For over 50 yrs., High Court has been disposing of Writ Petitions raising claims or challenges to exercise of powers or dereliction of duties under The Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971. The propensity and proclivity of 1971 Act to generate litigation are worrisome. The exasperation of High Court is understandable. Court […]
Read more "Assessment of Statute"Most minerals are spatially located in a few mineral rich states, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan and West Bengal. Constitution is a living organic document and must be interpreted in that spirit [Saurabh Chaudri v. Union of India, (2003) 11 SCC 146 ; Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of […]
Read more "The Nature of Judicial Power: Typographical Errors"“Earth teaches us patience, love; Air teaches us mobility, liberty; Fire teaches us warmth, courage; Sky teaches us equality, broad-mindedness; Water teaches us purity, cleanliness.” State of Bihar v. Murad Ali Khan, (1988) 4 SCC 655, speaking through Venkatachaliah J, observed, “‘Every source from which man has increased his power has been used to diminish prospects of […]
Read more "The Doctrine of Intergenerational Equity"Haridas Das v. Usha Rani Banik, (2006) 4 SCC 78 while reiterating decisions in Aribam Tuleshwar Sharma v. Aribam Pishak Sharma, (1979) 4 SCC 389 and Meera Bhanja v. Nirmala Kumari Choudhury, (1995) 1 SCC 170 drew out narrow contours within which review jurisdiction of this Court had to be exercised and held, Order XLVII, […]
Read more "The Nature of Judicial Power: Powers of Review of Supreme Court II"What cannot be done directly, cannot be done indirectly. It is apt to refer to a decision of a Division Bench of Karnataka High Court in Nalini Sunder v. GV Sunder, AIR 2003 Kar 86. It was held, a party could not make out a case on basis of evidence for which he/she has laid […]
Read more "Forfeiture of Right to File Written Statement"A perusal of Section 307, IPC would make it clear, it really imbibes the true spirit of the maxim ‘culpae poena per esto’. It means ‘let the punishment be proportionate to the offence; let the punishment fit the crime.’ The second part of Section 307, IPC did not prescribe for imposition of punishment more than […]
Read more "Section 307, Indian Penal Code II"We do not find any infirmity, much less any perversity, warranting any interference by this Court. However, there is one aspect which requires clarification. Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation does not always result in relief. A protection of legitimate expectation is subject to overriding public interest. Even if an individual’s expectation is reasonable and based on […]
Read more "The Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation VI"Appellant contends, i) no Arbitrable Dispute remained after a ‘full and final settlement’ and ii) appointment of an Arbitrator was an exercise in futility. However, we uphold and affirm, appointment of Justice K.A. Puj, Former Judge of High Court of Gujarat, as an Arbitrator. There is no rule of an absolute kind which precludes Arbitration […]
Read more "Accord and Satisfaction"“It would be very wrong to say, under a particular statute, bail cannot be granted.” According to Police, Sheikh Javed Iqbal had confessed, he was engaged in illegal trade of supplying counterfeit Indian currency notes in Nepal. Sheikh Javed Iqbal was arrested on 23.02.2015. We are in July, 2024. 9 years have gone by. A […]
Read more "Bail for Sheikh Javed Iqbal and Ors."It is a fact, certain High Courts maintained a view, sentencing to undergo ‘imprisonment till rising of Court’ would be no sentence at all according to law. It cannot be said, imposing a sentence of ‘imprisonment till rising of Court’ is impermissible or an action amounting to evasion of statutory provisions. However, we have no […]
Read more "Flea-Bite"We are examining legality of arrest of Arvind Kejriwal on 21.03.2024. Gifford v. Kelson, (1943) 51 Man. R 120 accurately explains difference between “reasons to believe” and “suspicion”. “Suspicion” requires lower degree of satisfaction and does not amount to belief. An arrestee should be furnished “reasons to believe” to enable him to exercise his right […]
Read more "Referred to Larger Bench XXXVIII: Necessity to Arrest"State abused its position under a misconceived notion, all its actions, such as award of contracts or tenders, were nothing but a generosity which it could, at its own whims, choose to deny, alter, modify, or take away without any consequences. Law cannot afford to remain static [M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, (1987) 1 […]
Read more "Tender Law VI"Arbitral Award made by Arbitral Tribunal on 30th June, 2022 was served on same day. In view of Section 12(1) of The Limitation Act, 1963, 30th June, 2022 will have to be excluded while computing limitation period. Thus, in effect, period of limitation started running on 1st July, 2022, period of limitation being of 3 […]
Read more "Section 34(3) of The Arbitration Act III"Appellate Court under Section 37 is to decide, whether jurisdiction under Section 34 has been exercised rightly or wrongly. As observed, scope of interference under Section 34 is very narrow; jurisdiction under Section 37 is narrower [UHL Power Company Limited v. State of Himachal Pradesh, (2022) 4 SCC 116]. There is no statutory embargo on […]
Read more "Section 37 of The Arbitration Act IV"Nachiketa Walhekar v. Central Board of Film Certification, (2018) 1 SCC 778 held, Court will be extremely slow to restrain creative works, once Board had approved exhibition. The context, intention and overall message must be considered before protection of free speech is lifted. We have heard Sanjoy Ghose, Senior Counsel and Jai Anant Dehadrai, Counsel […]
Read more "Able Disable All People Together II"“Let justice be done though the heavens fall” In early hours of 19/05/2024 a ghastly incident killed 2 young individuals in Pune and cause for same happened to be a Porsche rashly driven by Master X, a child in conflict with law. On very same day, he came to be released on bail. Juvenile Justice […]
Read more "Fiat Justitia Ruat Caelum, Again"Somendra was a cunning merchant. Nandish was a simple village boy. He was poor and had nothing in the world but one beautiful white horse. “What does a young boy like you need with a horse?” When the offer reached five hundred gold coins, Nandish paused and seemed to give it a thought. “You must […]
Read more "Price is Right"The equestrian sport dates back to ancient Greek era and has been an Olympic sport from 1900 onwards. The dressage sport is popularly known as horse ballet. The riders and their horses are judged based on their movement, calmness, suppleness and flexibility. One judges the horse’s enthusiasm to perform each element with minimum encouragement from […]
Read more "Equestrian"Arbitrator does not do pro bono work. For him, it is a professional assignment. Arbitrator who accepts an appointment cannot say, he will not fix a meeting to conduct Arbitral Proceedings or a hearing date unless parties request him to do so. It is duty of an Arbitral Tribunal to do so. Section 32 of […]
Read more "Section 32 of The Arbitration Act"An insurance is a contract of indemnification, being a contract for a specific purpose [Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Sony Cheriyan, (1999) 6 SCC 451], which is to cover defined losses [United India Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Levis Strauss (India) (P) Ltd., (2022) 6 SCC 1]. Courts have to read an insurance contract strictly. Essentially, […]
Read more "Contracts of Insurance VIII"
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