Weapons Of Mass Destruction (Amendment) Bill, 2022: India's Position On International Regime

On 6th April 2022, the Lok Sabha passed "The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022" through a voice note with the members conveying their consensus that such a modification was a pressing priority. The Bill seeks to modify The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act, 2005. The 2005 Act outlaws the transit, manufacture, and transfer of weapons and associated...

Preliminary Assessment - A Delicate Task For The Juvenile Justice System

A haunting memory for our society on the issue of women's safety was when a gruesome tragedy took place in 2012 on the streets of Delhi. A young woman was brutally gangraped, eventually leading to her death. This incident shook India's conscience, and led to tremendous public outcry. After the incident, questions were raised on the legitimacy of the Juvenile Justice System as one of the accused in the 2012 gangrape case was 17-and-a-half years old and therefore tried as a juvenile. There...

The Right To Be Forgotten-Charting The Uncharted Waters

The right to be forgotten, also known as the 'right to be left alone' or the 'right to erasure', is in news these days owing to its increasing recognition by the Indian courts of law. The right which had its conceptual origin in the European Union, found one of its first references in the landmark Google Spain case,[1] where the European Court of Justice directed Google the search engine juggernaut, to remove the links to private information on application by the European citizens...

Cybersquatting & Domain Name Protection Under Trademark Law

In today's digital era, where anything and everything is possible in the virtual world, adoption of a website and a domain name have become an important tool for brands to reach consumers. Similar to a trademark, websites and domain names also act as identifiers of a particular brand/ company or business. The evolution of business in the cyber space has been an interesting travel. Websites were being used as tools that complement business in the past, but at some point, owing to...

Unilateral Determination Of Fees By Arbitrators Not Binding On Parties

The Supreme Court in 2009 in Union of India v. Singh Builders[1] recognized the problem of retired judges charging high fees as arbitrators and dragging matters for far too long resulting in the defeat of the purpose of arbitration. Against this backdrop, on the recommendations of the 246th Law Commission, the 2015 amendment of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 ("Arbitration Act") introduced the IV Schedule to serve as a guide for the fees of arbitrators. However, a new problem...

Religious Conversion And Caste: A Conceptual Discussion

On 30th August, 2022 a bench comprising of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, A.S. Oka and Vikram Nath directed the Union Government to clarify its position on extending reservation benefits to Dalits who have converted to different faith. The said order was passed in response to a petition filed way back in the year 2004 by National Council of Dalit Christians seeking reservation benefits for Dalits who have converted to Christianity. It is interesting to note that in the year 2007 a report...

Appointment Of An Arbitrator From A Narrow Panel

The 'Rule Against Bias' is a widely accepted principle of Natural Justice. When applied in the field of arbitration, this rule command that the arbitrator must be impartial, independent, and neutral. This rule comes into play if it is shown that the person concerned to be appointed as an arbitrator has a personal connection or personal interest or has personally acted in the matter concerned. This rule of disqualification is applied not only to avoid the possibility of a partial decision...

Lessons From A Storied Legacy

In the memory of Ram Jethmalani It's three years since we heard the stentorian voice of Mr. Ram Jethmalani echoing through the halls of the court room. His legal career started before the partition that created modern India and Pakistan and it spanned the entire history of post-colonial India. The milestone of India's politics and history have shaped his career and many of the milestones of his career have left their imprint on the history of India. His lessons especially in the form of the...

Sentencing Reform: Looking Beyond Sentencing Guidelines

The sentencing of the offender is an extremely important stage in the criminal justice process with wide-ranging consequences for the offender, the victim and even society as a whole. Despite this, in the Indian context, sentencing is often treated as a mere bookend to the criminal trial and is often viewed as the weakest part of the process. Critics have identified sentencing disparity as the greatest problem currently being faced in this regard. It has been argued that the unfettered...

Literality Degenerates Legality

Constitutional morality is often juxtaposed with social and popular morality, to emphasize that in case of conflict between the two, the latter must yield in favour of the former. This also reflects the heightened place accorded to constitutional or legal morality. The constitutional imperative of legislations which are inconsistent with fundamental rights and constitutional amendments which are inconsistent with the basic features of the Indian Constitution, being unconstitutional and...

Property Rights & Cultural References in Muslim Personal Law

For many, the workings of the Central Wakf Council and the various State Wakf Boards are a bit of a riddle wrapped in an enigma. Many people are bemused when they encounter seemingly barren pieces of land with a board proclaiming it as a Wakf property or hear wildly exaggerated stories of the Wakf being among the largest 'land owner' in many cities. It might be prudent, therefore, to first understand precisely what a wakf is, what purpose the wakfs were meant to serve and whether they live...

Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Act, 2020; Striking Down The Answer To Question No 71 Of Circular 21/2020

The Supreme Court recently in its Order dated 15.07.2022 in Union of India and Ors. v. Chandrakant Narayan Patkar Charitable Trust (SLP (C) No. 11399/2022) provided a much-needed clarification on Question No. 71 (of the FAQs) of Circular No. 21 of 2020 dated 04.12.2020 ("Circular") which was issued by the Income Tax Department in relation to the Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Act, 2020 ("DTVSV Act") to resolve certain queries on the Act. The Supreme Court was dealing with a Special Leave...