Maneka Gandhi’s books on animal rights should be part of law school curriculum: Gowda to Bar Council

In a letter to Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, Union Law Minister Sadananda Gowda has recommended to books written by his cabinet colleague Maneka Gandhi on animal rights in the curriculum of law schools and colleges. Mr. Gowda was reportedly reacting to letters from Gandhi, highlighting lack of awareness about animal welfare laws.The Law Minister wrote, “…leaving aside...

Bombay HC quashes a frivolous criminal complaint against Hoteliers for not paying Rs.5/- balance

What will you do if you are not paid Rs.5/- balance? One ‘gentleman’ from Goa initiated criminal proceedings which got quashed yesterday by High Court of Bombay at Goa, on a petition before it, by the accused.  The events which led to lodging of complaint, apparently for non-payment of Rs.5/-, is narrated below.The Complainant along with his friends went to have a tea at a restaurant....

Bombay HC to State Government: When will school bags get lighter

The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the State Government to inform it, within two weeks, of the date on which it will implement a panel's recommendations for reducing the weight of school-bags and action that would be followed on schools which fail to implement the resolution.Social activist Swati Patil had approached the court, seeking directions to reduce school bag weight. A Bench...

Delhi HC cautions Governmental agencies against defaulting politicians; directs to disconnect Electricity, Water, Telephone and other facilities if bill not paid for three months

The Delhi High Court while disposing of a PIL, which was filed 18 years ago,  has issued directions  to ensure that the MPs, MLAs and the political parties, taking advantage of the clout enjoyed by them over the officials of the municipal, electricity, water, telephone and other facilities agencies, are not able to escape paying the dues.   The PIL was filed in 1998 which brought...

SC issues notice to Dimple Kapadia

The Supreme Court of India on Friday issued notice to actress Dimple Kapadia on a petition by Anita Advani seeking restoration of her complaint of being subjected to domestic violence subsequent to the death of yesteryear's film star Rajesh Khanna. in the year 2012. A bench headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu issued notice on Advani's plea challenging a Bombay High Court order quashing...

Tripura Legislators unanimously demand abolition of Death Penalty

In a first of its kind, a resolution has been passed   in the Tripura assembly, that too unanimously, urging the Central Government to amend Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code to abolish capital punishment.The resolution demands replacing death penalty with life sentence unto death.The adopted resolution would be sent to Union Government and the Law Commission for...

Legal Assistance to Rape Victims

The compensation part of the rehabilitation of victims of violence including rape is governed by provision of Section 357A of the Code of Criminal Procedure which states that every State Government in co-ordination with the Central Government shall prepare a scheme for providing funds for the purpose of compensation to the victim of crime including rape.The Ministry of Women and Child...

NCW Expert Committee to propose new amendments to existing legislation/fresh legislation in respect of NRI/Overseas marriages

As per the information given by the National Commission for Women, the Commission deals with complaints received from India and abroad resulting from cross country marriages. These complaints are broadly of following nature:-1. Desertion2. Dowry-demand3. Capturing of passport by husband/in-laws.4. Child custody problems5. Apprehension of husband leaving the country6. Seeking return of...

Special Courts for Crimes against Children

Section 28(1) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 provides that for the purposes of providing a speedy trial, the state Government shall in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court, by notification in the official Gazette, designate for each district, a Court of Session to be a Special Court to try the offences under the Act provided that if a Court...

3 posts of Judges of Supreme Court are vacant as on 01.08.2015

The pendency of cases in Supreme Court has come down from 62,791 matters as on 01.01.2015 to 61,016 matters as on 29.07.2015. The Approved and Working Strength of Judges in Supreme Court is 31 and 28 respectively; and 3 posts of Judges of Supreme Court are vacant as on 01.08.2015. No study has been conducted by the government in the recent past about pendency of cases in the Supreme court...

Cabinet approves Amendment to remove anomalies in pensionary benefits of HC judges

The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to amend the High Court Judges Act removing anomalies in pensionary benefits of HC judges.According to the proposal, an HC Judge elevated from the bar will have his 10 years of practice as advocate added to his service tenure for calculation of pensionary benefits.Until now, a Judge’s pension was calculated on the number of his service years,...

Civil Society demands CCI not to participate in ASSOCHAM IP Conference

A group of civil society organisations wrote to Mr. Ashok Chawla, the chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) not to participate in the 3rd International Conference on Intellectual Property Law and competition Law organised by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM).The conference is scheduled to take place on 7th July at Hotel Imperial, New Delhi.  The...