Kerala HC Makes New Rules For Designation Of Senior Advocates [Read Rules]

The High Court of Kerala has made new rules for the designation of senior advocates titled, ‘High Court of Kerala (Designation of Senior Advocates) Rules 2018, which is expected to be published in Kerala Gazette on this March 15. The new rules are made in the light of the guidelines and norms laid down by the Supreme Court regarding designation of senior advocates in its judgement in...

SC Stays Execution Of Death Sentence Of Man Convicted Of Rape & Murder Of 6-Yr-Old Girl

The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra has stayed execution of the death sentence of a man convicted for rape and murder of a 6-year-old girl.Chotkau was convicted by the trial court for rape and murder of a 6-year-old girl. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had affirmed the conviction and confirmed the death sentence awarded to him.While confirming...

Can Tamil Be A Compulsory Subject In Board Exam? Madras HC Refers Question To Larger Bench [Read Order]

A Division Bench of the Madras High Court has referred to a larger bench the question whether Tamil can be made a compulsory subject in Board Examination.The Bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose noted, "Under the Tamil Nadu Tamil Learning Act, 2006 and/or Rules and/or Regulations framed and/or orders issued thereunder, exemption from appearance at the...

Medical College Bribery Case: Former Orissa HC Judge I.M. Qudussi Petitions Delhi Court For Media Gag Order [Read Petition]

Former Orissa High Court Judge I.M. Qudussi has petitioned the Patiala House Courts, New Delhi, demanding that The Wire, Times of India and ABP News be barred from publishing any news on the medical college bribery scam, except for the court orders passed in the case.When the matter came up for hearing on Tuesday, the Court adjourned the proceedings to March 11, as ABP news had not...

Safer Buildings: SC Notice To Centre On Proper Implementation Of National Building Code

It highlighted a report by Live Law about a CIC Order regarding the noncompliance of fire safety measures in important buildings like Parliament and Supreme Court.A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra issued notice to Centre on a PIL seeking direction for proper implementation of National Building Code for construction of any building in the country.The...

Linking Aadhaar To Direct Recruitment Violates Right To Equal Opportunity Clause Of Constitution: Punjab & Haryana HC [Read Order]

In a significant development in the matter of Unique Identification (UID)/Aadhaar numbers, the Punjab & Haryana High Court has passed an order saying, “Linking Aadhaar Number to direct recruitment should not prima facie be a mandatory condition as it by result in violation of equal opportunity clause in Article 16(1) of the Constitution of India and deny easy access to applying online for jobs”. It observed that if “some other method” is devised, citizens “will be confronted with denial of...

CONFLICT OF BENCHES: The SC's February 8 Judgment in Indore Development Authority Is Not Supported By Text Or Intent Of The Act, Says Namita Wahi, Expert On Land Acquisition

The ongoing controversy in the Supreme Court involving judicial discipline after a three-judge bench overruled the decision of another three-judge bench centres around the interpretation of Section 24 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (RFCTLARR Act). This provision deals with the question when the land acquisition process under the previous Land Acquisition Act of 1894 shall be deemed to have lapsed.The...

Delhi HC Quashes JNU Circular Declaring M.Phil Mandatory For 2016-17 Ph.D Students [Read Order]

In a huge relief for Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students who had taken admission in its PhD course in 2016, the Delhi High Court, last week, quashed circulars issued in 2017 making it mandatory for them to possess an M.Phil degree to pursue PhD course. These circulars had a retrospective effect on students who had been admitted for the academic session 2016-17 as well.The Petitions...

Auto-Rickshaw Driver's Daughter Tops Uttarakhand Judicial Services Examination

The declaration of final results of the Uttarakhand Judicial Service Civil Judge (Junior Division) Examination, 2016 on Wednesday brought good news for Dehradun based Ms. Poonam Todi, who topped the exam.With her father being an auto-rickshaw driver, Ms. Todi's achievement is being lauded throughout the country with congratulatory messages appreciating her hard work and perseverance...

To Hear Or Not To Hear

A spectre of recusals, mostly voluntary i.e. sua sponte (on their own motion) has been haunting the Indian Judicial landscape in the recent past, and more particularly, the Indian Supreme Court. On 21st January, 2017 a report appeared in ‘Live Law’ that from January, 16 to 20 as many as six recusals have come to light in the Supreme Court. On December, 27 2017 a further news item appeared in ‘Bar and Bench’ that from December, 4 to 8, Seven Supreme Court Judges recused from hearing 10 cases and...

Publishing Picture Of Breastfeeding In Cover: Criminal Complaint Filed Against Malayalam Magazine

A criminal case under the Indecent Representation of Women Act has been filed against ‘Grihalakshmi’ magazine for publishing the picture of a breastfeeding woman in the cover page of its latest edition.The cover page of the Malayalam magazine shows a woman breastfeeding a baby, with the caption “Mothers tell Kerala :- Don’t stare, we want to breastfeed”. From the cover page it...

Jammu And Kashmir HC Denies Bail To Judicial Officer Accused Of Rape [Read Order]

If a judicial officer transgresses the scales of justice the effect would be disastrous and deleterious, the court said.The Jammu and Kashmir High Court, while denying bail to a judicial officer in the state accused of rape and cheating, observed that the conduct of the judicial officer in indulging in the activities of which he is accused makes the crime all the more grave and the act in...