Sadananda Gowda appointed as Law Minister

D.V. Sadananda Gowda, former Chief Minister of Karnataka, has been given charge of the Ministry of Law and Justice, in furtherance of the recent shuffle and expansion of the Union Cabinet. Gowda was sworn in as the Minister of Railways in the Union Cabinet in May this year.Gowda was a Public Prosecutor for a brief period in Sirsi, Uttara Kannada District, but resigned his job to concentrate...

Delhi High Court seeks CBI status report on Azad-Heptulla morphed photo

Justice Vibhu Bakhru of the Delhi High Court has issued a notice to CBI on a plea filed by Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad’s nephew regarding morphing of a photo of Azad and Najma Heptulla in a book published on the country's first education minister.Azad’s nephew has urged that the morphing was done at the instance of Heptulla when she was heading Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)....

CLAT 2015: More centres, Implementation Committee proposes question paper in Hindi too

In a series of changes that CLAT 2015 is going to introduce, the latest one seems to be making the online exam also in Hindi. Reportedly, the Implementation Committee for Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) met on Saturday and made a proposal that the question paper should also be in Hindi.However, the proposal can only materialize when the Core Committee, which consists of Vice Chancellors of...

Civil Society organisations demand respect for the Right to Dissent

On October 9 2014 the Home Ministry submitted an affidavit in the Delhi High Court against Greenpeace India. This triggered a strong reaction with the civil society leaders taking up the issue. The move of the Government to keep NGOs at bay has been criticized as discriminatory and a violation of freedom speech.The government of India and NGOs seem to be at loggerheads since June this year....

Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple Case: Royal family questions Amicus Curiae Gopal Subramaniam report, State of Kerala denies collusion [Read the Affidavits]

Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma, the eldest male member of the erstwhile Royal Family of Travancore and the trustee of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court after a report was submitted by the Amicus Curiae in the matter.The affidavit, filed on November 6, questions the report and says that the report by Gopal Subramaniam has damaged the reputation of...

Caste based census: Supreme Court overrules Madras HC judgment [Read the Judgment]

The Supreme Court today upheld the appeal filed by the Central Government against a judgment delivered by the Madras High Court, by which High Court had directed the Centre to conduct caste based census.The judgment authored by Justice Dipak Misra, is from a three judge Bench consisting of Justices Dipak Misra, UULalit and RFNariman.The judgment quotes the question before it as,...

Give details of individuals staying in Government accommodations: SC to Centre

The Supreme Court today demanded details from the Central Government with respect to individuals residing in Government accommodations. It urged the Government to render information regarding the categories of bungalows existing in Delhi, their allotment under discretionary and people who have been overstaying in the same.It was pointed out by the amicus curiae that Congress leader...

Supreme Court directs ascertainment of authenticity of any complaint before taking action against judicial officers

All High Courts and subordinate judiciary has been asked been strictly directed by the apex Court to ascertain the authenticity of any complaint received against a judicial officer before taking any action on it. They have been asked to not entertain any complaint against a judicial officer unless it is accompanied by sworn affidavits and "verifiable material to substantiate the allegation"....

No General Directions to release all life convicts languishing in Tihar Jail : Delhi High Court [Read the Judgment]

The Delhi High Court on 5.11.2014 dismissed W.P.(Crl.) No.2080/2014 as misconceived and imposed cost of Rs.1,000/- on the Petitioner payable to the Delhi Legal Services Authority within four weeks of the passing of the order.This Writ Petition was filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India 1949, as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). It sought a general direction to the Respondents...

Use of Information Technology for better implementation of RTI Act: Supreme Court asks States and Union Territories to decide in Three weeks

A Supreme Court bench comprising of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice A.K. Sikri has urged the States and Union Territories to take a decision regarding setting up of a mechanism for use of Information Technology in regulation of Right to Information Act.Disposing of a PIL filed by Madhya Pradesh-based lawyer Rajeev Agrawal in his personal capacity, the bench said the plea be treated as...

Delhi High Court to decide on Constitutionality of laws which allow direct appeal to Supreme Court

A Delhi High Court bench comprising of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice R.S. Endlaw said that it will come to a decision on the Constitutional validity of several laws which allow direct appeal to the Supreme Court from their “apex adjudicatory” bodies.The petition challenged these laws as violating the power of the High Courts to order judicial review, which is considered as a part of...

Removal of Prof. N.S. Gopalakrishnan working as impediment to CUSAT’s upgradation to IIEST

Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has been left vexed due to the removal of Prof. N.S. Gopalakrishnan, an internationally-renowned expert in intellectual property rights, from the post of MHRD Chair Professor on IPR at Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) by the University Syndicate. The decision has been viewed as being politically motivated.An order of the...