Indian born Srikanth Srinivasan being viewed as potential successor to Justice Scalia as US Supreme Court Judge

After Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s sudden demise on Saturday, Chandigarh born Srikanth ‘Sri’ Srinivasan may become the first Indian American to be on the US Supreme Court Bench. Mr. Srikanth is a Circuit Judge of the Federal Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.“Any list begins with Sri Srinivasan, a member of the US Court of Appeals for the District...

Allahabad HC suspends Judicial Officer who slapped sedition charges against Arun Jaitley

Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court on Saturday suspended Judicial Officer Ankit Goel, who had slapped sedition charges against Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in October last year. The Judge has been suspended for irregularities and acting beyond his jurisdiction. He has been found prima facie guilty of “indiscretion in carrying out judicial work” and an inquiry has been ordered against...

High Courts Weekly Round-up

Bombay High CourtBombay High Court on Wednesday held that if marriage is contracted with second lady in subsistence of first marriage, then the second lady cannot claim to be a widow entitled to pension after the death of the man.A Division Bench of the High Court on Wednesday directed the Maharashtra Government to file a “detailed reply” on a bunch of PILs alleging that marriage bureaus...

Justice R S Reddy takes oath as new Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court

He has become the first judge to be elevated as Chief Justice of a High Court since April 13, 2015 when the NJAC Act was brought into force.The newly appointed Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court Justice Ramayyagari Subhash Reddy was administered oath of office by Gujarat Governor O P Kohli in Rajbhavan yesterday. Chief Minister Mrs. Anandiben Patel, various ministers, Speaker of...

CJI recommends mass Transfer of High Court Judges

Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur reportedly has ordered mass transfer of High Court Judges across the country. This drastic step seems to have been taken during a meeting of collegium held on January 11th.Deccan Chronicle reports that Justices R. Sudhakar and C.S. Karnan of the Madras High Court are being transferred to  Jammu and Kashmir and Calcutta High Courts respectively. The judges...

A Judicial officer cannot be penalized for passing erroneous orders: Kerala HC [Read Judgment]

The Kerala High Court has ruled in P. Sujanapal v State of Kerala & others [W.A No:1524 of 2014] that except in exceptional circumstances, a judicial officer is protected from legal action of whatever nature for wrong orders rendered by him.A private complaint was filed against the writ petitioner alleging offences punishable under Ss.466, 469, 471 and 500 IPC before the Chief...

Actor not liable for failure to display the Statutory warning on Alcohol Consumption in the Film ; Kerala HC quashes Case against Actor Prithviraj [Read Order]

Kerala High Court has ruled that an actor cannot be prosecuted for not displaying the statutory warning “CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL IS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH” in a particular scene in a film in which he acted in the lead role.Prithviraj, a Malayalam Actor , had been booked u/s 55 I (1) & (2) of the Kerala Abkari Act. The same was done pursuant to an allegation that in one of his...

Delhi HC issues notice on Airtel’s challenge to TRAI’s Interconnect Regulations [Read Petition]

A Division Bench of Delhi High Court on Friday sought the TRAI’s response on Bharti Airtel’s petition challenging the Telecommunication Interconnect Usage Charges (Eleventh Amendment) Regulations, 2015. The Bench, comprising Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath has sought TRAI’s response by March 1.The Regulations fix termination charges for landline to wireless as zero paise...

Whether Drivers having LMV licence is required to obtain prior endorsement to drive transport vehicles? SC refers the Question to Larger Bench

A two Judge Bench of Supreme Court on thursday has referred the matters to be decided by a larger bench to resolve the issue whether drivers having licence to drive light motor vehicles is required to obtain a prior endorsement to drive the transport vehicle even when the transport vehicle is of class of light motor vehicle.The Court formulated the following questions for the consideration...

Bombay HC demands reply on unregulated marriage bureaus that are facilitating dowry payment

A Division Bench of Bombay High Court on Wednesday reportedly directed the Maharashtra Government to file a “detailed reply” on a bunch of PILs alleging that marriage bureaus in the country were functioning unregulated, with some of them openly facilitating the menace of dowry.The bench, comprising Justice V.M. Kanade and Justice Revati Mohite-Dere, directed the Government to file...

Parliament cannot change terms of a Treaty unilaterally, through Domestic Law: Delhi HC [Read Judgment]

A Division Bench of Delhi High Court on Monday held that Parliament cannot change the terms of a treaty, by bringing in amendments in the domestic law.The Bench comprising Justice S. Ravindra Bhat and Justice R.K. Gauba observed, “Parliament, supreme as it may be, is not equipped, with the power to amend a treaty. It is certainly true that law laid down by the Parliament in our...

Second ‘Wife’ in bigamous marriage cannot claim to be a ‘widow’ entitled to pension: Bombay HC [Read Judgment]

Bombay High Court on Wednesday held that if marriage is contracted with second lady in subsistence of first marriage, then the second lady cannot claim to be a widow entitled to pension after the death of the man. “The Indian system has adopted monogamy as a legal structure of the marriage institution and, therefore, occasional second marriage in subsistence of first marriage is held void...