Finding Mentorship In The Legal Profession

One of the side effects of the Covid-19 lockdown is the deluge of webinars being hosted on a variety of legal subjects. This spurt in discussion and mentorship in the legal profession is undoubtedly seasonal and is unlikely to continue when the lockdown eases. When everyone becomes busy again, young lawyers would need to actively seek out mentorship rather than it being offered to them gratuitously. Over the past 15 years, first as a law student and then as a lawyer, I have learnt a little about...

IBC (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020: A Pandemic Of Bad Drafting

Much awaited amendment has been made in IBC by an Ordinance promulgated on 5th June, 2020. It is not happily worded, and within a short span of time we have seen many conflicting interpretations. Two Sections, viz. 10A and 66(3) have been incorporated in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The arrangement of expressions in the newly-inserted Section 10A is very poor, creating the unwanted confusion, compelling me to name it "A Pandemic of Bad Drafting". The main part of Section...

Can Jurisdictional Objection Be Raised At Any Stage Of The Arbitration Proceeding? - A Legal Conundrum

Section 16(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 [hereinafter "the Act"] mandates that a plea that the Arbitral Tribunal does not have jurisdiction shall not be raised later than the submission of the statement of defence. However, the Arbitral Tribunal may admit a later plea on jurisdiction if it considers the delay is justified [Section 16(4) of the Act]. Additionally, Section 4 of the Act states that a party who knows that any provision from which the parties may derogate,...

ICLU And Law Students Work Together For Migrants

According to the census of 2011, there are 454 million migrants. The Economic Survey shows that migration within India continued to swell manifold and on average, migration within states is around four times that across states. When the pandemic engulfed the world, and a nationwide lockdown was put in place, the announcement of the deferral of interstate transportation and inter-district transportation came as shock to the migrant population who had left their homes in search of decent...

Drafting An Effective Arbitration Clause: Challenges And The Way Forward

"No party can be allowed to take advantage of inartistic drafting of arbitration clause in any agreement as long as clear intention of parties to go for arbitration in case of any future disputes is evident from the agreement and material on record including surrounding circumstances." – [VISA International Ltd. v. Continental Resources (USA) Ltd (Arbitration Petition No. 16 of 2007)] In spite of these clear observations by the Supreme Court, it is not uncommon to see parties taking...

The Naming Saga In Andhra Pradesh

As the descendants of colonialism and monarchies, we are quite familiar with the practice of naming the institutions, buildings, important roads in the memory of the Kings and Queens who ruled us. The Victoria memorial, King George hospitals, Nizam College, Krishna Raja market, Maharaja's colleges etc. are etched into our memories. At least here, we can console ourselves by saying that it is a practice in a monarchy. But, what if the practice of naming after the incumbent heads of the...

Baghjan Fire Disaster: A Case Of Criminal Negligence

The Oil India Limited (OIL) announced on 20 May 2020 that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) had given it clearance for extension drilling and testing of hydrocarbons in seven locations under Dibru Saikhowa National Park area and North-West of Baghjan in the Tinsukia district of Assam. In less than a week, there was a blowout in its oil well in Bhaghjan 5. The unchecked leakage led to a huge fire in the oil well on 9 June 2020, killing two fire fighters. Nearly...

Payment Of Wages And Judicial Evasion In A Pandemic

Two days ago, on this blog, we discussed the pending challenge before the Supreme Court to the government's directions requiring employers to pay wages to their workers during the nationwide lockdown imposed under the Disaster Management Act. At the time, the matter had been reserved for orders; today, the Supreme Court passed an order that can only be described as bizarre: it refused to rule on the legal issues before it, postponed arguments to the end of July (seven weeks from now), directed...

E & W Court Of Appeal's Judgment In Enka Insaat vs Chubb Clarifies The "Three Stage Test" Of "Sulamérica's Case": "Seat" Regains Its Control

This article may be read in continuation of the article titled "Sulamérica's Case and the three stage inquiry to determine the law of arbitration : Recent developments & the divergent Indian approach" published earlier in two parts viz Part I[1] and Part II[2] on 11th April, 2020 and 14th April, 2020 respectively. In a very significant development, on 29th April, 2020, the England and Wales (E & W) Court of Appeal in Enka Insaat Ve Sanayi A.S. Vs OOO "Insurance Company...

Farewell To Justice Hosbet Suresh

Justice Suresh died last night in his sleep. The lockdown prevents us from being with him at the funeral. I have known him for 30 years, through my activism days at Bombay, my practice in the Industrial Courts and the Bombay High Court and then as the Chairman of the Human Rights Law Network till his death. He had lived a good life, was happy and content till the end, though he railed against injustice with increasing vigor with every passing day. It was a joy arguing before him in the High...

Abortion And The Law In India

On 22nd May 2020, out of barely 30 cases enlisted on the daily board of Bombay High Court, 4 cases were for medical termination of pregnancy. One such case was of a 13-year old minor girl who was 22-weeks pregnant. The petition was filed through the girl's mother, a pavement dweller living in Thane. The girl in the case is a survivor of heinous rape alleged to have been committed by her own father. It has been reported that the father used to regularly abuse the girl, she then moved...

The Payment Of Wages Order: An Analysis

On March 29th 2020, the Home Secretary – acting in his capacity as the Chairperson of the National Executive Committee under the Disaster Management Act – issued an order requiring, inter alia, that "all the employers, be it in the Industry or in the shops and commercial establishments, shall make payment of wages of their workers, at their work places, on the due date, without any deduction, for the period their establishments are under closure during the lockdown." The context of the Order is...