Law, Politics and Society

1. Abstract
Laws in India is born through legislations in Parliament and State Legislatures and
implemented and emphasised upon through Court judgements. Therefore, legislations
and case laws are the bedrock of the laws, its interpretation and implementation
becoming the social norm and acting as a guideline in the society. This course focusses on
specific laws across various domains and sectors of society and the politics within and
behind it. While Laws are studied in isolation, the ‘politics’ or the ‘political intent’ or the
‘political will’ which lead to the legislations in Parliament or State legislatures should not
be ignored. Beyond the fine print of the legislations lies the specific need of the hour in
political terms and the political need felt for specific legislations to take place. This course
attempts to understand the politics behind the legislations.

Similarly, there are some political and social factors that lead to the need for Courts to
intervene and interpret law and offer judgements which form Case Laws. These Case Laws
come out not because of a default or de facto situation. They come about when either
politics or the socially aligned factors pushing through social-politico thoughts, become
dominant in the social context that leads to these issues reaching the portals of Courts.
This further pushes the Courts to then defining and redefining of case laws and legal
principles throughout the judicial hierarchy i.e., from the Districts to High Courts to the
Supreme Court. Whether they be constitutional or corporate, religious or administrative,
each case law presents with itself, unique viewpoints that redefine the way law is laid and
implemented in the changing social situations.

Understanding the politics and related factors in law is important. Equally important is
the impact that the legislations and case laws have on society. Along with understanding
the politics behind and of the law and its birth and redefinition, this Course aims towards
understanding and appreciating the impact of the laws (legislations and case laws) on
society. Law was born to positively impact society and bring order and discipline which
would make society a better place to live in. Are laws actually helping the society and have
they helped society. In some cases, they have while in some cases they might not have.
This course therefore studies the impact of law on society which was born either through
political impact or influence or interpretation. And in some cases, through Judiciary’s
intervention.

This course would be aimed at developing an understanding of law amongst the students
the prism of the politics impacting it and the law thereafter impacting society. This is a
wide canvass that the course tries to traverse, and it is expected that the students would
have a better understanding of law, its politics and its impact on society. This would help
them to appreciate the nuances of law in present day and the need for keeping law more
contemporary and relevant to the changing times and with the factors of political, social,
economic, technological, legal and environmental.

This lecture series has 15 lectures to commence after 1st February, 2023 and to
conclude before 12th May, 2023. Each lecture has a duration of 1.5 hours and
two lectures would be combined in one three-hour slot with a fifteen break in
between the lectures. Classes would commence from 6.10pm.

Class Composition
A maximum of 40 students would be allowed to register for this elective on a first-come
first-serve basis. The Executive Dean, Jindal Global Law School will decide to which
batches and programmes this elective would be offered.

2. Profile of Speaker
Dr. Sasmit Patra is a second term Member of Parliament of Rajya Sabha, India. He
was Member, Rajya Sabha from 2019 to 2022 and re-elected for his second term
as MP, Rajya Sabha in June, 2022 for a period of another six years. He is a Ph.D. in
Management with focus on Corporate Strategy and Organisational Behaviour/
HRM. He is an MBA with dual specialization in marketing and human resource
management. He is also a Law Graduate and an Advocate and is a member of
Supreme Court Bar Association, Delhi High Court Bar Association and National
Company Law Tribunal.
 He was the Dean of Xavier-Emlyon Business School, Xavier University,
Bhubaneswar and was teaching as a Professor of Organisational Behaviour and
Human Resource Management at Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar
(XIMB), XIM University, Bhubaneswar. He was also Associate Dean- International
Programmes of XIM University, Bhubaneswar and Coordinator, International
Relations at Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar apart from handling
the 3-Continent Master of Global Management (3C-MGM) Programme.

He was a member of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Standing

Committee on Law and Justice; and Consultative Committee on External Affairs as
well as Consultative Committee on Law and Justice. He is presently a member of
the Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas and member of
Consultative Committee, Ministry of Coal and Mines. He is a member of the Panel
of Vice Chairmen of Rajya Sabha and Leader of Biju Janata Dal Parliamentary Party
in Rajya Sabha. He is the National Spokesperson of Biju Janata Dal as well as its
General Secretary.

