From Workplace To Cyber-Workspace: Practical Challenges Under Sexual Harassment Of Women At Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition And Redressal) Act,2013

INTRODUCTION Long bygone are the days when men used to be the solitary bread-earners of the family. Women empowerment and globalization have brought a revolutionary change in the status of women worldwide as more and more women have been stepping out of their domestic spheres to contribute to the world's ever-increasing working population. In the Indian IT industry women's representation is increasing rapidly, e.g. IBM offered jobs to 52 per cent women through campus recruitment ...

"Why am I Not an Equal Protector ?" : A Conundrum Of Agony For The LGBTQIA+ Community Vis-à-Vis The Defence Services In India

At the beginning of the year 2020, the Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark judgment which instilled a lot of joy and encouragement into all the 1653 female officers of the Indian Army[1], wherein the case of Secretary, Ministry of Defence v. Babita Puniya & Ors.[2], the Apex Court bench led by Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud ordered for permanent commission for all women officers in the Indian Army and to do away with the unequal and arbitrary service rules which were followed...

Section 65B(4) Evidence Act : Despite SC Decision In 'Arjun Panditrao', Uncertainty Looms Around Electronic Evidence

On 14 July 2020, a three judge bench of the Supreme Court delivered its judgment in Arjun Panditrao Khotkar, in what ought to have been an authoritative ruling on the law on electronic evidence. The judgment is borne out of a reference made by a two judge bench in the same matter, by an order dated 26.07.2019. The reference was made to address the inconsistencies between the decisions of a two judge bench decision in Shafhi Mohammad (2018) and that of a three judge bench in Anvar PV...

No More 'My Lord' Please!

Justice T B N Radhakrishnan, the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court has recently suggested that he would like to be addressed as 'Sir' by all judicial officers coming under the jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court instead of 'My Lord' or 'Your Lordship', as the judges usually address the Chief Justice and other judges of the High Court. The Chief Justice asked the Registrar General of the High Court to write a letter to all the judicial officers and request them to discontinue the...

Referendums And The Indian Constitution

Earlier this month, Russia voted on an important referendum that brought significant changes to its Constitution. The Russians decided to grant President Putin the option of leading the country until the year 2036, by limiting a President's Rule to two six-year terms in total rather than two consecutive terms. They also voted to effectively ban same-sex marriages in the country. Interestingly, some scholars believe that a referendum was not needed to amend the Russian Constitution. ...

Recent Judgement Of The Supreme Court In Arjun Khotkar: A Missed Opportunity To Revisit 65B

Finally, the reference to the larger Bench in Arjun Khotkar v. Kailash Gorantyal[1] was answered by the Three Judge Bench on 14th July 2020 apparently halting the swinging pendulum swinging between P V Anvar[2], Tomso Bruno[3] and Shafhi Mohammad[4]. The Judgment was eagerly awaited not only for judicial certainty but to decide course of judicial treatment of the electronic evidence in the digital era to come. Though this Judgments obviates any need to revisit the verdict in Anvar PV,...

Free Speech Or Hate Speech: A Critique On Bombay HC Order In Arnab Goswami's Case

Republic Television has been a vociferous supporter of the current political dispensation. In this endeavour, they effortlessly mix fact and fiction. Two recent programmes, anchored by Arnab Goswami, have given rise to important legal issues. The first programme anchored by Goswami insinuated that the protest by migrant labourers, who had gathered in Bandra with hopes that transportation to return would be made available, were not genuine. He further insinuated that the protest appeared to be a...

US Supreme Court On "generic.com" Trademark: A Tale Of Missed Opportunities

On 30th June 2020 Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in United StatesPpatent and Trademark Office et al. v. Booking.comdealt with the issue of whether the combination of generic terms is also generic for the purpose of trademark registration. SCOTUS by an overwhelming majority (8 judges) held otherwise i.e. such combination is not generic in nature. The sole dissenting opinion was written by J Breyer who held respondent's Trademark as generic in nature. For the purpose of...

Functioning Of Local Committees Under The Sexual Harassment Of Women At Workplace Act

Vishaka Guidelines The legal recourse on the issue of sexual harassment in India came only in the 1990s, though the country signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 30 July 1980 and ratified it on 9 July 1993. It was in the case of Bhanwari Devi,2 a village-level worker employed with the Rajasthan state government on contract, that the Supreme Court issued Vishaka guidelines for employers in 1997 (Vishaka Guidelines and Others v...

Advocate on Record System In Patna HC: A Closer Look

My earlier article titled 'Advocate-on-Record' System In Supreme Court & High Courts' attempted to provide a bird's eye view of the Advocate on Record [AoR] System prevalent in the Supreme Court of India and the Patna High Court as well as 'Roll of Advocates' system followed by the Allahabad High Court. The present article ventures to have a closer look at the Advocate on Record system introduced by the Patna High Court in 2009. The Patna HC is the only High Court in India...

Equality Is Not Enough, Ensuring Equity In Acid Attack Legislation In India

Recently, the movie 'Chhapaak', based on the story of the acid-attack survivor Lakshmi, was released. An alarming spate of memes and reactions followed. One of the memes carried the poster of the movie, featuring Deepika Padukone as Lakshmi, with the caption – 'this could be you par tumaangyi' which translates to 'this could be you but you gave in (to my advances)'.[1]More than an irresponsible behavior of certain anti-social elements, this seems to be a reflection of a wider, deeply...

Justice R. Banumathi, An Upright And Hardworking Judge

"We form a particular group in the community. We comprise a select part of an honourable profession. We are entrusted, day after day, with the exercise of considerable power. Its exercise has dramatic effects upon the lives and fortunes of those who come before us. Citizens cannot be sure that they or their fortunes will not some day depend upon our judgement…It is necessary for the continuity of the system of law as we know it, that there be standards of conduct, both in and out of...