Acceptability Of A 'Will' In Financial Institutions: Problems And Possible Solutions

Although a 'Will' is a legal instrument but when it comes to its acceptability, it is obviously not treated at par with that of the Succession Certificate or a letter of administration. Most of the financial institutions have internal policies which require treating of loan proposals/deceased settlement cases with extra care and caution whenever a 'Will' is involved. One of the reasons for such instructions is that high number of frauds takes place in cases of 'Will'. Since, Succession...

Honest Concurrent Use In Trade Mark Law

Eashan Ghosh's efforts with 'Imperfect Recollections: The Indian Supreme Court on Trade Mark Law', (Thomson Reuters, 2020) is highly commendable. It is not for a casual read over breakfast and requires attention to detail. Especially since, even the footnotes are meaningful. It is my belief, 'Imperfect Recollections' stand a good chance of being cited by Hon'ble Judges, whether or not it undergoes additions/alterations every couple of years. The following is a humble attempt. I had a...

[Column] 'Plain Is Fine: Law, Legislation, And Language' , By Justice Dama Seshadri Naidu

Recently, Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act was subjected to close judicial scrutiny in Arjun Panditrao Khotkar v.Kailash Kushanrao Gorantyal (decided on 14 July 2020). A three-Judge Bench of the Apex Court, on a reference, has ruled on the provision's legislative scope and purpose. Besides the judgment, I have read a few articles on it in LiveLaw. I do not intend to—nor can I actually—join the issue. But what caught my attention is the language used in that provision; that prompted...

Jurisprudence Of Section 34(4) – Elimination Of Grounds Of Challenge And Maintaining The Finality Of An Award

An arbitration is a consensual process between parties to resolve disputes. The scheme of arbitration is party autonomy and minimal interference of courts. That being said, one cannot overlook that courts in India are frequently asked to intervene in the arbitral process. After an award is passed, the arbitral tribunal is functus officio. Under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (the "Act"), parties can invoke powers of the court to give or decline to give effect to the outcome...

Unconstitutionality Of Publishing Of Marriage Notices Under Special Marriage Act

Following complaints of misuse of personal information contained in 'Marriage Notices' published in the Registration Department's website, the Kerala Government has issued a circular to stop the practice of uploading scanned copies of 'notices of intended marriage' submitted to the Sub Registrar Offices. Though this solved a part of the problem, the larger part still remains unaddressed. The uploading of notices made access to private information easier for the 'communal groups' to misuse...

Women In Constituent Assembly: G. Durgabai, The Most Frequent Woman Voice

('Women In Constituent Assembly' series will discuss the role played by women in the Constituent Assembly of India. This is the third article of the series)15th July 2020 marks 111th birth anniversary of G. Durgabai. In this piece, I attempt to provide a glimpse into the wide-ranging interventions of the most active woman member of the Constituent Assembly. Born on 15th July 1909 in Rajahmundri, Kakinada, G. Durgabai participated in the freedom movement since her early childhood. At the...

Rajasthan Crisis : Can Governor's Discretion Override Govt Demand To Summon Assembly Session?

The political drama in Rajasthan has entered the 'second act', with the entry of Governor Kalraj Mishra into the scene.The spotlight shifted to the Raj Bhavan after the Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, sought to summon the house to prove the majority oh his government. This is apparently with the intention to bring the rebel MLAs led by the sacked Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot back to the fold by waving the threat of disqualification under Paragraph 2(1)(b) under Tenth Schedule of the...

Judicial Inroads Into Arbitration: Section 34 Saga

The theme of "Judicial Inroads into arbitration" is replete with conundrums; one can easily get bogged down in definitions and the limits, both conceptual as well as practical. The objective of this article is to focus on some test cases and, consequently, a somewhat narrower field dealing with the scope of judicial interference into domestic arbitration awards. The diversity of the topic is primarily because arbitration continues to evolve at a rapid pace in India. This is an area...

Section 304A Of Indian Penal Code: The Amendment That Never Happened

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) recently set up the Central Committee for Reforms in Criminal Law. The committee is headed by Ranbir Singh and consists of G.S. Bajpai, Balraj Chauhan, Mahesh Jethmalani and G.P. Thareja. It will be gathering opinions online, consulting with experts and collating material for their report to the government. They will go on for the next three months. In its official website, the committee has invited experts in the field of criminal law to participate in...

From The State To The Adivasis : Compensation In Lieu Of 'Development'

The proposed 3097 MV Etalin hydro electric project in Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh falls under the 'richest bio-geographical province of the Himalayan zone' and under 'one of the mega biodiversity hotspots of the world' as per the Forest Advisory Committee 's (FAC) observations. The forest land set to be diverted is also recognized as a vital tiger area in the region. As per the project proposal, the justification for locating the project in a forest area is to utilize...

Dearest Ram Mohan: A Remembrance

The loss of someone close is always difficult to come to terms with.Ram Mohan was a very dear friend. I grew close to him more than two decades ago when he took a building on rent from me for his temporary residence in Kochi. Yesterday, I sat in Court till 3.30 pm - the first time I sat so late after reopening - and when I returned to my Chambers, my PS mentioned Ram's name. Before I heard what she was telling me, under the impression that he had come to meet me after very long, I eagerly asked...

The Meanderings Of Section 65B, Indian Evidence Act, 1872- A Poem

Nostalgic we are for the analogue days hard copy missives with postal receipts photos clicked on Kodak film duly accompanied with negative sheets. The digital revolution brought changes galore emails and servers, hard disks and clouds. Outside the vision of James F. Stephen, the proving of CDs and printouts. Then at the turn of the millennium Section 65B made an appearance (And that somewhat superfluous 65A) in our neat statute of evidence Brands, models, serial numbers, ...