Articles
IBC - Two Years On - The Game is On
"Curiouser and Curiouser" – Hon'ble Justice R.F. Nariman quotes from "Alice in the Wonderland" to describe the tactics adopted promoter of Essar Steel in the case of Arcelormittal India Private Ltd vs Satish Kumar Gupta.It has been more than two years now when the path-breaking and drastic law governing insolvency was passed and implemented with great speed and purpose. The speed was necessary as the financial sector was reeling under NPA of more than 10 trillion rupees and the system needed...
Rebuilding Kerala Post-Floods : Law & Policy Perspective
IntroductionThe floods which ravaged Kerala in July-August this year was its worst natural disaster of the century. The deluge claimed 483 human lives, lives of innumerable other living beings and caused damage of over Rs. 20,000 crore.The state witnessed the worst drought of the century in 2017 which led to severe water crisis, and a furious cyclone Ockhi in 2017 which adversely affected he coastal stretch of the state and the fishing communities, in particular. This is not to speak of the...
The Applicability Of The Law Of Limitation To Petitions Filed Before The District Judge Under The P & MP Act, 1962
The legal issue which has impelled me to right this Article is as to whether Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963, enabling condonation of delay on the ground of sufficient cause, is applicable to applications filed before a District Judge under sub-section (2) or under sub-section (5) of Section 10 of the Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines (Acquisition of Right of User in Land) Act, 1962 (hereinafter referred to as the “P & MP Act” for short). The conflict of judicial opinion by the High...
Government And Its Naamkaran Ceremonies: Understanding The Procedure Of Renaming Of States And Cities In India
‘Naamkaran’ is the ceremony when a newborn is bestowed with a name by her/his parents. This name then becomes her/his identity and follows her/him for all his life. Although people do change their name, the occurrence is rare. Several state governments, however, are making this rare occurrence a commonality by way of undertaking this ceremony to states and cities in India. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath leads this, with his recent spree of renaming the cities of Uttar Pradesh....
Liability Of Online Marketplaces In India: A Consumer Perspective
The Lok Sabha has recently passed the landmark Consumer Protection Bill, 2018 which seeks to replace the archaic Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The Bill provides for the establishment of a Central Consumer Protection Authority, which will function as a national level regulator for the purpose of dealing with consumer complaints effectively. This bill also contains certain key provisions pertaining to class actions, product liability, misleading advertisements, liability for celebrity...
CCI vs TRAI : Apex Court Does The Balancing Act
The Apex court has finally put an end to the turf war between the Telecom Regulator ( TRAI ) and the market regulator ( CCI ) by recognizing the different roles played by both regulators in their respective fields and observing that regulators in each sector have assumed great significance with the advent of globalization leading to a free market economy.Elucidating their respective roles, the Supreme Court, rejected the argument of the Telcos and the TRAI that the jurisdiction of Competition...
Insolvency Proceedings – Safe Passage for Defaulters?
Recently, on 26th November 2018, the Corporate Affairs Secretary Mr.Injeti Srinivas informed the country that out of the 9,000 cases filed before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), 4,400 cases have been disposed of, leading to a recovery of approximately Rs.71,000 crores. The total bad debts assessed so far that is owed to the public sector banks in India amounts to Ten Lakh Crores of Rupees.As per the report published by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India("IBBI"),in respect of...
Rafale Verdict : Flawed, Confused & Contradictory
The Supreme Court’s judgment in the Rafale case raises more questions than it answers.To dismiss the petitions, the Court cited jurisdictional limitations and lack of domain expertise in reviewing the merits of the defence procurement agreement. But that did not restrain the Court from proceeding further to undertake a merit-review, virtually putting a stamp of approval on all contentious issues like decision making process, pricing and induction of offset partner.What made the Court entertain...
The Justice Lokur I Know
Judging the Judge is always a challenge. The verdict has to be based on reason and supported by facts. A fine balance has to be maintained so that any expression of admiration does not slip into the murky waters of sycophancy. A caveat that the knowledge claimed is entirely based on the appearances before the Judge in the Air Pollution case is also required, as the author has met him outside the Court on only two occasions, at a wedding and at a funeral. So here it goes, mindful, but undaunted...
Justice Madan B. Lokur: The Epitome of Goodness
“Happiness can be found in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light,” these are the words of Prof. Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series, words which resonate with the ideologies of Hon’ble Mr. Justice Madan B. Lokur. On the last day in office of the second senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, it is important to acknowledge the nation-wide impact of this magnanimous person, for it would be a shame if his relentless efforts of benevolence go unappreciated.For...
Public Display Of Admiration By Justices For Politicians
"If judges start sending bouquets or congratulatory letters to a political leader on his political victory, eulogising him on assumption of high office in adulatory terms, the people's confidence in the judiciary will be shaken",commented Justice V D Tulzapurkar once. The comment was understood as a veiled criticism of the action of Justice P N Bhagwati(later a CJI) in sending a congratulatory letter to Indira Gandhi on her winning the Lok Sabha elections.If a letter from a sitting judge to a...