[Column] 'A Sabbatical Isolation': By Justice V. Parthiban, Judge-Madras High Court

"Writing is a defence against boredom, but it's also a cure for 'melancholy'." - Bohumil Hrabal -Czech Writer In these times of forced isolation sentenced albeit temporarily to suffer complete disconnection from the professional occupation, the best way to keep the mind in motion is to reduce your meandering thoughts into writing to ward off the fear of the tardy movement of time. Ostracized by necessity and choice from the society of others into the claustrophobic...

[Commercial Courts Act] Delhi HC Decision In Superon: Opening Of A Pandora's Box?

In a recent decision in D&H India Ltd. versus SuperonSchweisstechnik India Ltd.[1], the Delhi HIgh Court adjudicated on the maintainability of a first appeal under Section 13 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 (hereinafter referred to as the "Act") from an order of the Single Judge exercising original side commercial jurisdiction. It is not in dispute that in the event that a suit is filed and registered as a commercial suit, the Commercial Courts Act would hold the field. The Act...

Justice Deepak Gupta : An Uncompromising Judge

The average tenure of a Judge of the Supreme Court of India (the Court) is about four years. If a Judge has more than five years, he/she would definitely retire from the front courts (Courts 1 to 5); be a member of the collegium - determine who is elevated to the Supreme Court; if sitting in the first three courts, the person would also have a say in who becomes a High Court judge anywhere in India. If it is the average tenure, the person would preside for about two years and retire,...

Crime Without Punishment Conundrum Of Vicarious Liability In Criminal Law

Thursday morning, we all woke up to the sad news of styrene gas leak from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam which killed at least 11 persons and left over 1000 affected. Styrene gas is stated to be synthetic chemical, a derivative of benzene that is used to manufacture latex, synthetic rubber and plastic packaging, disposable cups etc. The colourless liquid evaporates easily, and can be fatal if inhaled or ingested, and harmful, if it comes in contact with skin and eyes. The company...

The Draft EIA Notification 2020 Is A Desperate Attempt To Dilute The Existing Environmental EIA Regulations

Quite recently, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has come up with a new Draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2020 that proposes to supersede the existing regulations of 2006. The draft notification which is currently at the stage of public comments, primarily appears to be regressive as it intends to bring significant changes by minimizing the existing levels of environment protection. Though EIA was initially introduced in India...

The Metamorphosis Of Right Of Hindu Women In Ancestral Property

"The law must be stable yet it cannot stand still" -Roscoe Pound The year 2005 saw tremendous change in the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. A change which was not only progressive but also imbibed the essence of right to equality as guaranteed in the Constitution. It provided for the right of a woman in ancestral property, treating her on par with her male counterpart for the very first time. The...

Analysing Fb-Jio Deal : A Surveillance Capitalism Threat

Reliance Jio bagged India's largest FDI deal in the tech industry with the nearly 10% stake sell to Facebook. Facebook and Reliance are considered as 'Data elephants' in the industry because of their dominance and control over the relevant market. Experts fear that this collaboration could lead to distortion of the market and unfair advantage. In a Data-driven country like India, the dominance of the Fb and expansive network of Jio will have the colossal potential of restriction of data...

Female Genital Mutilation- Lessons From The Sudanese Experience

Recently, Sudan criminalized female genital mutilation. An amendment was made to Sudan's criminal code, which imposes a fine and imprisonment for 3 years against any violators. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or any injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. FGM also harms the health of women both in the short and long term as it can cause severe pain, excessive bleeding, and genital tissue swelling, urinary...

Why Mandating The Aarogya Setu App Is Not The Solution To The Covid-19 Pandemic

The recent May 1, 2020 guidelines issued by order of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) mandates[1], among other things, the use of Aarogya Setu, a mobile application released in April this year by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MIETY) Government of India. It has been made mandatory for both public and private sector employees, and employers have a duty to ensure strict adherence to the guidelines. It is also mandatory for all persons living in containment zones...

Vizag Gas Tragedy: A Reflection Of Bhopal's Interminable Misery

Opening our eyes to the horrific images of unconscious people and people with breathing difficulties brought the big media houses to divert from the ideological debates taking place since a long while. The gas leak incident took place at the LG Polymer plant (the South Korean company LG Polymers makes polystyrene and expandable polystyrene, a versatile plastic used to make a wide variety of consumer products like toys and appliances and has been in operation since 1961) at Gopalapatnam on...

Public International Law : Analysis In The Context Of Calls To Sue China Over COVID-19 Pandemic

Various leaders of nation States have blamed China for the start and spread of the COVID pandemic and have threatened to sue it. These arise from the anger at the loss of lives and economic disruption that the virus has caused and stem from a perception that China has been secretive and non-transparent in its disclosures to the global community about many aspects of this pandemic which has hampered global efforts to contain the virus and caused much destruction. Such an attempt to sue...

Gas Victims In A Pandemic

The news is that around 3 am this morning, poisonous styrene gas leaked from the LG Polymers Plant in Vishakapatnam killing scores of persons and impacting thousands. Many people were seen lying unconscious on the streets. Others complained of breathing difficulties, rashes on their bodies and sore eyes. Experts warn that groundwater in the area including borewells may get contaminated due to the gas leak. The Meghadrigedda reservoir that is said to supply water to the city is less than 2...