HRLI820 | Human Rights Law in India

This course seeks to explore the development of human rights law in India with the main objective of informing the evolution of human rights in the pre-independence and post-independence period as a continuum of the development at the international domain. To that extent this course complements the prior courses on the concept and international human rights law. In order to fulfil the objective and to provide a comprehensive account the course, along with the contemporary human rights law in India, includes the situation as prevailed in ancient India, the efforts made during the freedom struggle and the debates in the Constituent Assembly. Further the protection of human rights under the Constitution and other laws as well as certain domestic human rights bodies are dealt with. The discussion includes the obligation of the State to give effect to obligation undertaken through the provisions of various international human rights conventions. The deliberation would also be extended to implementation of rights and remedies, in cases of violations, by impartial judiciary. Thus, a study of the decisional law is made use of.

The course seeks to accomplish this objective by taking recourse to primary sources such as documents related to the constitution and other legislations, to secondary resources like books and articles and to case law.

The pedagogical method includes both lectures and discussion.