“With the object of ensuring preservation in the erstwhile State of Mysore, The Mysore Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1961 was enacted. The State Government was accorded the power to declare certain ancient monuments as ‘protected monuments’ and certain archaeological sites and remains as ‘protected areas’. 10 villages, including Virupapura […]
Read more "Archaeological Site ≠ Hotel, Restaurant"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"“Star India (P) Ltd. used to broadcast ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ between 22.1.2007 and 19.4.2007. The programme was sponsored by Bharti Airtel Limited, amongst others. During the telecast of this programme, a contest called ‘Har Seat Hot Seat’ was conducted, in which the viewers of KBC were invited to participate. An objective type question with four […]
Read more "Kaun Banega Crorepati"Aftab was lodged in Tihar when he met Asif Reza Khan. Asif introduced Aftab to Omar Sheikh who had a profound effect. December, 1999: Government of India was forced to release Omar Sheikh in exchange for the safe return of IC 814. Aftab Ansari, soon after, was issued a Pakistan Passport [J872142, Safir Mohammad Rana]. […]
Read more "Tihar to Tihar"Supreme Court of India understands, Mahatma Gandhi > Bharat Ratna. Once upon a time, specifically on 23.01.1992, a press communique was issued from Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi to the following effect: “The President is pleased to confer the award of Bharat Ratna posthumously on Shri Subhash Chandra Bose.” It was contended before SC that, when […]
Read more "123 Netaji 123"Hon’ble Chief Justice of India is as important as Hon’ble Prime Minister. 2010-2020 has witnessed 11 CJIs and 2 PMs. One wonders why 65 is the retirement age for a Supreme Court Judge. He cannot be presumed to be dysfunctional post-65, if at 69 one can be an effective PM. 2000-2010 had witnessed 9 CJIs; […]
Read more "The Nature of Judicial Power: An Ungodly Jumble"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 subtle criticism. Arnab Goswami and Karan Johar are Game […]
Read more "The Game Changers"538 is the number of former students of National Law School of India University, Bangalore [NLSIU] who ‘demanded’ repeal of The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 [CAA]. They extended unconditional support to all those who choose to exercise their fundamental right to speech and assembly to ‘express dissent peacefully’. 402 is the number of former students […]
Read more "The Myth of Peaceful Protest"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"It was claimed that ‘LoveRatri’ [Night of Love] hurts sentiments of Hindus and distorts the meaning of ‘NavRatri’ [Nine Nights], a sacred festival. After doing the needful, Salman Khan, on 18.09.2019, thus tweeted:Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, on 27.09.2018, having regard to the assertion that ‘LoveYatri’ [Journey of Love] has obtained certification from Central Board […]
Read more "Being Salman Khan"The Class of 83 chronicles the adventures of Police Officer, Pradeep Sharma. S. Hussain Zaidi is an expert as regards investigative, crime and terror reporting. The present effort is excellent for the fact that it identifies innumerable characters, until now only enveloped in questionable memories. Excerpt follows. _____ In the late 1980s, there was only […]
Read more "Luck or Fate, Pradeep Sharma"On the night of 01.08.1998, Sapan Dhawan handed over his Maruti Zen and its keys to Taj Mahal Hotel. The Maruti Zen was stolen. United India Insurance [Vehicle-Insurer/Subsequent Subrogee] and Sapan Dhawan [Vehicle-Owner/Subsequent Subrogor] sought compensation for ‘deficiency in service’. The manner in which the Maruti Zen was stolen revealed Taj Mahal Hotel was responsible […]
Read more "Sapan Dhawan’s Stolen Maruti Zen"“The expression ‘rule of law’ can be traced back to the great Greek philosopher Aristotle, who lived 2,400 years ago. “It is better for the law to rule than one of the citizens… so that even the guardians of the law are obeying the laws.” – Brian Z. Tamanaha, Rule of Law. Bona fide criticism […]
Read more "Rule of Law"Khaki Files chronicles the adventures of Police Officer, Neeraj Kumar. He joined the IPS in 1976 and retired as the Commissioner of Police, Delhi in 2013. The 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 […]
Read more "The Da Lakhvi Code"“Judge who had rendered any decision in a smaller combination is not disqualified from being part of a Larger Bench when a reference is made to the Larger Bench. Rather, it is a consistent practice prevailing in various High Courts as well as of this Court to include the same Judge/Judges in Larger Benches. Litigants […]
Read more "The Art of Recusal"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"“There can be no rule of law, there can be no democracy unless there is a strong, fearless and independent Judiciary. This independence and fearlessness is not only expected at the level of the Superior Courts but also from the District Judiciary. Most litigants only come in contact with the District Judiciary. They cannot afford […]
Read more "Purity of Character II"“I am glad that Arghya Sengupta and Ritwika Sharma have decided to publish a book dealing with the appointment of Judges to the 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 […]
Read more "Appointment of Justice"Mysteries all around! Here is a mnemonic: “Great Britain resident, Mr. Noble Boris, likes ketchup, chips; black raspberry, kraft singles. Not so greedy, Mr. Boris, swims, jogs. Good relaxation settles reactive minds. Kindly greet/kiss/bless because Mr. Boris rationalizes respect.” 1 2 3 Here you Go! “Great Britain Resident, Mr. Noble Boris, Likes Ketchup, Chips; Black […]
Read more "Judges and Astrology III"Shivrang Yadavrao Waghmare was appointed as a Judicial Magistrate on 01.03.1985. He was dismissed from service on 15.01.2004. The allegation was that Justice Waghmare had a ‘proximate relationship’ with a lawyer and thus, decided favorably in favor of the lawyer’s clients, including the lawyer’s family when they were parties to certain proceedings. This is ‘gratification’ […]
Read more "Purity of Character I"