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...

IBC- Miscellany

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 ("IBC" or the "Code") will be completing two years after Chapters II and III pertaining to the provisions relating to Insolvency Resolution and Liquidation for Corporate Persons and Liquidation Process became operational. The Code has proved its purpose and several crores of rupees have been recovered either by way of settlement between the creditor and the corporate debtor, putting in place an acceptable resolution plan or through liquidation of the...

70th Anniversary Of Universal Declaration Of Human Rights(UDHR)

December 10 marks the 70th anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights(UDHR).The horrific days of Fascism, Holocaust and World Wars showed that human rights persecutions can be perpetuated in a legalised fashion using constitutional means by tyrannical governments. In this backdrop, a formal declaration of inherent and inalienable human rights was felt necessary to act as a check on arbitrary and absolute powers. Quite often, law is a mere reflection of majoritarian will, bereft of...

Misplaced Mercy By A Governor For A Murder Convict

Yet another instance of gubernatorial indiscretion came to light this week, when Supreme Court upheld the order of Allahabad High Court quashing the UP Governor's decision to pardon a convicted murderer.In 2017, the UP Governor Ram Naik pardoned one Markandey from Gorakhpur, who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009 for murder of four persons out of political rivalry. The premature release of Markandey within eight years of sentence was challenged before the High Court by son...

Lest We Forget : Bhopal Gas Tragedy & Lessons for Indian Legal System

The 3rd-Dec-2018 marks the end of the 34th year of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, waiting only to add another year to that count as the victims still go through a harrowing ordeal. While dispensing justice may take more time, three decades is sufficient time for us to take a gestalt view of our legal system.The Gestalt theory in psychology argues that the "whole of an object is greater than the sum of its parts". Architects extend this principle to ensure symmetry in construction, implying that the...

Passionate And Compassionate – Justice Kurian Joseph

A perfect family man, a perfect judge and above all, a perfect human being ; even these three expressions are not enough to throw light on the personality of Justice Kurian Joseph who superannuates today from the Supreme Court to start his second innings. His infectious smile, a patient audience to all arguing counsel, a solution oriented approach in resolving disputes and a sound knowledge of law will be long cherished in the corridors of the Supreme Court and I am sure I can extend the same to...