An Overview On The Prevention Of Corruption (Amendment) Act 16 of 2018 [Part-II]

to cause to forbear such public duty by such public servant or by another public servant, commits an offence under this section.The punishment is imprisonment for not less than 3 years but upto 7 years AND fine. Here, while fixing the fine, the matters under new Section 16 need not be taken into consideration since Section 7 A is absent in Section 16. This may be an accidental omission in new Section 16.An Overview On The Prevention Of Corruption (Amendment) Act 16 of 2018 [Part-1] Section...

J&K Assembly Dissolution : Yet Another Instance Of Governor Toppling Constitution

After Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Karnataka, yet another instance of abuse of Constitutional power by a Governor occurred this week, when Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Satya Pal Malik decided to dissolve JK assembly. J&K has been under Presidential rule since last June, after BJP withdrew from PDP-led coalition government, putting end to an alliance forged in December 2014.Earlier this week, PDP, NCP and Congress announced that they have formed an alliance and staked claim for...

Implications Of Binani Ruling For IBC

On 14 November 2018, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) pronounced its ruling in the case of Rajputana Properties Pvt. Ltd. v Ultratech Cement Ltd. & Ors. along with other connected matters, upholding the revised resolution plan submitted by UltraTech Cement Limited (UltraTech) for Binani Cements Limited (Binani Cements). Vide the said order, the resolution plan submitted by the rival contender viz Dalmia Bharat led Rajputana Properties Private Limited (Rajputana), was held...

Cyber Crimes Against Women And Laws In India

“Time is now here to exculpate that our women are safe in cyber world, the memento alarms to stop tomfoolery activities on internet access as it is an offence and women take umbrage from it”Every second, one woman in India gets tricked to be a victim of cyber crimes and the online platform is now the new platform where a woman’s dignity, privacy and security is increasingly being challenged every moment. Trolling, abusing, threatening, stalking, voyeurism, body-shaming, defaming, surveillance,...

Fragments From A Manuscript

It often falls on archaeologists and historians to reconstruct civilizations and their cultures from a shard of pottery or the remnants of parchment. In contrast, the tools of law require us to sift through the dross and distill the ratio of a decision.  We lawyers are trained to ignore distractions of what might have happened in court and focus on the eventual outcome and the principle laid. Nevertheless, at times of repose we often drift into imagining the theatre that played out in the...

An Overview On The Prevention Of Corruption (Amendment) Act 16 of 2018 [Part-1] Section 7

New Section 7 substituted by Amending Act 16/2018 7-Offence relating to public servant being bribed.commits an offence under this section.The punishment is imprisonment for not less than 3 years but upto 7 years AND fine. While fixing the fine the matters under new Section 16 will have to be taken into consideration. Eventhough new Section 9 (4) does not specify that the offence is cognizable, going by Part II of Schedule 1 of Cr.P.C the offence is cognizable and non-bailable. The ingredient of...

Guilty Until Proven Innocent - Problem Of Languishing Innocent Undertrials In India

The horrors faced by a person thrown in jail for crimes they have not committed, cannot be understood unless one lives it. Our jails are overflowing with thousands of innocent undertrials languishing for years. Once thrown inside jail, society draws no distinction between an accused and a convict. The accused faces lengthy jail times while the trial proceedings are kept pending for years. It is this period which locks out any good reputation an accused may have enjoyed previously till the Court...

English- The Language Of Supreme Court Of India

Following  tweet by a journalist has gone viral.https://twitter.com/harishvnair1/status/1057892525241847810This has lead to lot of ‘trolling’ in social media space.  Several persons have expressed opinion criticizing the Court as ‘snobbish’ and ‘elitist’. But has the Court committed any wrong by its response in the above manner? Let us examine.Before proceeding further, it will be beneficial to see the Constitutional scheme in relation to language. In the Constitution of India Part XVII titled...

The Unconstitutional Vagueness Of The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018

“What happens in vagueness, stays in vagueness...”Police Officer: “Hey, Mr.CEO, you’re under arrest! We’ve found that the website of your company displays….hmmm….what do you call it [Police Officer asks his slightly more informed sidekick]…oh..yes, yes..I know - ‘Data’; this can cause ‘harm’ to people, so I’ve been told [Police Officer grins]   Mr.CEO: “What! Please wait a minute; I can explain, this was legitimate use of data, ‘X’ (owner of data) allowed us to use it, there is a contract...

Acquitted But Not Yet Free – The Constitutionality Of Section 437-A Cr.P.C

The Criminal Procedure Code 1973 [Cr.P.C.] was subjected to significant amendments in 2009. The law on arrest was drastically altered following Supreme Court admonition, and victims were given a real foothold in the criminal process for the first time. Amidst all this, a provision was added to the section on Bail in the Cr.P.C.: Section 437-A. What does it say?Before conclusion of the trial and before disposal of the appeal, the Court trying the offence or the Appellate Court, as the case may...

RBI Autonomy Is Neither A Myth Nor A Desire; It’s A Historical Fact

The Historical context of RBI reveals that its autonomy is not a myth. The central bank under the RBI Act, 1934 may not be as autonomous as US Federal Reserve System, yet it is far from being a mere governmental stooge.The ongoing tussle between the Central Government & the Reserve Bank of India indicates the tumultuous times that we live in as also the institutional skepticism we are heading towards.Ever since the news of government invoking (or initiating the process) Section-7 Reserve...

The Recurring Controversy Of Judges' Transfers

"Consistent practise and transparency is lacking when it comes to transfer policy pursued by the SC Collegium"The script remains the same; just the characters change. Last year it was Justice Jayant Patel. This time it is Justice Akil Abdulhamid Kureshi. Both judges had to face unexpected transfer orders, the reasons for which are shrouded in mystery. Both judges- belonging to Gujarat High Court originally- were known to have passed bold orders which miffed the political executive of the day....