Abstract
This paper employs the lens of jurimetrics to empirically analyse patterns in decision-making by the Supreme Court while deciding cases concerning personal liberty between 1974-1977, with the 1975 National Emergency as the point of reference. The paper investigates and analyses the functioning of the Supreme Court in this period by examining the numerical trends in the number of reportable and unreportable judgments in preventive detention matters during the 1975 Emergency, by contrasting it with the period immediately before the proclamation and after the revocation of the Emergency. First, the paper introduces the period of study and delineates its methodology, along with setting the legislative, political, and judicial context to these judgments. Second, the paper shows a decline in the number of reportable and unreportable judgments in such matters during the 1975 Emergency and explores various reasons for the same. Third, the paper analyses the Court’s jurisprudence on the maintainability of habeas corpus petitions against preventive detentions during this period, with specific focus on ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla (Habeas Corpus case). The paper shows how the Supreme Court had laid the groundwork for this decision even prior to the 1975 Emergency, and analyses the subsequent cases that reiterate its position of law. To conclude, the paper raises questions on the extent of judicial independence and accountability during the 1975 National Emergency and underscores the need to further study the working of the Supreme Court more closely and rigorously, for a better understanding of judicial decision-making.
Custom Citation
Nitish Rai Parwani, 'Jurimetrics and Detention: Understanding the Supreme Court Through Detention Cases During the 1975 National Emergency' (2023) 19(1) Socio-Legal Review 1.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.55496/DVOP4404
