Proposed RTI Amendments Weaken The Act: Read Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu's Letter To CICs

After months of protests led by several RTI activists against the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2018, a voice of dissent has now risen from within the Central Information Commission against the proposed changes to the Right to Information Act, 2005.With Chief Information Commissioner R.K. Mathur on leave, Information Commissioner Prof. Mr. Sridhar Acharyulu has written to...

Lok Sabha Passes Amendment To Negotiable Instruments Act; Provision For Interim Compensation to Payee Introduced

The Lok Sabha has passed  Negotiable Instruments(Amendment) Act on July 23, 2018.The amendment introduces a new provision, Section 143A in the Act, which gives power to the Court to order payment of interim compensation by the drawer of the cheque to the complainant. As per this provision, interim compensation not exceeding twenty percentage of the cheque amount can be ordered to be paid...

Justice Syeda Tahira Safdar To Be The First Woman High Court Chief Justice In Pakistan

Justice Syeda Tahira Safdar is set to be appointed as the Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court, paving way for her to become the first woman Chief Justice of any High Court in the country.The current Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court, Justice Muhammad Noor Meskanzai is scheduled to retire on August 31. Justice Tahira will then take charge as the Chief Justice till October 5 next...

From Aug 1, Approaching Authorities Concerned A Must Before Coming To Tribunal, Says NGT [Read Order]

From August 1, every person coming to the National Green Tribunal highlighting violation of any environmental law must first approach the authorities concerned and give them 15 days’ time to respond before moving the tribunal.The same has been ordered by NGT bench headed by chairperson Justice AK Goel with a view that the same may provide quicker remedy.The bench said so while hearing...

Woman’s “Loose Character” Does Not Give Men The Right To Rape Her: Bombay HC Rejects Attempts To Tarnish Rape Survivor’s Character [Read Judgment]

Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court recently dismissed an appeal filed by a rape convict, upholding the lower Court’s decision to reject attempts to tarnish the rape survivor’s character.Justice Manish Pitale was hearing an appeal filed by one Ramkrishna Ganesh Wagh, challenging an order passed in October 2005 by the Sessions Court, Akola convicting him for raping a 15-year-old...

Himachal Pradesh HC Enlists Indian Army’s Assistance For Removing Encroachments In Villages [Read Order]

The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Friday enlisted the Eco-Task Force set up by the Indian Army based at Kufri (Shimla) for removing encroachments over forests or public land in the Jalatha, Chaithla, Pungrish, Pandali and Kalemu villages in Kotkhai tehsil in Shimla district.The Army is expected to accompany the SIT constituted by the Court on 25 April for the purpose. The SIT comprises...

Bombay HC Permits Supply Of Free Copies Of Notes Of Evidence In PDF Format To Parties/Advocates

In a move that will be a positive step in digitisation of daily workings of both Higher as well as the lower judiciary, the Committee of Administrative Judges of the Bombay High Court has granted permission to supply digital copies of notes of evidence in PDF format to parties or their advocates free of cost.A circular dated July 20, 2018 signed by the Registrar General Shrinivas Aggarwal...

The People Of India Have Protected Their Right To Information Once Again

The Centre's decision to defer the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill 2018 – after protests from the public and the opposition – is temporary good news.Sub-section (5) of Section 13 of the Right to Information Act provided that the salaries and allowance and other terms and conditions of service of the chief information commissioner and information commissioners shall be same as that of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners, respectively. Similarly, sub-section (5) of...

Profiling A Person Solely On Basis Of Religion Is Contrary To Our Constitutional Creed: Delhi HC [Read Judgment]

‘Every violation of visa norm cannot possibly lead to banning a person from entering into the country unless there is material to show that the person concerned acted in a manner which was inimical to our national interest.’Directing the immigration authorities to reconsider the decision to ‘blacklist’ an OCI cardholder, the Delhi High Court has observed that every violation of visa...

Sedition Row: Delhi HC Sets Aside JNU’s Penalty On Kanhaiya Kumar

The Delhi High Court on Friday set aside Jawaharlal Nehru University’s order imposing fine of Rs. 10,000 on its former student union president Kanhaiya Kumar. It opined that the impugned order was “illegal, irrational and irregular”, and directed JNU to conduct the proceedings afresh.The penalty had been imposed by JNU’s Appellate Authority in connection with an incident in...

Live Streaming Of Supreme Court Cases—An Idea Whose Time Has Come

The brilliant move by the Supreme Court (SC) in declaring its support for live streaming of its cases, in two PILs filed by Senior Advocate Indira Jaising and Swapnil Tripathi (a law student from NLU Jodhpur), comes at a time when there is serious trust deficit in the workings of the court. The bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud should be lauded for a great step towards initiating a move for transparency and openness in the Indian legal system....

Some Provisions Of Delhi District Court (Right to Information) Rules Are Not In Conformity With RTI Act: CIC [Read Order]

“One wonders, what queries other than relating to its primary functioning of the administration of justice could be put to the PIO of a Court of Law.”Taking note of some ‘exemption’ provisions of Delhi District Court (Right to Information) Rules, the Central Information Commission observed that they are not in conformity with the Right to Information Act and have orchestrated Counter...