P.Shiv Shankar, Former Law Minister And Architect of Committed Judiciary, Passes Away

Former Union Law Minister, P.Shiv Shankar passed away in Hyderabad this morning, after a prolonged illness, say reports. He was 89 years old.Although Shiv Shankar had held several positions in the Government, it was his stint as the Union Law Minister in Indira Gandhi Cabinet, after her return to power in 1980, which was the turning point in India’s judiciary.As Union Law Minister, Shiv...

Interview: ‘There Is A Scramble To Be Elevated To The Supreme Court’, Says Justice K.T.Thomas, While Seeking Parity In Retirement Ages Of High Court And Supreme Court Judges

Justice K.T.Thomas was a judge of the Supreme Court of India from March 29, 1996 to January 30, 2002.  His memoirs, Honeybees of Solomon: Memoirs of a Jurist, first published in 2008, has been republished recently, by Universal Law Publishing, an imprint of LexisNexis.In it, Justice Thomas, not only discusses his early influences in his life, but also traces his evolution from the bar to the bench.  Justice Thomas also discusses the rationale of some of the landmark judgments, delivered by him,...

Right To Contest Election Doesn’t Recognise Right To Be Released From Jail For Campaigning:Delhi HC [Read Judgment]

The Delhi High Court on Monday held that right to contest election from jail “cannot imply that the candidate gets a right to be released from jail for campaigning”.“If the candidate is in custody for an alleged offence, it would be the discretion of the Court to release him or not, depending on the facts and circumstances of the case. When a person in custody fills up a nomination as...

CIC Tells Govt, Authorities To Create Awareness That Aadhaar Is Not Must For Marriage Registration [Read Order]

The Chief Information Commission has directed the government and marriage registration authorities to give widespread publicity through various media that Aadhaar is not mandatory for the purpose of marriage registration scheme.Disposing of a second appeal, Chief Information Commissioner Prof M Sridhar Acharyulu also directed the authority to make necessary changes for online application...

“Supreme Court Had No Jurisdiction To Hear Dangwimsai Pul’s Letter Petition”: Alok Prasanna Kumar, Vidhi Fellow

The Supreme Court’s dismissal of Dangwimsai Pul’s “petition” seeking a probe into the allegations mentioned in her husband, and former chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Kalikho Pul’s “suicide note”, as withdrawn, has led to a controversy.The Supreme Court, in its order, has defended its hearing of Dangwimsai Pul’s letter to the Chief Justice of India, Justice J.S.Khehar, in this connection on the judicial side, by converting it as a writ petition, as follows:“This petition has been listed in...

Pulsar Suni's Arrest Not Illegal: Justice KT Thomas

[Pulsar Suni, prime accused in Kerala actor's molestation case was arrested on Thursday from ACJM Court, Ernakulam. At the time of Arrest the Court was not in Session] Arrest from courtroom is permissible if the court has not considered his application for surrendering. The reason is that police arresting an accused before surrendering is a great advantage to them. Custodial interrogation is a sure thing after the arrest. However, if the accused surrenders, the court need not give him to the...

Every Activist Judge In India Is A Linear Descendant Of Jaiprakash Narayan: Prof. Upendra Baxi [Video]

NALSAR Lecture Series on Constitutionalism hosted its seventh speaker, Professor Upendra Baxi, who is also an Adjunct Professor at NALSAR, on the 17th of February, 2017 at the M.K. Nambyar SAARC Law Centre at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. He spoke on the topic ‘Constitutionalism and Identity’. Professor Baxi recollected his previous visits to NALSAR, and termed ‘Justice City’...

Delhi HC Suggests Correctional Measures For Reforming Rape Convict [Read Judgment]

The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the superintendent at Tihar Jail to consider appropriate correctional measures to reform a rape convict sentenced to 10-year imprisonment.A division bench comprising Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Anu Malhotra modified the life imprisonment awarded by trial court to 10 years of imprisonment after considering various mitigating circumstances relating to...

Explore Appropriate Programmes For Rehabilitation Of Women Prisoners: Delhi HC to Authorities [Read Judgment]

A division bench of Delhi High Court on Monday asked the authorities to explore appropriate programmes and intervention for mainstreaming and rehabilitating women prisoners.The bench comprising Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Anu Malhotra observed that the status of women prisoners is extremely sad and unfortunate.“In several cases involving women prisoners, we are coming across the fact...

Institutionalising Merit, Independence, Aspiration And Diversity: The Transformation Of The British System

“The judicial appointments system can and will appoint only the very best candidates. It cannot afford to do less. Our society is not perfect: we face threats from those who would claim that it is incorrigibly divided, or inherently discriminatory. The composition of the judiciary sends an important signal. When it comes to reassuring communities there can be few stronger messages than the knowledge that our judges are the best people for the job, drawn from throughout our diverse nation and...

Bombay HC Reserves Order On Sadhvi Pragya’s Appeal Against Bail Rejection

The Bombay High Court on Monday reserved its order while hearing an appeal filed by Pragya Singh Thakur, main accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.Thakur’s appeal is against the rejection of her bail application by the Special NIA Court last year.A bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Shalini Phansalkar Joshi had reserved their order last week in Colonel Prasad Purohit’s appeal...

Sexual Harassment At Workplaces: Internal Complaints Committee Must Give Definite Conclusion: Delhi HC [Read Judgment]

The Delhi High Court has recently held that the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) constituted under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, must give a definite conclusion regarding the guilt of the person involved in the incident.Justice Valmiki Mehta was hearing a petition filed by Ashok Kumar Singh against the report of...