Navtej Johar v Union of India – Key Highlights

Much has already been written and said about the recent landmark decision of the Supreme Court in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India, where a bench of five judges of the Supreme Court partially struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which made “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” a criminal offence. Four separate judgments were delivered by the court, by Chief Justice Misra (supported by Khanwilkar J), and Justices Nariman, Chandrachud and Malhotra. Though the...

Kathua Rape Case Trial: Postmortem Doctors Say Victim Was Sexually Assaulted, Died Of Asphyxia

The doctors who conducted a postmortem on the eight-year-old Kathua rape victim told a court here that the girl was sexually assaulted and she died of asphyxia, a lawyer has said.As many as 54 witnesses have deposed before the court so far in the ongoing trial in the brutal rape and murder of the girl.The girl was allegedly repeatedly assaulted before being killed at a village in Jammu...

Section 27 Recovery- Some Myths And Misconceptions

The expression “Section 27 Recovery” itself is a misnomer. There are other instances of misapplication and mistaken assimilation of the underlying principles behind this important topic in the criminal justice system.Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (the “Evidence Act” for short) reads as follows:-“How much of information received from accused may be provedPROVIDED that when any fact is deposed to as discovered in consequence of information received from a person accused of any...

Oscar Wilde's Moment Of Redemption By SC In Sec.377 Judgment

The literary genius was labelled a ‘sex pervert’ by a 1976 SC judgment.Oscar Wilde, famous English writer and champion of individualism, was unfortunately branded a ‘sex pervert’ by the Supreme Court in a 1976 judgment. It was the judgment in R K Agarwal v State of Orissa AIR 1976 SC 1774, where the Supreme Court was dealing with an appeal filed by a 70 year old man convicted under Section 376 IPC for rape of a 6 year old girl. While rejecting his prayer for reduction of sentence in...

“Civilization Has Been Brutal”: Navtej Johar, Section 377, And The Supreme Court’s Moment Of Atonement

Last year, in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v Union of India, the Supreme Court did a remarkable thing. While declaring that privacy was a fundamental right under the Indian Constitution, five out of nine judges also noted that the Court’s 2013 judgment in Suresh Kumar Koushal v Naz Foundation (an entirely unconnected proceeding) had been wrongly decided. In Koushal, the constitutionality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code – that criminalised “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” – had...

BCI Directs All Bar Associations To Hold Nationwide Demonstration In October For Insurance, Pension Etc, & Lawyers’ Right To Strike

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has called on the Bar Associations throughout the country to participate in a nationwide demonstration to be held some time in October this year, to protest against issues ranging from their right to call for strikes and their demand for insurance, medi-claim, pension, stipend and other welfare measures for lawyers.To this end, it has directed every Bar...

BREAKING: SC Strikes Down 157 Year Old Law Criminalizing Consensual Homo-Sexual Acts Between Adults; Holds Section 377 IPC Unconstitutional To That Extent [Read Judgment]

In a landmark Judgment Supreme Court of India has struck down 157 year old law which criminalizes consensual homo sexual acts between adults. The Five Judge Bench has declared Section 377 IPC unconstitutional, insofar as it criminalises consensual sexual acts of adults in private.Chief Justice Dipak Misra said it is a unanimous verdict expressed through four separate but...

No State Sponsored Functions Should Be Held During Vasundhara Raje’s Gaurav Yatra: Rajasthan High Court [Read Judgment]

The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday directed the Vasundhara Raje government to abstain from conducting State sponsored functions during the ongoing Gaurav Yatra.The Bench comprising Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice GR Moolchandani ordered, “…we declare that henceforth no public functions sponsored and financed by the State would be held during the road-shows i.e. Gaurav Yatra...

U’khand HC Dismisses “Contempt Petition” Against Sitting Judge As Not Maintainable, Unhappy With AG’s Opinion [Read Judgment]

Holding that contempt proceedings cannot be initiated against a Judge of Court of Record, on allegations of committing a contempt of his own Court, the Uttarakhand High Court has dismissed as not maintainable the criminal contempt petition moved by an advocate against Justice Lok Pal Singh for allegedly losing his temper and using intemperate language against the petitioner in open...

Bhima Koregaon: PIL In Bombay HC Seeks Contempt Action Against ADG For Disclosing Case Details At Press Meet

A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Bombay High Court by one Sanjay Bhalerao seeking contempt action against Additional Director General of Police (ADG) (Law & Order) Param Bir Singh and other officers, including the DGP of Maharashtra, for disclosing confidential details about the investigation in Bhima Koregaon violence before the public at a press meet on...

Magisterial Lapses : When Remand Requests Are Blindly Rubber Stamped

Two recent cases of glaring magisterial lapses deserve discussion.The recent case of Lois Sofia is disturbing. Sofia, a 28 year old student, was remanded to 15 days judicial custody for raising anti-BJP slogans in the presence of TN BJP Chief Tamilisai Soundarajan, while de-boarding an aircraft. Her arrest and subsequent remand happened in the FIR registered on the basis of Soundarajan's complaint.Last week, a Magistrate in Delhi authorised Maharashtra police to take Gautham Navlakha to Pune,...

A Tribute To Senior Advocate Yashank Adhyaru By Dushyant Dave

Mr. Yashank Adhyaru Sr. Advocate passed away at rather young age fighting multiple challenges. He was hospitalized for last over four weeks due to serious breathing issues on account of a severe chest infection.He was a very able and dedicated Lawyer with over thirty years of practice starting from the Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad and then for last two decades in The Supreme Court. He worked in the chamber of Mr.Kapil Sibal for few years, who in fact encouraged him to shift to Delhi from...