It is not our forte to answer whether it is better to be free than secure or be secure rather than free. However, we are here only to ensure, citizens are provided all the rights and liberty to the highest extent in a given situation while ensuring security at the same time. There is no […]
Read more "The Revival of Ray XXXVII"Nine Judge Bench decisions of Supreme Court possess a pattern. The last one was Justice K.S. Puttaswamy, (2017) 10 SCC 1. It had happened only once before in Indra Sawhney [1992 Supp (3) SCC 217] that, a CJI, despite being on a Nine Judge Bench, did not author a Judgment. It is of further interest, […]
Read more "Nine Judge Benches / The Revival of Ray XXXVI"Hon’ble Chief Justice of India is as important as Hon’ble Prime Minister. 2010-2020 has witnessed 11 CJIs and 2 PMs. One wonders why 65 is the retirement age for a Supreme Court Judge. He cannot be presumed to be dysfunctional post-65, if at 69 one can be an effective PM. 2000-2010 had witnessed 9 CJIs; […]
Read more "The Nature of Judicial Power: An Ungodly Jumble"538 is the number of former students of National Law School of India University, Bangalore [NLSIU] who ‘demanded’ repeal of The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 [CAA]. They extended unconditional support to all those who choose to exercise their fundamental right to speech and assembly to ‘express dissent peacefully’. 402 is the number of former students […]
Read more "The Myth of Peaceful Protest"“Erusian Equipment and Chemicals Ltd. v. State of West Bengal, (1975) 1 SCC 70 and Raghunath Thakur v. State of Bihar, (1989) 1 SCC 229 as well as Southern Painters v. Fertilizers & Chemicals Travancore Ltd., 1994 Supp (2) SCC 699; Grosons Pharmaceuticals (P) Ltd. v. State of U.P., (2001) 8 SCC 604 and B.S.N. […]
Read more "The Revival of Ray XXXV"On a lighter note, the following observations of Hon’ble Justice R.F. Nariman in BGS SGS Soma JV v. NHPC Ltd., [Civil Appeal No. 9307 of 2019] is interesting for the reason, it points out Hon’ble Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra failed to apply Hon’ble Justice Dipak Misra. The percentage of seriousness can be increased […]
Read more "Referred to Larger Bench XIII Criticized: Venue v. Seat, Arbitration"Whether providing for domicile/residence-based reservation in admission to ‘PG Medical Courses’ within State Quota is constitutionally invalid and is impermissible? If domicile/residence-based reservation in admission to ‘PG Medical Courses’ is impermissible, how State Quota seats, other than permissible institutional preference seats, are to be filled up? In Dr. Tanvi Behl v. Shrey Goel, [Civil Appeal […]
Read more "Referred to Larger Bench XXI (Answered): Residence-Based Reservation / The Revival of Ray XXXIV"“It is a well established position, when statutes are unambiguous, Courts must adopt plain and natural meaning irrespective of consequences [Nelson Motis v. Union of India, (1992) 4 SCC 711]. On a bare reading of Section 207 of The Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 no other interpretation is possible. We hold, ‘contents of the memory card/pen […]
Read more "Cloned Copy of Electronic Record"“Justice S.R. Tendolkar, AIR 1958 SC 538 had postulated two conditions which must be satisfied for a classification to withstand a challenge under Article 14, namely: i) the classification should be founded on intelligible differentia which distinguishes persons or things that are grouped together from others left out of the group; and (ii) the differentia […]
Read more "The Nature of Judicial Power: Hon’ble Justice Sanjiv Khanna"Section 2(a) of The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 defines ‘child’ as a person who, if a male, has not completed twenty-one years of age, and if a female, has not completed eighteen years of age. A ‘child marriage’ means a marriage to which either of the contracting parties is a child. Hardev Singh […]
Read more "Prohibition of Child Marriage"Dicitex was facing financial distress and economical duress. Oriental Insurance had insisted Dicitex to sign a clean discharge voucher and to withdraw the letter of protest addressed by it, failing which, Oriental Insurance would not release the amount reflected in the discharge voucher. HC allowed an application under Section 11(6), preferred by Dicitex, and appointed […]
Read more "Section 11(6) of The Arbitration Act 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 […]
Read more "Referred to Larger Bench XX: The Sabarimala Temple III"“Regardless of how it is articulated, some like formula of compromise must be applied.”Chief Justice Frederick Moore Vinson My Lord, How Transparent is Transparent Enough? “This case concerns the balance which is required between two important fundamental rights i.e. right to information and right to privacy. Often these two rights are seen as conflicting, however, […]
Read more "Transparency of Transparency / The Revival of Ray XXXIII"“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, […]
Read more "The Nature of Judicial Power: Senior Advocate, Rakesh Dwivedi"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 […]
Read more "Experts V: Handwriting Experts"“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, […]
Read more "The Nature of Judicial Power: Proprietary Claims of Religion"“Judge who had rendered any decision in a smaller combination is not disqualified from being part of a Larger Bench when a Reference is made to the Larger Bench. Rather, it is a consistent practice prevailing in various High Courts as well as of this Court to include the same Judge/Judges in Larger Benches. Litigants […]
Read more "The Art of Recusal"“The principal issue involved in the matter is whether a Charitable Trust could maintain an action under the provisions of The Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The reliance was placed on Pratibha Pratisthan, (2017) 3 SCC 712 to hold that a Trust would not be a ‘person’ and consequently not a ‘consumer’. The definition of ‘person’ in terms […]
Read more "Referred to Larger Bench XIX: Trusts Not Consumers"“The same set of judicial precedents were cited and debated before us by both sides. The first in sequence is, Judgment of Constitution Bench in Mohammad Shujat Ali v. Union of India, (1975) 3 SCC 76. While referring to observations of Justice Brewer, “the very idea of classification is that of inequality”, it was recognized, […]
Read more "The Revival of Ray XXXI"Sudhir Krishnaswamy taught me at National Law School of India University, Bangalore in 2006. This book, first published in 2009, grew out of his Doctor of Philosophy in Law Dissertation at Oxford University. Extensively researched. Magnificently written. Excerpt, follows. _____ The Basic Structure Doctrine evolved in the context of challenges to the constitutionality of land […]
Read more "The Doctrine of Basic Structure I"
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