[Revisional] Jurisdiction of NCDRC

My Lord, Revision Petitions under Section 21(b) of The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 against State Commission Orders in Execution Proceedings? No. Revisional Jurisdiction of NCDRC under Section 21(b) is limited to Pending/Disposed Consumer Disputes before State Commissions. Execution Petitions cannot be Consumer Disputes. Consumer Disputes don’t encompass Execution Proceedings. Execution Proceedings are Independent Proceedings. State […]

The Nature of Judicial Power: Hon’ble Justice Antonin G. Scalia

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 […]

Sacred Games

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 […]

Sherlock, Sherlock Holmes

My Lord, Supreme Court Quotations of Sherlock Holmes? One. “After all, an ordinary purchaser is not gifted with the powers of observation of a Sherlock Holmes.” [Parle Products, (1972) 1 SCC 618] My Lord, High Court Quotations of Sherlock Holmes? Some. “It would not require the penetrating intelligence of a Sherlock Holmes to realize in […]

The Revival of Ray XX

My Lord, Recent Events? Hon’ble Justice Ranjan Gogoi quoted a Judgment authored under Chief Justiceship of Hon’ble Justice A.N. Ray; Hon’ble Justice K.M. Joseph quoted a Judgment authored by Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, Hon’ble Justice A.N. Ray. _____ An issue has been raised by Learned Attorney General with regard to the manner in which […]

Then Mark, Denmark

“Something is rotten in the State of Denmark“, sensed Marcellus, said Shakespeare in Hamlet, and it can similarly be said, something is rotten in Allahabad High Court, said Hon’ble Judges Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra in Raja Khan v. U.P. Sunni Central Waqf Board, (2011) 1 SCC (LS) 359. The rot was, of course, […]

Science for Everyone: Superimposition Technique

Cases where the science involved is highly specialized and perhaps even esoteric, the central role of an expert cannot be disputed [Ramesh Chandra Agrawal v. Regency Hospital Limited, (2009) 9 SCC 709]. Be that as it may, it cannot be forgotten, opinion evidence is advisory in nature, and Courts are not bound by evidence of […]

Tort of Negligence

21 March 2006, 18:30 – 20:00 Satyendra Pratap Singh entered the swimming pool of Hotel Samudra, Kovalam. All of a sudden, Satyendra Pratap Singh became unconscious and sank into the pool. The victim was pulled out of the water and was taken to hospital. He died at 21:00 on the same day. ____ NCDRC has […]

Malaria in Mozambique

“Court is tasked with determining whether a death due to malaria occasioned by a mosquito bite in Mozambique, constituted a death due to accident. Debashis Bhattacharjee was working as a Manager of a Tea Factory at Cha-De-Magoma, District: Gurue, Province: Zambezia, Republic of Mozambique. In order to constitute an accident, the event must be in […]

The Revival of Ray XIX

“This Court has laid down the test as to how the Court should decide the question as to whether a particular item is a part of other. The test is a thing is a part of the other if the other is incomplete without it. In other words, a thing is a part of the […]

Ratio Decidendi I

My Lord, Hon’ble Justice A.P. Sen View, Paragraphs 86-87, Express Newspapers v. Union of India, (1986) 1 SCC 133 = Majority View? Yes. “We, consider it apposite to refer to The Guardians of The Poor of The West Derby Union v. The Guardians of The Poor of The Atcham, (1889) 24 QBD 117. The question […]

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth II / Revival of Ray XVIII

Introduction to Cricket Sports not only gives physical or moral strength to a personality but spreads the message of goodwill and friendship. Cricket, it is said, is a synonym for gentlemanliness which means discipline, fair play, modest and high standard of morality. In our country, BCCI exercises sufficient control.Appellant Appellant participated in an IPL match […]

Arbitrariness in Arbitration Clauses

“It shall be essential, a party invoking Arbitration shall specify amount claimed and shall furnish a ‘deposit-at-call’ for 10% of amount claimed. In event of an award in favour, deposit shall be refunded to him in proportion to amount awarded w.r.t. amount claimed and balance, if any, shall be forfeited and paid to other party.” […]

Contempt Jurisdiction III

This is not the first time that Shri Nedumpara has attempted to browbeat and insult Judges of this Court. He is in the habit of using intemperate language to achieve his ends before several Judges of the Bombay High Court. Contempt when committed in the face of the Court, Judges’ hands are not tied behind […]

The Transformative Constitution

“The idea for this book took shape during a seminar course that I taught at NLSIU, Bengaluru in January, 2015 and NUJS, Kolkata in June, 2016. This book advances Justice Vivian Bose’s vision of the Constitution, a vision that understood both the historical monument of framing, and the Constitution itself, as fundamentally transformative. But it […]

Sir George Claus Rankin

“I have been impressed at times with the peculiarity of the fate of very learned and able friends of mine who, as the reward of exceptional knowledge and skill in the business matters of England and Scotland, are suddenly required to turn a large part of their attention to Indian appeals.” – Sir George Claus […]

Guesses & Conjectures II

“There can be no conviction on the basis of surmises and conjectures or suspicion howsoever grave it may be. Strong suspicion, strong coincidences and grave doubt cannot take the place of legal proof. The onus of the prosecution cannot be discharged by referring to very strong suspicion and existence of highly suspicious factors to inculpate […]

In Re: Death Penalty

Religion is complex; difficult to comprehend; often open to interpretation. Which religion considers death to be a penalty and which religion considers death to be an award? It can be reasonably concluded Criminal Law of India considers death to be a punishment. In recent times, there have been several Judgments of the Supreme Court of […]

The Revival of Ray XVII

“Another submission of Mr. Pritesh Kapur was that since it is the State Government which is the ‘owner of the minerals’ and the minerals that ‘vest’ in it, as held in Amritlal Nathubhai Shah, (1976) 4 SCC 108 while granting the licence, it can put conditions pertaining to movement and flow of such minerals as […]

The Proviso II / The Revival of Ray XVI

“In Dwarka Prasad v. Dwarka Das Saraf, (1976) 1 SCC 128 this Court held: “A proviso must be limited to the subject-matter of the enacting clause. It is a settled rule of construction, a proviso must prima facie be read and considered in relation to the principal matter to which it is a proviso. It […]

The Last Word

A Diversion for Lawyers and Others

Judges, Judgments & Lawyers