The Last Word

It must be true, friendships & rivalries, losses & victories never have an end, only a beginning. Spectacular Judges of Supreme Court have hoped for an impactful conclusion. The irreversibly powerful ones have known more. There is never a last word. Life travels with surety of a pendulum clock, tick tock. We remember, in Puttaswamy, [Writ […]

Consortium I

“In legal parlance, ‘consortium’ is a compendious term which encompasses ‘spousal consortium’, ‘parental consortium’ and ‘filial consortium’. The right to consortium would include company, care, help, comfort, guidance, solace and affection of deceased. With respect to a spouse, it would include sexual relations with deceased spouse; parental consortium is granted upon premature death of a […]

#The377Debate II : 06.09.2018

Navtej Singh Johar v. UOI, [Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 76 of 2016] was filed for declaring Section 377 to be unconstitutional. It was held by: Dipak Misra CJI and A.M. Khanwilkar J. The phrase ‘against the order of nature’ has neither been defined in any provision of the IPC. What is ‘against the order of nature’? Procreation […]

Pragmatic Realism v. Romantic Idealism v. Recluse Extremism

“Read, Read for now I shall say a lot. The evidence of my battle fought. The only way I shall make you learn, I tried a lot when it was my turn.” Hon’ble CJI Dipak Misra shall retire in less than 30 days. His words on word-craft shall be remembered too as his ‘last words’. […]

Falsus in Uno, Falsus in Omnibus

“It is a well settled position of law, testimony of a witness cannot be discarded in toto merely due to presence of embellishments or exaggerations. Doctrine of ‘falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus’, which means ‘false in one thing, false in everything’ has been held to be inapplicable in Indian scenario, where tendency to exaggerate […]

An Alive Stream I

RNR, May 13, 2017 : “I intuitively conclude, mobile phones inside Courtrooms undermine the judicial process. One should be not be allowed to record, broadcast or communicate with outsiders while inside Courtrooms, without specific permission from Court itself.” RNR, November 13, 2017: “Even if Live Tweeting is to be permitted one day, it should be […]

The Revival of Ray III

George H. Gadbois, Jr., chronicler of 93 Judges of Supreme Court of India, had this to say once: “When I first wrote to Justice A N Ray requesting an interview, I included a couple of articles I had published earlier. This enabled him to see that I was rather well-informed about him and the Court. […]

The Woman – Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi

I am happy, a book finally celebrates Mrs. Gandhi. ‘Did you know Eve Curie, the scientist Marie Curie’s daughter, was a guest at the wedding? And Harivansh Rai Bachchan, the poet? He and his wife, Teji, sang a duet.’ ‘Six months before Operation Blue Star, as troubles escalate, Mrs. Gandhi decides, on a whim, to […]

Clear and Present Danger

“A single revolutionary spark may kindle a fire that, smouldering for a time, may burst into a sweeping and destructive conflagration.” It was the Judgment of Holmes J in Schenck v. United States, 249 US 47 at 52 (1910) that gave rise to the test of ‘clear and present danger’ for determining whether restrictions on […]

Reasonable Restriction II

Rewarded with the presence of Justice A.N. Ray, Himat Lal K. Shah, (1973) 1 SCC 227 held: “Public meeting in open spaces and public streets forms part of the tradition of our national life. In the pre-Independence days such meetings have been held in open spaces and public streets and the people have come to regard […]

The Revival of Ray II

I have not published 10,00,000 further words of Chief Justice A.N. Ray. Are his words at Calcutta High Court or at Supreme Court his only songs? I bow down to Hon’ble Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Hon’ble Justice Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud. They have quoted Samsher Singh v. State of Punjab, (1974) 2 SCC 831 in […]

The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law

“A distinguished South African Judge, Albie Sachs has spoken of the importance of understanding the value of Constitutional Transformation. In his book titled ‘The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law’, explaining the role of the Constitutional Court, Sachs has this to say: “It is difficult to analyze the impact that Court Decisions have on actual […]

Aggression of SC Judges

Judge 4 of Indian Supreme Court, Justice Lokur, will retire this year. Earlier, he questioned the integrity of the Chief Justice. April, he has interestingly worded a decision. “The couldn’t-care-less and insouciant attitude of Union of India with regard to litigation, particularly in Supreme Court, has gone a little too far… Union of India must […]

The Last Word on Aiyaary

Last year, it was claimed before Bombay High Court, trailers of The State v. Jolly LL.B 2 projected Indian Judiciary and Indian Legal System in a derogatory manner. Court found there was a prima facie case of contempt. It constituted a Three-Member Committee, out of which Two Members were Lawyers. Bom HC’s ‘Legitimization of Special […]

An Alleged Judicial Crisis on Swami Vivekananda’s 155

Two months ago, Judges 2-3-4-5 of Supreme Court wrote a long letter to the Chief Justice, complaining of assignment of Benches without any rational basis. Last Friday [*January 12, 2018*], the Judges called a Press Conference, irreversibly provoked by the Bench chosen by the Master of the Roster [Chief Justice of India], to hear a plea […]

The Nature of Judicial Power: The Theory of Creative Interpretation

My Lord, Section 2(1)(d) of The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 should engulf and embrace, in its connotative expanse, the mental age of a person or the age determined by the prevalent science pertaining to psychiatry so that a mentally retarded person or an extremely intellectually challenged person, who even has crossed […]

Scandalisation of Court

‘Scandalisation of Court’ is not ‘precisely explained’ in Supreme Court cases [See, In Re: Hon’ble Shri Justice C.S. Karnan, Suo-Motu Contempt Petition (Civil) No. 1 of 2017]. It is a species of contempt and may take several forms. A common form is the vilification of the Judge [See, Shri Baradakanta Mishra v. The Registrar of […]

Primacy of Views III: The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013

SC in Mohapatra, (2002) 8 SCC 1 had accorded primacy to Hon’ble Chief Justice in consultative process for appointment of an Orissa Lokayukta. Justice Lokur in Chandrashekaraiah, (2013) 3 SCC 117 however confined law laid down in Mohapatra to the facts of that case only. It was held, views expressed by Chief Justice of High Court […]

The Disputed Reality of Parental Alienation Syndrome

A citation of questionable scientific standard. _____ In a child custody dispute in Suburbs of Pittsburgh, 3 teenage boys begged a Family Court Judge not to force continued visits to their father because, they said, he was physically abusive towards them. Judge relied on an Expert Witness, retained by the father, a Columbia University Professor […]

1+3 Judges Disagree With Justice Chelameswar on ‘Cheating Students’

Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board ridded certain students of their results, awarded in their professional MBBS course, on the ground, they had gained admission to the course by resorting to unfair means. Hon’ble Justice Chelameswar (Presiding Judge) had expressed the view, complete justice in the matter would be rendered, if the qualifications successfully acquired by […]