The Proof of Valid Wills III

“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, […]

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Compensatory Jurisprudence of Constitutional Courts XI : Custodial Violence I

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 […]

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Illegal Gratification II

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 view of Trial Court can be reasonably formed, regardless of whether High Court agrees with same or not, verdict of Trial Court […]

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Sham Transactions

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 […]

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The White Tiger

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 […]

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Contempt Jurisdiction VII

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 […]

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Disciplinary Proceedings IV

It is true, strict rules of evidence are not applicable to departmental enquiry proceedings. The only requirement of law is, 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 delinquent […]

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Child Witness II

“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 […]

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Sacred Cows of Shadowy Doubts

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 Sister Abhaya’s dead body, as per instruction of Kottayam West Police. He noticed nail mark injuries on either side of […]

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Timing of Votes

The disqualification under Section 8 of The Representation of the 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 […]

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Section 34 of The Arbitration Act IV / Arbitral Award Dissent

Mr. Peter Leaver [Queen’s Counsel], Justice V.K. Gupta [Retd.] and Mr. Anthony Houghton [Senior Counsel] delivered their International Arbitral Award in New Delhi, on 12.05.2014. Majority Award [Mr. Peter Leaver and Mr. Anthony Houghton] was in favor of Anglo American Metallurgical Coal Pty Ltd. and Dissenting Award [Justice V.K. Gupta] dismissed the claim of Anglo […]

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Leo, Raph, Mikey, Don

Titty, alias George Kurian, a Turtle, was seized. Veterinary Surgeon identified the Turtle, on inspection, as ‘Indian Flap Shell’. The scientific name is ‘Lissemys Punctata’. Court, near immediately, directed the Turtle to be freed. Section 9 of The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 prohibits hunting of any wild animal under Schedule I, II, III and […]

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Poison

Majority of 2:1 affirmed the conviction in Anant Chintaman Lagu v. State of Bombay, AIR 1960 SC 500.   There is absolutely no evidence relating to poison in relation to the deceased. If it were forcible poisoning by using any kind of poison, there would be struggle and resistance. There are none. The existence of […]

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Experts VI: Ballistics Experts

Mohinder Singh, AIR 1953 SC 415 was considered by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in Gurucharan Singh, (1963) 3 SCR 585. The evidence of a ballistics expert would assume significance where direct evidence is not satisfactory, or is of interested witnesses or where nature of injuries requires expert corroboration. In other words, whether examination […]

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The Revival of Ray LIV

Court should be over­ cautious to place reliance on a piece of evidence with which the concerned witness has not been confronted despite an opportunity to do so. As held by this Court in Sita Ram Bhau Patil v. Ramchandra Nago Patil, (1977) 2 SCC 49 an admission must not only be proved but also […]

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Suitability of Candidate I

Commissioner of Police, New Delhi v. Mehar Singh, (2013) 7 SCC 685 while considering a case of antecedents verification, for appointment into Delhi Police Service, observed, a candidate wishing to join Police Force must be a person having impeccable character and integrity. In a case where candidates have been acquitted in a criminal case, it […]

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One Arranged Murder

Hello, this is Saurabh Maheshwari speaking, taking over from Lordship Keshav for only a short while. I am on way to meet my fiancée Prerna on Karva Chauth. A white cab came in. Anjali stepped out. She had her backpack with her, which seemed heavy and huge compared to her skinny frame. ‘Adi Mamu, what’s […]

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