The Supreme Court of India — and the judiciary more broadly — has long occupied a central place in the country’s political life. That remains as true today as ever before. Aadhar, demonetisation, the abrogation of Article 370, Special Intensive Revision exercises, and other major constitutional controversies have once again placed courts at the centre of public debate. Dr Sondhi’s talk will use the jurisprudential idea of the “political question” as an entry point into the broader issues concerning the place of law and courts in contemporary India, their relationship with democratic politics, and the ways in which judicial authority is exercised and understood. The political question doctrine raises a concern whether certain disputes are ultimately political in character and therefore not always appropriate for judicial determination. The talk will also examine debates around the alleged politicisation of the bar and the bench, asking how constitutional adjudication itself may be shaped by the wider political currents of its time.

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Speaker

Dr Aditya Sondhi

Dr Aditya Sondhi is a highly regarded Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, who has argued in several high profile cases including those involving the hijab ban and death penalty. He holds a PhD from the University of Mysore, on the thesis that eventually was published as ‘Poles Apart: The Military and Democracy in India and Pakistan’ (Penguin 2024). He has authored other non-fiction books including ‘Unfinished Symphony’ and ‘The Order of the Crest’ with Penguin; and is an award winning playwright.

Chair

Sunil Mitra Kumar

Sunil Mitra Kumar is the Director of the King's India Institute and a Senior Lecturer in Economics. Sunil's research focuses on questions related to inequality and discrimination, particularly in the context of development. He serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Development Studies and Economia Politica, and he is currently leading an ESRC-funded project on the role of small firms in UK-India trade. Sunil received his PhD in Economics from the University of East Anglia, his MA in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, and his BA (Hons) in Mathematics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University. During 2005-2008 he worked for the Social Initiatives Group of ICICI Bank, an erstwhile major funder of non-profit activities in India.

Discussant

Mohsin Alam Bhat

Mohsin Alam Bhat is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Law at Queen Mary University of London, specializing in constitutional law and human rights. His expertise spans minority rights, religious regulation, and the law of democracy, examined through comparative, socio-legal, and cross-disciplinary lenses. Mohsin's current research investigates the challenges posed to democracy, minority rights, and the rule of law by authoritarianism in democratic or quasi-democratic settings. He also explores democratic resilience, particularly the role of electoral commissions in India and similar jurisdictions in safeguarding electoral integrity. His scholarship engages with critical issues at the intersection of law, religion, and politics.