Articles
Remembering Shanti Bhushan : A Look At Notable Cases Fought By Him
Acclaimed lawyer and Senior Advocate Shanti Bhushan passed away at his home in Delhi at 7PM on 31st January. He was aged 97 years. Shanti Bhushan also served as the Union Law Minister from 1977 to 1979 during the post-emergency era in the Morarji Desai government. During his illustrious career that ran for over six decades, Bhushan was not just a part of but also pivotal to several important cases before the Supreme Court of India. Few of those cases are as follows: State of Uttar...
Siddique Kappan’s Release On Bail After 846 Days Is A Harsh Reminder Of What Can Happen To Our Precious Freedom
Eternal vigilance, it is said, is the price of liberty. Siddique Kappan’s loss of liberty for 846 days shows that our liberty too can be snatched by the State for no reason. On being released on bail from a Lucknow prison on Thursday, Kappan told the media that he had no idea why he was implicated wrongly in a case and jailed for 28 months. That he has been only released on bail and not acquitted of all charges against him must make it clear that it may be quite a while before he can...
Applicability Of The POCSO Act On The Consensual Relationship Between The Minor
Recently the CJI D.Y. Chandrachud has urged the parliament to reconsider the age of consent under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) he stated that major difficulty encountered in POCSO cases by the Judges is in situations where the consent is factually present but regardless of it since the POCSO criminalizes all the sexual acts among those under 18 years and presumes that there is no consent among those below 18 years. So in this piece, the author...
The Outer Space Treaty
It has been more than 55 years since the Outer Space Treaty came into picture. The Treaty was opened for signature by the three depository Governments (the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States of America) in January 1967, and it entered into force in October 1967. The treaty provides the basic framework of the international space law. As per the United Nations Office for Outer Space (UNOOSA), “this framework includes many principles which the signatory nations need...
On First Principles, SC Collegium’s Recommendation To Elevate A Party Leader As A High Court Judge May Be Flawed
The Supreme Court Collegium, even while appearing to stand up to the Government in the ongoing tug of war for primacy over appointments of Judges to the Higher Judiciary, may actually be losing the perception battle with regard to adherence to the first principles.One such first principle is that candidates, who openly owe allegiance to political parties, ought not to be considered for elevation to the High Court Benches. This is not to suggest that membership of a political party is itself a...
Key Aspects And Analysis Of Union Budget 2023
The Union Finance Minister Ms.Nirmala Sitharaman has presented the budget for the year 2023-24, the last full budget before the 2024 polls. Various amendments have been proposed for the taxpayers specifically the middle and the salaried class such as altering the tax slabs and increase of rebate for taxpayers paying tax under the new tax regime.Major direct-tax amendments as proposed in Finance Bill, 2023 are as follows:1. Rates of...
Saving The Claims: Excluding Time Spent In Pre-Arbitration Mechanisms From The Period Of Limitation
Pre-arbitration mechanisms refer to dispute resolution mechanism whereby the parties make an attempt to resolve their dispute or grievances without formally invoking the arbitration. It can be by way of mutual talks, mediation/conciliation, or through an internal dispute redressal body. It is now common practice for the parties to a commercial contract to provide for an attempt at amicable settlement of disputes before formally invoking the arbitration, thus, most of the contracts...
Shanti Bhushan’s Indelible Legacy Will Continue To Inspire Those Who Campaign For Accountability
If there is one phrase which could sum up the life and career of the eminent lawyer and former Union Law Minister, Shanti Bhushan who passed away on Tuesday, it is his zeal and passion for seeking accountability from the executive as well as the judiciary. His legal acumen was a means to this end. Shanti Bhushan was born in Bijnor, a district town of Western Uttar Pradesh, on November 11, 1925, Armistice Day. His parents named him Shanti, which means peace in Hindi, because he was...
Crown Debt Vs Other Debts – The Legislative Intent
When the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code,2016 was passed by the Indian Parliament, it created a new precedent by lowering the priority of payment of the Crown Debt or the Statutory Dues to the dues of the Banks/Financial Institutions and other creditors, both secured and unsecured. It was a departure from the long-standing practice set in place by the Britishers from pre-independence times, where the Crown Debts i.e. dues of Income Tax, Excise, Customs, GST etc., enjoyed pre-eminance over...
Making Cinema Accessible To Everyone
The Delhi High Court on January 16, directed the producers of the upcoming movie ‘Pathaan’ (Yash Raj Films), to make the movie accessible for hearing and visually-impaired persons. The producers of the film were directed to include audio description, close captioning and subtitles for the movie's over-the-top (OTT) release. This is a welcome step but more needs to be done to strengthen the entertainment accessibility rights of differently-abled in the theatres. As per the 2011 Census...
Basic Structure And Constituent Power
Recently the comment made by the Vice President of India that the basic structure doctrine as expatiated by the Supreme Court in Keshavananda Bharti case[1] hinders the functioning of the Parliament, evoked a flurry of responses. What Keshavananda held was that Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution save the basic structure. Now when we ask ‘what is basic structure?’ we get some answers- Independence of Judiciary, Rule of Law, Supremacy of the Constitution are some of the...