Referred to Larger Bench XXV Answered Again: Doctrine of Separability of Arbitration Agreement

Curative Petition (C) No. 44 of 2023 Review Petition (C) No. 704 of 2021 Civil Appeal No. 1599 of 2020 _____ Approach of Majority in N.N. Global 2 would render unstamped agreements void ab initio and not void. _____ We enter into contracts or agreements several times in our interactions with others. To hold an […]

Referred to Larger Bench XXVIII Answered: Chloro Controls

Vladimir Nabokov and T.S. Elliot eulogized Ulysses as a divine work of art. Virginia Woolf and Aldous Huxley criticized Ulysses for being technical and boring. It is celebrated by some, reviled by many others. Yet, its legacy continues. The Doctrine of Group of Companies. It provides, an Arbitration Agreement which is entered into by a Company within a Group […]

Honourable Acquittal VI

“Expressions like ‘benefit of doubt’ and ‘honourably acquitted’ are not to be understood as magic incantations. Court of law will not be carried away by mere use of such terminology. Court is obliged to examine substance.” _____ My Lord, Ram Lal altered Date of Birth from 21.04.1974 to 21.04.1972 in 8th Standard Marksheet? No. Ram Lal was a Constable […]

Scheduled Offences

Learned Senior Counsel, Ms. Meenakshi Arora contended, Section 120B of IPC alone, in absence of any other scheduled offence, cannot sustain a charge under The Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002. Learned Additional Solicitor General argued, as Section 120B of IPC is included in Part A to Schedule, even if allegation is of making a criminal […]

Minakshi Bala, (1994) 4 SCC 142

A case for interference has been made out. The symbol for Indian National Rupee symbol [₹] was not in existence when purported ‘Memorandum of Agreement of Tenancy’ was signed. Minakshi Bala v Sudhir Kumar, (1994) 4 SCC 142: “Court cannot usurp functions of a Trial Court to delve into and decide upon respective merits.” Court […]

Oye Lucky!

Laxman Bisht aka Lucky Bisht was born in 1985 in Boongli, located in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand. Father had worked with Ministry of Defence. Grandfather was a Subedar with Indian Army. 12th December, 2003 – Lucky was sent a call letter, asking him to report to Dimapur, Nagaland. 19th April, 2004 – Cadets were taken to Delhi International Airport. An IL-76, introduced in India by Indira Gandhi, […]

Contracts of Insurance VII

Notably, in earlier cases like Galada Power and Telecommunication Ltd. v. United India Insurance Co. Ltd., (2016) 14 SCC 161 and Saurashtra Chemicals Ltd. v. National Insurance Co. Ltd., (2019) 19 SCC 70 it was declared, new grounds for repudiation cannot be introduced during hearing if they were not included in repudiation letter. This legal […]

Claim of Juvenility VII

Since, at commencement of 2015 Act, proceedings were pending before High Court, Section 25 of 2015 Act would be attracted [Satya Deo v. State of Uttar Pradesh, (2020) 10 SCC 555]. It would mean, The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2007 would be applicable including Rule 12. This aspect has also been […]

Anticipatory Bail III

There can be no presumption, wealthy and mighty will submit themselves to trial and humble and poor will run away from course of justice. In this case, we are concerned with what is loosely termed as ‘transit anticipatory bail’. If ‘anticipatory bail’ is not a defined expression, it is quite natural, ‘transit anticipatory bail’ would […]

The Rules of The Game Principle IX

Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission invited applications from eligible candidates against 8 vacancies for a post of Civil Judge (Junior Division) in Himachal Pradesh Judicial Service. Out of total 8 vacancies, 6 were ‘existing vacancies’ and 2 were ‘anticipated vacancies’. The purpose of a ‘waiting list’ is only to fill shortfall of ‘clear and anticipated […]

The Rules of The Game Principle VIII

One issue in Bank of India v. Aarya K. Babu, (2019) 8 SCC 587 was, whether a particular educational qualification made eligible after issue of recruitment notification could have been considered for purposes of recruitment. Court held, if there is any change in qualification criteria after notification is issued but before completion of selection process, […]

The Nature of Judicial Power: Chief Justice of India No. 59

Hon’ble Justice Parent High Court D.O.B. Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud* Bombay 11.11.1959 S.K. Kaul** Delhi 26.12.1958 S. Khanna* Delhi 14.05.1960 B.R. Gavai* Bombay 24.11.1960 S. Kant* P&H 10.02.1962 A. Bose** Calcutta 11.04.1959 A.S. Bopanna** Karnataka 20.05.1959 H. Roy Gauhati 01.02.1960 A.S. Oka Bombay 25.05.1960 V. Nath* Allahabad 24.09.1962 J.K. Maheshwari MP 29.06.1961 H. Kohli** Delhi 02.09.1959 […]

Stags and Whiskey

According to Defendants, in olden times, hunting was a favoured sport and when setting out to hunt, whisky was often carried. ‘Stags’ were among animals which were favourites. Both are an integral part of Scottish culture and cannot be separated. ‘Stag’ is an animal. Liquor, consumed in excess, may evoke animalistic tendencies. ‘Stags’ cannot, in […]

Review of Death Penalty XXXIX

The trial was conducted in a hurried manner without providing ample and proper opportunity. Bashira v. State of U.P., AIR 1968 SC 1313 had a matter remitted back to Sessions Court because trial was conducted in 13 days. The issue concerning importance of a fair trial was considered by this Court in Zahira v. State […]

The Fundamental Right to Marry

Supriyo @ Surpiya Chakraborty v. UoI Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1011 of 2022 My Lord, LGBTQ persons have a right to marry a person of their choice regardless of religion, gender and sexual orientation? No. A thing, an occurrence, or a practice is ‘Indian’ when it is present in India, takes place here, or is […]

Disjunctive, Conjunctive III

Utkal Contractors & Joinery (P) Ltd. v. State of Orissa, (1987) 3 SCC 279 lucidly explained, “It is again important to remember, Parliament does not waste its breath unnecessarily. Just as Parliament is not expected to use unnecessary expressions, Parliament is also not expected to express itself unnecessarily. Even as Parliament does not use any […]

Condonation of Delay XI: 479

Court has stepped in to ensure, substantive rights of private parties and State are not defeated simply due to technical considerations of delay. However, exercise of discretion must necessarily depend upon sufficiency of cause shown and degree of acceptability of ‘explanation’, length of delay being immaterial. Sometimes, due to want of sufficient cause being shown […]

Section 50 of The NDPS Act

State of Punjab v. Baldev Singh, (1999) 6 SCC 172 stated, Section 50 will come into play only in case of personal searches and not of bags. State of Himachal Pradesh v. Pawan Kumar, (2005) 4 SCC 350 stated, a bag or briefcase under no circumstances can be treated as part of the body of […]

Grounds of Arrest

The finer connotations and nuances of Section 19 of The Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002, left uncharted by this Court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary, 2022 (10) SCALE 577, were still open to interpretation and resolution. Section 19 does not specify in clear terms as to how an arrested person is to be ‘informed’ of ‘grounds […]

Disciplinary Proceedings IX

P. Zadenga was employed in State Bank of India, Dawrpui Branch, Aizawl. He was a delinquent employee and contended, disciplinary proceedings should be either dropped or closed since criminal cases, arising from same set of transactions, were pending. It may be desirable or, in certain circumstances, advisable for disciplinary proceedings to be stayed when criminal […]

The Last Word

A Diversion for Lawyers and Others

Author: Rudrajyoti Nath Ray