Arrogation Of Unlimited Contempt Power By The Supreme Court- A Hornets' Nest Stirred Up Again

Recent decisions of the Supreme Court of India in Re: Vijay Kurle and Re: Prashant Bhushan have stirred up a Hornet's nest again by holding that the Supreme Court of India has inherent jurisdiction in relation to contempt of court as recognized by Article 129 of the Constitution of India and therefore no law of Parliament can limit, regulate or control its powers. These decisions also state that the Supreme Court is not bound by the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. The...

Taking Misuse Of National Security Act Seriously

Last month, the Hon'ble Allahabad High Court quashed the detention of Dr. Kafeel Khan, a Gorakhpur-based doctor, who was detained under the National Security Act since January this year in Mathura jail. On a Habeas Corpus petition filed by his mother, a Division Bench of the Hon'ble High Court of Allahabad comprising Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice S D Singh found no substance in the state's accusations against Dr. Khan and ordered his immediate release from Mathura jail. In its...

Clinical Legal Education: Reflections From Our Experience

Clinical legal education, which is a part of legal education, aims to impart practical experience along with theoretical knowledge. Though it is a part of the law school curriculum, it has almost become a ritual without much impact on the students or society. This article aims to highlight the practice of clinical legal education as experienced by the authors in the Legal Aid Clinic established in the year 2009 in Jindal Global Law School. The Legal Aid Clinic was established with...

The Supreme Court's Greatest Gift Is the PIL and It Is Here to Stay, Whatever Critics May Say

Without PILs, corruption, nepotism and bias in executive actions will remain unchallenged. Courts must maintain a constant vigil, otherwise, all rights secured to citizens under our constitution will become worthless.

Overcoming The Pecuniary Conundrum In Consumer Cases

The new Consumer Protection Act, 2019 came into effect on July 20, 2020, thereby replacing the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. While the new Act has brought in a catena of changes which will empower the consumers, it has also brought in some structural changes with respect to the power vested with the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions. One of the most prominent changes which has been brought by the new Act is the change in the pecuniary jurisdiction of the Consumer Commissions at all...

Tribunalisation In India: Where We Are Lacking?

Tribunal is a judicial body, created by a legislation to adjudicate a class or classes of disputes. Though, it is a judicial entity for the purpose of administration of law, strict rules of Evidence Act or procedure such as Code of Civil Procedure Code would not apply, except the principles contained. The term 'Tribunal' is derived from the word 'Tribunes', which means 'Magistrates of the Classical Roman Republic'. In India, we have Tribunals for Industrial Disputes, Railway Claims,...

Arbitrariness And Mismanagement: NLAT 2020

Like May 13, 2018, when CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) 2018 took place, September 12, 2020, was a heavy day for every law student examinee who sat for NLAT (National Law Admission Test) 2020. The NLAT 2020 like CLAT 2018 was demoralizing; bringing out technical lapses, mismanagement, panic and pressure on student examinees of time running out. Due to the poor Artificial Intelligence Managing System, some student examinees didn't even have a chance of attempting the test and proving their...

Lose The legalese: The Plain Language Movement In India

"Don't use long words. Unless your hearers or readers understand them. You may understand them yourself, but they may not. If your hearer says to himself, 'That is a word I've never heard before. What does it mean?', you have failed. If your reader says, 'I must look it up in the dictionary', again you have failed. You have not conveyed your meaning to him. A lot of speakers and writers do not appreciate this simple truth. They use long words so as to 'show off". Lord Denning's...

Important Judgments Pronounced By The Supreme Court In August 2020

The Supreme Court of India has pronounced numerous judgments in the month of August, 2020. In this write-up, some of the important judgments are briefly discussed. Mukesh v. State (Narcotic Branch ofDelhi), Special Leave Petition (Criminal) Diary No. 39528/2018 (Decided on31/08/2020). A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Arun Mishra, Indira Banerjee, Vineet Saran, M.R. Shah and S. Ravindra Bhat, held that in a case where the informant himself is the...

The Legal Quandry Over E-Pharmacies In India: Immediate Need For A Regulatory Framework

The advent of E-Commerce has changed lives around the World. Individuals have transitioned from brick and mortar stores to online platforms for procuring everything imaginable. One such ground-breaking development is the E-Pharmacy Sphere in India. E-Pharmacies are virtual platforms that take an order of medicines over the internet and deliver them to patients via mail or dedicated delivery companies. However, all isn't gold for the Industry players as they are riddled with a fair share of...

The Mess That Was NLAT 2020

Lord Hewart, the then Lord Chief Justice of England in the case of Rex v. Sussex Justices, gave the world the oft-quoted aphorism we all fall back to every once in a while - "Justice must not only be done, it must also be seen to have been done"The conduction of NLAT today, with supposedly good intentions and nothing more than an below average usage of technology to catch the cheaters, gave a huge dent to the perception of fairness of the law entrance examinations, the narrative which was so...

When Netaji Subhas Fought A Case In The Bombay HC

It was November 10, 1933. SS Narkunda had just dropped anchor at the Bombay Port. It had ferried the mortal remains of an elder brother who had passed away in Geneva on October 22, 1933 at 1 pm. On October 28, 1933, the embalmed body, in a sealed coffin, had been taken by road to Marseilles for this last journey by sea. Sarojini Naidu and Jamnadas Mehta had been cabled the sad news. The deceased had executed a Will which read: "In the event of my death in Europe, I desire ...