Top Three News
Kerala High Court Allows Senior Citizen To Seek Sperm Freezing In Plea Challenging Age-Limit Under Assisted Reproductive Technology Act
In a notable order, the Kerala High Court recently allowed a senior citizen aged 61 years to seek cycro-preservation of his sperm, considering the fact that he was suffering from a rare cardiac condition.A single bench of Justice VG Arun granted this interim relief while considering a writ petition filed by the man and his 39 year old wife challenging the age-limit under the Assisted...
Problems Of The Collegium
Some news and events this week are somewhat disconcerting and call for comments purely as a matter of principle, without any reference to or casting aspersions on the people involved. It is reported that a meeting of the Supreme Court collegium is not to be held and recommendations for appointments made when less than one month remains prior to the retirement of a Chief Justice. The other aspect reportedly brought home by two members of the collegium is that no decision regarding...
Scheduled Caste Status For Converted Dalits : Centre Constitutes Commission To Examine The Issue
Through a notification dated 6th October 2022, the Centre has appointed a Commission headed by former Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan to examine the matter of according Scheduled Caste status to new persons who claim to have historically belonged to the Scheduled Castes, but have converted to a religion other than those mentioned in the Presidential Orders under Article 341 of the...
Chief Examination & Cross-Examination Of Witness Must Be Recorded On The Same Day Or Following Day : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has reiterated that the chief examination and cross-examination of a witness must be recorded on the same day or the following day. There should be no ground for adjournment in recording the examination-in-chief/cross-examination of the witnesses.A bench comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi and CT Ravikumar made these observations while considering a special leave...
Palakkad Accident : Kerala High Court Cracks Whip On Tourist Buses With Illegal Alterations & YouTube Vloggers Promoting Such Vehicles
In the wake of the tragic Wadakkanchery accident in Palakkad district, the Kerala High Court has called for strong action against tourist buses fitted with illegal modifications and YouTube vloggers who promote such vehicles which pose "potential threat to the safety of passengers and other road users".The Court noted that the tourist bus involved in the accident had several...
Patna High Court Holds OBC/EBC Quota In Bihar Municipal Body Polls Illegal, Directs SEC To Renotify OBC/EBC Seats As General Category
In a significant decision, the Patna High Court on Tuesday held that the reservation of seats for Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Extremely Backward Classes in urban local body elections were illegal. The Court categorically held that providing for the quotas in question had "failed two out of three tests" set by the Supreme Court in the case of Vikas Kishanrao Gawali v. State...
Palakkad Bus Accident : Kerala High Court Takes Suo Motu Cognizance, Asks About Fitness Certificate Of Bus
The Kerala High Court on Thursday initiated suo motu proceedings on the Vadakkancherry bus accident. In the early hours of Thursday, nine people, including five students were killed, and more than 50 others were injured when a tourist bus carrying school children rammed into a KSRTC bus at Vadakkenchery in Palakkad District.A Division Bench consisting of Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice...
BCI Stays Elections Of Rajasthan High Court Bar Association(Jaipur) On Plea To Enforce "One Bar One Vote" Policy
The Bar Council of India has in a plea seeking implementation of the principle of "One Bar One Vote" in the State of Rajasthan and upcoming elections of the Rajasthan High Court Bar Association at Jaipur, issued notice to the Secretary, Bar Council of Rajasthan and Secretary, Rajasthan High Court Bar Association.The Bar Council also directed a stay on the upcoming elections of the High Court...
The Confusions Around Same Day Sentencing Law In Death Penalty Cases
On September 19th, 2022, a 3-judge bench of the Supreme Court referred certain issues of death penalty sentencing to a larger constitutional bench. One of these issues relates to the amount of time required to collect and present mitigation evidence at the stage of sentencing. This issue is particularly important because, as evidenced by Project 39A's study, sentencing persons to death on the same day as their conviction is pervasive across trial courts. Same-day sentencing...
Supreme Court's Verdict On MTP Act Might Pave Way For Criminalization Of Marital Rape In India
India is one of the few countries in the world that is yet to criminalise martial rape. The issue has been the subject of much debate of late in a country whose courts have increasingly been delineating the right to individual autonomy as a right that is to be cherished and protected. Recently, the Delhi High Court attempted to provide clarity over the said controversy but the outcome was a split verdict, where Justice Rajiv Shakdher held that the exemption to the husband from the...
Supreme Court Doubts 2015 Judgment Which Directed RBI To Disclose Defaulters List; Says It Might Affect Customers' Privacy
The Supreme Court on Friday expressed prima facie doubts about its 2015 judgment in the case Reserve Bank of India v Jayantilal N. Mistry which had held that the Reserve Bank of India was obliged to disclose defaulters list, inspection reports, annual statements etc., related to banks under the Right to Information Act.A two-judge bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and CT Ravikumar prima...