The Plea of Limitation VII: Section 14 of The Limitation Act, 1963

Respondent entered into a contract for construction of a commercial complex. Certain disputes arose. Sole Arbitrator passed an Award on 11.11.2010. Both parties appeared before Arbitrator. Arbitrator did not find any justification to allow any claim of Respondent-Contractor. Respondent believed he could take a somersault. It propelled him to file an application under Section 11 […]

The Real Apprehension in Transferring Cases II

My Lord, Independent of the provisions contained in Codes of Civil and Criminal Procedure is there a source of power which the Supreme Court can invoke for directing transfer of a case from or to the State of Jammu and Kashmir? Yes. “The fact that there is no such enabling provision for transfer from or […]

Principles of Natural Justice II

“Principles of Natural Justice, it is well settled, are not codified rules of procedure. Courts have repeatedly declined to lay down in a strait jacket, their scope and extent. The extent, the manner and the application of these Principles depends so much on the nature of jurisdiction exercised by Court or Tribunal, the nature of […]

Referred to Larger Bench X: Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy

My Lord, Why is Supreme Court not a Constitutional Court? Relying upon Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Mr. Venugopal established, Supreme Court had strayed from its original character as a Constitutional Court and gradually converted itself into a mere Court of Appeal to correct every error it found in decisions of 24 High Courts and […]

Internal Disturbance I

My Lord, Is the ‘Internal Disturbance’ in Manipur equivalent to a ‘War’? “In support of his contention that a war-like situation was and is prevailing in Manipur, Learned Attorney General submitted that, under Section 121 of IPC, ‘war’ is not necessarily conventional warfare between two nations and even organizing and joining an insurrection against Government […]

Section 24A of The Advocates Act, 1961

“Under Section 24A of The Advocates Act, 1961 a person convicted of even a most heinous offence is eligible to be enrolled as an Advocate after expiry of 2 years from expiry of his sentence. This aspect needs urgent attention of all concerned. Apart from the above, we do not find any reason to hold, […]

Compensatory Jurisprudence of Constitutional Courts III: Himgiri Express

“On February 1, 2011 when Himgiri Express left Shahjahanpur Railway Station with hundreds of men on roof top and headed towards Rosa town, an accident took place at Hathaurda Railway Over Bridge near Mohammadabad. The Railway Over Bridge was not tall enough and the gap between the roof of the coach and the bottom of […]

Setting Aside Orders

“It is not open either to parties to a lis or to any third parties, to determine at their own, that an Order passed by a Court is valid or void. A party to the lis or a third party, who considers an Order passed by a Court as void or non est, must approach […]

A Review of “Legal Eagles”

“There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.” Legal Eagles traces the journey of […]

Section 499, Indian Penal Code II

I am an Advocate, not an Academician. The practical impact of a Judgment interests me. Subramanian Swamy v. Union of India, [Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 184 of 2014] pronounced recently, is a significant weapon in my hand. Explanation 1 to Section 499 of The Indian Penal Code, 1860 reads as, “It may amount to defamation to […]

Able Disable All People Together I

“Since the inception of mankind, many lacs have suffered from different types of physical handicaps (today about 600 million people suffer from such handicaps). But, many of them overcame all kinds of handicaps and achieved distinctions in various fields. Sarah Bernhardt – French actress was disabled by a knee injury. Her leg was amputated in […]

Promissory Estoppel IV

“The entire basis of this Doctrine of Promissory Estoppel has been well put in a Judgment of Australian High Court reported in Commonwealth of Australia v. Verwayen, 170 C.L.R. 394, by Deane, J. The statement, based on various earlier English authorities, correctly encapsulates the law of Promissory Estoppel with one difference under our law – […]

Reasonable Restriction I

“Under Article 19(6) of The Constitution, the State has to conform to two separate and independent tests if it is to pass constitutional muster – the restriction on the fundamental right must first be a reasonable restriction, and secondly, it should also be in the interest of the general public. Perhaps the best exposition of […]

Look, T.M.A. Pai Again

Any attempt at interpretation of a long line of cases proves to be tiresome. Modern Dental College and Research Centre v. State of Madhya Pradesh, [Civil Appeal No. 4060 of 2009], delivered on 02.05.2016, provides a brave summary. Accept it with abundant caution. 5 Judges have no jurisdiction to interpret 7 or 11 erstwhile Lords. The […]

75 LAKHS FOR NALSA

One of the examples cited as an abuse of the process of Court is re-litigation. It is contrary to justice and public policy for a party to re-litigate the same issue which has already been tried and decided earlier against him. Recently, Messer Holdings Ltd. v. Shyam Madanmohan Ruia, [Special Leave Petition (Civil) 33429 of […]

Curse of NEET, 2016

Four notifications, two dated 21.12.2010 and two dated 31.05.2012, issued by Medical Council of India and Dental Council of India, were challenged in CMC, Vellore v. Union of India, (2014) 2 SCC 305. CJI Altamas Kabir held, the notifications were ultra vires the provisions of Articles 19(1)(g), 25, 26(a), 29(1) and 30(1). Hon’ble Justice Anil […]

D for Dayan, D for David

“It was a scorching summer day on 31st May, when the NIA sleuths gathered in the chambers of Gopal Subramanian, the Attorney General of India. He had just returned from the US where he had spent hours discussing the David Headley issue with the US Attorney General, Eric Holder… Behera spoke, ‘We will be leaving […]

Dura Lex Sed Lex

It is a settled legal proposition, law of limitation may harshly affect a particular party but it has to be applied with all its rigour when the statute so prescribes. A result flowing from a statutory provision is never an evil. Court has no power to ignore that provision to relieve what it considers a […]

A Good Samaritan Law

There is a need to build confidence to help road accident victims. Good Samaritans fear of legal consequences, involvement in litigation and repeated visits to Police Station. There is a need to provide certain incentives to Good Samaritans. There is also a dire need to enact a Good Samaritan Law. Ministry of Road Transport and […]

The Proviso I

“It needs no special emphasis to mention, provisos can serve various purposes. Hidayatullah, J had observed, a proviso is generally added to an enactment to qualify or create an exception to what is in the enactment, and the proviso is not interpreted as stating a general rule. Further, except for instances dealt within the proviso, the […]

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