Parliamentary Panel invites suggestions on RTI Amendment Bill

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice has invited suggestions from the public on the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill  2013, aimed at keeping political parties out of the purview of the Right to Information Act.The Bill intends to amend the RTI Act and remove the adverse effects of the decision of the Central Information Commission (CIC)...

Bombay HC castigates Bombay police for arresting a man sipping tea in a suspicious manner

Bombay High Court slammed the Bombay police for arresting a man for sipping tea ‘suspiciously’ in a tea stall under section 151 of Cr.Pc (Code of criminal procedure). The 49 year old man, Vijay Lahu Patil was having tea at a tea stall not far from the entrance to Shivaji University around 11AM on 22nd February 2013.The police arrested him under the provision of section 151of Cr. PC...

Eligibility criteria to qualify NET ; the courts should keep their hands off - SC

Much after the debated prospects of the criterion essential for the NET [National Eligibility Test], the Supreme Court on Thursday, acted in consonance with the University Grants Commission and upheld their policy for fixing criteria for candidates to qualify in the NET. The Apex Court, by way of its discourse, was said to back up that the policy was not ‘arbitrary and illegal’.In...

Husband cannot abandon wife on the ground of schizophrenia, rules the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has ruled that temporary ill-health including schizophrenia, cannot be a ground for divorce under Section 13 (1) (iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act.The Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and V. GopalaGowda, held "Under Hindu law, marriage is an institution, a meeting of two hearts and minds and is something that cannot be taken lightly."Further, "any person may have bad health, this...

Human rights and Women's Organisations condemn Jethmalani's arguments in Asaram Sexual Assault case

The People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), country's noted civil rights organization, as well as several women and Human rights organisations have strongly protested against the line of argument adopted by Senior Advocate Ram Jethmalani in the Rajasthan High Court. Jethmalani is representing the self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, who is currently in custody in a sexual assault case.In a...

Medical negligence behind Justice Verma’s death: Controversy erupts

Justice J. S Verma, who passed away on 22nd April 2013 in a Gurgaon Hospital, is said to have not received adequate and timely medical care. Not satisfied with the medical treatment which the former chief justice received, his wife had in July this year petitioned to Prime Minister for a re-examination of medical records by a team of doctors from country’s premier medical institute, the...

SC pulls up J&K Government; says Special status to the state does not mean discrimination

The Supreme Court has not taken too kindly to the Jammu Kashmir Government policy of discrimination in compensating state police personnel and central armed forces personnel killed in operations against militants.A bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjana Desai while directing Additional Advocate General Gaurav Pachnanda to seek a fresh affidavit from the J&K chief...

National Green Tribunal Bench to be set up in Kochi

In a boost to better redressal of environmental litigations in Kerala, a Bench of National Green Tribunal is to be set up in Kochi shortly. As a consequence, activists and lawyers fighting litigations on environmental issues will no longer be required to travel to Chennai to attend to their matters.The National Green Tribunal is a special fast-track court set up for the expeditious disposal...

RTI Commissioners appointment quashed by Andhra Pradesh High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has set aside the appointments of four individuals, as information commissioners under Right to Information Act.Responding to the writ petition filed by civil society activists, the court quashed the appointment of the four Information Commissioners and directed the state government to take up fresh appointments within a period of six weeks. The petitioners...

Ram Jethmalani turns 90 – An Insight on the ‘Make-it-large’ Legend

Ram Jethmalani turned 90 years old yesterday. Probably the only Indian-lawyer with the most number of miles on a cruise ship, the illustrious Ram Boolchand Jethmalani, being considered a maverick and having myriad credentials to his account, recently took upon himself the tag of becoming a nonagenarian.'I charge high fees but 90% of my practice is free’; one of many such lines that has made...

Direction to deposit one Crore for anticipatory bail: SC Disapproves

Since the law presumes an accused to be innocent, he is entitled to all the fundamental rights including the right to liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, but while grating bail, the Court can always impose reasonable conditions on the facts permissible and effective in the pragmatic sense. The imposition of conditions should never defeat the order of grant of bail....

Criminal Complaints by Power of Attorney - SC settles the Law

Whether a Power of Attorney holder can sign and file a complaint petition on behalf of the complainant ?. A three judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice P.Sathasivam has answered the question in the affirmative.The court had to consider the issue with a composition of three judges for an authoritative pronouncement as the views expressed by two judge benches and...