The Minority Crisis

In these days of Covid 19, speaking for myself, I am acquiring a lot of information via the Internet to rethink, reassess and to find connections between the vices and evils of the present times with the days gone by. My pearl of wisdom (which seldom befalls), is that whenever there is a clash between truth and belief, there is politics of the worst kind. Readers are free to arrive at their own deductions as they please. Freedom is theirs, for me to cherish. What set me thinking was a...

30 Common Law Principles Ruling The Litigation Front In India

"The law should not be seen to sit by limply, while those who defy it go free, and those who seek its protection lose hope." Jennison V/s Baker, (1972) 1 All ER 997 Principle 1: "Where a right or liability is created by a statute which gives a special remedy for enforcing it, the remedy provided by the statute only must be availed of." In the matter of: Wolverhampton New Waterworks Co. V/s Hawkesford, (1859) 6 CB (NS) 336, Willes, J., observed that: "… There are three...

Advocacy- The Mantra Of Success: Justice N. Anand Venkatesh

Advocacy is an art. It cannot be taught or read from any book. It has to be cultivated by keen observation. There existed a system wherein a newly enrolled lawyer joined the chambers of a senior and from then on virtually lived life like in a Gurukulam under the guidance and mentorship of his senior. A lot of traits for good advocacy were imbibed from the office that he or she joined as a junior. When a junior lawyer stands before a Court, his or her pedigree was traced from the office...

The Micro, Small And Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 - A Subject Of Increasing Misuse

The small scale sector plays an important role in the development of the Indian economy, by providing employment and facilitating growth of the industrial sector, while requiring a relatively small amount of initial capital investment. A substantial contribution is made by this sector to industrial output and exports. By some estimates there were in excess of 19.40 lakh such in the year 1990-1991. In the early 1990's, Parliament recognising the importance of this sector and in order to ...

Liquidation Value vis a vis Dissenting Financial Creditors: Aftermath Of Maharashtra Seamless And Orchid Pharma

The Insolvency Bankruptcy Code, 2016 ("Code") has gone through a myriad of changes since its inception and introduction. Although it has been held by the Supreme Court in the case of Embassy Property Developments Pvt. Ltd. vs State of Karnataka, that the IBC is a complete Code by itself and in Innoventive Industries Ltd. vs ICICI Bank that the Code is a single Unified Umbrella, covering the entire gamut of law relating to insolvency resolution of corporate persons and others in a time...

The Constitutional Court And The 'Attached Office'

"Professional PIL shops must be locked down till the country comes out of COVID-19 tragedy" – Solicitor General for India.I will start by confessing that when the Courts decided to shut down in the face of the pandemic, I was nervous. We aren't used to functioning without the general and benign supervision of our Courts. As the Delhi government announced a lockdown on the evening of March 22nd, it was clear that everybody had forgotten about those who earn from one meal to the next. Thus in the...

Coronavirus And The Constitution – IV: Privacy In A Public Health Crisis

In a bid to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, governments across the world are using means and measures that would otherwise be considered invasive and illegitimate. In some countries—China and Israel, among others—the State has used phone tracking devices to monitor the movements of persons who have either contracted the virus or have come into contact with someone who might have done so. Even the European Union has relaxed some of its existing regulations governing the sharing of location data....

[DEBATE] [Judiciary During Lockdown] Judicial Service Is An 'Essential Service' Amid COVID-19 Lockdown

"The importance of the judiciary in political construction is rather profound than prominent". Today, two Act - the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 ("ECA") and the Essential Services Maintenance Act, 1980 ("ESMA") read with Order by Ministry of Home Affairs dated, 24.03.2020 ("the Order") - are guiding us to understand, what are the 'essential goods' and 'essential services' in this wake of the novel epidemic, COVID-19. Pertinently, ESMA enlists defence; hospital and dispensaries;...

[DEBATE] [Judiciary During Lockdown] Need For Judicial Restraint During Pandemic

Corona Virus (COVID 19) has engulfed the World into an unprecedented crisis forcing most of the countries to enforce lockdown which appears to be the only option to control and contain spread of this dreaded virus. In India also this disease has spread to most parts of the country. More than 40 deaths are reported and there are over 2000 people who have tested positive. Large number of suspects are expected to come for tests and treatment in the coming days. With the result, the...

Virtual Arbitration Hearings In Times Of A Pandemic

INTRODUCTION In the wake of the rapid spread of the Novel Coronavirus (hereinafter referred to as the "COVID-19") pandemic, the worldwide situation has become unpleasant altogether. It has created an unprecedented scenario all across the globe causing nation-wide lockdowns in several countries. The governments have resorted to imposing several travel restrictions, both domestic and international, in order to contain the spread of COVID-19. Similarly, there has been a considerable...

Eclipsing Dissent And Scientific Discourse?

"Let's be clear: the work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics…. In science consensus is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results. The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus." Michael CrichtonThe order passed by the Supreme Court on 31 March 2020 has a implication, though unwitting, on the social, economic and scientific discourse on coronavirus pandemic and a...

Is A Central Examination Process A Silver Bullet For Filling Judicial Vacancies?

An All India Judicial Services (AIJS) examination likely to add to judiciary's troubles