Referendums And The Indian Constitution

Earlier this month, Russia voted on an important referendum that brought significant changes to its Constitution. The Russians decided to grant President Putin the option of leading the country until the year 2036, by limiting a President's Rule to two six-year terms in total rather than two consecutive terms. They also voted to effectively ban same-sex marriages in the country. Interestingly, some scholars believe that a referendum was not needed to amend the Russian Constitution. ...

Free Speech Or Hate Speech: A Critique On Bombay HC Order In Arnab Goswami's Case

Republic Television has been a vociferous supporter of the current political dispensation. In this endeavour, they effortlessly mix fact and fiction. Two recent programmes, anchored by Arnab Goswami, have given rise to important legal issues. The first programme anchored by Goswami insinuated that the protest by migrant labourers, who had gathered in Bandra with hopes that transportation to return would be made available, were not genuine. He further insinuated that the protest appeared to be a...

"It Is The State's Duty To Uphold the Rule of Law": SC Suggests To Constitute Committee Headed By Former SC Judge To Probe Vikas Dubey Encounter

The Supreme Court has directed the State of Uttar Pradesh to place on record a draft notification with a list of suggested names of retired Supreme Court judges and police officials, who are to be inducted into the Commission for investigating the alleged encounter of Vikas Dubey and his five co-accused. 

A Bench comprising of Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, and Justice Bopanna and...

Functioning Of Local Committees Under The Sexual Harassment Of Women At Workplace Act

Vishaka Guidelines The legal recourse on the issue of sexual harassment in India came only in the 1990s, though the country signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 30 July 1980 and ratified it on 9 July 1993. It was in the case of Bhanwari Devi,2 a village-level worker employed with the Rajasthan state government on contract, that the Supreme Court issued Vishaka guidelines for employers in 1997 (Vishaka Guidelines and Others v...

Courts This Week- A Weekly Round Of Important Legal Developments In The Country [Episode-23]

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Right To Religion Under Article 25 Can't Be Invoked To Protect Illegal Structures : Karnataka HC [Read Order]

The fundamental right to religion under Article 25 of the Constitution of India does not extend to offering prayers at each and every place, and protecting a place of worship illegally built on public place, held the High Court of Karnataka.The Court added that right to construct an unauthorized temple cannot be said to be an essential religious practice, that can be protected under Article 25...

'Both My Parents Have Equally Contributed To My Education': Law Graduate Convinces Alma Mater To Issue Certificate Containing Both Her Parents' Names

Samrita Shankar, a BBA LLB student from the graduating batch of Jindal Global University, successfully overhauled the archaic practice of her alma mater, mentioning only the name of her father on her passing degree. After Shankar wrote an email to the Vice Chancellor of the University, highlighting that both her parents had "equally contributed" to her education and she was "upset" to...

[FULL VIDEO] Criminal Trial: From 'Taking Cognizance' To 'Framing Of Charges' By Justice V Ramkumar

LIVELAW PRACTITIONERS SERIESTOPIC : [CRIMINAL TRIAL] FROM 'TAKING COGNIZANCE' TO 'FRAMING OF CHARGES'SPEAKER: JUSTICE RAMKUMAR , FORMER JUDGE, HIGH COURT OF KERALANOTES WILL BE GIVEN TO PARTICIPANTSRead the Questions for Discussion.Answers will be published after the WebinarClick Here To Download Answers[Read...

'Not An Advocate As On Date Of Appointment' : Kerala HC Sets Aside Direct Recruitment Of District Judge

The Kerala High Court has set aside the appointment of a District and Sessions Judge (POCSO), who was selected via direct recruitment, on the ground that he was not an Advocate "as on the date of his appointment". The observation was made by a single-Judge bench of Justice PV Asha who followed the dictum laid down by the Supreme Court in Dheeraj Mor v. High Court of Delhi.Judicial...

Anti-Defection Law : What Amounts To Voluntary Giving Up Of Party Membership Under Tenth Schedule Of Constitution?

Anti-defection law under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution has once again come to the fore with the political crisis that has rocked Rajasthan in the wake of the rebellion led by a camp of Congress MLAs led by Sachin Pilot.The issue has now reached the High Court of Rajasthan, after the Pilot camp approached it challenging the disqualification notices issued by the Speaker.The...

Law Students Seek Cancellation Of Final Year Examinations; Bombay HC Seeks Reply From State, UGC, BCI

The Bombay High Court on Friday sought a reply from the State of Maharashtra, University Grants Commission and Bar Council of India in a PIL filed by a law student seeking cancellation of final year examinations during the ongoing pandemic of Covid-19. A Division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Anuja Prabhudessai directed the State, BCI and UGC to file...

Arbitration: Court Reckoner [June 2020]

By way of the present column, an attempt is made to briefly review the salutary judgments pronounced by the Courts in the month of June 2020 under the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996. That while as many judgments as possible are sought to be reviewed, owing to the limited column space, some judgments would invariably be left out. That also while an attempt is made to include...