The Legal Truth about the Lie Detector

Authored by: Aarti Aggarwal

Secret service agents, law officers and espionage recruits have the most fascinating toolboxes (Yes, that’s my love for movies talking). Their occupations center on discovering "the truth" (or a convincing substitute at least) in environments where truth is patchy. So they make use of methods, which attempt to coerce or scare the truth out of those who may possess it. One of the most common interrogation tools in the history of the trade has been the lie detector. Over the years, these machines have helped put people in prison, destroy careers, and possibly even end lives! They are now better known in the industry as the ‘polygraph test’. But can these ‘machines’ actually be used legally in India? Let’s find out…

Help! Some stranger just clicked a picture of me.

Authored by: Astha Singh

If someone takes out a camera/phone and clicks a picture of you, without your consent, can you make sure that he/she has deleted it or determine how they use it? This may come as a surprise, but you have no control over what they do with that photo in most situations. This is true in almost all of Europe, Asia and the Americas. Thankfully, it has some limitations.

Attention Smokers: Know the law!

Authored by: Vasudev Devadasan

If you are a smoker in 2015, it may seem as though the world is against you. In India especially, there is still plenty of social stigma attached to smoking, and the government loves to reinforce this by flashing a pair of diseased lungs in your face every time you are in a theatre. This may or may not change your mind, and that’s a private choice. But when you light a smoke in public, it’s no longer private, and now the cops get to do what they do best, take your money. So what exactly are the rules around public smoking? And does anybody really care?

Encounter Killings- Legitimate means of disbursing justice?

Authored by: Pujita Makani

“‘We've got facts’, they say. But facts aren't everything; at least half the battle consists in how one makes use of them!” 
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment

The prevalence of encounter killings, (an extra judicial killing of an alleged criminal) has plagued the Indian justice system for many years now. What exactly are the justifications to these instances and how are these provisions manipulated by the Police? How has the law evolved to tackle this grave issue?

Myth Busters #1

Myth #1 - Women cannot be arrested in the absence of a female police officer.

Myth #2 - The police can refuse to register an FIR for you.

Myth #3 - An FIR can be filed only in the police station within whose geographical limits the crime took place.

Authored by Dwayne Fernandes

Myth – Women cannot be arrested in the absence of a female police officer.

Busted - We often hear people saying that ‘Women cannot be arrested in the absence of a female police officer’, however this statement is true, but just to a point. If a woman is charged for a cognizable offence, she is liable to be arrested. So what is done when there is no female police officer present?

First Step of Investigation: Filing a FIR in India v. Singapore

Authored by Pujita Makani

For a country that fines people for not flushing toilets and bans the import and sale of chewing gum you are probably wondering how these offences are policed. Let’s take it up a notch, what happens when you encounter a slightly graver offence. Imagine you trying to take a selfie with The Merlion. While you’re figuring out the perfect angle that accommodates the great gigantic mass, the spout of water and your face, you are assaulted and left bereft of your passport, wallet and most importantly your iPhone. What do you do? File a FIR (First Information Report) in the case of a cognizable offence (where the offender can be arrested by the Police without the prior permission of the Magistrate in the form of a warrant) if you were in India, but you aren’t…

First Step of Investigation: Filing a Criminal Complaint in the USA

Authored by Aarti Aggarwal

In India, a criminal investigation usually begins with the filing of an FIR.  If you want more information about how an FIR works in India, click here. Assuming you have clicked on “here” and are now acquainted with the Indian procedure of filing an FIR (somewhat), what if you weren’t in India?  Most of us would wonder how an investigation is triggered in USA (Holiday in America this summer, anybody?). This article should give you a quick peek into the real game there.

Caught Intoxicated? Dodge the Breathalyzer.

Authored by  Bhavna Raghunath & Ishita Gugnani

It’s a good night out with friends, and you are a few drinks down. But you're not drunk, surely you can drive yourself back home. You are minutes away from home, and you are waved down by a policeman. Within a second realization strikes and you know you are going to be subjected to the Breathalyzer. Your mind is immediately flooded with a million questions. This post is aimed at arming you with relevant information regarding your rights in such a situation.

Myth Busters

Authored by Anmol Mathur, Astha Singh and Rajat Asolkar.

It is said that movies derive inspiration from real life. That is a tall claim considering the fact that if one tried half the things that are showed in Bollywood movies, he/she would probably have a hard time bailing out of the mayhem that will follow. Here are 7  things about criminal law that work fine on the silver screen but are a disaster if you try them in real life.​

Test Your Breath- Science and Law behind Breathalyzers

Authored by Sumeir Ahuja

Everybody fears the breathalyzer. Whether you are driving home after a few drinks or returning to campus after enjoying Haryana’s low liquor tax. So what exactly is a Breathalyzer and what are the laws and limitations with regards to its use?

Stripped of Rights- Law Regarding Strip Search

Authored by Shreya Valiramani

The Strip Search. Yes, we’ve all heard about it from people, newspapers and scarily enough, in our own college. Headlines that read; ‘School girls in Punjab strip searched’, have increased awareness about such instances, but mostly our knowledge is limited to isolated circumstances and consequences.. How many of us really do know if there is a law on strip searches? And if there is, then what is the punishment for it? Have the courts in the country ruled or set any guidelines for the same? Can one refuse to the search being conducted on their person? Are there any necessary procedures to be fulfilled before a strip search is conducted? For all of you,those who don’t know, I’m going to answer all these questions here.