Supreme Court reopens today after a long summer vacation of 49 days

Supreme Court is reopening today after a long summer vacation which lasted 49 days. Long vacations enjoyed by the Supreme Court judges have always been a topic of debate. The Supreme Court calendar for 2013 indicates that, the Court has 50 days of summer vacation, 6 days of Holi vacation, 6 days of Durga Pooja vacation, 8 days of Diwali vacation and 15 days of Christmas vacation apart...

Exclusive: GNLU implements censorship on Group Mails of students for “safety and security”

The Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) Administration has allegedly imposed censorship on official email ids of the students. Under the new rule, a student cannot send a group email to other batches; he/she can send a group mail to his/her batch alone. If a student wishes to send an email to other batches, they have to do so “through proper official channel or Registrar’s office”.In...

Time to revisit Bachan Singh

If we have to go by what the constitution makers considered about the capital punishment, it is easy to find out that they were aware that our Penal Code prescribed it and yet they did not want to interfere with it.  The Indian Penal Code which was in force in many states at the time when the Constitution was made contained more than one offence punishable with death penalty.  In fact, some articles were formulated by the Constitution makers by reference to the death penalty. e.g. The President...

Justice Gyan Sudha Misra responds to Dhananjay Mahapatra; says irresponsible and contemptuous reporting by TOI

On 15th June, 2013 Times of India (TOI) published an article by Dhananjay Mahapatra titled, “In Vacation, SC Bench late by an hour”. The article had a shoulder headline: Justice G S Misra and CJI are habitual late comers.The article further noted, “Chief Justice of India (CJI) Altamas Kabir, who sits in court no. 1, is usually late to the court every day and the bench headed by him...

Undeclared Income: Abhishek Singhvi approaches IT Settlement Commission

Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, one of the highest paid senior lawyers in the Supreme Court and the richest member of Rajya Sabha, has approached the Income Tax Settlement Commission (ITSC) and sought immunity from levy of penalty or institution of proceedings against him, reports IE. He had earlier disclosed his "undeclared income" of approximately Rs 11 crore, and had paid Rs 3.26 crore as tax...

Unmarried couple indulging in sex in "live-in" can be considered “Married” rules Madras High Court

If any unmarried couple of the right legal age “indulge in sexual gratification in a live-in relationship,” this will be considered a valid marriage and they could be termed “husband and wife,” the Madras High Court has ruled.According to a report in The Hindu, the court said,  “If a bachelor has completed 21 years of age and an unmarried woman 18 years, they have acquired the...

Madras High Court rules "Internal Matters of High Court" cannot be disclosed under RTI

The Madras High Court has held that information relating to "internal matters of High Court" cannot be disclosed to public under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.A two judge Bench comprising Justices Elipe Dharma Rao and M Venugopal noted that if such information is disclosed, "It will definitely make an inroad to the proper, serene function of the Hon'ble High Court being an...

Coalgate: Three officials under scrutiny; Government not likely to give complete autonomy for CBI

Even as CBI prepares to interrogate Dasari Narayan Rao, former MoS for coal; and Naveen Jindal, Congress MP and Chancellor of Jindal University, reportedly three senior officials of the Jharkhand Government are now also under scrutiny, reports TOI. These officials were part of the screening committee which allocated a coal block to Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) in 2007.On June 20-23, July...

US Supreme Court rules natural human genes cannot be patented [Download Judgment]

In a path-breaking judgment, the US Supreme Court unanimously held that natural human genes are not patentable. The decision will have huge implications and will force a change at the federal patent office, which has been awarding gene patents since 1982.Sandra Park, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued to challenge the Myriad patents told Bloomberg, “Because of...

Bar Council of India wants participation in the Collegium System

In a latest development, the Bar Council of India (BCI) has demanded a say in the appointments of judges to the Supreme Court and the High Courts, reports Indian Express. In this regard, the BCI has adopted a resolution for approaching the Central Government with a request to allow them participation in the existing “collegium system”.A committee of BCI, comprising chairman Manan Kumar...

Justice Speaking: Capital punishment in India is “judge centric”, says Justice K T Thomas

'Justice Speaking' will be Live Law’s exclusive series of interviews with eminent Supreme Court and High Court Judges.Justice K. T. Thomas served as Judge of the Supreme Court of India from 29th March, 1996 to 30th January 2002.  Justice Thomas is actively involved with law even post retirement. He has served as Chairman of various Committees including Police Reforms Monitoring Committee constituted by the Supreme Court. He was also the Chairman of the School Review Commission to review the...

Justice Speaking: Justice Katju opposed my elevation says Justice K Chandru

'Justice Speaking' will be Live Law’s exclusive series of interviews with eminent Supreme Court and High Court Judges.Live Law spoke to Justice K Chandru, retired Judge of the Madras High Court. Justice Chandru was first appointed as an Additional Judge of the Madras High Court on 31st July, 2006 and later a Permanent Judge on 9th November, 2009. He retired recently on 8th March 8, 2013. During his tenure at the Madras High Court, Justice Chandru disposed nearly 96,000 cases and was popular as a...