Articles
Making Judicial Infrastructure In India Sustainable
Access to justice is often centred on legal issues of accessibility for litigants rather than a discussion on the court's physical infrastructure itself. Easy access to courts is very integral to a litigant and with growing pendency in the judiciary; expansion of related infrastructure is a long felt need. However, as one goes about doing the same, a long term scientifically thought out plan is the need of the hour; a plan which takes care of the increasing demands on judiciary without...
Arbitration And Conciliation (Amendment) Act 2019 - A Primer
It was once famously said by Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States and an outstanding polymath that, "When will mankind be convinced and agree to settle their difficulties by arbitration?". Little did he know that the Government of India would be faced with the same dilemma more than three centuries later. In an endeavour to convince the litigants to settle their disputes by arbitration, the Government of India has enacted the Arbitration and Conciliation...
Not Judge, But A Journalist Should Lead Press Council
When the Medical Council is headed by a Doctor and Bar Council of India is chaired by a professional advocate, why a Journalist is not chosen to guide the Press Council? Law and logic totally fail to reason why a former Supreme Court judge should be the head of professional body of working journalists? The former Judge of Supreme Court would do justice to this position with his comprehension of freedom of speech as fundamental right and the judicious/independent functional experience. A mature...
A Harsh Reminder Of ADM Jabalpur Case
"Today, there is no Emergency, yet the constitutional and basic rights of scores have been suspended in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Worse, the Supreme Court has virtually taken away their constitutional remedy to enforce those rights. Regrettably, the court has treated habeas corpus petitions in a most casual manner by justifying negation of the rule of law. Two episodes — though not directly connected — have left us searching for answers as to functioning of the court".
UAPA – Unlawful Arrest And Punishment Act ?
In 1962, the first meeting of the National Integration Council took place under the chairmanship of the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Soon after the first meeting, the Council recommended that 'reasonable' restrictions be applied to the exercise of fundamental rights of the citizens in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of the Indian State, and Parliament passed the 16th Amendment to the Constitution of India. The Amendment gave power to the government to put restrictions on...
Is Pakistan's Move To Take Kashmir Issue to International Court Of Justice A Lost Cause?
Since the Indian Government's decision to abrogate the special status of Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan has tried every measure to Internationalize the issue. Islamabad restricted its diplomatic and trade ties with New Delhi, as well as dragged the issue to the UN Security Council. As announced by its foreign minister, Pakistan is now planning to take the Kashmir 'dispute' to the International Court of Justice. However, would such a move pass the test of the International Court's jurisdiction? ...
The Delhi High Court Order In P. Chidambaram v. ED: Three Thoughts
This week saw the arrest of a former Union Minister, P. Chidambaram, in connection with allegations of corruption and money laundering in what has popularly been called the "INX Media" case. In this post, I'm not interested in the arrest itself — the pageantry of which has already attracted much discussion — but the initial order of the Delhi High Court on 20.08.2019 which dismissed Mr. Chidambaram's plea for Anticipatory Bail and set the ball rolling [more on anticipatory bail generally, here]....
IBC - A Big Game Changer In Banking! (Part II)
In Part I, we have discussed about certain core fundamental competitiveness of IBC over other recovery laws such as Sarfaesi, DRT and Civil Courts. Now, we will dwell further upon other competitive factors which make IBC preferable recovery tool over other recovery measures. IBC – Separation of powers between commercial and judicial domains IBC separates commercial aspects of insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings from judicial aspects. Under IBC, the Adjudicatory...
The Trailblazer – Mr. Arun Jaitley
On a humid afternoon in September 1992, fresh off the boat and armed with a US law graduate degree and my resume, I did not know that the man who I was scheduled to meet will leave an indelible print on my life. It was the shortest job interview with a dynamic all of 39 years old lawyer who was setting the Delhi legal scene ablaze. I was utterly confused and yet dazzled by my encounter with a cucumber munching, incisive, fast speaking gentleman with quick as a wink decision making ability. I...
Arun Jaitley – A True Karmayogi : A Tribute by Justice Pratibha Singh
One never thought that the day to write this piece would come so soon. Our association with Jaitley sir (as I would fondly call him) is well known – though I have never been his junior or relative. He was like an elder in our family owing to Maninder's (Mr. Maninder Singh, Senior Advocate and former ASG) association with him spanning over more than 30 years. I met Jaitley sir when I started practising in the Delhi High Court in the early 90s, and was asked to brief him in many IPR matters. Sir...