Rudra – Shiva

Shiva, who emerged from limitless pillar of fuel-less fire, is visualized sitting under the Pole Star, on a snow-capped mountain, in the shade of a banyan tree. Shiva’s holy city, Kashi, is located at a bend in the river Ganga where it turns and moves northwards instead of southwards. This reverse flow of the river […]

The Case of Mr. Steve Smith

Steven Peter Devereux Smith in 73 Tests has scored 7227 Runs, including 26 Centuries, at an Average of 62.84. Virat Kohli in 86 Tests has scored 7240 Runs, including 27 Centuries, at an Average of 53.62. A difference of 13 Tests has caused a difference of 13 Runs! The undoubtable talent is further evident from […]

Nani A. Palkhivala

“A little known fact is that Nani was working at the Bombay racecourse as a totalizer while he was studying. The job demanded accuracy and speed. In the early stages of his career, Nani would take up all sorts of cases. “My Lord, I would have sat down long ago but for my conviction that […]

Section 2(33), The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015

Section 2(33), The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015: “heinous offences” includes the offences for which the minimum punishment under The Indian Penal Code, 1860 or any other law for the time being in force is imprisonment for 7 years or more; xxx xxx xxx Learned Senior Counsel, Sidharth Luthra submitted, ‘petty […]

Euclid’s Theorem III

“This Court has held that Judgments of Courts are not to be construed as statutes, neither are they to be read as Euclid’s theorems. All observations made must be read in the context in which they appear. This Court in Amrit Lal Manchanda, (2004) 3 SCC 75 held as follows: “Judges interpret words of statutes. […]

Referred to Larger Bench XX: The Sabarimala Temple III

Review Petition (Civil) No. 3358 of 2018 in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 373 of 2006 Essential Religious Practices of a Religious Denomination or Section of a Religious Denomination – Constitutional Protection under Article 26? “In the Indian context, given the plurality of religions, languages, cultures and traditions, what is perceived as faith and essential practices […]

The Nature of Judicial Power: Senior Advocate, Rakesh Dwivedi

“Possessory claim of Hindus to composite whole of disputed property stands on a better footing” is the decisive observation. Importantly, Supreme Court has in strongest terms castigated damage caused to the mosque in 1934, its desecration in 1949 leading to the ouster of Muslims, and the eventual demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992. This, […]

Experts V: Handwriting Experts

Section 45 of The Evidence Act, 1872 allows for an opinion of an expert as a relevant fact when Court has to form an opinion upon a point of foreign law, science or art or as to identity of handwriting or finger impressions. In Murari Lal v. State of Madhya Pradesh, (1980) 1 SCC 704 […]

The Nature of Judicial Power: Proprietary Claims of Religion

“Janmaasthan of Lord Ram is where Babri Mosque has been constructed.” Mikhail Tal, born on 09.11.1936, said once, “you must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5 and path leading out is only wide enough for one.” M Siddiq v. Mahant Suresh Das, [Civil Appeal Nos. 10866-10867 of 2010], pronounced on 09.11.2019, […]

The Case of Mr. Prithvi Shaw

Board of Control for Cricket in India [BCCI] has adopted Anti-Doping Rules [BCCI ADR] that implement mandatory requirements of World Anti-Doping Agency [WADA] Code in Indian Cricket. BCCI ADR, 2019 applies to present case. Mr. Shaw consumed a cough syrup for a couple of days before he played Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Mumbai v. Sikkim, […]

Gambling in Cricket I

Games played just for fun can also be played for money. Lawyers and Non-Lawyers paid ample respect and just respect to a Game developed on Indian Premier League [IPL]. An esteemed Eashan Ghosh calculated accuracy of probabilistic predictions. Mr. Ghosh, phenomenal in his Intellectual Property Law expertise, is a fair man. ‘Ramiz Baba Challenge’ Rules ‘Ramiz […]

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 […]

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 […]

Euclid’s Theorem II

“STATUTES SHOULD BE CONSTRUED NOT AS THEOREM OF EUCLID… WORDS MUST BE CONSTRUED WITH SOME IMAGINATION OF THE PURPOSES WHICH LIE BEHIND THEM”: JUDGE LEARNED HAND. Gypsum (Calcium Sulphate Dihydrate): Natural Mineral. Gypsum Board / Drywall: Cellulosic Composite Material; Primary Raw Material = Calcium Sulphate Dihydrate + Cellulose; See, George J Venta, The Athena Sustainable […]

Monsanto v. Nuziveedu: Patent Battle

My Lord, Nuziveedu infringed Monsanto’s Patent ? “Technically complex suit. We leave open all questions of fact and law to be urged for consideration in appropriate proceedings. The suit involved complicated mixed questions of law and facts with regard to patentability and exclusion of patent which could be examined in the suit on basis of evidence. There is no […]

Surrogacy

India’s first In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) baby, and World’s second, Kanupriya, was born in Kolkata on October 3, 1978. The scientific technology behind IVF is known as Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). Despite India being a hub of surrogacy, there is no legal framework. There are four types of surrogacy: traditional, gestational, commercial and altruistic. Commercial surrogacy […]

Beauty of NEET, 2018

Every examination must be evaluated for what it is, what it should be and not for what it was, what it could be. Primary duty is to avoid arbitrary results. Correct answers to questions presented in NEET-UG, 2018 was one of the 4 Options offered. Bi-lingual questions were set in English with an Option of […]

The Sabarimala Temple II: Arghya Sengupta

I was aware of Arghya Sengupta, personally, even before I had entered NLSIU. Mr. Sengupta’s words on The Sabarimala Temple Judgment are brilliant, as his words usually are. I am glad, one voice I respect thoroughly has had courage to point out Justice Chandrachud’s error. Here are his words: “That there is something deeply iniquitous […]

A Man of Reason and Logic

Chess has been represented, or shall I say misrepresented, as a game – that is, a thing which could not well serve a serious purpose, solely created for the enjoyment of an empty hour. If it were a game only, Chess would never have survived the serious trials to which it has, during the long […]

The Sabarimala Temple I

Writ Petition (Civil) No. 373 of 2006 Hon’ble Justice Indu Malhotra The Petitioners have stated that they learnt of the practice of restricting the entry of women in the age group of 10 to 50 years in the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala from three newspaper articles written by Barkha Dutt (Scent of a Woman, Hindustan […]

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