Big Data Revolution In The Supreme Court

Since March 2020, virtual court hearings have changed the way we think about litigation and courts. What was earlier perceived as unrealistic has now become the only way to access justice in the courts of India. For the Indian judiciary, this decade will mark a transformative and pivotal phase as it moves towards greater technological integration. The Supreme Court in particular, has functioned entirely virtually throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. For the past two years, Supreme Court's...

Soli Sorabjee: A Tribute

The passing of Soli Sorabjee brings down the curtain on an important life at law as indeed an era. His friends and admirers have recalled the remarkable contributions made by him to the development of law, particularly in the area of civil liberty. Many have spoken of his love of jazz, gourmet of good food, poetry, and literature, the art of mimicking, a gracious guide to young talent, master of persuasive speech, steadfast before every court, but one critical dimension has been sadly...

Grief, The Burden Of Being

Driven by a compelling need to unburden an unbearable sense of grief, this piece is also a supplication for divine mercy in these calamitous times. It is about the moral impoverishment of an ancient society and wanton abandonment of empathy, which is the essential condition of our coexistence.A nation ravaged by a surging pandemic and the accompanying hopelessness, despair, destitution, sickness and death is numbed by the scale of human misery. The vastly understated official figures...

Will Maratha Quota Case Verdict Impact 10% EWS Quota Above 50% Ceiling Limit?

The Supreme Court judgment in Maratha Quota cases reiterated the principle of 50% ceiling limit for reservations and rejected the plea to revisit the 9-judge bench judgment in Indira Sawhney case which had laid down this ceiling limit.Soon after the Supreme Court struck down the Maratha quota by saying that there were no exceptional circumstances to exceed the 50% ceiling limit, discussions started in public platforms speculating the impact of this ruling on the validity of the quota for...

Supreme Court's Stand on Rohingya Refugees Exposes Its Human Rights Rhetoric

"Regarding the contention raised on behalf of the petitioners about the present state of affairs in Myanmar, we have to state that we cannot comment upon something happening in another country". These are the words of our own apex court in the recent interim order [DPA1] showing green signal to deportation of some Rohingyan refugees detained in Jammu. The sentinel on the qui vive preferred to swallow centre's version that these hapless people are illegal immigrants entering Indian...

Insolvency Law In Review – March 2021

The enactment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (Code) has had significant ramifications on the corporate insolvency landscape. Over time, the Code has witnessed a manifold increase in litigation, and consequently in the number of decisions. This has made it difficult for insolvency practitioners to stay updated with developments in the field. The purpose of this column is to fill this gap by providing brief summaries of latest decisions, from the various fora dealing with...

My Friend Imtiaz Ahmed

My friend, Imtiaz Ahmed, left us all on 29 April after struggling with Covid-19 for several days. One does not imagine the death of any living person easily or indeed be pushed to do so. As I look back, his special presence, the self-assured demeanor, the gentle cynicism, not easily persuaded about bird-brained schemes that people bring, devoted to Aligarh Muslim University and its alumni, quick to expand on elusive religious doctrines, attentive to prayer— nothing about him indicated...

Whether It Is Mandatory To File A Formal Application For Condonation Of Delay? An Examination Of SC Judgement In Sesh Nath Sing's Case

In Sesh Nath Singh and another v. Baidyabati Sheoraphuli Co-operative Bank Ltd. and another[1] (hereinafter referred to as "Sesh Nath"), the Supreme Court, while recently hearing an appeal under Section 62 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (hereinafter referred to as "IBC") had the opportunity to deal with an issue of particular significance for litigating lawyers. One of the issues before the Court was whether a delay in filing an application by a financial creditor under Section...

The Trend Of Bizarre Bail Conditions

Umar Khalid's bail order stated that one of the conditions of his release is that he install the Aarogya Setu, an app for COVID-19 contact tracing, on his mobile phone. Som Marandi's bail order issuedlast year had a similar condition in addition to a requirement that he donate Rs. 35000 to the PM Cares Fund. These bizarre bail conditions are no longer unique and are a part of a recent trend of bail orders ranging from funny to disturbing. Apart from imposing bizarre conditions, judges...

An Era Comes To An End: Soli- A Great Lawyer And A True Friend

Soli Sorabjee's passing on April 30 once again unkindly reminds us of human mortality- of the proximity of death to life- a life so full, rich and meaningful. It is given to only a few to be endowed with great qualities of head and heart, don many hats and play many roles with distinction and elan, yet retain the human touch and be considered a legend. Soli Jehangir Sorabjee is certainly one among them- one of the all time greats both as a lawyer and a human being. His was a personality so warm...

Soli, Thank You And Goodbye- A Tribute To Soli Sorabjee By Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde

"We are all in the God's departure lounge, waiting for our flights to be called" said Soli Sorabjee in one of his innumerable articles and columns. His flight was called today, but he had a very full life even while waiting. In February this year, my juniors and I joined his lunch table at the India international centre, where in his last days, he frequently came to lunch to be surrounded with the buzz of conversation at an institution he had nurtured for the past several decades. He...

Election Commission's Apathy As Citizens Gasp For Breath

Abstract: The power of "Judicial Review" on quite a few occasions is known in history to have saved our constitution from being hijacked. It is being put to test again, as India is standing face-to-face with a deadly Pandemic which unfortunately has transformed death into a mere figure that is often read in news and tabloids. This article strikes at the sheer high-headedness of the Election Commissions functioning in poll-bound states like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu with regards to...