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  • Hart Publishing India's From the Colonial to the Contemporary by Rahela Khorakiwala | Bloomsbury India

From the Colonial to the Contemporary explores the representation of law, images and justice in the first three colonial high courts of India at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. It is based upon ethnographic research work and data collected from interviews with judges, lawyers, court staff, press reporters and other persons associated with the courts.

Observing the courts through the in vivo, in trial and practice, the book asks questions at different registers, including the impact of the architecture of the courts, the contestation around the renaming of the high courts, the debate over the use of English versus regional languages, forms of addressing the court, the dress worn by different court actors, rules on photography, video recording, live telecasting of court proceedings, use of CCTV cameras and the alternatives to courtroom sketching, and the ceremony and ritual that exists in daily court proceedings.

The three colonial high courts studied in this book share a recurring historical tension between the Indian and British notions of justice. This tension is apparent in the semiotics of the legal spaces of these courts and is transmitted through oral history as narrated by those interviewed. The contemporary understandings of these court personnel are therefore seen to have deep historical roots. In this context, the architecture and judicial iconography of the high courts helps to constitute, preserve and reinforce the ambivalent relationship that the court shares with its own contested image.

Contents:

1. Framing the Research

  • I. Introduction
  • II. Law, Visuality and Culture
  • III. The Three Courts: Law, History and Memory
  • IV. Visual Justice: Images of Justice in Courts
  • V. Method of Study
  • VI. Field Experience
  • VII. Chapter Plan
  • VIII. Conclusion

2. The Visual Field of Law

  • I. Introduction
  • II. Iconography and Semiotics
  • III. Relationship between Law and the Image
  • IV. Images of Justice of the Court and in the Courtroom
  • V. Judicial Iconography of Courts
  • VI. Judicial Iconography and the Statue of Justice
  • VII. Conclusion

3. The Calcutta High Court

  • I. Introduction
  • II. History of the Calcutta High Court
  • III. Establishment of the Calcutta High Court Building
  • IV. Architecture and Judicial Iconography of the Calcutta High Court
  • V. Specific Customs Prevalent in the Calcutta High Court
  • VI. Conclusion

4. The Bombay High Court

  • I. Introduction
  • II. History of the Bombay High Court
  • III. Establishment of the Bombay High Court Building
  • IV. Layout of the Bombay High Court
  • V. Judicial Iconography of the Bombay High Court
  • VI. Conclusion

5. The Madras High Court

  • I. Introduction
  • II. History of the Madras High Court
  • III. Establishment of the Madras High Court Building
  • IV. Architecture and Judicial Iconography of the Madras High Court
  • V. Specific Customs Prevalent in the Madras High Court
  • VI. Conclusion

6. Attributes of Justice

  • I. Introduction
  • II. The Name of the High Courts
  • III. Language
  • IV. Forms of Addressing the Court
  • V. Dress
  • VI. Photography, Video-recording, Live Telecasting and Courtroom Sketches
  • VII. Ceremony and Ritual in Court Proceedings
  • VIII. Conclusion

7. Conclusion

  • I. Law and the Regulation of its Image
  • II. Access to Justice
  • III. Law as Heritage
  • IV. Law, History and Memory
  • V. Apocryphal Histories and Revised Narratives

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Hart Publishing India's From the Colonial to the Contemporary by Rahela Khorakiwala | Bloomsbury India

  • Rs899.00