He has more than 20 years of experience ranging from Parliamentary

responsibilities, Politics, Management, Law, corporate industry, academic
administration, teaching, research, capacity building, training and development,
and consulting.

3. Titles of the Lectures

Lecture -1: Kashmir Dilemma

a. Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization
b. Abrogation of Article – 370 in J&K

Lecture -2: Insurance Politics

a. General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment
Lecture -3: Sharia’s Divorce
a. Triple Talaq / Shayara Bano/ Shah Bano

Lecture -4: Dispossessing Gandhis

a. Special Protection Group Amendment
b. Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Amendment

Lecture -5: Citizenship & Dissent

a. Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)/ NRC
b. Sedition Law

Lecture -6: Diluting RTI?

a. Right to Information Amendment

Lecture -7: Warring Farmers?

a. Farm Laws and their repeal

Lecture -8: Sexuality woes

a. Suresh Ku. Kaushal Vs. Naz Foundation
b. Navtej Singh Johar Vs. Union of India
c. Joseph Shine and Union of India

Lecture -9: Preventing terror

a. UAPA
b. Romila Thapar Vs. Union of India

Lecture -10: Free to Express?

a. Shreya Singhal Vs. Union of India

Lecture -11: Indian Transparency

a. Lokpal and Lokayukta
Lecture -12: Caged Parrot?
a. Vineet Narain & Union of India

Lecture -13: Judiciary’s Supremacy

a. National Judicial Appointments Commission

Lecture -14: Parliament-Judiciary’s Tug of War

a. Tribunal Reform Act

Lecture -15: Biometrics & Privacy

a. AADHAR
b. Puttaswamy Judgment/ Kharak Singh

Lecture -16: Data Protection

a. Personal Data Protection Bill

Lecture -17: Dividing State

a. Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act

Lecture -18: Litigation in Public’s Interest

a. Hussainara Khatoon
b. Bandhua Mukti Morcha Vs. Union of India

Lecture -19: Taxation Politics

a. Goods and Services Tax (GST)

Lecture -20: Haircuts Backdoor

b. National Company Law Tribunal
c. Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code

Lecture -21: Boardroom wars

a. Cyrus Mistry Vs. Tata Sons
Lecture -22: Antartica Geopolitics
a. Indian Antarctica Law

Lecture -23: Labour anguish

a. Three Labour Codes

Lecture -24: Shaky Federalism

a. Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Amendment
b. Govt of NCT of Delhi Vs. Union of India

Lecture -25: Essential Religious Practice (ERP)

a. Sabarimala Case
b. Shirur Mutt Case

Lecture -26: Ayodhya win

a. Ram Janma Bhoomi Judgement

Lecture -27: Indian Emergency

a. Indira Gandhi Vs. Raj Narain
b. ADM Jabalpur Vs. Shivkant Shukla
c. SP Gupta Vs. President of India

Lecture -28: Quota power

a. Indira Sawhney Vs. Union of India
b. The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty Fourth Amendment)
c. Mandal Commission

Lecture -29: Group Presentations

Lecture -30: Group Presentations

 The readings and references would be provided separately apart from the
pedagogy, evaluation, etc.

Proposed Dates for Classes:

Class 1: 10th February, 2023 Friday

Class 2: 13th February, 2023 Monday
Class 3: 14th February, 2023 Tuesday
Class 4: 20th February, 2023 Monday
Class 5: 21st February, 2023 Tuesday
Class 6: 27th February, 2023 Monday
Class 7: 28th February, 2023 Tuesday
Class 8: 17th March, 2023 Friday
Class 9: 24th March, 2023 Friday
Class 10: 31st March, 2023 Friday
Class 11: 10th April, 2023 Monday
Class 12: 11th April, 2023 Tuesday
Class 13: 17th April, 2023 Monday
Class 14: 18th April, 2023 Tuesday
Class 15: 24th April, 2023 Tuesday
Backup Classes: 25th/ 26th/ 27th/ 28th April, 2023