Articles
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...
To Be Medically Or Legally Insane: Confusion Over The Meaning Of Section 84 Of The IPC
In 1843, an individual by the name of Daniel McNaughton (Also referred to as M'Naghten) took a loaded pistol, at the parish of Saint Martin, and pulled the trigger on Edward Drummond, under the mistake of fact that he was the then-British Prime Minister Robert Pell. Subsequently, Drummond died five days later and McNaughten was tried for murder. However, he pleaded not guilty and took up the defense of 'Insanity'. Moreover, witnesses were also summoned and their testimonies...
Analyzing Impact Of Recent GST Guidelines On Section 159 CGST
Recently, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customshas issued the guidelines on the procedures that have to be followed for the purpose of prosecution under the Section 132 of the Central Goods and Services Act, 2017. The guidelines has been introduced with the aim to provide clarity to the tax officials as to what procedure is to be followed for initiating prosecution under the act and as well as to save the innocent taxpayers from being harassed by the GST officers by reducing the ...