Terror Trials: Life and Law in Delhi's Courts

277 Pages·2023·6.455 MB·English

by  Mayur R. Suresh

TERROR TRIALS
Thinking from Elsewhere
Series editors:
Clara Han, Johns Hopkins University
Bhrigupati Singh, Ashoka University and Brown University
Andrew Brandel, Harvard University
International Advisory Board:
Roma Chatterji, University of Delhi
Veena Das, Johns Hopkins University
Robert Desjarlais, Sarah Lawrence College
Harri Englund, Cambridge University
Didier Fassin, Institute for Advanced Study, Prince ton
Angela Garcia, Stanford University
Junko Kitanaka, Keio University
Eduardo Kohn, McGill University
Heonik Kwon, Cambridge University
Michael Lambek, University of Toronto
Deepak Mehta, Ashoka University
Amira Mittermaier, University of Toronto
Sameena Mulla, Marquette University
Marjorie Murray, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Young- Gyung Paik, Seoul National Open University
Sarah Pinto, Tufts University
Michael Puett, Harvard University
Fiona Ross, University of Cape Town
Lisa Stevenson, McGill University
TERROR TRIALS
Life and Law in Delhi’s Courts
mayur r. suresh
Fordham University Press New York 2023
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CONTENTS
Abbreviations and Glossary ............... ix
Introduction ............................ 1
1 Custodial Intimacy: Law and the Police
in Two Parts ............................ 35
2 Recycled Legality: Doing Th ings
with Legal Language ..................... 71
3 Law and the Vulnerable State ............. 92
4 Hypertext: Files and the Fabrication
of the World ............................ 115
5 Certification and the Fabrication
of Truths ............................... 137
6 Petition Writing: Desire, Ethics,
Mourning .............................. 169
Conclusion: An Acquittal? ................ 199
Acknowl edgments ....................... 213
Notes .................................. 219
References .............................. 235
Index .................................. 251

ABBREVIATIONS AND GLOSSARY
affidavit: This is a written statement that is sworn to as truthful by
the person making it. In some courts, such as the Supreme
Court, affidavits are used in place of oral testimony.
ahlmad: This is an official in the court bureaucracy. Th ere is usu-
ally one ahlmad for each court, who is in charge of the rec-
ords of the court, ensuring that the day’s files are given to
the reader (see below) and that the reader returns the files in
good order. The ahlmad holds the keys to the court’s mas-
sive filing cabinets and signs off on a number of t hings from
stationery requests to witness reimbursements. The ahlmad
also ensures that the court’s orders are followed and acts as
the link between that par tic u lar court and other courts.
ATS: Anti- Terrorism Squad. In some states (such as Maharashtra
and Uttar Pradesh) the police have constituted Anti-
Terrorism Squads as special police units to investigate ter-
rorist crimes.
ASJ: additional sessions judge. This is the highest criminal court
in a district.
charge sheet: Officially known as a “Report under s[ection] 173,
CrPC [Code of Criminal Procedure],” this document is filed