Name of Biological Father cannot be replaced with name of Step Father in Birth Records; Punjab & Haryana HC [Read Judgment]

Recently Punjab and Haryana High Court has examined the question whether name of a step-father, on the asking of his step-son, can be entered in the Birth Certificate, replacing the name of the biological father, in terms of Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969?The word "biological father" is defined in the Black's Law Dictionary as "the man whose sperm impregnated...

Homelessness and Crime

How do youth homelessness relates to crime? Homeless young people and delinquency is believed to have a relationship. The homeless youths can be categorized in the following three ways those who leave home temporarily and then return;those who have left home and require some temporary assistance to make the transition to independence;and those who become homeless in their mid to late teens and who find it very difficult to break the cycle of homelessness. These are the poor materially and...

An erroneous decision on a pure ‘question of law’ does not operate as ‘res judicata’ or 'Estoppel' for the Court to decide the question correctly in a subsequent lis between same parties; SC

A two Judge Bench of the Supreme Court held that previous proceedings would operate as res judicata only in respect of issues of facts and not on issues of pure questions of law when the subsequent suit or proceeding is based upon a different cause of action and in respect of different property though between the same parties.The Bench comprising of Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh...

No proposal as of now to regulate fee charged by Advocates, says Union Law Minister in LokSabha

Laying rest to all speculations, the Union Law minister has informed the Parliament that Central Government, as of now, is not proposing to regulate the fee charged by advocates.The Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda was replying to the question by a member of the house that whether the government is aware that a large number of advocates are charging high fees from their clients, including...

Delhi Judicial Service Examination postponed in view of pending Writ Petition

Delhi High Court has postponed the Delhi Judicial Service Main Examination (Written), 2015 scheduled to be held on 14th and 15th May, 2016. The notice issued by the High Court regarding the same,states as follows;“In continuation of this Court’s Notice dated 04.03.2016, it is hereby notified that in view of the pendency of WP (C) No. 2104/2016 titled “Manish Gupta vs. Registrar...

Children aged below 15 cannot claim Compassionate appointment after attaining majority: Madras HC [Read Judgment]

Under the scheme, the department is not obligated to keep any post vacant, till the applicant attains majority or to consider his candidature on attaining majority, the Bench said.The Madras High Court, observing that compassionate appointment is not a right, but only a concession, has held that children below the age of fifteen on the day of death in harness of either of their parents...

Allahabad HC rejects challenge against grant of pension and other benefits to former MPs [Read Judgment]

The need for a former Member of Parliament to live a life of dignity after ceasing to be a member is not merely a matter of concern for Members of Parliament themselves but an issue which is vital to the functioning of democracy, the Court said.Allahabad High Court has dismissed a writ petition by Lok Prahri challenging the constitutional validity of the amendments made by Parliament to...

Centre mulls Amending Act to prescribe life imprisonment for Milk Adulteration

The Centre has told the Supreme Court that it has formed a high level committee to consider amendment of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006 to make the offence of milk adulteration punishable by life imprisonment.The apex court has said the menace has become rampant especially in North Indian states.The submission, during the hearing of a PIL which has sought stringent...

Adopted son no less than a natural son to inherit his father’s properties, reiterates SC [Read Judgment]

Supreme Court, in Pawan Kumar Pathak vs. Mohan Prasad has reiterated that an adopted son is no less than a natural son, when it comes to claiming the right to inherit the properties of his father.Division Bench comprising of Justices A.K. Sikri and R.K. Agrawal made this observation in an appeal arising out of a suit filed by an adopted son claiming his right to inherit properties which...

Bombay HC orders demolition of Adarsh Building. Here's why? Read Judgment

Prima facie, the bureaucrats and the ministers are guilty of various offences in acquiring the subject plot as also misuse and / or abuse of powers, the Court said.The Bombay High Court, has asked the Ministry of Environment and Forests to forthwith demolish Adarsh building which was unauthorisedly constructed by the Adarsh Co-op. Housing Society Ltd in violation to Environmental norms....

Reflections on CJI’S speech: Going beyond judicial appointments for clearance of cases

Years ago, Justice Krishna Iyer was received by almost all the judges of the Allahabad High Court. Looking at the huge crowd of around 100 judges, Justice Iyer wondered “this is not court; this is population”. But the Allahabad High Court had the highest average pendency of case in India of 1337 days, according to a study by DAKSH, a Bengaluru based organisation. The fact is that even when the biggest High Court in India had 90 judges, in January 2014, it was running short of 70.The Chief...

A nation where, without studying, educational degrees are provided to people, will become a nation of block heads: J&K HC [Read Order]

The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir has observed that a nation where without studying,educational degrees would be provided to people, will become nation of block heads, thus, making its future dark.Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar made this observation while refusing to quash an FIR against a person involved in an Education scam. Allegation was that the candidates were lured and amounts,...