There is no bar on High Court’s power to reappreciate evidence against acquittal [Sangappa v. State of Karnataka, (2010) 3 SCC 686]. Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘exaggeration’ as “fact of making something larger, more important, better or worse than it really is.” Concise Oxford Dictionary defines it as “enlarged or altered beyond normal proportions.” These expressions […]
Read more "Exaggeration"K. Crenshaw has been credited for coining the term ‘intersectionality’. “Discrimination, like traffic through an intersection, may flow in one direction, and it may flow in another. If an accident happens in an intersection, it can be caused by cars traveling from any number of directions and, sometimes, from all of them. Similarly, if a […]
Read more "Intersectionality"Courts continue to struggle with the humongous pendency under Section 138 of The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. Offences that are committed as part of the same transaction can be tried jointly as per Section 220 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. What is meant by ‘same transaction’ is not defined. Indeed, it would always […]
Read more "Same Transaction"The evidence clearly shows, GUD-4997 was not a public conveyance. A private vehicle would not come within the expression ‘public place’ as explained in Section 43. The case would come under Section 42. It is an admitted position, there was total non-compliance of the requirements of Section 42. Karnail Singh v. State of Haryana, (2009) […]
Read more "Section 42 of The NDPS Act"Aman Bangia completely damaged one Porsche, DL-1CJ-3577, at 02:25 AM on 22.12.2007. It is indisputable, he smelt of alcohol. There is no evidence of recording the exact nature of alcoholic drink which was consumed and there is also no material as to the quantity consumed. We cannot resist recording our disquiet at the conduct of […]
Read more "Contracts of Insurance II"It is four times more than the minimum of ‘commercial quantity’. Courts may take into account “such factors as it may deem fit” [Rafiq Qureshi v. Narcotic Control Bureau, Eastern Zonal Unit, (2019) 6 SCC 492]. Quantity of substance would fall into “such factors as it may deem fit”. Gurdev cannot be said to be […]
Read more "1 Kilogram of Heroin"Charles Sobhraj was arrested on 06.07.1976. Ever since he was lodged in Tihar Central Jail he was put in bar fetters and the fetters were retained continuously. “The sorrows of Sobhraj cannot be appreciated nor his constitutional claims evaluated without a fuller account of the bar fetter chapter of his jail life. I hold, bar […]
Read more "Charles, Charles Sobhraj"Union Territory, Chandigarh Administration v. Pradeep Kumar, (2018) 1 SCC 797 dealt with the expression “honourable acquittal”. It was opined, acquittal in a criminal case was not conclusive for suitability of the candidate concerned and it could not always be inferred from an acquittal or discharge that the person was falsely involved or has no […]
Read more "Suitability of Candidate II / Honourable Acquittal"A reading [State of Assam v. Ranga Mahammad, (1967) 1 SCR 454; Jagdish Chander Gupta v. Kajaria Traders (India) Ltd., (1964) 8 SCR 50; Rajasthan State Electricity Board v. Mohan Lal, (1967) 3 SCR 377; CBI v. Braj Bhushan Prasad, (2001) 9 SCC 432; Godfrey Phillips India Ltd. v. State of U.P., (2005) 2 SCC […]
Read more "Civil Sheep & Criminal Wolf"“Inheritance is in some sort a legal and fictitious continuation of the personality of the dead man for the representation is in some sort identified by the law with him who he represents.” In Chiranjilal Shrilal Goenka, (1993) 2 SCC 507 the primary question arose, whether an Arbitrator appointed by Court, by consent of parties, […]
Read more "The Proof of Valid Wills III"We may refer to Division Bench Judgment of Nagpur High Court reported in Bipin Singh Choudhary, AIR 1945 Nagpur, Oudh, Peshawar & Sind 104 where Division Bench consisted of Justice Vivian Bose. The ratio is, in event people holding public office abuse their position, it becomes a matter of great public concern. We fully endorse […]
Read more "Compensatory Jurisprudence of Constitutional Courts XI : Custodial Violence"Hakeem Khan v. State of Madhya Pradesh, (2017) 5 SCC 719 considered powers of Appellate Court for interference in cases where acquittal is recorded by Trial Court. It was held, so long as the view of Trial Court can be reasonably formed, regardless of whether High Court agrees with the same or not, verdict of […]
Read more "Illegal Gratification II"A transaction which is sham or collusive would only create an illusion that money has been disbursed to a borrower with the object of receiving consideration… when in fact the parties have entered into the transaction with a different or an ulterior motive. In other words, the real agreement between the parties is something other […]
Read more "Sham Transactions"The Autobiography of a Half-Baked Indian. That’s what I ought to call my life’s story. The Great Indian Rooster Coop. Every evening on the train out of Surat, where they run the world’s biggest diamond-cutting and polishing business, the servants of diamond merchants are carrying suitcases full of cut diamonds that they have to give […]
Read more "The White Tiger"A person does not commit contempt if, during the pendency of certain proceedings, he takes recourse to other judicial proceedings open to him, even though the latter proceedings put the other party at a loss [Pratap Singh v. Gurbaksh Singh, 1962 SCR Supp. (2) 838; Radhey Lal v. Niranjan Nath, (2004) 5 SCC 119; Mehar […]
Read more "Contempt Jurisdiction VII"It is true, strict rules of evidence are not applicable to departmental enquiry proceedings. The only requirement of law is, the allegation against the delinquent must be established by such evidence acting upon which a reasonable person acting reasonably and with objectivity may arrive at a finding upholding the gravity of the charge against the […]
Read more "Disciplinary Proceedings IV"“At the outset, we must note the perspective from which the evidence of a child witness is to be considered. The caution expressed by this Court in Suryanarayana v. State of Karnataka, (2001) 9 SCC 129 that, “corroboration of the testimony of a child witness is not a rule but a measure of caution and […]
Read more "Child Witness II"A ‘group of 34’ gathered in a public park to analyze their new-found hobby of collectively maintaining absolute silence for two hours, each day of one astrologically-permissible week. Of course, curiosity arose. There were those who wished to break the silence and there were those too who joined in, just to see where it all […]
Read more "Collective Maintenance of Absolute Silence"Sister Abhaya was found dead on 27.03.1992 and her body was recovered from a well. She was born on 26.02.1971. Varghese Chacko was a photographer, during 1992, in Kottayam Venus Studio. He took photographs of the dead body of Sister Abhaya, as per the instruction of Kottayam West Police. He noticed nail mark injuries on […]
Read more "Sacred Cows of Shadowy Doubts"The disqualification under Section 8 of The Representation of People Act, 1951 is relatable to Article 191(1)(e). Therefore, any interpretation to Section 8 should be in sync with the constitutional scheme. Once the period of disqualification starts running, the seat, hitherto held by the person disqualified, becomes vacant by virtue of Article 190(3). His name […]
Read more "Timing of Votes"