Neither Centre, Nor States Responsible For Judicial Vacancies; Need All-India Test For Lower Judiciary: Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

Responding to the allegations of the Centre having stalled appointments to the Supreme Court and the 24 High Courts, Union Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday said that the Law Ministry was not a "post office" that it would only process recommendations of the collegium on the appointment of judges.According to a PTI report, the Law Minister was speaking at the launch of...

Breaking: Kerala HC Upholds The Right Of An Individual To Live As A Transgender, Dismisses Mother's Habeas Plea [Read Judgment]

In another significant win for the LGBTQ community, the Kerala High Court last week refused to allow a habeas corpus petition filed by the mother of a transgender person, asserting that the transgender had "the right to wander about or associate with likeminded people and cannot be compelled to be at his parental home" as demanded by her mother.The Bench comprising Justice V. Chitambaresh...

PIL In SC Seeks To Treat Making A False Statement/Declaration Before EC, CEO, Election Officers An Electoral Offence [Read Petition]

The Supreme Court was recently moved in a plea for direction to the Central Government to treat as an electoral offence the making of false statement/declaration before the Election Commission, Chief Electoral Officer, District Election Officer, Presiding Officer or other similar authorities.The public interest litigation, instituted by an advocate and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay,...

Kapil Mishra Moves HC As Kejriwal Misses Assembly, Says LG And Speaker Should Ensure CM’s Presence; Make 50% Attendance Must For MLAs To Get Salary [Read Petition]

Rebel Aam Aadmi Party MLA Kapil Mishra has moved the Delhi High Court against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s absence from the Delhi Assembly who, he says, has less than 10 per cent attendance in the House while seeking direction to the Lieutenant-Governor to ensure Kejriwal’s presence in the Assembly while considering the feasibility of making 50 per cent attendance mandatory for MLAs...

CLAT 2018: Supreme Court Rules Out Retest

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the SC appointed Grievance Redressal Committee in respect of CLAT-2018 to to complete addressing the grievances by June 15.The bench also noted that the first round of counselling, which commenced yesterday, shall proceed and that the court shall not disturb the admissions so made, unless the University chooses to deem such seat allocation...

"Look In The Mirror": Jaitley Reminds Congress Of Nehru & Indira Gandhi Days To Defend Justice K.M. Joseph's Non-Elevation

Union Minister Arun Jaitley, on Sunday, advised the Congress to "look at the mirror" before creating a fuss about the non-elevation of Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court, Justice K.M. Joseph to the Supreme Court.In a Facebook note titled "Recollecting an Important Chapter of History – Judicial Appointments", he blamed "past experiences" for the dilution of the role of the executive...

Civil Society Releases Draft Model Law On Privacy And Data Protection; Launches Community Project, #SaveOurPrivacy

A group of lawyers and privacy policy analysts on Friday unveiled a community project called "Save our Privacy" and released a draft model law on privacy and data protection. The project is backed by the Internet Freedom Foundation, a non-profit organization aimed at protecting digital rights.The Draft Model BillTitled the "Indian Privacy Code, 2018", the Bill advocates for establishment...

SC Refuses To Pass Interim Order Against Rampant Culling of Stray Dogs In Sitapur District Of UP

A Supreme Court vacation bench of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Ashok Bhushan, in Animal Welfare Board Of India v People For Elimination Of Stray Troubles, on Friday refused to issue notice on a plea against the rampant culling of stray dogs in Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh.The killings of community dogs are an aftermath of the death of 13 children in the past few months in...

CLAT 2018: Release of First UG Allotment List Rescheduled To 10 June

After being embroiled in controversy for widespread technical glitches for over a month, the first allotment list for admissions to undergraduate programs under Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), 2018 has now been rescheduled to 10 June. Students will have to pay the counseling fee of Rs. 50,000 from 10 June to 14 June.The results for the exam were announced on 31 May, after a Supreme Court...

Plea Against Mismanagement, Difficulties And Harassment/Exploitation Of Visitors By Sevaks In Lord Jagannath Temple: SC Issues Directions [Read Order]

The Supreme Court on Friday issued a string of interim directions for the protection of the sanctity and ethos of the Lord Jagannath Temple in Orissa and to ensure hassle-free access to the devotees."The issue of public importance highlighted in this petition relates to the difficulties faced by the visitors to Shri Jagannath Temple at Puri, and their harassment or exploitation by the Sevaks...

Grievance Redressal Committee Submits Report On CLAT 2018; Admits 6 Defects; Suggests Compensatory Mechanism May Be Devised [Read Report]

Recently I wrote on how the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2018 was the worst ever organized CLAT since 2008 and how although the Supreme Court has refused to cancel it, it deserved to be quashed and the larger issues of curing the defects in the conduction of an entrance cum selection examination need to be addressed. You may read the report here.The Grievance Redressal Committee...

Sharad Yadav Can Retain Govt Residential Bungalow As RS Member Pending HC Decision On Disqualification: SC [Read Order]

The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav to retain his residential accommodation as a member of the Rajya Sabha pending the disposal by the Delhi High Court of his challenge to his disqualification.The vacation bench of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Ashok Bhushan, however, expressed concerns regarding the drawing of allowances and perquisites from the...