Articles
Law In The Time Of 'Corona'
The year was 1896 when Bombay suffered through a terrible outbreak of plague resulting in thousands of deaths and a mass exodus from the city. The rampant unawareness among the common folk and an inability to clearly identify the source of the disease made the epidemic very difficult to control. The British officials were forced to enter people's homes to detect concealed cases of the disease and enforce disinfectant and other hygiene measures.[1] Such drastic circumstances demanded a law...
Power Of Review - Consumer Forums
The Supreme Court has in Rajeev Hitendra Pathak & Ors. Vs Achyut Kashinath Karekar & Ors, (2011) 9 SCC 541 held that the power of review/recall of its order has been only given to the National Commission under Section 22A of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (Act). The above judgement has been a bone of contention in many cases pending before the consumer forums. In Rajeev Hitendra, the complaint was dismissed for want of prosecution and therefore the same amounts to a final...
Lessor /Lessee Dispute In The Context Of Covid19
The world has come to a halt due to the novel COVID 19 virus. It has forced even the mightiest Countries to come on its knees and they seem to be clueless. The Virus has not only impacted the Health sector, but it has impacted almost all the sectors like Travel, Agriculture, Automobile, Aviation, Manufacturing Logistics, FMCG, Real Estate etc. Though there is no certainty as to when this situation will be back to normal, however what is certain is that there will be a plethora of...
COVID Lockdown- The Wheels of Justice May Turn Slower, But May Not Grind To A Halt
The government declares 21-day national lockdown, and the Supreme Court and all High Courts successively notify their (and that of their subordinate courts) respective shut-down. Some such as the Allahabad, Madras, Karnataka, Bombay, Delhi and Kerala High Courts had already taken leave or considerably restricted their functioning to one or two benches and "fresh matters of extremely urgent nature" even sooner. In all fairness, the Supreme Court has subsequently taken to continue hearing,...
Competition Policy Amid COVID-19
Introduction In light of the COVID-19 outbreak and the consequent impact being felt by the economy, the Finance Ministry recently announced a detailed policy providing number of relaxations to individuals and companies from statutory and regulatory compliance under various legislations ranging from the Income Tax Act to the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code. Surprisingly, one area was left untouched: Competition Law. A number of jurisdictions around the world have announced...
The Law And The Lockdown
It is the first time, in the history of independent India, that the country has come to a complete standstill. Given the grave threat posed by the SARS CoV-2, the 21-day lockdown is undoubtedly, the need of the hour. However, many have questioned the Constitutional validity of such an action. At the outset, I would like to draw a distinction between the Constitutional validity of the lockdown itself and the measures taken to enforce it. In this article, I will deal with the former, and...
When CORONA Says 'See you in Court!': The Breadth Of Challenges Before The Indian Courts
They say that emergency situations are wake up calls. How are the Indian Courts holding up to their very first experience of a global pandemic and what lies ahead. Professor to 1st year law students : What is law, what is law? Is law relevant in emergency situations? Student : Prof., wouldn't we be concerned with Maslow's hierarchy of needs, especially in emergency situations and clearly law ain't one of them! Professor : Law is present at each hierarchical level -...
19 Key Relaxations In Corporate Laws In Times Of COVID-19
From China to Canada, from U.K. to U.S.A., from Senegal to Singapore, from Italy to India – the entire world has been fighting incessantly with the pandemic, the novel Corona Virus, that has been given the nomenclature of COVID-19 by the World Health Organization. It is a global health crisis, affecting all and sundry, and the numerous ways in which the countries worldwide are attempting to stymie the disease's outbreak are wide-ranging and commendable. The COVID-19 cases have...
Mediation And Jurisprudence - Aspiring To Complete Justice
Gone are the days when you spoke of "mediation" and people would mistake it to be "meditation". Even my computer has stopped doing an auto correct. But have we gone far enough in understanding mediation? Mediation is still regarded as a poorer cousin of the conventional adversarial processes like litigation and arbitration. It is understood as an ad hoc process of settlement of disputes at best and a kangaroo court at worst, in sharp contrast to the gravitas associated with litigation and...
Demystifying The Circle Rate Conundrum
Circle rates notified by the State Government perform a very important function in the process of recovery of Stamp duty leviable on documents presented for registration. The fixation of a circle rate affords a ready reckoner to the process of valuation of immovable properties, introduces transparency and reduces the scope for exercise of discretion by the registering authority. The notification of a circle rate which is the product of a very detailed exercise has become an accepted norm...
Coronavirus And The Constitution – III: The Curfew And The Quarantine
To talk about civil rights in the midst of a global pandemic may seem out of place. However, as the Kenyan legal scholar Joshua Maldizo Nyawa reminded us recently, Lord Atkin's legendary dictum – that "amidst the clash of arms, the laws are not silent" – applies as much to a public health crisis as it does to times of war or to Emergencies. In fact, it is precisely because of the sweeping powers that governments arrogate to themselves during times of crises, that it becomes even more important...