Does A Tax On Sanitary Pads Violate Article 15(1) Of The Constitution?

The last few days have seen a campaign asking for a removal of the tax on sanitary pads (which is 5% in Delhi, and goes up to 14% in certain states). It has been argued that the premise of taxing sanitary pads is that they are luxury items; however, their impact on reproductive health and the overall well-being of women, at home and in the workplace, marks them out as essential items rather than luxury goods.In this post, I will attempt to advance an alternative, legal argument: I will contend...

‘See You In Court’ Or ‘See You Out Of Court’? A Burdened Judicial System - Can ADR System Be An Answer? (Part I)

A well-functioning court system is regarded as an institutional requisite for not just robust economic growth, but also for human well-being [On the need for efficient courts to promote well-being, wealth, and justice in India, see Justice Without Delay: Recommendations for legal and Institutional Reforms in Indian Courts, Jindal Global Legal Research Paper No. 4/2011]. Both law and development theorists are of the view that the socio-economic development of a country increases its reliance on...

Strict Enforcement Of Traffic Rules For Drunken Driving: HC Sees Reason, Does “Complete Justice”

A blanket ban on the sale of liquor near highways is a smokescreen for poor enforcement of existing traffic laws meant to deter drunken driving. Horrendously, it is akin to banning the presence of women in public in order to curb the rising offences against them!Many countries have successfully battled the menace of drunken driving with strict laws and effective enforcement. Even Chandigarh seems to have followed suit –curiously managing to impress the same judges of the Supreme Court who...

The Struggle In Getting A High Court Established At Puducherry

In the first week of April, 2017, reports had crept in that a delegation of All India Bar Association met Pondicherry Chief Minister, Mr. V. Narayanasamy with a proposal to constitute a High Court at Pondicherry. The memorandum submitted by the delegation requested the Chief Minister to pass a unanimous resolution in the territorial assembly seeking a High Court at Puducherry and forward the same to the President of India, the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India so that the Government...

SAT ‘Strictly’ Interprets Takeover Code, Strikes Down Application Of SEBI’s Informal Guidance

Takeover Code has been one of the most contentious Regulations under the Securities Law. The Code deals with ‘control’ over the listed company, disclosures and public announcements by acquirers and persons acting in concert, triggering of open offer, disclosures by promoters of the company listed, etc. The practical application of the Code is very ‘strategic decision-making process’ and the Code has greater significance in cases of merger and amalgamation, acquisition or strategic investment....

How Not So Carefully Drafted One-Side Clause Can Backfire! Delhi HC Makes 2015 Amendments To Arbitration Act Applicable To Proceedings Initiated Under The 1996 Act

Yesterday on 11th April 2017, Justice S. Muralidhar in Ratna Infrastructure Projects Pvt. Ltd. v. Meja Urja Nigam Private Limited, Arb. Pet 537/2016 made observations on the applicability of the 2015 amendments over the arbitration proceedings commenced under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Act”) i.e. before 23 October 2015. The Court interpreted the words “unless the parties otherwise agree” as used in the Section 26 of the Amendment Act in light of the standard agreement terms and...

Legal and Political Questions Around Sky Babies

The stories of ‘sky babies’ or ‘baby born on board’ are numerous. Few days back on 08/04/2017, a baby took birth at 42, 000 feet in Turkish airlines flying from Conakry, Guinea to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso.The question that who owns the air space has often triggered legal and political debate. Another area which has raised curiosity is the determination of ‘citizenship’ of a baby born in flight.Countries have different laws governing the citizenship of babies born on their soil. The question...

National Health Policy 2017 and Erroneous Assumptions

The National Health Policy 2017 (NHP) is expected to rejuvenate the dilapidated health system in the country.The government spends only 1.1% of GDP, which constitutes 28% of the total health expenditure. The lack of public health expenditure has forced people to seek health care from private sector providers, which result in catastrophic health payments.The catastrophic healthcare expenditure has increased from 15% (2004-05) to 18% (2011-12).As a result, nearly 63 million people in India are...

Is RTI Being Weakened By Rules?

The government has issued a circular on 31 March giving draft rules, which it is proposing for the RTI Act.  Most citizens and media have shown considerable concern at these and there has been a feeling that  the government is trying to emasculate the RTI Act. From my experience in the RTI journey, I have realized that most people and institutions champion and hail transparency for others, but are very reluctant to give information about themselves.  For this reason,  I am extremely suspicious...

Recasting Of Financial Statements By Partners Of LLP

IntroductionSuppose a Limited Liability Partnership (‘LLP’) has filed its financial statements prepared for a financial year with the Registrar in terms of the applicable provisions of the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 (‘Act’). However, due to certain reasons, there was a need to recast/ restate the said financial statements. The Act does not prescribe any provision for recasting of financial statements of an LLP unlike the Companies Act, 2013 (‘CA, 13’) which enables the companies to...

'Can We Not Do Better?' [First Part Of A Series By R. Basant, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court]

[Senior Advocate R.Basant was a District and Sessions Judge from 1988 to 2012 in Kerala. He was a Judge in Kerala High Court from 2002 to 2012. He had delivered many significant Judgments in Criminal Law. He was designated as a Senior Advocate in Supreme Court on 21.01.2013. Recently Supreme Court took cognizance of his suggestions for a uniform criminal rules of practice in the country and issued notices to all High Courts.]Kudos to the Chief for his bold thoughts on court vacations. But is it...

Andhra Pradesh Building Penalization Scheme – Lacks Norms For Regularization Of High Rise Buildings

Building Penalization Scheme (BPS) is the scheme brought in by the Andhra Pradesh Government in the Year 2015. BPS program penalizes the buildings constructed unauthorizedly and in deviation to sanctioned plan as on 31.12.2014. The objectives of Building Penalization Scheme are to penalize every such building whose construction is unauthorized or has been constructed with deviations to the sanctioned plan, thus bringing all such units into the planning fold. The scheme provides an opportunity to...