A meeting was called by Chief Justice of India after Bomb Blasts outside Delhi High Court on 07.09.2011. Court on its Administrative Side, after deliberations with Delhi Police, prohibited vendors to squat along the perimeter of Supreme Court. There is a road called Bhagwan Das Road after Supreme Court compound wall. After crossing the road, […]
Read more "Safety and Security of Supreme Court"In Bottled Water Processors Association v. Union of India, [Writ Petition (C) No. 11672 of 2009] Hon’ble Justice S. Muralidhar found, “considering water borne diseases are on the increase during summer months, time is of the essence”. Many summers have gone by. The Task Force, ordered to be constituted, for cracking down on units manufacturing […]
Read more "Lawyer Profiles I: The Case of Counterfeit Bottles and Spurious Medicines"In Julius v. Bishop of Oxford, (1880) 5 AC 214 it was observed, “The words ‘it shall be lawful’ are plain and unambiguous. They confer a faculty or power, and they do not of themselves do more than confer a faculty or power. But there may be something in the nature of the thing empowered to […]
Read more "Power Coupled With Duty I"The Last Word: As per standards of Hurra, (2002) 4 SCC 388 a Curative Petition shall be circulated amongst “3 Senior-Most Judges” of SC and “Judges who passed the Judgment complained of, if available”. When a Majority concludes, a hearing is required – it should be listed. Hon’ble Justice Dipak Misra: “Needless to say, the availability […]
Read more "The Yakub Hanging"Recently, SC, while imposing exemplary costs of Rs. 10,00,000/- (Rupees Ten Lakhs) on Industrialist-Appellant, in Vijay Mallya v. Enforcement Directorate, [Criminal Appeal No. 1406 of 2009], quoted Anatole France. The famous words of Anatole: “The law in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in […]
Read more "Anatole France"“It may not always be safe for a Writ Court to decide issues and facts having great impact on general public or a large part of it only on basis of Oath against Oath.” – Hon’ble Justice Dipak Misra, Riju Prasad Sharma v. State of Assam, [Civil Appeal Nos. 3276-3278 of 2013]. ‘Oath against Oath’ […]
Read more "Oath Against Oath"My Lord, What is Pension? “It is a well known principle, pension is not a bounty. The benefit is conferred upon an employee for his unblemished career. In D.S. Nakara v. Union of India, (1983) 1 SCC 305 D.A. Desai, J speaking for the Bench opined: “The antiquated notion of pension being a bounty, a […]
Read more "Pension is Not a Bounty I"Markandey Katju (MK), for those uninitiated, was once a Hon’ble Judge at Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. Honorably Retired MK writes abundantly and appears to be angry. He called Subhash Chandra Bose, ‘A Japanese Agent of Japanese Imperial Interest’. MK served Supreme Court between 10.04.2006 and 19.11.2011. In the opening game, Late Hon’ble Justice Sabharwal was […]
Read more "Agent Markandey Katju"An excerpt from Manoj Mitta, The Fiction of Fact Finding, (2014), pgs. 112 to 121: “A key element of the monitoring was the mechanism of the Amicus Curiae, a Senior Lawyer appointed by the Supreme Court to provide independent advise to it. The one for Jafri’s complaint was Senior Advocate, Raju Ramachandran. Much as he played […]
Read more "“History Has Its Own Eccentricities”"My Lord, What is Truth? “‘Satyameva Jayate’ is a mantra from the ancient scripture Mundaka Upanishad. It was adopted as the National Motto of India. It is inscribed in Devanagari script at the base of the National Emblem. The meaning is as follows: truth alone triumphs; not falsehood. Through truth the divine path is spread […]
Read more "The Importance of Being Earnest I"I know a corrupt judge when I see him. You are almost there, Mr. Rohtagi. Don’t forget Hon’ble Justice Joseph’s BenchMate in almost 150 orders/judgments. The one who saved the President in Purno Agitok Sangma v. Pranab Mukherjee, (2013) 2 SCC 239. The one who became a Chief Justice of India too. “Are you watching closely?”
Read more "Almost There, Mr. Rohtagi"“My diminishing respect for you ends today.” Does it matter to the “Court of the People of India” whether Mr. Ram Jethmalani respects our Hon’ble Prime Minister? Perfection is attained, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to take away. It is surprising that Mr. Jethmalani has still […]
Read more "What a Playa: Ram Jethmalani"‘Colorful’ does not only indicate vices or indiscretions. If Justice Shamit Mukherjee, at No. 10, is Grey, then my choice for No. 9 represents Red. It must be granted to Hon’ble Justice K.S.P. Radhakrishnan. Jallikattu, (2014) 7 SCC 547 and studying of “Bull Behavioural Ethology” fetched Justice Radhakrishnan: PETA (India) Man of the Year Award, […]
Read more "Judges with Colorful Lives: No. 9"Former Judge of High Court of Australia is a self-declared homosexual. William Rehnquist, 16th Chief Justice of the United States, was once addicted to ‘placidyl’. There is no definitive example of a quirky Indian Judge. In this new series, I shall bring to you the names of 10 Indian Judges who I think have had […]
Read more "Judges with Colorful Lives: No. 10"In Common Cause v. UOI, (2014) 5 SCC 338 it was held, “A vivid reading of Para 104 of Aruna Shanbaug, (2011) 4 SCC 454 demonstrates, reasoning in Para 104 is directly inconsistent with observation in Para 101. In Paras 21 & 101 Bench was of view, Constitution Bench in Gian Kaur held, euthanasia could be made […]
Read more "Referred to Larger Bench IV: Katju’s Eccentricity"“Statutes often use expressions such as “deems it necessary”, “reason to believe” et cetera. Suffice it to say, these expressions have been held not to mean, subjective satisfaction of the officer concerned. Such power given to the concerned officer is not an arbitrary power and has to be exercised in accordance with the restraints imposed […]
Read more "Reason To Believe"My Lord, What is Poetic License? “There is no authority who gives a license to a poet. These are words from the realm of literature. The poet assumes his own freedom, which is allowed to him by the fundamental concept of poetry. He is free to depart from the reality; fly away from grammar; walk […]
Read more "Poetic License"Estoppels and Estoppels (Lord Denning). If equity is flexible enough to permit Proprietary Estoppel to be used as a cause of action, there is no reason in logic or principle why Promissory Estoppel should also not be available as a cause of action, if necessary to satisfy equity. “The law on the subject of Promissory […]
Read more "Promissory Estoppel I"“The expression Flies in the Face of Common Sense is taken from an interesting Judgment of the House of Lords reported in R v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, (1995) 2 All ER 244. Lord Browne Wilkinson was faced with an argument that Section 171 of The Criminal Justice Act of 1988 vests in […]
Read more "Flies in the Face of Common Sense"“A clear example of opaqueness and bad decision was the appointment of the 59-year-old sister of a CJI to the Cal HC.” The CJI alluded to is: Hon’ble Justice Altamas Kabir; The sister: Hon’ble Justice Shukla Kabir Sinha. The symmetry is astounding. This day, 2 years ago, the following letter was sent out: Mr. Furuqan’s Letter
Read more "Hon’ble Justice Shukla Kabir Sinha"
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