Arbitration Court Reckoner: September 2020

By way of the present column, an attempt is made to briefly review the salutary judgments pronounced by the Courts in the month of September 2020 under the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act'). That while as many judgments as possible are sought to be reviewed, owing to the limited column space, some judgments would invariably be left out. That...

Can Divorced Wife Claim Right To Residence Under Domestic Violence Act?

The Supreme Court in a recent judgment [Satish Chander Ahuja vs. Sneha Ahuja] held that a woman can claim right to residence in the houses owned by relatives as well. This means that, she can seek residence order with respect to property which belongs to in-laws, if she and her husband lived there with some permanency after marriage.What happens after divorce of a married couple? Can a...

[Explainer] Resolution Plan Under IBC: Major Decisions

"The 'I&B Code' defines 'Resolution Plan' as a plan for insolvency resolution of the 'Corporate Debtor' as a going concern. It does not spell out the shape, colour and texture of 'Resolution Plan', which is left to imagination of stakeholders. Read with long title of the 'I&B Code', functionally, the 'Resolution Plan' must resolve insolvency (rescue a failing, but viable...

Right To Protest In Public Roads : What SC Constitution Bench Held In 1972 Himatlal Case?

The Supreme Court in its recent judgment holding that the public ways cannot be occupied indefinitely in the name of protests, have referred to a constitution bench judgment in HimatLal K. Shah v. Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad. This piece is an explainer about the said judgment delivered in 1972 by a five judge bench headed by the then CJI SM Sikri. In Himatlal, the rules framed by...

Presumption Under Section 29 of POCSO Act Cannot Arise At Stage Before Framing of Charges: Delhi High Court [Read Judgment]

In a significant judgment rendered on September 22, 2020, the Delhi High Court has discussed in detail the legislative intent and applicability of "reverse burden" under Section 29 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 (POCSO). The single Bench of Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani was considering the bail application of a 24-yr-old man, accused of coercing a...

Subsequent Mortgage Of Property

Mortgage has been defined in the Transfer of Property Act as transfer of an interest in specific immovable property as security for payment of money advanced as loan. The Transfer of Property Act reserves Mortgagor and Mortgagee with certain rights. Considering a 'Mortgage' from the point of view of a mortgagor, the mortgagor loses his right of redemption in case of a default in...

The Law On Phone Tapping In India

Communication surveillance has been widely accepted as a necessary evil that every civilized society should allow for the security of the state as well for prevention and investigation of crimes. However, state sponsored surveillance should be in balance with individual rights and personal liberties of the citizens. While many developed nations have put safeguards in place to ensure...

Rate Of Interest For Pendente Lite And Future Period

This article is primarily in relation to the Original Applications (OAs) filed by banks and Financial Institutions (FIs) in Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) under the provisions of Recovery of Debt and Bankruptcy Act, 1993 (RDB Act, 1993) Pendente Lite period means the period from the date of filing of the suit upto the date of judgment. Future period means the period from the date...

Hathras Case : Presence Of Sperm Not Necessary To Prove Rape; UP Police Claim Contrary To Law

The Uttar Pradesh Police has claimed that no rape happened with the 19-year old Dalit woman of Hathras, who succumbed to her injuries yesterday.A senior UP Police official told the press that the Forensic Science Laboratory result did not show the presence of semen samples in the body of the deceased woman."The report of the FSL has also come. It says clearly that samples did not have sperm....

Distinction Between Attempt To Commit Culpable Homicide Not Amounting To Murder [Sec.308 IPC] & Voluntary Causing Hurt By Dangerous Weapons [Sec. 324 IPC]: SC Explains

In an order passed last month in a criminal appeal, the Supreme court explained the 'subtle and nuanced' distinction between attempt to commit culpable homicide not amounting to murder [[Section 308 IPC] and voluntarily causing hurt with a sharp-edged weapon [Section 324 IPC].Under the former (Section 308), injuries must be such as are likely to cause death, but in the latter (Section 324)...

Explained : Changes Brought To Foreign Contributions Regulation Act

The Parliament last week passed the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020 ("the Bill") to amend the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 ("the FCRA or the Act"). As per the 'Statement of Objects' of the Bill, "the annual inflow of foreign contribution has almost doubled between the years 2010 and 2019, but many recipients of foreign contribution have not utilised...

New Labour Laws Explained (Part II) : The Code On Social Security 2020

The Code on Social Security 2020 was one of the three labour law bills passed by the Parliament last week.In this part, we will discuss the Code on Social Security 2020, and the major changes brought by it.The Code on Social Security, 2020The Code consolidates nine different central laws :The Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 The Employees State Insurance Act...