In March 2022, NLSIU commenced a two-year project on Public Health and the Indian Constitution with the objective of analyzing the contemporary public health themes at the helm intersection of law and health. The project supported by Thakur Foundation aims to evaluate the constitutional framework within which the duties, powers and limitations of the government on public health are debated and scrutinized by the courts.
The project entails a survey of leading cases from the Supreme Court of India and the State High Courts on the constitutionality of public health regulations, programmes and policies in India, and the interaction of public health with fundamental rights, directive principles of state policy and the federal structure of the Constitution of India.
The scope of examination will include public health themes such as access to medicines, availability and affordability of healthcare services, discrimination in access to healthcare facilities, compulsory vaccinations, digitization and privacy concerns, nutrition support, control of harmful substances and prohibition of their advertisements of harmful substances, regulation of drugs and medical devices, regulation of professions, compulsory bonds, impact of emerging technologies, rare diseases and the extent of state responsibility.
The two-year project will culminate into a compendium of edited cases and materials including critical comments on issues of public health and the Indian constitution.
Project Investigator: Prof. Sudhir Krishnaswamy, Vice-Chancellor, NLSIU
Team: Ms. Nanditta Batra, Assistant Professor of Law, NLSIU, and Kiran Suryanarayana, Academic fellow
