Ministry Guidelines On Levy Of Service Charges In Hotels & Restaurants : How Far Advantageous To Consumers

How Far Advantageous To Consumers The Notification by the Ministry of Consumer affairs issued on 04.07.2022 in the form of Guidelines are meant to stop levy of service charge by the Hotels and restaurants in the bill while customer avails service by visiting at their premises. The question arises here as to whether guidelines in this form are really of any help to consumers and serve any purpose? We need to go back to the similar Guidelines issued in the year 2017 also on 21st April...

Social Media Outbursts On Judges – Impact On Dispensation Of Justice

The recent unfiltered social media attacks on Judges of the Supreme Court for oral observations made during a hearing last week, have once again sparked the debate for the need to regulate public discourse on judicial proceedings. While a well-reasoned critique of a judgment on legal grounds may be encouraged in a democracy, unsavory personal remarks on a Judge, or their personal lives are certainly unwarranted. The oral remarks made by a Bench comprising of Justice Surya Kant and...

Reproductive Rights And Autonomy - The Law Leans Backwards; A Critical Analysis Of The Laws On Surrogacy & Assisted Reproductive Technology

"You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it." – Margaret ThatcherInfertility as a medical condition is an impediment in the overall well-being of couples. It is an emotional roller coaster, often accompanied by grief and loss. It is not the process of surrogacy or ART, but the miracle of "conception" that guarantees success to those yearning to experience parenthood. Research suggests that about 10 to 15 percent of the country's population suffers from infertility issues[1]. The...

No Straws, No Bail, No Justice: Remembering Stan Swamy Who Died In Custody

"When each dissenter is put behind bars, a thorn each is removed from the flesh of the ruling class." – Late Father Stan Swamy

Neglecting Queer Children In India: Intersecting Rights Violation

'Children cannot wait too long and they are not people of tomorrow, but are people of today. They have a right to be taken seriously, and to be treated with tenderness and respect. They should be allowed to grow into whoever they are meant to be - the unknown person inside each of them is our hope for the future.' - Janusz Korczar 1. Introduction The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children[2] ("UNCRC") provides for the rights of all children, viz., persons...

Highlights Of News Labour Codes

Many of the Employment laws of our country have not been revised for a long period. Legislature has therefore, drawn 4 Labour Codes namely : a) The Code on Wages 2019, b) The Industrial Relations Code 2020 , c) The Code on Social Security Code 2020, and d) The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020, popularly known as Labour Codes, 2020, combining various statutes with certain modifications. When these get executed, there will be significant changes. Some of the...

Fintech's Halt 'Buy Now Pay Later' As RBI Tightens The Noose On PPIs

The FinTech industry has seen an unprecedented rise in the past few years, with many neo-banks, non-bank prepaid instrument issuers emerging in the market with their outrageous claims and services. Companies like Uni are "Pay 1/3. Anywhere" services utilising their cards, bringing competition to firms like LazyPay, which has a 'Get Credit in 90 Seconds' policy and claims to have a staggering 60 million qualified customers. Razorpay claims that the BNPL sector has risen by 539% in the year...

How To Comply With CERT-In's New Six-Hour Time Frame To Report Cyber Incidents

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) recently issued a set of new directions under the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act), in relation to information security practices, procedure prevention, response and reporting of cyber incidents for safe and trusted internet (CERT-IN Directions), followed by Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) dated 19 May 2022 issued by CERT-IN, to clarify the requirements under the directions. CERT-IN Directions mandate service providers,...

Troubling Features Of SCOTUS Decision Overruling Roe v. Wade - Salman Khurshid Writes

The Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v Wade has been received with widespread consternation and dismay by a large number of Americans whilst others have proclaimed victory, (not for women though! ). Alito, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, JJ., joined. Thomas, J., and Kavanaugh, J., filed concurring opinions. Roberts, C. J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan, JJ., filed a dissent. Here, ...

Scaling The Diameter Of Censorship Laws In India And The Proposed Amendments To The IT Rules, 2021

Censorship ends up becoming a tool for moral policing that controls other people's lives rather than concerning itself with larger public issues. The term 'censorship' in Indian law has often led to a fire and ice type debate amongst laymen, politicians, thinkers, organizations and various other groups. Censorship is proclaimed to be a tool that is placed to keep a fair check on what comes into the public domain and how this information or data fulfills certain commonly acceptable...

Do Supreme Court's Orders In Maharashtra Assembly Case Strengthen Tenth Schedule?

By giving a go-ahead to the floor test after stalling the Deputy Speaker's proceedings, was an imbalance created?

Fear Of Mandatory Mediation – Is It Real?

Recently I came across an article titled "Will mediation curb litigation or be the cause of it?" written by G. Mohanakrishnan, President of the Madras High Court Advocates Association, and Pascal Sahil R, School of Law, Christ University, carried in the Hindu Business Line dated 02-06-2022[1]. It is argued by the authors that the provisions of the proposed Mediation Act, that mandate two mediation sessions before knocking the doors of the courts, would amount to denial of access to...