This week on NL Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Raman Kirpal are joined by senior advocate at the Supreme Court, Menaka Guruswamy.

The conversation began on the legal system of India as Menaka deconstructed the criminal manual and the definition of ‘criminality’ in India. She delved into why the country needed a rigorous reform of the criminal code to move beyond colonisation.

The panel also deliberated on the protective nature of judicial custody over police custody, and the impact of the government’s recent reforms. “As a society, not only are we interested in crime being addressed, but we are also interested in [ensuring that] the innocent [are] not being put away for things they didn’t do,” said Menaka. The conversation then moved to the addition of organised crime to Indian criminal law and its implications for hate crimes and incidents of mob lynching.

The discussion then shifted to Chandrayaan-3’s historic Moon landing and its celebration across the country. Manisha drew attention to the leadership shown by ISRO chief S Somanath, while Abhinandan noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address was for the world and not just the country. 

This and a lot more, tune in!

Hafta letters: Gandhi, political activism and Science desk