Episode 3: Unconstitutional Lockdowns, Parliamentary Desperation & the Future of Civil Liberties.
By the Executive Board of the Journal and Seminar Committee
In the third episode of (il)Legality, co-hosts Atreya Chakraborty and Samriddha Sen discuss the legal framework supporting the Central and State Governments’ COVID-19 response policy, the lockdown orders passed thereunder and the constitutionalities thereof. The episode provides some concluding insights on the need for balancing public health objectives and civil liberties.
Timestamps:
Samriddha Sen provides a brief justificatory background on the legislative subversion of constitutionalism during exigent circumstances. [Starts at 1:37]
Atreya Chakraborty conducts a statutory analysis of the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897 and its efficacies. [Starts at 6:25]
Atreya Chakraborty talks about the constitutionality of lockdown orders passed under the present pandemic response legal framework. [Starts at 11:48]
Samriddha Sen offers a statutory analysis of the Disaster Management Act of 2005 and its efficacies. [Starts at 20:05]
Atreya Chakraborty speaks on the viability of a constitutional emergency under the present circumstances. [Starts at 26:50]
Atreya Chakraborty argues on the usage of the Doctrine of Necessity as a last resort. [Starts at 36:22]
Samriddha Sen makes concluding remarks on the need to balance public health objectives with civil liberties and the prospects of civil liberties in a post-pandemic world. [Starts at 40:47]
TRANSCRIPT:
The fully annotated transcript of Episode 3is accessible at the link below:
Stay tuned for updates on our fourth episode.
Any and all opinion given over the course of the podcast lie solely with the hosts, and do not reflect the views of the Department of Law, University of Calcutta or the Journal and Seminar Committee thereof.
