Blog posts by: Saumya Singh

The 1944 Levy of Estate Duty Case: Early Judicial Concerns Regarding the Supreme Court’s Advisory Power

27 May 2025 • By

In the 1944 Levy of Estate Duty case, a dissenting judge of the Federal Court—the Supreme Court's predecessor— made compelling arguments against the Court's advisory jurisdiction.

4 mins

The Supreme Court’s Advisory Jurisdiction in Indian Constitutional History

21 May 2025 • By

The President’s power to consult the Supreme Court was affirmed in a range of documents which preceded the Constitution of India's enactment.

5 mins

The Socialist Party’s Constitutional Vision for Workers’ Rights

6 May 2025 • By

In this post, we compare and contrast the texts of the Draft Constitution (Socialist Party) and the Constitution of India, 1950 [hereinafter ‘the Constitution of India’] in terms of two shared themes. These are firstly, the types and scope of workers’ rights that have been recognised in these documents; and secondly, whether and to what extent these rights were judicially enforceable.

5 mins

Did Princely States Have Constitutional Rights?

15 April 2025 • By

The previous post in the Crowns & Constitutions series examined who held legislative power, and the scope of that power, under the constitutions of the princely states of Aundh, Manipur, and Mysore. Continuing the series, this post turns to the question of rights.

5 mins

Who Could Make Laws Under the Constitutions of Princely States?

8 April 2025 • By

In the first piece of our Crowns and Constitutions series, we explore whether princely state constitutions were genuine vehicles of reform—particularly in expanding the powers of representative assemblies.

4 mins