Even a Murder Convict is entitled to retirement benefit : Calcutta HC [Read Judgment]

The authorities have not demonstrated that the criminal proceedings against the petitioner has any nexus with the duties required to be discharged by the petitioner as a teacher, the Court said.Can a murder convict, who happens to be a teacher be denied with retirement benefits? Legally speaking, the Calcutta High Court says that he is entitled to the retirement benefits. Justice Debangsu...

SC Constitution Bench hearing on every Mondays and Fridays from next month ; Euthanasia, NCLT, Guidelines on SLP, Removal of Governor etc listed for hearing

From 11th January 2016, on Mondays and Fridays at 2.00 P.M, Five Judge Constitution bench of the Apex Court would take up the matters published in the list. The notice dated 23.12.2015, published in the Supreme Court website has a list of the cases which would be taken up for hearing by the Constitutional bench.The notice reads as follows “TAKE NOTICE that the matters shown below which are...

Exclusive: Startling revelations after Bombay High Court stays the release of Encounter Cops

An interim stay by the Bombay high court on the suspension of sentence and release of 11 encounter cops has brought to light startling facts with regard to the abuse of the statutory powers to suspend/remit sentences  by the Maharashtra Government.  The high court bench, comprising Justice Ranjit More and Justice VL Achliya, stayed on December 21, the state Government’s suspension of...

Nine Years Delay in deciding Mercy Plea; Guahati HC commutes Death Sentence of a Murder Convict confirmed by SC in 2005 [Read Judgment]

Courts in such writ petition cannot reopen the conclusion already arrived at by the Supreme Court while confirming the death sentence, but may consider the question of inordinate delay post such confirmation that delay unexplained, unreasonable and inordinate at the hands of the executive authorities, without anything more, can even be a relevant ground for quashing the death sentence, the...

Exclusive: Arvind Datar-Pinky Anand Committee’s Second Report on Collegium Reform [Read Report]

The second report of the Supreme Court-appointed committee comprising senior Advocate Arvind P Datar and Additional Solicitor-General Pinky Anand has now been made public. The committee had to submit the second report, following the decision of the Court to issue a public notice through the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice, seeking suggestions from the public.  Although...

Poverty is not a mitigating factor for lesser punishment: Gujarat HC [Read Jt]

The only reason given by the learned Trial Court while imposing the punishment lesser than the minimum provided under Section 376 of the IPC is that the accused is a poor and has a responsibility to maintain his wife and children. The aforesaid can hardly be said to be a cogent reason and/or special circumstances/case while awarding the punishment less than the minimum provided under Section...

Motor Vehicle Act does not lay down separate criteria for death of a male and female child for seeking compensation: Delhi High Court [Read Judgment]

It is painful to note that the award has been penned down by a lady Presiding Officer who has treated the death of an unmarried daughter to be falling in a category which does not entitle the claimants/parents to seek compensation for her death, the Court said.Delhi High Court Arkesh Jain vs. Mohd. Ishrar has clarified that Motor Vehicle Act does not lay down separate criteria for death of a...

HC is empowered to designate Advocates as ‘Senior Advocates’ even in the absence of framing any Rules U/S 16(2) of Advocates Act; Karnataka HC [Read Jt]

Merely because without completing the task of framing of Norms or Rules, by the Committee constituted for that purpose, certain advocates were designated as senior counsel, it cannot be termed to be an arbitrary or an illegal act or one lacking in transparency or any of the other “epithets” used in the pleadings. There was also no hurried or hasty decision taken in the matter, the...

Women have the right to have safe and clean toilets at all convenient places; Bombay HC issues detailed guidelines to Corporations in setting up toilet facilities for `women walking on the streets’

Simple and basic but of vital importance are public toilets, which are as critical as any large infrastructure project to make cities liveable. The health of a city is inextricably linked to its toilets and it is imperative to provide them in sufficient number, the Bench said.The Bombay High Court has issued detailed guidelines on the issue of setting up in setting up toilet facilities for...

Bombay HC denies Bail to Prof. Saibaba, issues Contempt Notice to Arundati Roy for criticising denial of Bail [Read Order]

The language used by the author in her article against the Government and the police machinery is as nasty as it could be and one really wonders whether the same would befit to the prestigious awards the author is said to have won, the Court said while issuing contempt notice to Arundati Roy.Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court has rejected bail application Dr. Gokarakonda Naga Saibaba who...

Maharashtra to appeal against Salman Khan’s acquittal

The Maharashtra State Government has decided to prefer appeal against the High Court order acquitting Salman Khan in 2002 Hit and Run case. A division Bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Gautam Patel was informed by Government pleader A.B. Vagyani that the Government recently received sanction to file a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.Bombay High Court had, on...

Rajya Sabha bows to public pressure; passes long pending Juvenile Justice Bill

Bowing to mounting public pressure in the backdrop of the release of the juvenile convict in the Nirbhaya case which had led to an unprecedented public outrage, Rajya Sabha passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015 which had been hanging fire in the House for the last many months.Under the new law, juveniles between the ages of 16 to 18 years can be tried as...