Delhi High issues stay against Zostel for alleged theft of copyright material

The Delhi High Court has issued a stay order against the hostel chain startup Zostel over a complaint by Oyo rooms for alleged theft of copyright materials.Zostel had recently launched ZoRooms and works on a similar model as Oyo Rooms. Oyo has alleged that there has been theft and also submitted evidence such as mails, CCTV footage and theft of its ‘software’ by few of its own employees...

19 year old Malleswaram blast victim moves Karnataka HC demanding 1 crore as compensation

Leesha Doreswamy, a 19 year old victim of the Malleswaram bomb blast has reportedly approached the Karnataka High Court demanding compensation of Rs. 1 crore from the State. Justice S. Abdul Nazeer has consequently ordered issue of notice to the State and Union Governments.The petitioner also demanded a direction to the Ministry of Home Affairs to frame a National Policy for paying...

SC takes a dig at the Centre, calls the permanent shelter scheme a scam

A social justice bench comprising of Justices U U Lalit and Madan B. Lokur commented on the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) on building permanent shelter homes in 790 urban cities,"It is a scam. Take for example Maharashtra. It received Rs 170 crore and the state has no new construction and it has not a single operational shelter home."  The court’s observations came in the wake...

All Bank forms and applications to include the ‘third gender’

The Reserve Bank of India has reportedly directed all banks to include 'third gender' in all their forms and applications whether prescribed by the central banks or designed by the banks themselves. This would require the banks to make changes to their core banking software to include the additional variable in the gender column, besides making changes in stationery.In April last year, a...

Only 1 matter under Negotiable Instruments Act pending in SC: Law Minister

As per information furnished by Supreme Court, there is only one matter relating to prosecution under Negotiable Instruments Act pending with them. As per information furnished by High Courts, 8,932 cases relating to Cheque dishonour under section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 were pending for more than five years as on 31.12.2014. As regards, District and Subordinate Courts,...

Union Cabinet approves amendments to Juvenile Justice Bill, 2014; Juvenile Justice Board would assess whether crime committed as child or adult by 16-18 year olds

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the introduction of Amendment to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill 2014. The amendments to the draft Bill strike a fine balance between the demands of the stakeholders asking for continued protection of rights of juveniles and the popular demand of citizens in the light of...

Union Cabinet approves Bill for setting up commercial division and commercial appellate decision in high courts

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved, while taking into consideration the Law Commission's recommendations, to introduce a Bill namely, "The Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts and Commercial Courts Bill, 2015" in the current session of Parliament.The salient features of the proposed Bill are as under: (a)...

Man declared dead 6 years ago approaches CJI Dattu to correct the error

Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu saw an unusual sight in the Court on Monday, when a 65 year old man who was declared dead almost 6 years ago, stood before the Court seeking a declaration that he is alive.Gulshan Kumar, former Indian Air Force staffer, had been practicing as an advocate in the Supreme Court when he was declared dead in an order in 2009. He alleged that the order was passed...

Plea in Delhi HC to dissolve the existing IB and bring it under an enactment

A petition was filed in Delhi High Court on April 20 challenging the validity of Intelligence Bureau’s existence and establishment. The plea seeks its disbanding in particular. Moved by an advocate Mehmood Pracha, the petition also seeks to quash a Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against him by IB in order to prevent his movement to Iraq for doing relief work. He allegedly also intends to...

Supreme Court becomes a 24x7 Wi Fi zone

The precinct of the apex court is Wi fi enabled now, with effect from April 20. As per the Supreme Court’s directions, the matter was taken up with various internet service providers including the current provider M/S Firefly Networks Limited, a joint venture between Vodafone India and Bharti Airtel. The launched services of the facility are available 24x7. However, the service is free for...

Petition demands legalization of sale and consumption of Marijuana in India; says it has “always been” an “integral part” of Hindu culture

A Public Interest Litigation for legalizing consumption of Marijuana has been filed by Advocate Barthakur. The PIL states that in all of recorded history, not even a single person has died from consuming marijuana. Bombay High Court has reportedly issued notices with respect to the PIL, to the Central and State Governments.The Petition highlights several benefits of consuming marijuana,...

‘Students leaving university midway not entitled to any refund’; Madras High Court

The grievance raised by students does not make a prima facie case to subject the university to the ordeal of trial," the Madurai bench judge said of the Madras High Court while disposing of a matter concerning the admission and then subsequent transfer of V Srinivasa Rao, S Venkataraman and K Ramesh to the B.Tech course in electronics and communication engineering stream in June 2010 and...