Plea In Kerala High Court Challenges Delay By Lok Ayukta In Passing Verdict On Matter Reserved For Orders One Year Ago

A plea has been filed in the Kerala High Court challenging the "unexplained" delay by the Lok Ayukta in passing verdict in a matter which was heard and reserved for orders on March 18, 2022. The petitioner, R.S. Sasikumar, had approached the Lok Ayukta under Section 9(1) of the Kerala Lok Ayukta Act, challenging the Cabinet decision taken on July 27, 2017, to give financial aid to the families...

'Union Govt Has Power To Abolish State Administrative Tribunal' : Supreme Court Affirms Abolition Of Odisha Administrative Tribunal

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the notification issued by the Central Government in 2019 to abolish the Odisha Administrative Tribunal. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli dismissed the petition filed by the Odisha Administrative Tribunal Bar Association challenging the Orissa High Court's decision which upheld the abolition of OAT.Conclusions...

Gujarat High Court Dismisses PIL Against Nayara Refinery, Says Pollution Control Board Monitoring Emission On Daily Basis

The Gujarat High Court has dismissed a PIL against oil refinery Nayara for allegedly emitting hazardous substances and polluting Vadinar Village in Devbhumi Dwarka.The bench comprising Acting Chief Justice A.J. Desai and Justice Biren Vaishnav observed the prayers cannot be accepted without any cogent material produced by the petitioner or the case put forward by the Gujarat Pollution...

Senior Advocate & Former Advocate General Of Kerala K.P. Dandapani Passes Away

Senior Advocate and former Advocate General of Kerala K.P. Dandapani passed away on Tuesday.He served as the Advocate General of Kerala from 2011 to 2016, during the tenure of the UDF Government. An alumnus of St. Albert's College and Government Law College, Ernakulam, the senior lawyer had enrolled as an Advocate and joined the Bar in the year 1968. He had been appointed as an Additional...

Arbitral Tribunal Erred In Fixing Fees Separately For Claims And Counter-Claims, Contrary To The Agreement Between Parties: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has ruled that the Apex Court’s decision in Oil and Natural Gas (ONGC) vs Afcons Gunanusa JV (2022), where it had interpreted the Fourth Schedule of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (A&C Act), clearly requires party autonomy to be given paramount importance. The bench of Justice Prateek Jalan remarked that though in ONGC (2022), it was held that...

No Forest Rights Merely Because Ancestors Resided In Forest, Must Establish Sole Dependency On Forest For "Bonafide Livelihood Needs": Madras High Court

While refusing relief to a group of persons claiming benefit under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, the Madras High Court noted that rights under the Act cannot be claimed merely on the ground that the ancestors originally resided in the forests. For claiming rights under the Act, it was necessary to establish that the...

Andhra Pradesh High Court Dismisses Plea Against Minimum Age Condition In NEET

The division bench of Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice R. Raghunandan Rao of the Andhra Pradesh High Court has dismissed a petition challenging the constitutional validity of the fixation of a minimum age of 17 years for appearing in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).The bench said that the High Court has already decided on the constitutional validity of the...

Supreme Court's Changing Attitude Towards 'Sealed Cover' Procedure

CJI DY Chandrachud made headlines yesterday by refusing to accept the sealed cover note submitted by the Central Government in the matter relating to disbursal of pension arrears to retired defence personnel under the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme. Stating that he was "personally averse" to sealed covers, he remarked that the practice of sealed covers was against the principles of...

Delhi High Court Grants Relief To PSU Law Officer, Directs Inclusion Of Name In Final List Of DHJS 2022

The Delhi High Court has directed that the name of a Law Officer working with a public sector undertaking be included in the final list of Delhi Higher Judicial Services, 2022 examination after ruling that he fulfils the mandatory requirement of "continuously practicing as an advocate for not less than seven years.”A division bench of Justice Najmi Waziri and Justice Vikas Mahajan...

[Jayalalithaa’s Death] Madras High Court Seeks Details Of Steps Taken By Govt On Arumugasamy Report

The Madras High Court has sought details from the State regarding the steps taken based on the report of Justice Arumugasamy Inquiry Commission which probed into the circumstances that led to the death of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. The bench of Acting Chief Justice T Raja and Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy made the inquiry in a plea filed by RR Gopaljee, publisher of...

Madras High Court Orders Police Action Against Unqualified Alternative Medicine Practitioners, Says State Must Act Against Unrecognised Institutes

Refusing relief to 61 persons claiming to be practicing alternative medicine, the Madras High Court said that unqualified persons cannot claim any right to practice alternate medicines. The court was also critical of unrecognised institutions conducting six months medical courses and issuing diploma certificate and noted that the same would bring disastrous consequences for the society.Justice...

Allotment Of Law Chambers Should Be As Per Procedure, Not Favouritism: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has observed that favouritism while allotting law chambers should not be encouraged and the allotments should be made as per the established procedure. The court added that even if certain adjustments were to be made, they should not be unilateral decisions and the consent of the Lawyers concerned was necessary. Lawyers are performing noble profession and they...