Mig 29, Ryanair & A Mid – Air 'Hijacking': How Belarus Violated International Aviation Laws

In May 2021, Ryanair flight 4978 was enroute Athens (Greece) to Vilnius (Lithuania). While transiting over the Belarusian airspace, air – traffic controller informed the crew that there was a bomb on board and asked them to land. Within moments, a Belarusian MiG 29 fighter jet intercepted the flight and directed it to land in the capital city of Minsk. There was no alleged bomb found in the aircraft; however, on board was a passenger namely Roman Protasevich – a Belarusian journalist and...

Service Of Summons Through WhatsApp

Considering the era we live in, the usage of WhatsApp in courts is neither surprising nor it is something new. But is the double blue tick on WhatsApp a prima facie proof of delivery of summons? Several courts in the country are experimenting with the usage of technology in judicial proceedings, especially while serving of official documents. There have been instances where the court allowed electronic means of communication to facilitate the court proceedings and expedite the delivery...

Indian Adoption Laws: Endless Wait For Children Orphaned During Pandemic

The COVID 19 has given birth to the issue of legal adoption of the large number of children orphaned due to the pandemic, and protection of such orphaned and/or abandoned children from child trafficking and flesh trade. The Ministry of Women and Child Development, in response to viral messages on social media offering children for adoption, published a notice on their website on how to protect children who have lost their parents to Covid-19. The Supreme Court of India has also stepped...

Ex-Parte Decree And "Sufficient Cause" For Non-Appearance

When an ex-parte decree is passed in a civil suit, an aggrieved defendant may resort to the remedy under Order IX Rule 13 Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. However, for such an application to be allowed, the defendant must satisfy the court either that the summons was not duly served or that the defendant was prevented by any "sufficient cause" from appearing when the suit was called on for hearing. The meaning of the expression "sufficient cause" ...

Audi Alteram Partem In RBI Master Circulars On Wilful Defaulter And Fraud

Non-Performing Assets (NPA) have been plaguing the Indian economy over the last decade. As per the 22nd Financial Stability Report released by the Reserve Bank of India in January (RBI) 2021, the NPAs are predicted to rise from 7.5 percent in September 2020 to 13.5 in September 2021 under the baseline scenario which might get further aggravated due to the second corona wave in India. Besides the genuine business failures resulting in accounts turning into NPAs, many accounts also turn into...

Intermediary Rules 2021 – Not Liberal

The Government of India has recently notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines & Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 ["2021 Rules"]. These rules have the potential to impact the manner in which all Indians use social media, search engines, OTT platforms and the Internet itself. The Central Government is terming these rules to be progressive, liberal and contemporaneous. Debates in the Rajya Sabha when a draft version of the rules were being contemplated by the...

Deciphering The Effect Of New Valuation Rules On Slump Sale

The provision for computing capital gains in slump sale transactions is included in Section 50B of the Income-tax Act of 1961 (Act). Prior to the amendment made by the Finance Act of 2021, the entire amount of consideration was construed as the actual consideration received or accumulated on account of the transfer of the division or enterprise, as the case may be, in the case of a slump sale. At the time of enactment, the Finance Act of 2021 made an amendment to the above provision,...

Examining The Delhi High Court's Order Imposing Rs. 20 Lakh Cost In Juhi Chawla's Suit

The High Court of Delhi through its judgement and order dated 4.06.2021 in the case titled "Juhi Chawla & Ors vs. Science And Engineering Research Board &Ors., CS (OS) 261/2021 dismissed the law suit filed by actor-environmentalist Juhi Chawla against the setting up of 5G wireless networks in the country. It was observed inter-alia that plaintiffs have abused and misused the process of law which has resulted in waste of judicial time. Further, the Court also directed the plaintiffs...

A Discussion On How To Scotch The Quandary Of Claimants Post Deposit Of Amount Of Compensation In Claim Cases

INTRODUCTION : In the early 1980s the position of litigants after being successful in the tribunal or the workman commissioner and pursuant to the deposit-of compensations the high court of Gujarat came across cases were these illiterate semi illiterate and minors would complaint about non receipt of the amount deposited. The High Court formulated a way for safeguarding the compensation amounts. This was penned as guidelines which 'may' be followed by tribunals while passing awards...

Relevance Of Doctrine Of Priority In Liquidation Under Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code

It is a well established principle that where conflicting, but equal interests have been created in favour of multiple persons, it should be determined based on the maxim qui prior est tempore potior est jure, i.e., he who is earlier in time is stronger in law. This principle has been incorporated under the Transfer of Properties Act, 1882, as Section 48, which provides that where a person purports to create by transfer at different times, rights in or over the same immovable property,...

Data Minimalism, Class Recordings, And Pandemic

The Pandemic has created a real danger to the society, apart from the casualty there have been some major political-legal changes, with the emphatic rise of populism and concentration of power, the legal landscape has been at the receiving end. One such right which demands mention in this changing scenario is the right to privacy; due to its nascent origin, privacy is at the receiving end, who could forget the last year issue of contact-tracing applications, all these issues have raised...

Pride Not Prejudice – LGBTQ+ Representation In The Judiciary

We celebrate June as Pride Month to acknowledge the pop of colour that the LGBTQ+ community adds to our society. This month, we renew our commitment to fight for their equal rights and fair treatment. The celebration of Pride Month can be traced to the Stonewall Uprising of 1969 in New York. The Stonewall Inn was a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village (New York City), which was raided by the police in the early hours of 28th June, 1969 to investigate the illegal sale of alcohol at the...