The Rules of The Game Principle V / The Revival of Ray LXXIX

Judgments cited on changing ‘rules of game midway’ referred to changes in selection criteria or procedure for selection. Those cases are distinguishable from case before us. _____ An examination can only reflect current competence of an individual but not gamut of their potential, capabilities or excellence, which are also shaped by lived experiences, subsequent training […]

The Rules of The Game Principle IV

The number of candidates was not quite large. 4270 in U.P. Public Service Commission v. Subhash Chandra Dixit, (2003) 12 SCC 70. 51524 and 5748 in preliminary and main examinations respectively in Sanjay Singh v. U.P. Public Service Commission, Allahabad, (2007) 3 SCC 720. 3000 in Mahinder Kumar v. High Court of Madhya Pradesh, (2013) […]

The Nature of Judicial Power: Article No. 1101

The question had been floating for a while. It was January 1, 2019 when I wondered who amongst then Chief Justices of HCs, if elevated, could be our 51st CJI. January 18, 2019 – we finally received an answer. CJI No. 51 would be Hon’ble Justice Sanjiv Khanna who wasn’t ever a Chief Justice of […]

Justice Ranjan Gogoi’s Justice

Dibrugarh offered a simple, uncomplicated lifestyle and we grew up in a milieu with a consistent feel-good ambience. My greatest satisfaction as a Lawyer was, help I could render to my Father outside Court when he had faced a disqualification under Tenth Schedule in 1994. P.K. Goswami, Senior Advocate, represented my Father. Amitava Roy [Retired […]

Witness Protection

Mrinal Das v. State of Tripura, (2011) 9 SCC 479 observed, credible evidence even of a hostile witness can form basis for conviction in a criminal trial. It is a harsh reality, particularly, in those cases where accused persons/criminals are tried for heinous offences, or where accused persons are influential persons or in a dominating […]

The Revival of Ray LXXVI

After Narayan Govind Gavate v. State of Maharashtra, (1977) 1 SCC 133 a ‘discordant note’ came to be struck in Pista Devi, (1986) 4 SCC 251. Chameli Singh, (1996) 2 SCC 549 proceeded to consider decisions in Gavate, Pista Devi and Rajasthan Housing Board, (1993) 2 SCC 84. Chameli Singh was not noticed in Om […]

Preventive Detention Statute II / The Revival of Ray LXXIV

Sarabjeet Singh Mokha is said to have procured fake Remdesivir injections which were administered to patients during COVID-19 pandemic to make illegal profits. Article 22 of the Constitution provides specific protections to undertrials and detainees in India. The communication of grounds is in aid of facilitating right of detenu to submit a representation against ‘order […]

The Nature of Judicial Power: Pegasus

“If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.” - George Orwell, 1984. Orwellian concern. September, 2018 – Citizen Lab released software capabilities of a ‘spyware suite’ called Pegasus, produced by NSO Group. Historically, privacy rights have been ‘property centric’ rather than ‘people centric’. In 1604, in Semayne’s case, 77 […]

Blood of Human Origin III

Two-Judges in Kansa Behra v. State of Orissa, (1987) 3 SCC 480 observed, “few small blood-stains on clothes of a person may even be of his own blood.” Do remember one Raghav, who had earlier been convicted of murdering his First Wife and Son, based on circumstantial evidence. Dead bodies were/are still missing. Relevant Serologist […]

Matters of Education II

Soutrik was successful in JEE 2020 (Mains) and was qualified and eligible to appear in JEE (Advanced), 2020. He scored Rank 4015. He secured admission in Chemical Engineering at IIT Kharagpur. Soutrik had also been offered B.S. (Mathematics) in IIT Bombay through a separate admission process based on his performance in Mathematics Olympiad. IIT alleges, […]

Judgment

‘Judgment’ means a judicial opinion which tells the story of the case; what the case is about; how the Court is resolving the case and why. ‘Judgment’ should be coherent, systematic and logically organized. It should enable the reader to trace the fact to a logical conclusion on the basis of legal principles. Many times […]

Blood of Human Origin II

Majority of a Constitution Bench in Raghav Prapanna Tripathi v. State Of Uttar Pradesh, AIR 1963 SC 74 held, it would be far-fetched to conclude from mere presence of blood-stained earth that that earth was stained with human blood and that human blood was of victims. Also see, Two-Judge Benches in Kansa Behera v. State […]

Veil of Protest

13 March, 2015 – Members of Legislative Assembly, belonging to Party in Opposition, climbed over to Speaker’s dais and damaged furniture and articles, causing a loss of Rs. 2,20,093/-. _____ A copy of the video recording of the incident was procured from the Electronic Control Room of the Legislative Assembly. The first question to be […]

Retrospective Validating Statute

A competent Legislature can always validate a law which has been declared by Courts to be invalid, provided the infirmities and vitiating factors noticed in the declaratory Judgment are removed or cured. Such a validating law can also be made retrospective. All that Legislature does is to usher in a valid law with retrospective effect […]

Dialogic Jurisdiction II

COVID-19 engulfed this country in March, 2020 and continues till date changing its face from time to time. Different mutations in the virus have made it dangerous and fatal at times. To provide food security to impoverished persons is the bounden duty of all States and Governments. Those migrant workers who possess a ration card […]

Discretion in Absolute Confiscation of Prohibited Goods

A clear distinction is made between ‘prohibited goods’ and ‘other goods’. As has rightly been pointed out, the latter part of Section 125 of The Customs Act, 1962 obligates release of confiscated goods (i.e., other than ‘prohibited goods’) against redemption fine. But, the earlier part of this provision makes no such compulsion as regards ‘prohibited […]

Dialogic Jurisdiction I

Policy-making continues to be in sole domain of Executive. Judiciary does not possess authority or competence to assume the role of Executive, which is democratically accountable for its actions and has access to resources which are instrumental to policy formulation. However, this ‘separation of powers’ does not result in Courts lacking jurisdiction in conducting a […]

Precedential Certainty / The Revival of Ray LXVI

Time fleets, generations grow, society changes, values and needs also change by time. There can be no denial, law should change with changing time and changing needs of society. Famous words of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. in Towne v. Eisner, 245 US 425 (1918): “Word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged; it is […]

Permissible School Fees

Constitution Bench in T.M.A. Pai Foundation, (2002) 8 SCC 481 has expounded, private unaided school management must have absolute autonomy to determine school fees. The consistent view has been restated and enunciated by Constitution Bench in Modern Dental College and Research Centre, (2016) 7 SCC 353 in Paragraph 75. Though fee can be fixed by […]

Examination of Disasters

25.03.2020 – The Disaster Management Act, 2005 was invoked in India, for the first time, to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic that was then in its initial stages of spreading. LOCKDOWNS varied in scope and nature, depending on the situation on the ground. Disasters are testing times for institutions and individuals, processes and procedures, and policies […]

The Last Word

A Diversion for Lawyers and Others

Primacy of Views