SC reserves order on transfer of Aadhaar Challenge to Const. Bench; AG says Privacy not a Fundamental Right

Supreme Court had long back declared that privacy was not a Fundamental Right. He said that the judgment of 1964 (Kharak Singh v. State of UP) has been wrongly interpreted for 40 years says AGThe Supreme Court has reserved its verdict for Tuesday regarding the Centre’s plea to transfer the petitions challenging Government’s Aadhaar card project to a Constitution bench as the subject matter...

Cabinet clears amendments to Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996

Striving to ensure speedy settlement of commercial disputes, the Union Cabinet has cleared a proposal to amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The amendments mirror an earlier ordinance which had made arbitration time-bound and fee-bound.Lawyers and Judges had perceived the ordinance to be impractical. The Government had then refused to send the ordinance for the President’s...

Parliament passes Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2015

Delhi High Court (Amendment) bill, 2015 which aims at reducing the workload of the Delhi High Court by increasing the pecuniary jurisdictions of civil suits from the existing Rs 20 lakhs to Rs 2 crore was passed by parliament on August 5.Having earlier passed by the Upper House, the bill passed in the Lok Sabha was adopted by a voice vote in the absence of most of the members who are...

Complete Gujarat Riot Trial within Three Months ; Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India granted an extension of another three months to the trial court to wind up the proceedings in 2002 Gulberg Society massacre in which former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri and 67 others were killed.District Judge P B Desai had requested the Apex court to grant three more months to complete the trial in the case.Meanwhile the accused in the riot cases had prayed for relief...

State should have the final say in whether or not remission should be granted; Tamil Nadu Submits to the Constitution Bench hearing Union of India v. Sriharan [Day-6]

(The Centre on the Death Penalty at National Law University, Delhi will be posting daily reports of the arguments in the Constitution Bench matter in Union of India v. Sriharan)[We would like to thank Dr.Anup Surendranath and Centre on the Death Penalty at National Law University, Delhi for this initiative. We also would like to thank the Law and Other Things Blog where it is...

Appellate Tribunal under SARFAESI Act has power to condone delay in filing appeal : SC [Read the Judgment]

Answering the issue whether the Appellate Tribunal under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (“the SARFAESI Act”) has the power to condone delay in filing an appeal under Section 18(1) of the said Act, the Supreme Court has overruled the contrary view taken by the Madhya Pradesh High Court and upheld the views taken by...

17 Member Bench of Pak SC upholds establishment of Military Courts for Terrorism Cases

A 17 member Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, in a majority 11-6 vote, has upheld the establishment of the controversial special military courts in the country for speedy trial of terrorists.The Bench, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk dismissed several identical petitions against the 21st constitutional amendment by the Parliament which set up the military courts, which were alleged...

Rape is an assault on Human Rights and individuality of victim: SC [Read the Judgment]

Refusing to reduce the sentence granted to two men convicted for raping a minor, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Dipak Misra and Justice P.C. Pant observed, “It has to be borne in mind that an offence of rape is basically an assault on the human rights of a victim. It is an attack on her individuality. It creates an incurable dent in her right and free will and personal...

DIPP proposal: Foreign Law firms to operate in India through Proprietary Concerns, only for Non-litigious services

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is working on a proposal that would permit foreign legal firms to operate in India through a proprietary concern and only for non-litigious and arbitration services. It is likely to be taken up to the Union Cabinet in a month’s time.DIPP is working with a committee of secretaries that is examining the modalities of the proposal. ...

SC/ST Amendment Bill passed by LokSabha amid Opposition boycott

Amid boycott of the house by opposition parties, Lok Sabha passed the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2014.  The Bill replaces the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Ordinance, 2014 and seeks to amend the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.  The...

Delhi Judicial Services Exam, 2014: SC admits Petition, refuses to stay selection

A Supreme Court of India Bench comprising Justice Dipak Misra and Justice P.C. Pant has admitted a Writ Petition against the 2014 Delhi Judicial Service Examination, filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, through Advocate Prashant Bhushan.The Court however refused to grant a stay on the selection process because the District Judge interviews are due to happen in two days from...

Yakub’s petition should have been heard by Constitution Bench: Prof. Upendra Baxi

A lot has been spoken about the execution of Yakub Abdul Razzak Memon, in the morning of July 30, 2015. The most recent to join the debate is Prof. Upendra Baxi.Hailing the fact that the Court sat in the early hours to hear the petition, Prof. Upendra Baxi wrote in an Article published by India Today , “The pre-dawn hearing was heroic and demosprudential (after all justices acted as...