Kerala District Judges Selection Row Reaches Governor’s Doors

The row over the procedure followed in the selection of Kerala District and Sessions Judges took a new twist with two applicants who claimed they were victims of the process and were wrongly left out sending a representation to the Governor P Sathasivam seeking his intervention.In the representation to Sathasivam who is also a former Chief Justice of India, the candidates alleged that the...

Judging: A Spiritual Journey: Justice Kannan At NALSAR [VIDEO]

On the 13th of March, 2017, NALSAR University of Law hosted Justice K. Kannan - Former Judge of High Court of Punjab & Haryana, Chandigarh and High Court of Madras and the present Chairman of the Railway Claims Tribunal at its Principal Bench at New Delhi. Justice Kannan, at the invitation of Nyaya Forum for Courtroom Lawyering delivered a talk on his career in the judiciary...

CIC’s Annual Report Reveals Significant Trends [Read Report]

The Central Information Commission has published the Annual Report for 2015-16 regarding the implementation of The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act). The Annual Report (AR) has come under critical scrutiny in the hands of activists and observers. Here is a summary of trends observed by Venkatesh Nayak of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi.Central Government- Overall RTI...

Gujarat HC Quashes 5-Yr Experience Requirement For Those Working In Court, Allied Departments To Become Eligible For Judicial Service [Read Judgment]

The Gujarat High Court has quashed rules mandating 5 years of experience for those working in court and allied departments to become eligible to seek entry into the judicial service.The Gujarat State Judicial Service Rules prescribe that to become eligible to seek entry into the post of civil judge, a candidate must be practicing as an advocate in courts of civil and/or criminal jurisdiction...

I Rejected Bailable Warrant After Assigning Valid Reasons: Justice Karnan To SC [Read Letter]

In a letter addressed to Chief Justice of India Justice JS Khehar and six other judges, Justice Karnan has stated that he rejected the bailable warrant issued by the Supreme Court after assigning valid reasons.He urged the judges to abstain from “further harassments in order to uphold the dignity & decorum of our Courts”.“This kind of demeaning acts from your Lordships and...

Delhi HC Seeks Centre’s Response On PIL Against 2013 Amendment To Rape Law [Read Petition]

The Delhi High Court has sought the Centre’s response on a PIL challenging the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013, in which a penal provision - minimum of seven years of jail term - for a rape convict was included and the court’s discretion to award less that that was taken away.A joint petition was filed by social activist Madhu Purnima Kishwar, a Tihar jail prisoner and wife of...

Did The Police Serve Warrant To Justice Karnan?

The media is abuzz with the news of a fleet of 100 Policemen, along with the West Bengal Director General of Police Surajit Kar Purakayastha, visiting Justice Karnan’s residence to serve him with the bailable warrant issued against him by the Supreme Court. The DGP, along with Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar and DIG (CID) Rajesh Kumar, visited the Judge’s residence in New...

Vidhi Centre For Legal Policy Releases Manual On Plain Language Drafting [Read Report]

The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy has drafted a “Manual on Plain Language Drafting”, in order to push for a reform in drafting practices, and, thereby, make laws simpler and accessible to all.“The Manual is based on the belief that a shift to plain language drafting is not to be achieved at the cost of precision or by stripping concepts of any inherent complexity. It demonstrates...

Kerala State Legal Services Authority Undertakes To Support Prisoners’ Families, Dependants

In a bid to support families of convicts serving prison sentence, the Kerala State Legal Services Authority has launched the Legal Aid for Socio-Economically Challenged Dependants of Convicts Scheme, 2017. The scheme aims to extend legal aid for financial sustenance, education and other social welfare measures for families left to fend for themselves after incarceration of their family member...

Calcutta HC Judge C S Karnan Demands Rs 14 Crore Compensation From SC Judges

Calcutta High Court judge C S Karnan, facing contempt proceeding for his corruption allegations against the judges of Madras High Court and Supreme Court, on Thursday demanded Rs 14 crore compensation from the seven judges who have been hearing his contempt case.He also threatened the judges to withdraw their judicial and administrative work in case they failed to pay the compensation money in...

Harish Salve To Appear For Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan In SNC-Lavalin Case

Senior advocate Harish Salve will appear before the Kerala High Court for Kerala Chief Minister and CPM leader Pinarayi Vijayan in the SNC-Lavalin case.Kerala High Court judge Justice P Ubaid is hearing a revision petition filed by the CBI against a CBI special court order discharging Pinarayi Vijayan in the case.In 2013, the Thiruvananthapuram CBI court had discharged Pinarayi and others in...

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor Introduces Anti-Discrimination And Equality Bill In Lok Sabha [Read The Bill]

Shashi Tharoor, MP, introduced the Anti-Discrimination and Equality Bill 2016 in Lok Sabha on March 10.In the Statement of Objects and Reasons, attached to the Bill, Shashi Tharoor says as follows:“The Constitution of India promises justice, liberty, equality and fraternity to all our citizens.However, discrimination denies these cherished constitutional promises. Cases of...