A Tribute to Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer

Justice Krishna Iyer, in whose demise the Indian Bar lost a towering and somewhat mythical figure in the legal profession was a remarkable multifaceted personality, having experienced life from varied angles – as a lawyer practicing for a number of years in a Sub-Court at Tellichery, thereafter, at the High Court of Kerala, then as a Minister of the legendary first Communist Government of Kerala headed by E. M. S. Namboodiripad, as Member of the Law Commission of India, and finally as a judge of...

Riding on the ordinance highway: Why the Supreme Court should step in

The NDA government has repromulgated the 2014 land bill ordinance for a second time.President Pranab Mukherjee signed the ordinance into law on June 1. Without this, the ordinance would have lapsed on June 3.Article 123 of the Indian Constitution authorises the President to promulgate ordinances if at least one house of Parliament is not in session.Such ordinances are temporary. To become permanent, they must be ratified by Parliament. The Modi government has tried to get around this limitation...

The legacy of the Magna Carta

‘Does Magna Carta mean nothing to you? Did she die in vain?’ — so joked comedian Tony Hancock (1924-68) in Hancock’s Half Hour back in the 1950s.Clearly not. Far from dying, Magna Carta has had a life longer, fuller and more influential than the most optimistic medieval baron could have ever imagined.As the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta is being celebrated today in Runnymede in grand opulence, it is worth revisiting how relevant the ‘Great Charter’ still is.It is relatively dense and...

Asserting the Human Dignity: The Judgment of the Supreme Court of India in NALSA Case

The judgment of the Supreme Court of India delivered in the case of National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India on 15th April 2014 by a Division Bench comprising Justices K. S. Radhakrishnan and Dr. A. K. Sikri is a historical decision which will be a mile stone in the area of gender justice in the country and will have long term impact in the coming times. The verdict is a great example of recognition of right to life with dignity and is also an example of unique judicial craftsmanship...

A fraud on the Constitution

In a democracy, normally, the Legislature alone legislates. In India the Judiciary and the Executive also legislate.The Judiciary’s power to legislate flows from a clause in the Constitution which says the Supreme Court’s decisions have the force of law. The court has, through judgments, written new laws and even made changes in the Constitution.The Executive’s power to legislate is derived from the articles that authorise the President and the Governors of States to promulgate ordinances to...

Hamsakoya vs. State of Kerala (2015 (2) KHC 206) – A Product of Precedents and Perspective

‘Investigation, if done by an Officer though equal in rank but lack territorial jurisdiction, vitiates trial’.   This statement of law in the decision reported in Hamsakoya Vs. State of Kerala (2015 (2) KHC 206) drew flak from one of the former Judges of the Hon’ble High Court of Kerala, Justice V. Ramkumar.   The ratio decidendi deduced from the decision was rendered in the back drop of an offence under Section 55(g) of the Kerala Abkari Act, which penalises keeping of wash for brewing...

Environmental Protection in India only through judicial intervention

Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consumer with care. That is the theme of the World Environment Day, 2015. It is the dream of every Indian who visited Singapore that why we cannot make the environment of our country like that.The life of Indian has been reduced two to three years due to air pollution, the recent study by the WHO declared.  Indians cannot drink water from natural sources due to severe water pollution. The holy rivers in many states have become sewage canals.  People work on the...

The Leader of Indian Bar: Changing Horizons of the office of The Attorney-General for India

The Attorney General for India is a constitutional office and is held by a person qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court. The Attorney General continues in office “during the pleasure of the President,”[Article 76(4)] a dignified phrase that has its medieval origins in the notion of holding office “during good behaviour.” In actual practice it means until the AG enjoys the confidence of the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers as the country is governed by the...

The Curse of the Kangaroo

“You do not need to accept everything as true, you only have to accept it as necessary.”― Franz Kafka, The TrialIn less than two years after a military coup, Egypt's  elected ​ former ​ Presiden​​t ​Morsi ​has been sentenced to death. Morsi has been tried with everything: leading prison breaks, conspiring with Hamas and Iran, espionage, judicial contempt, inciting crowds to rioting. The method ​ of the prosecution​  was by any standards Kafkaesque. The former President was kept    incommunicado...

Scope of Automatic Disqualification & Rule of Bias in post retirement practice

A judge, who had previously been associated with crown, as its Minister, is precluded from hearing the validity dispute of the Crown Statute, to avoid the causes of prejudice and it is taken as one of the rule against bias. Hostility or even special relations are treated as causes of prejudice in judicial adjudications, and thus the Bar Council of India Rules, in Part VI, Chapter II, Rule 6, expressly prohibits practice before a relative Judge. In the given situations, the first instance is a...

Bar Scam Case; Legality of submitting Final Report before Legal Officers for legal Scrutiny and Expert opinion [Updated]

It is recently reported in media that “the probe into the (Kerala) bar bribery scam, allegedly involving (Keral) Finance Minister K M Mani, is nearing its end. The investigating officer informed the Vigilance Court here on Friday that the final report will be submitted after availing legal scrutiny and expert opinion. Vigilance SP Sukesan R, who heads the probe team, told the court that the final report will be filed as soon as all the formalities are completed. However, he said that these...

A miscarriage of justice may arise from the acquittal of the guilty no less than from the conviction of the innocent; Judgment in “Hamsa Koya v/s State (2015(2) KHC 206) rendered without adequate research, sets a wrong precedent

In a prosecution for an offence punishable  under Section 55(g) of the (Kerala) Abkari Act, 1077 M.E. for having found in possession of 16 litres of wash on 14-02-1999, the Additional Sessions Court (Ad hoc-1), Manjeri, after trial, found the accused guilty and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for  5 years and to pay a fine of Rs.1,00,000/- and on default to pay the fine to undergo simple imprisonment for one year.  The accused preferred an appeal before the Hon’ble High Court...