · 16 October 2021 · Coauthored article
By Bharat Chugh and Siddharth Shivakumar
Examines the legal basis for compelling voice samples in criminal investigations and the privacy, procedural and scientific safeguards needed when collecting and using them.
Can the administrator of a WhatsApp group be held liable for objectionable posts?
Bar & Bench · 4 June 2021 · Coauthored article
By Bharat Chugh and Siddharth Shivakumar
Explains why group-admin status alone does not establish liability for members’ posts, and critiques overbroad police advisories aimed at administrators.
Committed a crime? Now, face(scan) the consequences! The law of self-incrimination and locked smartphones
SCC Online Blog · 29 May 2021 · Authored article
By Bharat Chugh
Analyses compelled access to passwords and biometric locks, questioning the adequacy of privacy and self-incrimination safeguards in digital investigations.
Arbitrary execution of foreign Letters of Request under the PMLA
Bar & Bench · 23 November 2020 · Coauthored article
By Bharat Chugh and Nimrah Alvi
Argues that foreign requests for investigative assistance must be assessed against Indian law and constitutional protections before coercive measures are taken.
A Charter For Reform In Procedural Criminal Laws Ensuring 'Justice" In The Criminal Justice System
LiveLaw · 16 August 2020 · Authored article
By Bharat Chugh
Offers a procedural-reform agenda intended to protect due process while improving the criminal justice system’s ability to establish the truth.
Rethinking the ‘Fruits of the poisonous tree’ doctrine: Should the ‘ends’ justify the ‘means’?
SCC Online Blog · 15 June 2020 · Coauthored article
By Bharat Chugh and Taahaa Khan
Argues for reconsidering the admissibility of illegally obtained evidence, drawing on due-process protections and comparative approaches to excluding evidence secured through unlawful methods.
Diary of an ex-judge: Art of Judgment Writing (Part III)
Bar & Bench · 11 June 2020 · Authored article
By Bharat Chugh
Concludes the judgment-writing series with practical advice on avoiding legalese, revising carefully and writing for readers outside the legal profession.
Diary of an ex-judge: The Art Of Judgment Writing (Part II)
Bar & Bench · 15 February 2020 · Authored article
By Bharat Chugh
Focuses on selecting and narrating material facts, identifying issues and giving intelligible reasons that explain the result to the losing party.
Diary of a ex-judge: The Art Of Judgment Writing (Part I)
Bar & Bench · 6 February 2020 · Authored article
By Bharat Chugh
Introduces a practical approach to clear judicial writing, beginning with engaging introductions that make the dispute understandable to its readers.
Letters To An Aspiring Judge (Part I)
LiveLaw · 11 June 2019 · Authored article
By Bharat Chugh
Reflects on the responsibilities and motivations of judging, drawing on experience at the Bar, on the Bench and mentoring judicial-service aspirants.
Related judgments
R v. B: Spousal privacy and the admissibility of call records
Madras High Court, Madurai Bench · 30 October 2024 · Judgment
In R v. B, the Madras High Court examined spousal privacy and the admissibility of call records. In doing so, it cited and discussed Bharat Chugh and Taahaa Khan’s article on illegally obtained evidence.
2024 SCC OnLine Mad 6084 · CRP(MD) No.2362 of 2024 and CMP(MD) No.13409 of 2024 · Paragraph 13, page 15
Read the judgment (PDF, LiveLaw) · Read the SCC Times report
Some publishers may require a subscription to read the full article.
