Although in Paragraph 45 of State of Maharashtra v. Najakat Alia Mubarak Ali, (2001) 6 SCC 311 view of Hon’ble K.T. Thomas J did have concurrence of Hon’ble S.N. Phukan J, bare reading of view expressed in Paragraph 44 accords with dissenting view of Hon’ble R.P. Sethi J. We attempted a reconciliation of conflicting views. […]
Read more "The Najakat Conflict"In a battle between a mighty lion and a weak lamb, should Courts put those weak to sword for not having demonstrated ‘prejudice’ when a brazen violation of law declared by a Constitution Bench is brought to its notice? Why should those mighty not be made answerable as to why an enquiry report has not […]
Read more "Disciplinary Proceedings XI"Constitution Bench of this Court in Union of India v. H.C. Goel, AIR 1964 SC 364, pointed out, in carrying out purpose of rooting out corruption, mere suspicion should not be allowed to take place of proof even in domestic enquiries. That scrupulous care should be taken to see innocent are not punished, applies as […]
Read more "Compensatory Jurisprudence of Constitutional Courts XIV"We observe a tendency on part of Members of Bar to rely upon a large number of decisions, whether relevant or irrelevant. Multiple decisions are cited on same proposition of law. This makes hearing time-consuming. Courts permit written submissions. Very long written submissions come on record. A high monetary stake should not result in unnecessarily […]
Read more "Ordinary Man"Manoj Parihar v. State of Jammu and Kashmir, (2022) 14 SCC 72 opined, Doctrine of Prospective Overruling must be exercised in explicit terms and therefore, law declared by this Court would have a retrospective effect unless stated otherwise. It would not be an absolute rule, prospective overruling or prospective operation of a decision must be […]
Read more "The Doctrine of Prospective Overruling III"Section 15(2) of the Copyright Act, 1957 clarifies, copyright protection in any ‘design’, which is capable of being registered under The Designs Act, 2000 but is not registered, would terminate once such ‘design’ is applied to any article and reproduced in excess of 50 times by an industrial process either by owner or a licensee. […]
Read more "The Drastic Power of Rejecting a Plaint VIII"“When you learn a language, you don’t just learn to speak and write a new language. You also learn to be open-minded, liberal, tolerant, kind and considerate towards all mankind.” Before language became a tool for learning, its earliest and primary purpose was, and will always remain to be, communication. Coming back to our case, […]
Read more "Language of Courts II"A treasure trove of questions, hidden in seemingly innocuous and plain language used in Article 200, has opened up. The question of whether Governor is bound to act on aid and advice of Council of Ministers in all circumstances, fell for consideration of this Court in Samsher Singh v. State of Punjab, (1974) 2 SCC 831. It is […]
Read more "As Soon As Possible / The Revival of Ray XCVII"“We have received only adjournments from this Court, but we have never received justice.” Who are those in District Judiciary, especially responsible for delays? None of us would be able to answer comprehensively. Should we call it The Commodore Lokesh Batra Situation? Commodore Lokesh Batra had requested for information from Registry of Supreme Court in […]
Read more "Tareekh pe Tareekh"Court has, on multiple occasions, noted, a contractual clause which bars payment of interest is interpreted differently under 1940 Act and 1996 Act. In fact, while deciding cases under 1996 Act, Court has been slow to rely on principles laid down under 1940 Act, considering legislative incorporation of Arbitrator’s power to grant interest through Section […]
Read more "Section 31(7) of The Arbitration Act XI"Courts have authority to determine appropriate interest rate, considering totality of facts and circumstances in accordance with law. That apart, Courts have discretion to decide whether interest is payable from date of institution of suit, a period prior to that, or from date of decree, depending on specific facts of each case. Court must ensure, […]
Read more "Costs Jurisprudence III: Interest Rates"“Those who are blood thirsty, listen to us. If a fight for our rights is met with injustice, we will meet that injustice with love. If drops flowing from a candle are like a flame, we will use it to light up all paths if bodies of our loved ones are a threat to your […]
Read more "Hon’ble Justice Abhay S. Oka’s Beautiful Mind"Ayush Ashna was found dead on 08.07.2023 in his Hostel Room in Udaigiri Hostel, IIT, New Delhi. Anil Kumar was found dead on 01.09.2023 in his Hostel Room No. in Vindhyanchal Hostel, IIT Delhi. Police closed the matter saying, Ayush and Anil were unable to cope with pressure of their respective studies and in such […]
Read more "Ghosts in Higher Educational Institutions"Driver of Kashmir University-Ghulam Nabi Dar alleged, on 06.04.1990 at about 04.20 PM, Vice Chancellor-Dr. Mushir-ul-Haq and Personal Secretary-Abdul Gani Zargar were kidnapped by armed terrorists outside Sadarbal Gate. Subsequently, dead bodies of Dr. Mushir-ul- Haq and Abdul Gani Zargar were recovered on 10.04.1990. Investigation revealed, Hilal Beg, Chief Commander of Jammu & Kashmir Students […]
Read more "Custodial Interrogation Evidence"Indian Council of Social Science Research is under total financial and administrative control of Ministry of Education, Government of India. Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development is under grant-in-aid of ICSSR. But, this itself cannot be called a ‘deep and pervasive control’. A ‘deep and pervasive control’ would require much more than just […]
Read more "Deep and Pervasive Control"Disortho and Meril executed an Agreement for distribution of medical products in Colombia. Clause 16.5, clear and unambiguous, explicitly states, entire Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with laws of India and all matters arising from Agreement shall fall under jurisdiction of Courts in Gujarat. Given this, it is reasonable to assume, […]
Read more "Arbitration in Bogotá, Court in Gujarat"A transfer of cases under Section 406, Cr.P.C. may be allowed when there is a reasonable apprehension backed by evidence, justice may not be done. A mere convenience or inconvenience of parties may not by itself be sufficient enough to pray for a transfer. Some broad factors which could be kept in mind are, i) […]
Read more "The Real Apprehension in Transferring Cases III"A ‘stigma’ is indicative of a blemish, disgrace indicating a deviation from a norm. Where there is a discharge from service after prescribed probation period was completed and discharge was not based solely on assessment of employee’s work and conduct during probation, termination was held to be ‘stigmatic’ and punitive [Jaswantsingh Pratapsingh Jadeja v. Rajkot […]
Read more "Stigma"The idea of compassionate appointment is not to provide for endless compassion [I.G. (Karmik) v. Prahalad Mani Tripathi, (2007) 6 SCC 162]. Any appointment without considering financial condition of the family of a deceased is legally impermissible [Union of India v. Amrita Sinha, (2021) 20 SCC 695]. The right to apply cannot be exercised at […]
Read more "Compassionate Appointment VII"Justice S.R. Das pertinently observed in Rananjaya Singh v. Baijnath Singh, (1954) 2 SCC 314, “The spirit of the law may well be an elusive and unsafe guide and the supposed spirit can certainly not be given effect to in opposition to the plain language of the Sections of the Act.” In other words, the […]
Read more "Spirit of the Law"
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