Summary

This chapter follows the scandal created by the former chief justice of the Indian Supreme Court, Y.K. Sabharwal, who was accused of conflict of interest and corruption. Specifically, Sabharwal presided over a case ordering the sealing of thousands of shops and businesses being conducted in residential areas. Yet, at the same time, the Supreme Court continued to allow businesses in these areas so long as they were carried out in “air-conditioned corporate malls and multiplexes” (133). It was eventually revealed that Sabharwal’s sons had partnerships with two mall developers.

Roy begins the chapter with an overview of how much power the Supreme Court wields in India and how that power has been used to uphold what she calls the “Rule of law” (129). According to Roy, the rule of law is, in fact, unevenly applied both to situations and to people...