The Legal Witch

I am writing this post on a whim in the hopes of getting answers to some of my questions. I do not have anything conclusive to say as these thoughts are still in the shaping-up stage. So any comments, inputs, references are most welcome! Let me define the premise of my doubt.  1. It is often said that the intention behind an action is very important. Hence, you cannot understand a person from his actions alone. You have to look at his intent i.e. state of mind.  2. The catch here is that you can understand one's intent only through his actions! Because we are not mind-readers, we have to look at the person's actions to understand his intent. To put it more clearly, we have to look at his other actions other than the one at question. This means we are trying to understand if the person is consistent.  3. Chasing intent behind an action is important in determining criminal culpability. The IPC punishes only those criminal acts done with a criminal intent i.e. mens rea. It...

"Some people here talked to me and said “You say that you want to protect the cow and want it to be included in the Fundamental Rights. Is the protection of the cow a fundamental right of a human being? Or is it the fundamental right of the cow?” I replied to them and tell them suppose it is a question of saving your mother or protecting your mother. Whose fundamental right is it? Is it the fundamental right of the mother? No. It is my fundamental right to protect my mother, to protect my wife, my children and my country.” -           R.V. Dhulekar [1]   Do you know the story of how King Kaushika became Brahmarishi Vishwamitra? It involved the divine cow Kamadhenu who was owned by Vasishtha. Kamadhenu fed the entire army of Kaushika when they came to the hermitage of Vasishtha as guests. Realizing her divine nature, the King wanted to possess her but Vasishtha would not agree to any cajoling or threats. What ensued was nothing short of b...

    “Skilled reading is not discerning what is there but a matter of knowing how to produce what can thereafter be said to be there. Interpretation is not the art of construing but the act of constructing. Interpreters do not decode a poem; they make them.” -       Stanley Fish Do you pride yourself in thinking that you are a rational person? Do you think that you approach anything with an open mind, listen first, and then only make a decision? This is actually not the case – with you, me or even the Justices of this country! Little do we realize that we are inclined towards making certain decisions. Reasoning follows later to justify our stance on an issue. Men don’t make reasoned decisions; they come up with decisive reasons. Kindly, hear me out. Consider we have a legal dispute. There is a law on the subject matter. The parties have to use the same law to substantiate their case. So, the means to justify their stand is the same, but the goal s...