High Court of Kerala stays the order to compensate “Maoist” Shyam Balakrishnan [Updated]

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court headed by Chief Justice Ashok Bhushan on Friday stayed the directive issued by a single Judge of the Court asking the state government to pay a sum of Rs 1 lakh as compensation in addition to Rs. 10,000 as costs to Shyam Balakrishnan, who was illegally detained by the police last year on suspicion of his being a Maoist.The Division Bench granted the...

U.S. SC saves Obama’s healthcare law making health insurance affordable for low-income individuals [Read Jt]

The stakes could not have been higher. Nothing less than the people's health and President Obama's legacy were at stake. At the end of a hard fought legal battle, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a key portion of President Barack Obama's healthcare law preserving health insurance for millions of Americans.In a 6-3 decision, the Court said that tax subsidies that make health insurance...

Lawyers representation in Madras HC against Mediation order in Rape case

A representation filed by a group of lawyers following the controversial decision by Justice P. Devadass ordering mediation in a rape case involving a minor victim, compelling the Madras High Court to recall the case from mediation.Sriram Panchu, Geeta Ramaseshan, N.L. Rajah and A.J. Jawad who filed the representation described the order as "highly inappropriate" and observed that "In...

Law Minister writes to Delhi HC CJ asking her to look into “corruption and nepotism in Delhi Judicial Service Examination” [Read the Letter]

Union Law Minister Sadananda Gowda has wrote to the Delhi High Court Chief Justice G. Rohini to look into the “corruption, favouritism and nepotism” in the Delhi Judicial Services Examination that was held in New Delhi last year.It is the Delhi High Court that conducts the examination with judges involved in the preparation of question paper as well as the interviews. While out of...

SCOTUS allows Lawsuits challenging discriminatory Housing Practices/Policies under the Fair Housing Act, 1968

On Thursday, a sharply divided Supreme Court of the United States of America (SCOTUS) (5:4) ruled in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v The Inclusive Communities Project (US Supreme Court, No. 13-1371) that housing policies and practices with discriminatory effects can be challenged under the Fair Housing Act even if the discrimination was non-intentional. The majority...

PIL filed in SC against Re-promulgation of Land Ordinance

Challenging the union Government's attempt to re-promulgate Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Ordinance, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the power of the government to do so. The Petition filed by three Delhi-based NGOs and Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), contented...

Kerala Govt. files appeal against “Being Maoist is not a Crime” Judgment

In an appeal against the Single Judge's finding that the "being Maoist is not a crime", the State Government in High Court of Kerala Submitted that "CPI Maoist is an organization banned under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and was absolutely illegal". The stated added that "the finding of the learned Single Judge is illegal and liable to be dismissed”.Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque...

SC refuses to hear the plea challenging the vires of Punjab Travel Professionals' Regulation Act 2012 [Updated]

Supreme Court Today refused to entertain a plea challenging the Constitutionality of Punjab Travel Professionals' Regulation Act 2012 holding that the provisions were not "restrictive but regulatory" in nature. "What is wrong with the (licence) fee (for the registration of travel agencies), Rs. 100,000 is not an unreasonable amount. You know the kind of money they make,"  Court asked...

Madras HC passes order permitting person convicted of rape of a minor to settle the matter through mediation [Updated]

In a decision which may perhaps appropriately be described as a ‘howler’, a man, found guilty by the trial court of raping a minor and resultantly sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment, has been given an opportunity by the Madras high court to 'settle' the matter by mediation. The order was passed in an appeal filed by the convict, V. Mohan before the Madras High Court.Justice P...

SC stays AFT’s order re-instating sailor in Indian Navy

After the Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh sought an urgent intervention on the issue, the Supreme Court today stayed the order of the Armed Forces Tribunal by which it had allowed the reinstatement of a Sailor who had allegedly slapped an Officer while on duty.The Tribunal had found the sailor guilty of slapping the Officer but had substituted the order of dismissal with 75...

Karnataka Government files appeal against Jayalalitha’s acquittal, claims “arithmetical errors made the judgment illegal”

The Karnataka government filed a 2700 page petition on 23rd June saying that the Karnataka High Court’s judgment was a “farce”, and that “arithmetical errors made the judgment illegal”. The petition has also added that the judgment had resulted in “the miscarriage of justice” and should be quashed.It is to be noted that the Karnataka High Court had set aside the corruption...

Bombay High Court removes stay on CLAT 2015 allotments [Read the Order]

Hearing a petition filed by a law school aspirant, the Bombay High Court today removed the stay it had imposed on the CLAT admission process by its order dated June 20, 2015. The Bombay HC on June 20th imposed the stay by an order given in chamber due to the heavy rains in Mumbai. The Bench of Justices Anoon V. Mohta and V.L. Achliya had ordered the same on the petition filed by a CLAT...