Keeping a Criminal Case pending for indefinite period amounts to violation of Constitutional Rights of Accused: Delhi HC [Read Order]

Delhi High Court in Joginder Singh vs. State has observed that keeping a criminal case pending for indefinite period amounts to violation of constitutional rights of the accused recognized under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.Quashing the criminal cases against the accused which were pending since 1998, Justice Suresh Kait said “The petitioner is facing the trial since 1998...

Supreme Court Weekly Round-Up

Arbitrary Appointments of Govt. Law Officers are subjected to Judicial ReviewA two Judge Bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, issued Guidelines relating to the Appointment of Government Law Officers. The Bench which was primarily examining the question ‘Whether appointment of law officers by the State Governments can be questioned or the process by which such appointments are made, can...

Supreme Court should clarify the Principles of Secularism ; Vice President Hamid Ansari [Video and Text]

Is it therefore bold to expect that the Supreme Court may consider, in its wisdom, to clarify the contours within which the principles of secularism and composite culture should operate with a view to strengthen their functional modality and remove ambiguities that have crept in?, He askedThe Vice President, Shri M. Hamid Ansari has underlined the centrality of the judiciary in securing...

National Commission for Women is not authorized to become Judge or Arbiter; Delhi HC slams NCW for abusing authority [Read Judgment]

The Delhi High Court has held that the “NCW is not empowered to arrive at any final conclusion on any complaint received by it or to grant any relief which a court is empowered to do”.The facts in the present appeals are that the Petitioner-wife and the Respondent-husband were married on February 8, 2008. A child was born of the marriage in 2013. After that due to certain dispute...

Govt. puts on hold appointment of 110 Additional Judges till Draft MoP gets SC nod

Government has put on hold appointment of 110 Additional Judges in 10 High Courts, till the Supreme Court ratifies the revised draft of the Memorandum of Procedure. The recommendations have been made by Chief Justices of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, Orissa, Calcutta, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala High Courts.A Senior Government Functionary was quoted...

It is a woman’s Fundamental Right to enter temples and State’s Duty to protect that Right: Bombay HC

In a verdict that is expected to have far reaching ramifications, Bombay High Court on Friday observed that no law bars entry of women in places of worship, and hence no gender discrimination in this regard should be tolerated. “Ultimately, it is the fundamental right of a woman and the government's fundamental duty to protect their (women) right,” a Division Bench comprising Chief...

New MoP;NJAC through the back door?

Today's Times of India has reported that the draft Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), prepared by the Government, in response to the direction of the Supreme Court's Constitution bench in the NJAC matter, has some controversial clauses relating to rejection of the recommendations sent by the collegium.The Times of India has reported that a clause in the draft MoP which has been sent to the CJI...

Uttarakhand HC notices Centre to respond to the petition challenging Budget Ordinance

In an interesting turn of events in the Uttarakhand political crisis, the Uttarakhand High Court today directed the Centre to respond to a writ petition filed by deposed CM Harish Rawat and Indira Hridayesh challenging promulgation of a central ordinance by the Union government on the appropriation bill, a consolidated legislation on the state's annual budget which was declared passed by...

Engaging Musclemen to recover loans by Banks and Financial Institutions unlawful; Kerala HC [Read Judgment]

In a democratic country having a well established independent judiciary and having various laws, if muscle men are engaged to recover dues to the Bank, there is no doubt that it will create lawlessness, said the CourtThe High Court of Kerala has ruled that resorting to strong arm tactics to recover loans by Banks and other Financial Institutions is unlawfulThe court was considering an...

Delhi HC stays Service Tax on Senior Lawyers, Centre likely to approach SC for transfer of all cases to SC [Read Order]

A Division Bench of Delhi High Court Today has stayed the Central Government Notifications No.9/2016-ST, No.18/2016-ST and No.19/2016-ST all dated 01.03.2016 by which Service Tax was introduced on Senior Lawyers. Ministry of Finance has recently notified the Service Tax (Amendment) Rules, 2016, based on Union Budget 2016 .The order of stay is passed in tune with the interim order passed by...

Breaking; Service Tax on Senior Lawyers; Delhi HC Bar Association approaches Delhi HC [Read Petition]

The writ petition is coming up for hearing tomorrow.The Union Government has been trying to bring Lawyers into service  tax net  unsuccessfully. Previously, when it was introduced in 2011 and 2012, the Delhi High Court had stayed the operation of  the provisions.  In the Budget 2016, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who himself a Senior Lawyer, has reintroduced the concept of taxing...

Dishonour of Cheque-Gujarat HC explains the new Law on Territorial Jurisdiction [Read Judgment]

When the cheque is delivered for collection through an account, the complaint is to be filed before the Court where the branch of the bank is situated, where the payee or the holder in due course maintains his account and, secondly, when the cheque is presented for payment over the counter, the complaint is to be filed before the Court where the drawer maintains his account, Held the...