SC slams Trial Judge for passing an Order of Acquittal in Murder Trial as Witnesses not present; calls it a ‘Mock Trial’ [Read Jt]

Calling a trial that resulted in a judgment of acquittal under Section 232 Cr.P.C. after closing evidence pursuant to examination of one formal prosecution witness, as a ‘farce’, a ‘mock trial’ and comparable to an experimentation conducted by a child in a laboratory, the Supreme Court has come down heavily on the conduct of the trial judge, calling the course of conduct adopted in...

Bar Council of India opposes entry of open university graduates into higher education courses

The Bar Council of India (BCI) informed the Supreme Court that it will not permit candidates take admission in law courses if they have obtained 10+2 or graduation or even post-graduation degree through open universities, even though such degrees are recognised by the University Grants Commission, reports Indian ExpressFurther, it said that the fact that a candidate has worked with a lawyer...

SC directs TN Government to keep one post of Civil Judge vacant for 70% blind lawyer

A Supreme Court bench comprising Justice S.A. Bobde and Justice V. Gopala Gowda has directed Tamil Nadu Government to keep one post of Civil Judge vacant for Mr. V. Surendra Mohan, the 70% blind Assistant Public Prosecutor who was denied the entry into the Judicial Service by of Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission and Madras High Court.Mr. V. Surendra Mohan was not shortlisted for the viva...

A shot in the arm for transparency in judiciary: Calcutta HC in a first permits video recording of court proceedings

The Calcutta High Court created history on July 15 when Justice Aniruddha Bose directed recording of court room proceedings in a particular case, thereby creating a rare, first of its kind precedent. The order has been hailed by activists fighting for greater transparency in the judiciary and court proceedings.Acting on an order passed by Justice Aniruddha Bose, the Registry of the...

Three months paid leave for sexual harassment victims: DoPT issues step guide for inquiry in sexual harassment cases

The Department of Personnel and Training has prepared a step guide for conduct of inquiry in complaint cases of sexual harassment.Rule 14(2) of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965 prescribes that the Complaints Committee established in each Ministry or Department for inquiring into complaints of sexual harassment shall hold such inquiry in accordance...

UK's Emergency Surveillance Legislation declared unlawful by High Court [Read the Judgment]

The Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act, 2014 -an emergency surveillance legislation introduced by the UK government last year is unlawful being “inconsistent with European Union Law”, the high court has ruled. The act requires internet and phone companies to keep their communications data for a year and regulates how police and intelligence agencies gain access to it. It...

Justice Kurian Joseph seeks clarity on the ‘Constitutional role of Chief Justice of India’

Justice Kurian Joseph, one of the five Judges on the NJAC Constitution Bench,  sought clarification from the Government regarding the Constitutional role of the Chief Justice of India.According to Krishnadas Rajagopal’s report in The Hindu , responding to the query on whether the Chief Justice is actually the 'Chief Justice of India' or the 'Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of...

Surrogate mother is also entitled to maternity leave : Delhi High Court [Read the Judgmen]

 The Delhi High Court has held in a significant judgment that a woman who is in government service and has a child through surrogacy, is also entitled to maternity leave. The Court held that denial of leave would be detrimental to both mother and child.With this progressive ruling, the Delhi High Court has joined the likes of the Kerala High Court in holding that a surrogate mother would also...

SARFAESI Act cannot be enforced in Jammu and Kashmir, rules the J&K High Court

In a landmark judgment, the Jammu & Kashmir High Court has held recently that the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, enacted by Parliament in 2002, cannot be enforced in the state.A division bench of the Court comprised of Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar and Ali Muhammad Magrey underlined how the SARFAESI Act is...

Out of turn hearing of appeals of celebrities: Petition filed in Bombay High Court

A Petition has been filed in the Bombay High Court by Ms. Shashikala Bhagwan Gangurde against out of turn hearing of appeals of celebrities, including film actors Shiney Ahuja and Salman Khan, against their conviction.The Petitioner has filed the petition on behalf of her incarcerated husband and many other convicts who eagerly wait in jails for many years to get bail and struggle hard to...

Kerala Cricket Association is not a public office: High Court of Kerala [Read the Judgment]

The High court of Kerala quashing vigilance cases registered against office bearers of the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) has held in a recent ruling that the KCA, an affiliate of the BCCI, is not a public office.Justice Muhammed Mustaque gave this ruling while quashing vigilance cases registered against KCA office-bearers, including its President T C Mathew.The case was registered pursuant...

Adoption by couple with one foreign parent would be termed ‘in-country’; Bombay High Court lays down detailed guidelines

In a landmark ruling, a Bombay High Court Bench comprising Justice V.M. Kanade and Justice B.P. Colabawalla has held that in cases where a married couple, of which one is an Indian and the other is a foreign national, desires to adopt a child, the adoption will be treated as an in-country adoption and not a foreign adoption.The Court was hearing a petition filed by an American woman living...