A Legally Enforceable Debt I

A person is deemed to have committed an offence, within the meaning of Section 138 of The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 when any cheque drawn by him, on an account maintained by him with a banker, for payment of any amount of money to another person, in whole or partial discharge of a legally enforceable […]

Section 26 of The Competition Act

Section 26 of The Competition Act, 2002 (“Act”) prescribes the “procedure for inquiry of complaints under Section 19”. If Competition Commission of India (“CCI”), on receipt of information received under Section 19, is of the opinion that there exists a prima facie case, it must direct the Director General (“DG”) to investigate. The DG, on receipt […]

The Evolution of Thika Tenancy

In Calcutta and its suburb Howrah, there have existed for many years precarious tenancies popularly known as Thika Tenancies. Under such Tenancy, vacant land was leased by the Landlord to a Tenant with liberty to erect structures thereupon of a temporary nature, which were referred to as “Kutcha Structures”. The structures would be owned by […]

The Proverbial Chickens of Destiny

The omission to cite an authority of law is not a ground for review. It is Counsel’s error to have not brought to notice of Court, relevant precedents. Citing of authority, therefore, often offers problems to the Bar. There is sometimes the question of how many cases to cite. “Especially since, we have not yet […]

The Rare Case Where Section 42 of the Arbitration Act Fails

In the year 2000, the State of Maharashtra awarded a contract for some construction work to Atlanta Limited. Disputes borne out of the contract were to be decided through Arbitration. Recourse to a Court against an Arbitral Award may be made only by an application for setting aside such Award in accordance with Sub-Section (2) […]

The Foresight of Hon’ble Justice Lodha

Dashrath Bench cleverly interpreted the Harman Approach and its effect on the Bhaskaran Ratio. It was fairly concluded by SC, the “offence in contemplation of Section 138 of The NI Act was the dishonor of the cheque alone”; and that so far as the commission of the offence itself is concerned the proviso had no role to […]

Dashrath Rupsingh Rathod, (2014) 9 SCC 129

The chain of five events: i) the drawal of the cheque, ii) the presentation of the cheque, iii) the returning of the cheque as unpaid, iv) the giving of notice and v) the failure to make the payment within 15 days of receiving the notice – complete the commission of the offence, described under Section […]

Hon’ble Justice N.V. Ramana

‘Eligibility’ is based on objective facts. ‘Suitability’ pertains to the realm of an opinion. The appointment of a High Court Judge may only be judicially scrutinized on the ground of ‘eligibility’ or ‘lack of effective consultation’. Judicial review, in this regard, does not lie on the assessment of the ‘suitability’ of the recommendee. Hon’ble Supreme […]

Boris and Barbara

In 1993, when admittedly Boris Becker was not entirely focused on Tennis, a German Magazine, STERN, published an article with a picture of Boris Becker posing nude with his dark-skinned fiancée. Sports World and Anandabazar Patrika, in India, reproduced the article and the photograph. Someone in the capacity of an “experienced Advocate and an elderly person” stood his ground on […]

Hon’ble Justice J. Chelameswar on Election Petitions I

In view of Section 83(1)(c) of The Representation of the People Act, 1951 in the event of an election petitioner alleging corrupt practices – not only should his petition be verified in the manner laid down in The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 but should also be accompanied by an affidavit, in the prescribed form, […]

Alienation of Affection II

Within the meaning of The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 it must be established at the very outset, the “aggrieved person”, the woman, shares a “domestic relationship”. Section 2(f), which defines a “domestic relationship”, includes within its ambit live-in relationships. Live-in relationships may very well be a “relationship in the nature of […]

The Poker Question

“Beside lovemaking, singing in the shower and poker, there are not many human activities where there is such a great difference between a person’s self delusional ability and actual ability.” I am not a professional poker player. I play the occasional hand and my winnings are by chance. If I have to describe the game […]

The Tandoor Murder

Love triangles in a marriage can cut both ways. The ‘woh‘ can be a man too. The incident of Naval Officer K.M. Nanavati gunning down his wife’s paramour, in the late ’50s, has not been forgotten. Truth be told, it is beyond doubt, a man and a woman are both equally likely to wander, and […]

Alienation of Affection I

In some states of United States of America, perhaps 7 in all, a wife can sue “the other woman” for her wrongful and malicious acts in an ‘alienation of affection’ tort action. Though not much jurisprudential thought has been afforded to such actions in India, Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Pinakin Mahipatray Rawal v. […]

The British Month and The NI Act

Public Policy and Foreign Arbitral Awards

In India, the true import of the phrase ‘public policy’ was, at first, put to question in relation to The Indian Contract Act, 1872. Section 23 reads as: “The consideration or object of an agreement is lawful, unless the Court regards it as immoral or opposed to public policy.” In 1959, in Gherulal Parakh v. Mahadeodas […]

Domiciles and The Hindu Marriage Act

A person may have no home but he cannot be without a domicile. In order to make the rule effective, law assigns a domicile of origin to every person at birth. This prevails until a new domicile has been acquired – the domicile of choice [Central Bank of India v. Ram Narain, AIR 1955 SC […]

Shri Pranab Mukherjee’s Election

Order XXXIX of The Supreme Court Rules, 1966 deals with Election Petitions under Part III of The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952. In Purno Agitok Sangma v. Pranab Mukherjee, (2013) 2 SCC 239 Petitioner questioned the Election of Respondent as President of India under Article 71 of the Constitution read with Order XXXIX of the […]

Impassionate Hon’ble Justice Aftab Alam

First Published Here “[4] Children were abducted and kept in a tunnel for over 5 months and anonymous calls were made for ransom.” Appellant was employed at the telephone booth of Nusrat Bano, Mother of 3 of those Children. He was removed from service for ‘bad conduct’. In retaliation, Appellant occasionally made an inebriated threat or […]

MSR Leathers v. S. Palaniappan, (2013) 1 SCC 177

Section 138 of The Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881 encapsulates the situation of dishonour of a cheque due to insufficiency of funds in the drawer’s account. Subsequent to the dishonour, Section 138 enjoins that the payee must give a notice to the drawer, in writing, demanding payment of money. More often than not, however, the drawer […]

The Last Word

A Diversion for Lawyers and Others

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