Indian Admiralty Law Made As Easy As ABC

This catchy title is given only to encourage and motivate the Students and legal practitioners new to this field not to get bewildered by the subject. In many ways, the concept of Admiralty law is more or less similar to the law relating to properties on land and only the terminologies used in Admiralty law are different. Any person having a basic knowledge of laws related to landed properties can easily learn and even master the Admiralty Law by putting in a little extra effort and...

Breach Of Promise To Marry: Rape?

Rape laws and the standard of consent followed therein concern significant issues of transnational importance that have only gained more currency in the post #Metoo era. Many feminists have pointed out that the carceral impulse of developments in this era do little to change societal structures or even further victim justice. I interrogate India's jurisprudence on the breach of promise to marry in this light. A recent judgment of the Odisha High Court in India was reported across...

Pandemic (Covid 19) And Nationwide Lockdown Severely Damages Legal Professionals

The whole world is facing chaos and mass destruction caused by pandemic COVID 19. The pandemic has brought the world economy down, in a deep financial crisis, which was leading the world wide working systems, services, professions and business. The legal profession is one of the significant pillars of the whole society and it is a matter of big sorrow that the nationwide lockdown has brought to the fore the great disparity and problems in the field of legal profession and clearly the...

The Illegality of Delhi Government's Residence-Based Denial of Health Care

Delhi government's decision is a frontal attack on the constitutional value of fraternity and the idea of India's unity and nationhood.

African-Americans And The United States Constitution

'I can't breathe!' These were the last words of George Floyd, an African-American citizen of the United States of America who died due to police brutality, recently. Floyd was arrested for allegedly using counterfeit currency for buying cigarettes. He was pinned down by officer Derek Chauvin who knelt Floyd's neck for over nine minutes, causing his death. Immediately after, the Police Department fired all the four officers involved in the episode, and Mr. Chauvin (the officer who pinned...

Promissory Estoppel: A Primer

THE CONCEPT OF PROMISSORY ESTOPPELBeing a doctrine 'Promissory Estoppel' defies easy summarization into a simple 'definition', however the Supreme Court in M.P Sugar Mills Co. Ltd v. State of Uttar Pradesh[i] sought to explain the doctrine as such:- "..that where one party has by his true words or conduct made to the other a clear and unequivocal promise which is intended to create legal relations or affect legal relationship to arise in the future, knowing or intending that it would be...

Commercial Lease : To Execute or Not to Execute – A Case for A Re – Look?

Of late, the issue of whether a lessee can seek exemption from payment of rent in a commercial tenancy in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic has gained some steam. Multiple litigations have been filed by lessees in various High Courts across the country in this regard. However, all Courts have denied this exemption to the lessees majorly on 2 grounds - (a) the lease deed is silent on the issue of exemption in the event of occurrence of any pandemic and hence Section 32 of the Contract Act 1872...

IBC Amendment Ordinance – Synthesis or Antithesis?

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic having impacted businesses, financial markets and the economy, thereby creating uncertainty and stress for businesses for reasons beyond their control, the President of India promulgated today, 5th June, 2020 an Ordinance to further amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 ("Ordinance") inserts Section 10A which selectively suspends the applicability Section 7, 9 and 10 of the Code to...

Territorial Jurisdiction In IPR Disputes: Decided Yet Unresolved

Our understanding of the term 'property' underwent a sea change after the advent of intellectual property rights. These rights have since gained much prominence, so much so that countries across the globe changed their laws to protect and promote them. Intellectual property rights reflect and represent the substantial asset value of some of the biggest corporations in the world. The proliferation in intellectual property rights also saw a corresponding increase in their violations/...

Suo Motu Vs. State of Gujarat: Can't We Debate?

'The primary duty of the Judiciary is to uphold the Constitution and the Laws without fear or favour, without being biased by political ideology or economic theory' – Supreme Court in PUCL v. Union of India[i]. In a recent case of Suo motu v. State of Gujarat[ii], on 29-5-2020, the High Court in its detailed order of 76 pages, lastly expressed its anguish over "unnecessary debates and comments" that are going on as on date on the social media and other platforms. To some extent, it...

Sec 29A Arbitration Act :Power To Appoint Governs Power To Extend?

The Arbitration & Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015 ushered in several sweeping changes in the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 ('Act') with the laudable objective to make arbitration a preferred mode of dispute resolution of commercial disputes by seeking to make it efficacious, expeditious and cost effective. The Amendment, as is the case with all new legislations, also brought with it, its share of controversies in so far as the interpretation of several of...

The Migrant Saga

Nearly two months after the first PIL being filed, the Supreme Court found itself being embroiled in a hailstorm of criticism by its erudite former members, human rights activists & concerned citizenry, the Supreme Court finally woke up on 28th May 2020 by taking Suo motu cognizance to deal with the untold sufferings and miseries of the thousands of migrant workers who had started their journey on foot to their homes in villages thousands of miles away from the urban metropolitans...