SC refuses to revoke Delhi ban on big cars of Toyota, Mercedes asking “are your vehicles emitting oxygen?”

"Are your vehicles emitting oxygen?" the Supreme Court today asked the lawyers for Toyota, Mercedes and Mahindra & Mahindra who want a ban on their larger diesel cars in Delhi revoked.The court for the time being refused to withdraw the ban and assured them a detailed hearing on a later dateThe Supreme Court had on December 15 banned registration of diesel vehicles having engine power of...

Former Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia passes away, survived by a trailblazing legal legacy

Former Chief Justice of India, Sarosh Homi Kapadia passed away today, leaving behind a legacy of unshakeable integrity and unparalleled compassion. The cremation will take place today at 3:45 pm at Tower of Silence at Walkeshwar, Mumbai.Justice Kapadia was born to a genteel, lower-middle class Parsi family in the area of South Mumbai, on September 29, 1947. His father was a clerk in a...

Improving Collegium: Law Ministry set to send draft MoP on Judges Appointment to CJI

Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda is set to forward to Chief Justice of India T S Thakur the final draft of the new Memorandum of Procedure regarding appointment of judges to the Supreme Court as he has completed the task of holding consultations with the Prime Minister's Office and the Attorney General.It is to be noted that the apex court had on December 16, that is exactly two months...

Breaking; BCCI under RTI, Legalise Betting; 15 Key Recommendations of Lodha Panel [Read the Full Report]

1. Legalise betting with inbuilt mechanism2. Bring BCCI under RTI Act3. No BCCI office-bearer can hold two posts at the same time4. No BCCI office-bearer can hold office for more than 3 terms with the rider that there will be a cooling off after each term5. No Ministers or Government Servant can be the office bearers of BCCI6. Limited autonomy for IPL Governing Council.7. In no case...

Google Book Scanning Project: Author’s Guild approaches US Supreme Court [Read Petition]

American organization for writers, Authors Guild has petitioned the US Supreme Court, seeking review of the Court of Appeals ruling which had upheld the Google book scanning project as legal.In October last year, US Appeals Courts had affirmed the judgment by the Court below, and held that Google’s unauthorized digitizing of copyright-protected works, creation of a search functionality,...

Delhi HC upholds conviction of Police officers in a 19 year old Custodial death Case

“It appears that the perverted minds of the two Senior Divisional Officers was not satisfied till they had beaten Gopi to death which was only because the poor man could not meet their illegal demand of Rs.10, 000/-“, the Court said while upholding conviction of Police officers.The Delhi High Court has upheld the conviction of two Police officers in a 19 year old custodial death case....

Supreme Court Weekly Round-Up

Kerala Liquor regulation policy upheldIn a major setback to the bar owners in Kerala, the Supreme Court upheld the controversial Abkari policy for the year 2014-2015 framed by the Kerala Government restricting the issuance of bar licenses (FL-3) to five-star hotels in the State to serve alcohol to the public, and not to renew the existing bar licences issued to any of the other...

Laws Enacted in 2015: A Snapshot

1. The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2015The Act amends the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 and replaces the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015 which was promulgated on June 15, 2015. It stipulates that in case of a cheque being dishonored:If the cheque is delivered for collection to the account of the payee (person who receives the cheque), the jurisdiction lies...

Commercial Courts Act and Arbitration Act Amendment comes into force [Read the Text]

The Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Bill, 2015 and Amendments to Arbitration and Conciliation Act, which got passed in Rajya Sabha on December 23rd , is notified in the official gazette. Both the laws are deemed to have come into force from 23rd October 2015 and they replace the ordinances.Commercial Courts, Commercial Divisions...

Best of 2015; Read 25 Significant Judgments of High Courts in India last year [Updated]

LiveLaw has reported almost all important judgments of various High Courts across India in 2015. Here is the list of 25 significant and most discussed Judgments delivered by various High Courts across India.1. Newspaper must report an order of the Court as it stands, instead of creating sensation This ruling by Himachal Pradesh High court is very significant as far as we reporters are...

The growing culture of Judicial Predicament– Splits and Dissents 2015

PrefaceUnlike its predecessors, 2015 witnessed judgments delivered in form of separate pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. So much happened in past 12 months that by the year end it has become really tough for research scholars to connect dots and form a chain of events. In a richly woven tapesty of our judicial fabric there are 6 unique dots which require a distinct observation. In this piece...

Constitution Bench Judgments of Supreme Court of India in 2015

A bench of at least five judges of the Supreme Court which sit to decide any case “involving a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution of India” is popularly known as ‘Constitution bench’. Largest ever Constitution bench comprising of 13 judges of the Apex Court had heard the famous Keshavananda Bharati case. More than 75% of the Constitution...