Is Article 370 Of The Constitution Void?

As the Supreme Court admits plea challenging the validity of Article 370 of the Constitution of India granting special status to Jammu & Kashmir, one of the most controversial issues is back to shake the Indian politics. The plea is filed challenging the Delhi High Court order which dismissed such plea earlier. The Jammu & Kashmir High Court had, in 2015, observed that the Article 370 is a permanent feature of the Constitution and is beyond amendment, repeal or abrogation.Even as the...

IDIA Team Secures Interim Relief For Slum Dwellers With Calcutta HC Stay On Demolition And Eviction

In a significant victory for the public interest team at the Increasing Diversity By Increasing Access (IDIA), the Calcutta High Court on Friday granted an interim stay on slum demolitions in Kolkata’s Subhas Sarovar area.Justice Ranjit Kumar Bag granted a stay for one week against the orders for demolition, which were issued in furtherance of a beautification project named...

Bombay HC Tells State To Pay Rs. 6-Lakh Compensation For Wrongly Prosecuting Man For Murder

The Bombay High Court recently directed the state of Maharashtra to pay Rs. 6 lakh towards compensation for wrongly prosecuting a man named Jawaharlal Ramtirth Sharma over a period of 10 years for murder.A bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Sarang Kotwal was hearing a petition filed by Sharma himself.Case backgroundAn FIR was lodged at Jogeshwari Police Station against unknown persons by...

Clarify Stand On Claims Of Taj Mahal Being A Shiva Temple: CIC Recommends Centre [Read Order]

The Central Information Commission recommended that the Ministry of Culture should clarify its stand on the conflicting claims regarding the Taj Mahal being a Shiva Temple rather than a mausoleum built by Shahjahan.Information Commissioner Prof. M. Sridhar Acharyulu also directed the Archaeological Survey of India to share with the Appellant, documents and affidavits filed on behalf of the...

SC Permits Abortion Of 25-Weeks-Old Fetus With Neurological Disorder [Read Order]

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed a 26 year-old woman to abort a 25-weeks-old fetus, noting that it was diagnosed with a neurological disorder that causes absence of major portion of the skull and scalp.A medical report prepared by a board of Sir JJ Hospital in Mumbai had submitted before the Court that the foetus had anencephaly – a condition where the baby is born without parts of...

Woman Alleges Rape In Diesel Auto, HC Upholds Accused’s Acquittal As Such Vehicles Are Banned In Delhi [Read Judgment]

Upholding the acquittal of a man in a rape case, the Delhi High Court found that while the woman claimed she was raped in a diesel auto rickshaw with Haryana registration number, the same was banned in Delhi and as such a TSR (three-seater auto rickshaw) could not have been hired for travelling in Delhi.Justice Pratibha Rani upheld the December 2016 order of the trial court by which the man...

In A First An Indian Descent Parsi Judge Appointed In New Zealand HC

Mr. Pheroze Jagose, a Wellington Barrister of Parsi Indian descent, has been appointed as a Judge of the New Zealand High Court.Justice Jagose will sit in Auckland. His swearing-in ceremony was reportedly as culturally diverse as he is, with references from Lady Gaga to the heritage of his Parsi Indian father and Irish...

Cropping Up Of SC Judge's Name During Inquiry Is No Reason To Stall Probe Against Orissa HC Judge, CJAR Writes To In-House Committee Chairman

In a letter addressed to Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice S.J. Vazifdar, the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) has urged a quick decision on the probe into allegations against Orissa High Court Judge Indrajit Mahanty.A three member in-house committee had been constituted by the former Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur to look into the allegations against...

Girls Steal The Show At The 25th NLSIU Convocation

The 25th Annual Convocation of the National Law School of India University saw girls stealing the show, with only 7 out of the 21 gold medalists being boys.Ms. Shruthi Ashok walked away with 16 gold medals, and the ceremony saw 581 under-graduate and post-graduate students being feted.The Convocation witnessed the attendance of Vice President Hamid Ansari as the Chief Guest. Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar presided over the Convocation, with Governor of Karnataka Mr. Vajubhai Vala as the...

No Witness Examined Even After 3 Yrs & 23 Adjournments In Bail Matters: J’khand HC Judge Appalled At Justice System [Read Order]

Calls for report on mechanism to identify mistakes during probe, trial Observing that the Supreme Court had recently said that “criminal justice system in this country is on crossroad”, the Jharkhand High Court has said “Jharkhand is no exception” as it asked the Director General (Police) if there is any mechanism to identify mistakes committed during investigation and trial.“In...

Nine Things Mooted By The State About Right To Privacy And Aadhaar In The Corridors Of The Court

From the day of dawn, the evolution of grand biometric identification project remained a bone of contention. As the skeletal framework of Aadhaar originates from 2009 Notification issued by Planning Commission. However, severe apprehensions regarding violation of privacy by the state led to severe contestations with civil society. It finally ended up by knocking the doors of the judiciary. As the first petition Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) & Another v Union of India (WP(C) 494), is...

Women Outnumber Men In Kerala Munsiff-Magistrate Selection

The gross under-representation of women in Indian Judiciary has been a matter of grave concern. While women participation is on the rise in almost all sectors in India, the same is not with judiciary.The statistics present a worrying picture of drastically low participation of women in judiciary. To illustrate, out of 229 judges appointed at the Supreme Court of India till 2015, only six...