“After all the 11 Judgments of the Court were orally pronounced on April 24, 1973 CJ Sikri produced and read out in Court a paper which was called “The View by the Majority” and passed it on for signatures of all 13 Judges on the Bench. 4 Judges, Justices Ray, Mathew, Dwivedi and Beg would […]
Read more "The Kesavananda Bench II: The Chandrachud Angle"Armed with 35 years of hindsight, Justice Bhagwati, in 2011, expressed regret for his 1976 Judgment upholding Prevention Detention during the Emergency. Justice Chandrachud did so in 1978 in case his chances of being CJI were blighted. Were these declarations simply a flourish to catch the public eye? Do Judges even concede they are wrong? […]
Read more "Contemptuous Katju"Retired Hon’ble Chief Justice of India A.N. Ray, though expected to be President, one day, once said, as evidenced by George H. Gadbois, Jr, “An Indian Chief Justice, like the Lord Chief Justice, in England, should not take up any post-retirement positions.” Taking up a post-retirement position is one thing; soliciting one is quite another. […]
Read more "Chamber Practices of Former Supreme Court Judges"[The following was first published here] It is murder, if the intentional infliction of bodily injury is sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. In February 2011, a day before her engagement ceremony, 23-year-old Soumya was injured, raped and robbed. She died a few days later, in a hospital, having never regained […]
Read more "The Exquisite Corpse of Soumya II: Law and Other Things, 05.10.2016"“It hardly needs elaboration that a distinguishing feature of any democracy is the space offered for legitimate dissent. One cherished and valuable aspect of political life in India is a tradition to express grievances through direct action or peaceful protest. Organized, non-violent protest marches were a key weapon in the struggle for Independence, and the […]
Read more "Compensatory Jurisprudence of Constitutional Courts V: Peaceful Protests of Kashmir"Enviro Legal Action v. Union of India, (2011) 8 SCC 161 elaborated scope of Article 137. Kamlesh Verma v. Mayawati, (2013) 8 SCC 320 further held as under: (A) Review Maintainability: Discovery of new and important matter or evidence which, after the exercise of due diligence, was not within knowledge or could not be produced; […]
Read more "The Nature of Judicial Power: Powers of Review of Supreme Court I"Bl. Titus Brandsma courageously resisted Nazi ideology and died at Dachau in 1942. The Titus Brandsma Award recognizes a journalist who has made a major contribution to the struggle for human rights. Anto Akkara was conferred the Award in 2013 for having exposed the brutal persecution of Christians in India. In its Award Citation, The […]
Read more "Compensatory Jurisprudence of Constitutional Courts IV: Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati"My Lord, Why is Supreme Court not a Constitutional Court? Relying upon Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Mr. Venugopal established, Supreme Court had strayed from its original character as a Constitutional Court and gradually converted itself into a mere Court of Appeal to correct every error it found in decisions of 24 High Courts and […]
Read more "Referred to Larger Bench X: Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy"“Under Section 24A of The Advocates Act, 1961 a person convicted of even a most heinous offence is eligible to be enrolled as an Advocate after expiry of 2 years from expiry of his sentence. This aspect needs urgent attention of all concerned. Apart from the above, we do not find any reason to hold, […]
Read more "Section 24A of The Advocates Act, 1961"“On February 1, 2011 when Himgiri Express left Shahjahanpur Railway Station with hundreds of men on roof top and headed towards Rosa town, an accident took place at Hathaurda Railway Over Bridge near Mohammadabad. The Railway Over Bridge was not tall enough and the gap between the roof of the coach and the bottom of […]
Read more "Compensatory Jurisprudence of Constitutional Courts III: Himgiri Express"Dr. Rini Johar v. State of M.P. [Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 30 of 2015] has brought back memories of Rudul v. State of Bihar, (1983) 4 SCC 141 that heralded a new era of compensatory jurisprudence in Indian legal history. Rini and Gulshan Johar were arrested in 2012 without following the procedure of arrest. SC held, […]
Read more "Compensatory Jurisprudence of Constitutional Courts II: Rini Johar"Any attempt at interpretation of a long line of cases proves to be tiresome. Modern Dental College and Research Centre v. State of Madhya Pradesh, [Civil Appeal No. 4060 of 2009], delivered on 02.05.2016, provides a brave summary. Accept it with abundant caution. 5 Judges have no jurisdiction to interpret 7 or 11 erstwhile Lords. The […]
Read more "Look, T.M.A. Pai Again"The Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials is not legally binding for Member States, but rather seeks to further clarify aspects of the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and provide guidelines it encourages States to adopt and implement. __________ On 15.06.2004, vide C.R. No. 8/2004 of […]
Read more "The Fake Encounters: Ahmedabad, 15.06.2004"There is a need to build confidence to help road accident victims. Good Samaritans fear of legal consequences, involvement in litigation and repeated visits to Police Station. There is a need to provide certain incentives to Good Samaritans. There is also a dire need to enact a Good Samaritan Law. Ministry of Road Transport and […]
Read more "A Good Samaritan Law"“New York Times, in the Editorial, ‘The Frankfurter Legacy’, on September 2, 1962, while stating about the greatness of Felix Frankfurter, chose the following expression:- “History will find greatness in Felix Frankfurter as a justice, not because of the results he reached but because of his attitude toward the process of decision. His guiding lights […]
Read more "Epistolary Jurisdiction of Constitutional Courts"History will not forget Hon’ble Justice Pratibha Rani at the crossroad of Kanhaiya Kumar v. State of NCT of Delhi, Writ Petition (Crl.) 558 of 2016. “While dealing with the Bail Application of the Petitioner it has to be kept in mind, by all concerned, they are enjoying this freedom only because our borders are […]
Read more "The Country Without a Post Office"SC in Justice Mohapatra, (2002) 8 SCC 1 had “accorded primacy to the opinion of the Hon’ble Chief Justice in the consultative process for appointment of Lokayukta”. We have been reminded so in Sachchidanand Gupta v. State of Uttar Pradesh, [Writ Petition (Civil) No. 872 of 2015], decided on 28.01.2016. Justice Lokur in Justice Chandrashekaraiah, […]
Read more "Primacy of Views II: Justice Mohapatra, (2002) 8 SCC 1"“In Monnet Ispat v. Union of India, (2012) 11 SCC 1 this Court while enumerating principles relating to Doctrine of Promissory Estoppel and Legitimate Expectation has clearly held, protection of legitimate expectation does not require fulfillment of expectation where an overriding public interest requires otherwise. In other words, personal benefit must give way to public […]
Read more "The Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation II"My Lord, What is the difference between a ‘witness of facts’ and an ‘expert’? “Facts are facts and they remain and have to remain as such forever. The witness of facts does not give his opinion on facts; he presents the facts as such. However, the expert gives an opinion on what he has tested […]
Read more "Experts I: The Supreme Court of Pakistan"“Ecclesiastical Jurisprudence in India revolves around exposition of Constitutional Guarantees under Articles 25 and 26 as made from time to time. The development of this branch of jurisprudence primarily arises out of claimed rights of religious groups and denominations to complete autonomy and prerogative of exclusive determination of essential religious practices. A decision on such […]
Read more "Indian Ecclesiastical Jurisprudence"
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