My Lord, Is there a Fundamental Distinction between a “Repeal” and an “Omission” in that in the case of a “Repeal” the Statute is obliterated from the very beginning whereas in the case of an “Omission” what gets omitted is only from the date of “Omission” and not before? No. We do not find any […]
Read more "Lawyer Profiles II: Repeal v. Omission"It is well settled that a “means and includes” definition is exhaustive in nature and that there is no scope to read anything further into the said definition. Hon’ble Justice Nariman has yet again quoted P. Kasilingam v. PSG College of Technology, 1995 Supp (2) SCC 348 to re-establish the proposition [See, State Bank of […]
Read more "A “Means and Includes” Definition III"“We are conscious of the principle that the word ‘or’ is normally disjunctive and ‘and’ is normally conjunctive. However, there may be circumstances where these words are to be read as vice-versa to give effect to manifest intention of Legislature as disclosed from the context. Of course, these two words normally ‘or’ and ‘and’ are […]
Read more "Disjunctive, Conjunctive I"“You wait, little girl, on an empty stage For fate to turn the light on Your life, little girl, is an empty page That men will want to write on You are sixteen going on seventeen Baby, it’s time to think Better beware, be canny and careful Baby, you’re on the brink.” Oscar Hammerstein II, […]
Read more "Sixteen Going On Seventeen"Is there a method to this madness? No. Use the following words in your decision: axe, vengeance, crusade, combat, contestation, discord, scuffle, surreptitious, Sphinx, Rome. Accepted. “The present appeal, by special leave, on a summary glance may appear that a victim who might have an axe to grind against the accused, the Respondent No. 2 […]
Read more "Drafting Judgments/Literary Challenges"Hon’ble Justice Vikramajit Sen turns 65 on the last day of this year and retires duly. I shall forever associate him with ‘precedents’. What binds and what holds is a recurrent theme in several of his Judgments. Rashmi Metaliks, (2013) 10 SCC 95: SC often has to “face lengthy arguments in each case because of the […]
Read more "Sen J I"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 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"“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 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"In Hemlata Singh v. Collector [MANU/UC/0315/2008], Hon’ble Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia [High Court of Uttarakhand] notes, “Chutzpah is a remarkable expression in Hebrew. Chutzpah is said to happen when a man kills his mother and father and then asks for clemency on the ground that he is now an orphan.” Hon’ble Justice S. Dhulia is the […]
Read more "Chutzpah"“In M/s. Motilal Padampt Sugar Mills Company, (1979) 2 SCC 409 this Court, on an exhaustive survey of the law pertaining to Doctrine of Promissory Estoppel, held, the same was equitable and would yield when equity so required. While propounding, the same had been evolved to avoid injustice where it is demonstrated that a party acting on […]
Read more "Promissory Estoppel II"“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"“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"Justice Chandrashekaraiah (Retd.) v. Janekere C. Krishna, (2013) 3 SCC 117 held, views expressed by Chief Justice of High Court of Karnataka have no ‘primacy’ in process of appointment of Lokayukta or Upa Lokayukta by Governor of Karnataka. High Court was of view, since Order passed by Governor of Karnataka, appointing Justice Chandrashekaraiah as an […]
Read more "Primacy of Views I: The Karnataka Lokayukta Act"“As has been stated by us above, ‘means’ ‘and includes’ is a legislative device by which the ‘includes’ part brings by way of extension various persons, categories, or things which would not otherwise have been included in the ‘means’ part. If this is so, obviously both parts cannot be read conjunctively. What is in the […]
Read more "A “Means and Includes” Definition II"It is always interesting to note References to a Larger Bench, ones especially made on account of ‘difference’ of opinions amongst Equal Bench Strengths. Eventually, it is flocculation of law of the land; per incuriam decisions stand filtered, retaining still its historical significance. Which SC Judge is known to have scripted, most number of per incuriam decisions? […]
Read more "Referred to Larger Bench II (Answered): Suits of Borrower Against Banks"There can be no quarrel about Supreme Court’s competence to quash criminal proceedings pending before Subordinate Courts. However, this power must be exercised sparingly and with circumspection. In S. Khushboo v. Kanniamal, (2010) 5 SCC 600 Supreme Court quashed several criminal proceedings initiated against actress Khushboo for comments she had made on pre-marital sex. Hon’ble […]
Read more "Market Place of Ideas"In Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation v. Rajendra Bhimrao, (2001) 10 SCC 51 a Two-Judge Bench [Babu and Raju JJ] held, “the rules of the game, meaning thereby the criteria for selection, cannot be altered by the authorities concerned in the middle or after the process of selection has commenced.” In K. Manjusree, (2008) 3 SCC 512 […]
Read more "Referred to Larger Bench I: The Rules of The Game Principle"
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