ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

Articles by Anuja AgrawalSubscribe to Anuja Agrawal

'Witch-hunting' in India?

This paper discusses the findings of a socio-legal study on witch-hunting conducted by the Partners for Law in Development in Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. It highlights the results of the study in order to offer a critical perspective on the increasing reliance on special laws to address the problem of witch-hunting. The socio-legal evidence from the states which already have such special laws on witch-hunting shows their inefficacy in dealing with witch-hunting and related forms of violence. Criminalisation of witch-hunting through special laws is an inadequate response to the problem which has much in common with other forms of violence. There is a need to focus on accountability and reform of the agencies that activate the criminal justice system and to plug the vacuum in relation to reparative justice.

Adultery and the Malimath Committee

This is in response to the comment by Amitabh Singh (27 October 2012) on a part of my article "Law and Live-in Relationships in India” (29 September 2012).

Law and 'Live-in' Relationships in India

This paper focuses upon some of the legal moves which have brought adult heterosexual non-marital cohabitation patterns, popularly termed "live-in" relations, into public focus in India. These legal moves do not unambiguously signify legal sanction and recognition of new forms of non-marital heterosexual cohabitation patterns in India as some popular and judicial readings seem to suggest. Through a critical examination of some recommendations and aspects of the Malimath Committee and the debates ensuing from the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, it is shown that the legal changes are primarily directed at taking cognisance of women's vulnerable position within conventional forms of non-marital relations. Contradictory interpretations and conflicting implications arise in the absence of such legal changes being explicitly cognisant of and responsive to diverse forms of live-in relations prevalent in contemporary society.

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