My Lord, Satoshi Nakamoto? “He still remains anonymous.” Reserve Bank of India, on 06.04.2018, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 35A read with Section 36(1)(a) and Section 56 of The Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and Section 45JA and 45L of The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and Section 10(2) read with Section […]
Read more "My Precious Bitcoin"I have written on Supratim Sarkar’s previous 3 books here, here and here. His latest effort – The 7 Stories, (Ananda, 2020) – has not been translated into English yet. It would be unfair if I don’t even attempt the same. There were interesting bits on i) an Irish woman who had arrived to assist […]
Read more "The Photo Album"Vir Sanghvi, The Game Changers: Transforming India, (Westland, 2019) describes how Indians are taking over globally in areas that had traditionally been off-limits to us. It is not easy for everyone to express using few words. It is even more difficult to balance between praise and criticism. Arnab Goswami and Karan Johar are Game Changers. […]
Read more "The Game Changers"The Networked Public – How Social Media is Changing Democracy is a good read, amongst other things, for all the thoughts it superbly footnotes. Amber Sinha has bravely questioned the moral authority of certain Former Chief Justices of India. Hon’ble Justice Dipak Misra quashed proceedings regarding a ‘bribery scandal’ that implicated him. Hon’ble Justice Ranjan […]
Read more "The Devil in Holy Water"The Class of 83 chronicles adventures of a Police Officer, Pradeep Sharma. S. Hussain Zaidi is an expert as regards investigative (crime) reporting. The present effort is excellent for it identifies innumerable characters, until now only enveloped in questionable memories. Excerpt follows. _____ In late 1980s, there was only one destination of choice for ambitious, […]
Read more "Luck or Fate, Pradeep Sharma"“Possessory claim of Hindus to composite whole of disputed property stands on a better footing” is the decisive observation. Importantly, Supreme Court has in strongest terms castigated damage caused to the mosque in 1934, its desecration in 1949 leading to the ouster of Muslims, and the eventual demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992. This, […]
Read more "The Nature of Judicial Power: Senior Advocate, Rakesh Dwivedi"“Janmaasthan of Lord Ram is where Babri Mosque has been constructed.” Mikhail Tal, born on 09.11.1936, said once, “you must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5 and path leading out is only wide enough for one.” M Siddiq v. Mahant Suresh Das, [Civil Appeal Nos. 10866-10867 of 2010], pronounced on 09.11.2019, […]
Read more "The Nature of Judicial Power: Proprietary Claims of Religion"Khaki Files chronicles the adventures of Police Officer, Neeraj Kumar. He joined the IPS in 1976 and retired as Commissioner of Police, Delhi in 2013. Government of India recognized his good work by awarding him the Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 1993 and the President’s Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 1999. Khaki Files comes after Dial […]
Read more "The Da Lakhvi Code"Sudhir Krishnaswamy taught me at National Law School of India University, Bangalore in 2006. This book, first published in 2009, grew out of his Doctor of Philosophy in Law Dissertation at Oxford University. Extensively researched. Magnificently written. Excerpt, follows. _____ The Basic Structure Doctrine evolved in the context of challenges to the constitutionality of land […]
Read more "The Doctrine of Basic Structure I"On 1st March, 1954 United States conducted its largest ever nuclear weapon test, code-named Castle Bravo, at the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The explosion, more than 1,000 times as powerful as Hiroshima, reached a yield of 15 megatons. Sacred Games, Season 2 (2019, dir. Anurag Kashyap, Neeraj Ghaywan): Inspiration from reality isn’t new. […]
Read more "Sacred Games of Arthur Fleck"“I am glad, Arghya Sengupta and Ritwika Sharma have decided to publish a book dealing with appointment of Judges to Supreme Court of India. From time immemorial, mankind desired to have wise and humane Judges with the wisdom to discriminate between truth and falsehood. The legends of King Solomon and Dharmaraja and the like are […]
Read more "Appointment of Justice"“The territories forming part of Goa, Daman and Diu were part of the kingdom of Portugal. They were annexed by the Government of India by conquest on 20.12.1961 and became a part of India by virtue of Article 1(3)(c) of the Constitution. The President of India, exercising powers vested in him under Article 123(1) of […]
Read more "Civil Code in Goa"A. “Albert Einstein spoke of change when he said, ‘world as we have created is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking’.” – Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, Hon’ble Justice T.S. Thakur, Board of Control for Cricket v. Cricket Association of Bihar, (2016) 8 SCC 535. B. “We would like […]
Read more "Albert, Albert Einstein"Greenstone Lobo, Howzzat?, (Readomania, 2019) is an interesting read. It is not enough to state, Mr. Lobo, over time, has predicted several times correctly. He has been writing a regular column on sports astrology, ‘Octozone’, in a popular Indian daily, DNA, since 2008. He has also been a columnist for Anandabazar Patrika, Times of India, Mumbai Mirror, Telegraph, Life Positive […]
Read more "Sports and Astrology"While evaluating mitigating circumstances, brutality of the crime should never be lost sight of. Perhaps, that is the lesson taught by Hon’ble Justice R.F. Nariman. _____ “The entire chain of events has been made out and despite this being a case of circumstantial evidence, the prosecution has clearly proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. The […]
Read more "Review of Death Penalty XIV"Anirban Bhattacharya, The Deadly Dozen – India’s Most Notorious Serial Killers, (Penguin, 2019) has been praised by John Abraham, Ayushmann Khurana, Kiran Rao and correctly so, possesses several Bollywood references. The following is an excerpt from a lesser-known territory. “The Poona of 1976 did not boast of any major, horrific crimes. Life seemed perfect in […]
Read more "The 1976 Poona"Amitav Ghosh, Gun Island, (Penguin, 2019) is a remarkable read. It travels through time, space and thoughts. If you do not let yourself completely in, the best bits shall go unnoticed. Like there are dreams within dreams, at Gun Island, there are stories within stories. Written simply, detailed subtly, this one is a must read. […]
Read more "Gun Island"My Lord, Courts should interpret the Constitution as it would have been understood by ordinary, reasonable citizens alive at the time the Constitution was enacted or Courts should interpret the Constitution as a living organism, one meant to evolve to suit the changing needs and values of contemporary society? A standing-room-only crowd of law students and […]
Read more "The Nature of Judicial Power: Hon’ble Justice Antonin G. Scalia"Patrick Anthony Howard ‘Paddy’ Upton is famous for his powers of mental conditioning and coaching. An excerpt from Paddy Upton, The Barefoot Coach, (Westland Sport, 2019). “It is worth having a conversation about the concept of ‘mental toughness’, which is currently the most overused and least understood concept in sports psychology. I neither agree with […]
Read more "Mental Toughness in Sports and Life"Sacred Games, Season 1 (2018, dir. Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane) was showcased by Netflix in June, 2018. Writ Petition (Civil) No. 7123 of 2018 was filed before Delhi High Court against Sacred Games soon after. One word used in Episode 4 [‘Brahmahatya‘] deserved correction. It remains unchanged. 09.04.2019 – Writ Petition (Civil) No. 7123 of […]
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