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...

Rights Of Mediaperson Not Higher Than That Of Common Man, Responsibilities Are: Delhi court [Read Judgment]

Observing that the rights of press persons are not higher than that of the common man but the responsibilities are higher, a Delhi court has said press does not enjoy any special privileges to comment, criticize or even to investigate the facts of any case.Additional District Judge Raj Kapoor said so while deciding a suit for damages filed by a north Delhi resident, a stock broker, against...

Bombay HC Quashes FIR In Rape Case, Imposes Rs. 50,000 Cost On Petitioner For Using Court For Private Dispute [Read Judgment]

The Bombay High Court recently quashed an FIR filed under Section 376 (2) of the Indian Penal Code on the condition that the petitioner-accused pays cost of Rs. 50,000 for burdening the court machinery in order to settle a private dispute.A bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Sarang Kotwal directed the authorities that the amount be used towards treatment of advanced and...

The Right to Privacy Hearing: Problems and Prospects

A nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court reserved judgment on the issue of whether there exists a fundamental right to privacy under the Indian Constitution. The case, which arose out of the constitutional challenge to the Aadhaar Scheme (and which has been covered extensively on this blog), was argued over seven days. An informal record of the oral hearings, prepared by two of us, is available here (filter for bias, because both Prasanna and I were representing the Petitioners), and the parties’...