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...

MP HC Reinstates 2 Judicial Officers Expelled For Having Over 2 Kids

It was mandatory for the high court to seek information about the number of children in the application form itself, the court said.The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently reinstated two judicial officers for the reason that they have more than two children, though the application form never asked them about it.The court observed that the eligibility of the candidate has to be satisfied before...

Office Of Profit: Will Delhi High Court Strike Down Disqualification Of 20 MLAs?

The Division Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar of Delhi High Court  today concluded arguments and reserved its judgment in the petitions challenging the disqualification of 20 MLAs of Delhi assembly by the President, Ram Nath Kovind, on the Election Commission’s recommendation that they held offices of profit, by virtue of their appointment as Parliamentary Secretaries.As...

Pak Court Holds Suspension Of Mobile Services By Federal Govt On Ground Of National Security Illegal [Read Judgment]

The Islamabad High Court has declared that the Federal government has no authority to direct the suspension of mobile phone services on the ground of national security. It was held that such power can be exercised only after the proclamation of emergency by the President. The declaration was made while allowing an appeal filed by a telecom company, CM Pak Limited, against the shutdown of...