Government Accountability & Transparency: SC Cares?

The recent Supreme Court's judgment in Centre for PIL (CPIL) vs Union of India on the legality of the PM Cares fund is legally flawed and disheartening. It epitomizes the hands-off approach of the Court in recent years in public interest cases, where it trusts the executive more and questions it less. The current decade of 2011-2020 has clearly been the most turbulent period in the history of the Supreme Court. This decade can be neatly divided into two starkly different 5-year...

Speaker Versus Court: The Tussle For Jurisdiction Under The Tenth Schedule

The political uncertainty in the State of Rajasthan may have been diffused with the incumbent Congress government managing to get its flock together and winning the floor test. The facts, briefly stated, are that disqualification petitions against 19 MLAs were filed before the Speaker who issued notices to them under the Tenth Schedule. This was challenged by the MLAs before the High Court in a writ petition also challenging the constitutional validity of Para 2(1)(a) of the Tenth...

Privacy And Puttaswamy For The People's Palate: Part 3 of 3

The previous part broke down the opinions of Bobde J. and Kaul J. wherein the former elucidated upon the nature of the right undertaking a study which was based on the hypothesis that privacy plays an integral role in the enjoyment of Part III rights and the latter studied the growth of technology as a formidable foe to the inherent right to privacy. In the third and final part of this series, I will attempt to simplify the opinion of Nariman J. Preliminary contentions and arguments ...

Understanding Power In Legal Profession (For Young Lawyers)

A basic requirement of all strategies to counter abuses of power is to cultivate one's own strength.

Right Of Appeal Under Section 372 CrPC, 1973 Vis-à-Vis Period Of Limitation: A Conundrum

Seminal Issue: What should be the period of limitation for filing an appeal under Section 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (in short 'Cr P C') is a contentious issue on which there is apparently a judicial split of opinion amongst various High Courts in India as there is no pronouncement by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India as yet. Section 372 Proviso: Vide the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment Act), 2008 (in short 'the Amendment Act) a new proviso...

The Legalisation Of Betting In India

The legalisation of betting, especially sports betting, is a never-ending debate in India. India's restrictive betting laws have pushed the activity underground, and there operates a huge illegal betting industry in India. The ban on betting has been counter-productive, and this has been exacerbated through the rise of cricket in India, especially the Indian Premier League. The IPL, time and again, has been hit with betting controversies. In 2013, three players of Rajasthan Royalsand some...

How Indian Courts Define A Married Woman's Rightful Place

Momita was visiting her grandmother at 7 pm on 13 January 2018 when Alamin Miah dropped by and asked her to step outside. Then, he threw acid on her face. The attack left her with third-degree burns on her forehead and eyelids and second-degree deep burns on her face and right shoulder. The damage and disfigurement are permanent.Alamin Miah is Momita's husband.They had married in March 2017 but within days Alamin began beating Momita for failing to bring a dowry of Rs 10,000. Five months later,...

Conflicting Views Of NCLAT On Rights Of A Decree Holder Under The Insolvency And Bankruptcy Code, 2016

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) very recently on 14.8.2020 ,in the case of Sushil Ansal v Ashok Tripathi (Sushil Ansal) seems to dilute the interests of Decree Holders under IBC. The said judgement held that a Decree Holder cannot be classified as a Financial Creditor for the purpose of initiating Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code). NCLAT was seized of the question while dealing with a case of an...

Significant Judgments On Arbitration And Conciliation Act, 1996 [May 2020 To July 2020]

Introduction The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ("Arbitration Act") has been enacted in order to consolidate and amend the law relating to domestic arbitration, international commercial arbitration and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards as also to define the law relating to conciliation. The legislative intent and essence of the Arbitration Act is to bring domestic as well as international commercial arbitration in consonance with the UNCITRAL Model Rules, the New York Convention...

Law On Return And Rejection Vis-a-Vis Amendment Of The Plaint: Dichotomy In The Judicial Approach

A 'Plaint' is the very foundation of a civil Suit. It is the bedrock that brings out the necessary facts which form the basis for the Courts to adjudicate upon the dispute. A Suit is said to be instituted on the date of presentation of the Plaint and it is solely on the basis of the averments in the Plaint that the primary questions of Jurisdiction and Maintainability are adjudicated upon. While returning a finding on the issue of Jurisdiction, the Court has to see whether it has the...

Ten Reasons Why Prashant Bhushan Should Not Be Punished In Contempt Case

Prashant Bhushan should not be convicted and sentenced for Contempt of Court for following ten reasons on facts and the law. On facts: Tweet of Bhushan on June 27: "When historians in future look back at the last 6 years to see how democracy has been destroyed in India even without a formal Emergency, they will particularly mark the role of the Supreme Court in this destruction, & more particularly the role of the last 4 CJIs." Allegation is that democracy was destroyed by...

Criminal Law Reform - Many Misgivings, And The Long, Uncertain, Road Ahead

The Indian law school experience revolves around the idea of submitting "projects" or "assignments". At the start of the 5 year marathon, many of us used to be petrified about the idea of failing to submit the assignment beyond the "Last Last Day" — the last permissible date for handing in the project, after the stipulated deadline. I found it quite strange that the senior students displayed little or no trepidation at the thought of the impending deadline, while the rest of us rushed to print...