Articles
MSME Act : Legal Conundrum In Definition of 'Supplier' Under Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act
1. This article aims to address the conflict in the interpretations of various High Courts of India to the definition of 'supplier' as enumerated under Section 2(n) of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act of 2006, and its impact on reference of disputes to the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council (Facilitation Council). 2. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act of 2006 (The Act) was brought into force by the...
Why Indian Law Schools Need To Adopt The Online Law Entrance Exam In 2020: The R(E)-Imagination Of The Law School Admissions Process
Law school entrance examinations have been critical and fundamental to building a strong legal education system worldwide. India has over two dozen law school entrance tests, which are in addition to the option of admitting students on the basis of class 12 marks. Almost all leading law schools admit students through national level entrance examinations, which in India include, the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) of National Law Universities, All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) of...
Bar Council Of India v. Supreme Court Bar Association : Can The Bar Council Of India Interfere?
Background Recently, in an unprecedented move, the Bar Council of India (BCI) passed a resolution to stay the Supreme Court Bar Association's (SCBA) decision to suspend its Secretary. In response, the SCBA wrote back to the BCI that it "has no power or authority to control any Bar Association in the country, including the SCBA". Now, the BCI has issued a show cause notice to the SCBA President and other Office Bearers as to why disciplinary action must not be taken against them for...
A Hostile Work Environment
"Sexual harassment at the workplace" is an affront to the fundamental rights of a woman to equality, her right to live with dignity as well as her right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business guaranteed in our Constitution. Right from State of Maharashtra vs. Madhukar Narayan Mardikar in which Supreme Court opined that "even a woman of easy virtue is entitled to privacy and no one can invade her privacy as and when he likes inter alia held merely...
The Kerala Salary Ordinance- A Cut Above The Rest
'Extraordinary situations demand extraordinary measures'. [Prithipal Singh vs State of Punjab, (2012) 1 SCC 10]. If such power is ceded to the judiciary, there is no reason why exercise of plenary legislative power under our socialist constitution should be faulted, when faced with an extraordinary crisis. God's own country has done it again- this time as the trendsetter in legislative efforts to augment public resources to battle the unprecedented, unforeseen Covid-19 crisis....
Reworking Approved Resolution Plans Under the IBC
In light of the lockdown implementation due to the COVID19 pandemic, it is imperative to re-examine resolution plans approved prior to the lockdown, mainly for two reasons: (i) the timelines approved in the resolution plan may no longer be practical and (ii) the commercial viability i.e. the underlying feasibility of implementing the resolution plan, given the present economic situation may have changed. This article explores the legal provisions within the framework of the Insolvency and...
A Restless Pause
It is a time of inconceivable turmoil. As the nation battles a cataclysmic pandemic that threatens both life and economy, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray, finds himself distracted in the midst of attending to matters of the state. On 28th November 2019, after a political game of thrones, Thackeray was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra with the strength and support of the Maha Vikas Aghadi – a three-way coalition between the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist...
Humour-In-Law
Most of us know of courtroom humour. But a few old laws also lend themselves to humour, distanced as we are by decades (or even a whole century or even more in some cases) from their enactment. The laws are all real. Read on. 1. The Whipping Laws "WHEREAS it is expedient that in certain cases offenders should be liable, under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, to the punishment of whipping" decided the very British Governor General of India (are any...
Missing The Woods For The Trees: Aliyathammuda Beethathebiyyappura & Anr V. Pattakal & Ors And The Shariat Act,1937
In a recent judgment, the Supreme Court[1] held that a mutawalli can be appointed hereditarily, if permitted by the customs and usages of the waqf. The case, pertaining to the Jumma Mosque of Andrott island, arose in this way : One Ubaidulla, hailing from Arabia, came to the Amini Islands in the 7th century. He tried to convert the residents there but was unsuccessful. Thereafter, he went to the neighboring island of Andrott, and was ultimately successful in converting its residents....
E-Litigation - A Re-Look At The Supreme Courts Rules, 2013
Introduction of a concrete mechanism to ensure safe yet active functioning of the Supreme Court during unprecedented situations, such as the present pandemic, is the need of the hour. An alternative to the SupremeCourt (COVID-19 Pandemic) Emergency Procedure Rules, 2020 as suggestedby Mr. Shyam Divan, Senior Advocate, is the amendment of the existing Supreme Court Rules, 2013. A long-term plan to ensure e-filing and virtual disposal of matters before the Supreme Court is modifications to...
A Sullivan For The Times: The Madras High Court On The Freedom Of Speech And Criminal Defamation
On May 5, a single-judge bench of the Madras High Court handed down a very significant judgment on the freedom of speech and criminal defamation ["Sandhya Ravishankar's Case"]. The Respondent – V.V. Minerals – had instituted criminal defamation proceedings against Sandhya Ravishankar (the petitioner) for a report in The Economic Times concerning illegal sand mining in Tamil Nadu (for a reference to the piece, see here). After the judicial magistrate issued summons, the petitioner approached the...