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, Siddharth Luthra submitted that, […]

Nine Judge Benches / The Revival of Ray XXXVI

Nine Judge Bench decisions of Supreme Court possess a pattern. The last one was Justice K.S. Puttaswamy, (2017) 10 SCC 1. It had happened only once before in Indra Sawhney [1992 Supp (3) SCC 217] that, a CJI, despite being on a Nine Judge Bench, did not author a Judgment. It is of further interest, […]

The Nature of Judicial Power: An Ungodly Jumble

Hon’ble Chief Justice of India is as important as Hon’ble Prime Minister. 2010-2020 has witnessed 11 CJIs and 2 PMs. One wonders why 65 is the retirement age for a Supreme Court Judge. He cannot be presumed to be dysfunctional post-65, if at 69 one can be an effective PM. 2000-2010 had witnessed 9 CJIs; […]

The Game Changers

Vir Sanghvi, The Game Changers: Transforming India, (Westland, 2019) describes how Indians are taking over globally in areas that had traditionally been off-limits to us. It is not easy for everyone to express using few words. It is even more difficult to balance between praise and subtle criticism. Arnab Goswami and Karan Johar are Game […]

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 that the separation of 16 years since 2003 had made both the parties bitter and cynical about the relationship and there was no sign […]

Condonation of Delay VII: 916

“From a consideration of the view taken by this Court, through the decisions cited, the position is clear that, by and large, a liberal approach is to be taken in the matter of condonation of delay. The consideration would not depend on the status of the party so as to apply a different yardstick. The […]

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 […]

The Last Word

A Diversion for Lawyers and Others