It is to be considered whether the word ‘shall’ used in Section 12 of The Disaster Management Act, 2005 is required to be interpreted and considered as ‘shall’ or ‘may’ and whether it is ‘mandatory’ or ‘directory/discretionary’. The word ‘shall’ is used twice. Cases are not wanting where the words ‘may’, ‘shall’ and ‘must’ are […]
Read more "May & Shall II"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 […]
Read more "Retrospective Validating Statute"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 […]
Read more "Dialogic Jurisdiction II"The first essential condition as incorporated in Section 364A is: “whoever kidnaps or abducts any person or keeps a person in detention after such kidnapping or abduction.” The second condition begins with conjunction ‘and’. The second condition has also two parts, i.e., (a) threatens to cause death or hurt to such person or (b) by […]
Read more "Section 364A, Indian Penal Code I"While we were still shooting for Batwara, I attended a dinner party hosted by the Maharani of Jaipur with a few other members of the cast. A few players from the West Indies Cricket Team were also on the guest list, including their Captain at that time, Vivian Richards. I have always been crazy about […]
Read more "Neena and Vivian"Devdutt Pattanaik, Marriage – 100 Stories, (Rupa, 2021) has stories on – I. Origin, II. Singledom, III. Wooing, IV. Fidelity, V. Multiplicity, VI. Children, VII. Property, VIII. Barriers, IX. Heartbreak and X. Coupledom. Agastya Finds a Source of Income Rishi Agastya had to repay his debt to Ancestors and so went to King of Vidarbha […]
Read more "Wooing and Marriage"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 […]
Read more "Discretion in Absolute Confiscation of Prohibited Goods"Although for me the idea of going to Pakistan was an exciting one it was not at all something out of the ordinary for the people in our neighborhood. It was a bright day in November when I set off to get my Passport and Visa from the Pakistan High Commission. I was accosted by […]
Read more "Framed Terrorist"Senior Advocate, Sanjoy Ghose argued for Captain Arvind Kumar Sharma, Captain K Sai Sashanka, Captain Jeetender Yadav, Captain Jitender Singh Randhawa, Captain Adish M. Chavan, Captain Reuben James, Captain B Sujimon, Captain Vishal V Chandorkar and Captain Vijay Kumar Dahiya before Hon’ble Justice Jyoti Singh of Hon’ble High Court of Delhi. The common thread was […]
Read more "Façade of ‘Commercial Decision’"“What’s in a name?“, said Juliet. It conveys, natural characteristics of an individual are more important than his/her artificial/acquired characteristics. A poetic statement as it certainly is, it does not go in tune with significance of a ‘name’ in marking identity of an individual in his/her societal transactions. An individual must be in complete control […]
Read more "Names in CBSE Certificates"Policy-making continues to be in sole domain of Executive. Judiciary does not possess authority or competence to assume 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 judicial […]
Read more "Dialogic Jurisdiction I"The theme of ‘gradual implementation’ of law or legal principles, was also spoken about in Javed v. State of Haryana, (2003) 8 SCC 369 which held, there is no constitutional imperative that a law or policy should be implemented all at once: “when the policies have far-reaching implications and are dynamic in nature, their implementation […]
Read more "Gradual Implementation"Iqbal Mohammed Memon alias Iqbal Mirchi was arrested in April 1995 and was discharged in September 1995 by Bow Street Magistrates’ Court [Magistrate Jeremy Connor]. The order was non-appealable. An extradition case dismissed before a proper trial shows an astonishing level of non-application of mind… Mirchi’s career, much like Dawood’s, started from tough and grimy […]
Read more "Extraditable Fugitives III"Danish Khan & Ruhi Khan, Escaped, (Penguin, 2021) is beautifully detailed. The number of facts cited must be appreciated. It doesn’t matter whether the story is on Vijay Mallya or successful extradition of Hansie Cronje times Sanjeev Chawla or forgotten excuses of Raymond Varley who brought Goa to disrepute. Each one will educate. Excerpt follows. […]
Read more "Extraditable Fugitives II"Gulu Ezekiel, Myth-Busting: Indian Cricket Behind The Headlines, (Rupa, 2021) is as fascinating to read as it must have been to research on and eventually write. “The whole idea is to bust long-held myths spread.” There are charming, structured anecdotes aplenty. Consider these: Farokh Engineer has been claiming, he was the First Indian Cricketer to […]
Read more "Kapil’s 175*"There is no bar on High Court’s power to reappreciate evidence against acquittal [Sangappa v. State of Karnataka, (2010) 3 SCC 686]. Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘exaggeration’ as “fact of making something larger, more important, better or worse than it really is.” Concise Oxford Dictionary defines it as “enlarged or altered beyond normal proportions.” These expressions […]
Read more "Exaggeration"Courts must be open, both in physical and metaphorical sense. Citizens have a right to know about what transpires in course of proceedings. Public scrutiny is crucial to maintaining transparency and accountability. Cases before Courts are vital sources of public information about activities of Legislature and Executive. Freedom of speech and expression extends to reporting […]
Read more "The Nature of Judicial Power: Constitutional Ethos II"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 […]
Read more "Precedential Certainty / The Revival of Ray LXVI"Repugnancy can be looked at from three distinct perspectives. The first is where provision of a State enactment is directly in conflict with a law enacted by Parliament. Compliance with one is impossible along with obedience to the other. The second is where regulation of subject matter by Parliament is so complete as a code, […]
Read more "Repugnancy I"Lord Hoffmann in Investors Compensation Scheme Limited v. West Bromwich Building Society, 1998 (1) AIR 98 summarized broad principles of interpretation of contract. “Interpretation is the ascertainment of the meaning which the document would convey to a reasonable person having all the background knowledge which would reasonably have been available to the parties in the […]
Read more "Well-Known Principles of Interpretation II"
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