When laws of the land seem to fall foul of the constitution

In 21st century India, the courts may soon have to deal with a string of absurdities, which involve clear violations of the Indian constitution

Can an individual standing trial accused of serious crimes pardon himself, pre-emptively? From first principles, this seems absurd. Another absurd question: Can such an under-trial person pardon other people for other crimes?

While these may seem like hypothetical questions out of the looking glass world of Lewis Carroll, America’s judicial system may have to come up with rulings on one, or both of these.

The US president can pardon federal crimes and since he lost the election, Donald Trump has handed out many pardons. He now has the dubious distinction of being the only US president to be impeached twice.