Remittance No Longer Liberal: Government Tightens Capital Outflow

The Reserve Bank of India had made certain significant announcements on last week. The announcement has been made with a view to clamp down overseas cash flows by reducing the remittance facilities available to the resident individuals under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme and to the Indian corporates under the Overseas Direct Investment scheme.The Liberalised Remittance Scheme or LRS is...

PIL against Durga Shakti Nagpal’s suspension dismissed by SC

The Supreme Court today dismissed the PIL seeking reinstatement of suspended IAS officer Durga Sakhti Nagpal of Uttar Pradesh cadre.Questioning the locus of advocate M.L. Sharma (the petitioner), who filed the PIL, a bench headed by Justice H.L. Dattu dismissed the plea and said that it may entertain the petition if Nagpal herself approaches the court. "The moment she approaches the court,...

Centre seeks review of SC decision on disqualification of MPs/ MLAs on conviction in criminal case

The Centre has sought the review of the Supreme Court’s decision on immediate disqualification of MPs and MLAs on conviction in a criminal case without being given three months’ time for appeal, as was the case before.It was argued in the petition that section 8(4) of the Representative of People Act which deferred the disqualification of MPs and MLAs till the appeal is decided was...

SC places ban on environmental clearance for hydro projects in Uttarakhand

The Supreme Court expressed concern over the recent havoc caused by rains in Uttarakhand and told the Central and state governments not to grant environmental clearance for any hydro-power project in the hill state."We direct the MoEF as well as state of Uttarakhand not to grant any further environmental or forest clearance for any hydroelectric power project in the state of Uttarakhand,...

Fodder Scam: Supreme Court dismisses Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Plea to transfer Trial Court Judge

The Supreme Court today dismissed Lalu Prasad Yadav’s petition to transfer a trial court judge hearing the multi-crore Fodder scam case against him.Yadav approached the Apex Court after the Jharkhand High Court on July 1 dismissed his plea to transfer the case to another special CBI court; on the ground of apprehension of bias. He argued that the trial court judge PK Singh is a relative of...

BCI issues press release; says meeting with Law Minister was ‘wastage of time’

Bar Council of India (BCI) has issued a press release stating that the meeting with the Law Minister, Kapil Sibal on 10th August, 2013 was ‘fruitless’ and ‘futile’. The representatives of the Bar comprising of members of the BCI, state Bar Councils and Presidents wanted to discuss about:Judicial ReformsUse of Information Technology to improve the functioning of the Bar Councils and...

Government set to introduce RTI Act Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha

The Bill to amend Right to Information (RTI) Act for keeping political parties out of the ambit of the transparency law is slated to be introduced in Lok Sabha on Monday by the Government.The Union Cabinet had on August 1 cleared a proposal to amend the RTI Act to give immunity to political parties. This decision of the Cabinet had come two months after the Central Information Commission...

The Impact Areas of the new Companies Bill: A Primer

Does law become redundant in fifty seven years? As far as corporate law is concerned, the Government of India has answered this question in the affirmative by phasing out the Companies Act 1956 and enacting a modern company law. Indeed, it is a wise move as the new legislation will finally bring India's corporate law in tune with the changing business environment of the 21st century....

Rajya Sabha pushes petition to check Cyber Pornography

The Committee on Petitions of Rajya Sabha, under the Chairmanship of Bhagat Singh Koshyari, MP, Rajya Sabha, is considering a petition seeking to put a check on Cyber Pornography by amending the IT Act, 2000.The petition is signed by Jainacharya Vijaya Ratnasundersuriji and three others and countersigned by Vijay J. Darda, MP, Rajya Sabha. It has been argued in the petition that more...

The new Companies Bill cleared by Rajya Sabha

The new Companies Bill which replaces the nearly six-decade-old legislation has been passed in the Rajya Sabha. The new Bill seeks to enhance compliance, transparency, encourage self-regulation, and make corporate social responsibility mandatory.With the new Companies Bill being now cleared by both houses of Parliament, it is slated to go to the President for his assent.The Lok Sabha had...

PUDR moves PIL before SC; Stay issued against execution of Maganlal Barela

A stay has been issued against the execution of Maganlal Barela, who was supposed to be hanged today at the Jabalpur Central Jail. The order came around 11:00 PM yesterday, on a PIL [W.P. (Crl.) D No. 24649 /2013] moved by Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) before the Chief Justice of India at his residence.According to Law and Other Things, “A stay was granted (at about 11pm)...

Justice R A Mehta refuses to take charge as Lokayukta of Gujarat

Justice (Retired) R A Mehta, who was appointed as the Lokayukta of Gujarat, has refused to take charge of the post in the state. Mehta's decision comes after the Supreme Court recently rejected the curative petition of the Gujarat government challenging the appointment of Mehta as Lokayukta of state.In a letter to Governor and Chief Justice of the High Court, Justice Mehta has cited reasons...