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 […]

Irretrievable Breakdown of Marriage II

“The loneliness and lack of co-habitation is stated to have caused physical and mental torture. Multiple efforts have been made even by this Court, but to no avail. The psychologist opined, the separation of 16 years since 2003 had made both the parties bitter and cynical about the relationship and there was no sign of […]

The Myth of Peaceful Protest

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 […]

Medical Negligence and Consumer Law II

“Medical negligence comprises of the following constituents: (i) legal duty to exercise due care on the part of the medical professional; (ii) failure to inform the patient of the risks involved; (iii) the patient suffers damage as a consequence of the undisclosed risk by the medical professional; (iv) if the risk had been disclosed, the […]

Section 11(6A) of The Arbitration Act

“Section 11(6A) was added by The Amendment Act of 2015. Section 3 of The Amendment Act of 2019 insofar as it pertains to omission of this Sub-Section has not yet been brought into force. Omission of the Sub-Section is not so as to resuscitate law that was prevailing prior to The Amendment Act of 2015. […]

The De Facto Doctrine

Justice Mookerjee held the following in Pulin Behari Das v. King Emperor, 16 CWN 1105. The acts of officers de facto performed by them within the scope of their assumed official authority, in the interest of the public or third persons and not for their own benefit, are generally as valid and binding as if […]

Prohibition of Child Marriage

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 […]

Section 11(6) of The Arbitration Act III

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 […]

Section 2(1)(d) of The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 II

“Court has to look at ‘dominant purpose’ for which purchase is made in order to decide whether it was for a ‘commercial purpose’. We are of considered opinion, purchase of flats for purpose of providing hostel facilities to hospital nurses does not qualify as meant for a ‘commercial purpose’. Though ‘commercial purpose’ as referred to […]

Rule of Law

“The expression ‘rule of law’ can be traced back to the great Greek philosopher Aristotle, who lived 2,400 years ago. “It is better for the law to rule than one of the citizens… so that even the guardians of the law are obeying the laws.” – Brian Z. Tamanaha, Rule of Law. Bona fide criticism […]

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 Art of Recusal

“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 […]

Ex Turpi Causa Non Oritur Actio

Kedar Nath Motani, (1960) 1 SCR 861 had an occasion to consider the question of application of the maxims ‘ex turpi causa non oritur actio‘ and ‘ex dolo malo non oritur actio‘. Three-Judge Bench, speaking through M. Hidayatullah, J (as His Lordship then was), observed thus: “The correct position in law, in our opinion, is, […]

Appointment of Justice

“I am glad, Arghya Sengupta and Ritwika Sharma have decided to publish a book dealing with appointment of Judges to Supreme Court of India. From time immemorial, mankind desired to have wise and humane Judges with the wisdom to discriminate between truth and falsehood. The legends of King Solomon and Dharmaraja and the like are […]

Albert, Albert Einstein

A. “Albert Einstein spoke of change when he said, ‘world as we have created is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking’.” – Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, Hon’ble Justice T.S. Thakur, Board of Control for Cricket v. Cricket Association of Bihar, (2016) 8 SCC 535. B. “We would like […]

Statutory Limitation of Arbitration

“We must first consider whether it is the 1940 Act or the 1996 Act which applies to the Arbitration Applications. It is settled law, the date of commencement of Arbitration Proceedings for the purpose of deciding which Act applies, upon a conjoint reading of Sections 21 and Section 85(2)(a) of the 1996 Act, shall be […]

The Discomfort of ADM Jabalpur II

In Shrimati Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Shri Raj Narain, [1976 2 SCR 347] Ray CJ. and Chandrachud J. had laid stress on rule of law in our constitutional scheme. The term ‘rule of law’ is not a magic lamp which can be scratched to invoke a power which brings to any person in need whatever […]

Hard Cases Make Bad Law

Hon’ble Justice L. Nageswara Rao in State of Tamil Nadu v. G. Hemalathaa, Civil Appeal No. 6669 of 2019 quoted Chief Justice John Roberts in Caperton v. A.T. Massey, 556 U.S. 868 (2009). “Extreme cases often test the bounds of established legal principles. There is a cost to yielding to the desire to correct the […]

The Revival of Ray XXV

P.S. Malik, Additional District Judge [Dwarka, New Delhi], against whom disciplinary proceedings alleging sexual harassment is underway, filed a Writ Petition under Article 32. Supreme Court was quick to note, expression of opinion by Court on issues relevant and material in a disciplinary inquiry may cause prejudice. An important question was considered, nonetheless. The word […]

The Revival of Ray XXIV

“Justice Krishna Iyer delivered a concurring opinion in Sushil Kumar Sen v. State of Bihar, (1975) 1 SCC 774, expressing a thought process which would be of significant relevance to the issue in hand. “The humanist rule that procedure should be the handmaid, not the mistress, of legal justice compels consideration of vesting a residuary […]

The Last Word

A Diversion for Lawyers and Others

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