Development Officers working in LIC are not Workmen under Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 : Supreme Court

A two judge bench of the Supreme Court has held that Development Officers working in LIC are not workmen as under Sec 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The bench comprising of Justices Dipak Misra and P.C.Pant also declared an earlier judgment [LIC v R Suresh] relied upon by the appellants as per incuriam as it did not consider the constitutional bench judgment in H.R.Adhyantha's...

Supreme Court refuses to review its judgment on arrest in dowry related cases

The Supreme Court has refused to make any changes in its judgment delivered in July 2014, [Arnesh Kumar Vs. State of Bihar & Anr] by which the Supreme Court had restrained the police from automatically arresting the accused in dowry related cases. The Apex Court in that judgment had observed that, dowry laws were being “used as weapons, rather than shields, by disgruntled...

Lawyer shot dead in broad daylight in Allahabad allegedly by police; Clashes followed : Nationwide no work protest on 16th March requested by BCI

Clashes have been reported in Allahabad by advocates after one of the robed brethren was shot dead yesterday. A constable has been reported to be injured in incidents of firing, stone pelting and arson that followed.The unfortunate incident occurred at around 2 p.m when Advocate Nabi Ahmed was killed in firing over some dispute. The shooter has still not been properly identified.However, it...

Look out notice issued against Green peace activist Priya Pillai quashed by Delhi High Court [Read the Judgment]

The lookout notice issued by the Government of India Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai has been quashed by the Delhi High Court.The Court in its judgment observed, "The core aspect of democracy is the freedom of an individual to be able to freely operate, within the framework of the laws enacted by the Parliament. The individual should be able to order his or her life any way he or she...

Law Commission rejects 'Right to recall' and Right to reject, suggests barring independent candidates in Elections in its 255th report

The Law Commission of India today came up with its report on Electoral Reforms. The 255th report of the Law Commission mentions recommendations for election finance reforms that include laws regulating election expenditure, contributions, and disclosure and a comparative analysis with laws in United Kingdom, Germany, United States of America, Australia, Japan, Philippines on...

High Courts do not have the jurisdiction to entertain writs against orders of AFT, says Supreme Court [Read the Judgment]

Answering the question, "whether the right of appeal under Section 30 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007 against an order of Armed Forces Tribunal with the leave of the Tribunal under Section 31 of the Act or leave granted by the Supreme Court, or bar of leave to appeal before the Supreme Court under Article 136(2) of the Constitution of India, will bar the jurisdiction of the High...

Former PM Manmohan Singh, Coal Secretary P.C.Parakh and Kumar Mangalam Birla summoned by the Special Court hearing Coal Allocation Scam

In an interesting turn of events, the designated court to try accused of the Coal Allocation Scam has reportedly summoned the 82 year old former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Coal Secretary P.C. Parakh and industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and others as accused. The case pertains to the allocation of coal blocks to Hindalco, owned by the Aditya Birla Group, allegedly in violation...

Supreme Court confirms Life term for six accused in Manjunath's murder Case [Read the Judgment]

The Supreme Court of India today dismissed the appeals filed by six persons who had been convicted for killing Manjunath, an Indian Oil Employee in 2005. Manjunath had exposed corruption in Lakhimpur area of Uttar Pradesh, causing the services of Petrol Pump of the persons relating to accused persons be disrupted.All the six persons who had appealed to the Apex Court were found guilty by...

Though overruled, Bhatia International held to be applicable to pre BALCO arbitration agreements : SC

Before, reading this coverage, an important question needs to be pondered upon. What is the retrospective weightage of an expressly overruled judgment put for perusal prospectively? Can a bench apply an overruled decision to a matter before it in absence of the overruling decision banning its retrospective non-application?A two judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justices Dipak...

Romance or Consent of Minor girl are not Mitigating circumstances for Reduction of Sentence in a Rape case : SC [Read the Judgment]

Starting the judgment with disappointment on non appearance of the amicus curiae appointed by the court, a 2 judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justices Dipak Misra and A.K.Sikri has held that consent of a minor girl and subsequent marriage to a different individual are not mitigating circumstances while sentencing the accused in a rape case.Brief facts of the case can be...

Conversion of Paddy Land; High Court has no power to direct the authorities to change entries in the Basic Tax Register: SC [Read the Judgment]

A Supreme Court Bench comprising of Justice V. Gopala Gowda and Justice R. Banumathi has ruled that High Court has no power to direct the authorities to change entries in the Basic Tax Register with respect to conversion of land.The Court was hearing appeals against an order passed by the Division Bench of the Kerala High Court, which had directed the Tahsildar to correct the nature of land...

Hearing on NJAC Challenge started in SC; The whole thing looks unworkable observes SC

The Advocate-on-Record Association, NGO Change India and Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), senior counsel and former additional Solicitor General of India Bishwajit Bhattacharyya, senior counsel Bhim Singh and R.K. Kapoor and advocate Manohar Lal Sharma have challenged the validity of the Constitution (Ninety Ninth Amendment) Act, 2014, that provides for setting up the...