As Soon As Possible / The Revival of Ray XCVII

A treasure trove of questions, hidden in seemingly innocuous and plain language used in Article 200, has opened up. The question of whether Governor is bound to act on aid and advice of Council of Ministers in all circumstances, fell for consideration of this Court in Samsher Singh v. State of Punjab, (1974) 2 SCC 831. It is […]

Tareekh pe Tareekh

“We have received only adjournments from this Court, but we have never received justice.” Who are those in District Judiciary, especially responsible for delays? None of us would be able to answer comprehensively. Should we call it The Commodore Lokesh Batra Situation? Commodore Lokesh Batra had requested for information from Registry of Supreme Court in […]

Section 31(7) of The Arbitration Act XI

Court has, on multiple occasions, noted, a contractual clause which bars payment of interest is interpreted differently under 1940 Act and 1996 Act. In fact, while deciding cases under 1996 Act, Court has been slow to rely on principles laid down under 1940 Act, considering legislative incorporation of Arbitrator’s power to grant interest through Section […]

Costs Jurisprudence III: Interest Rates

Courts have authority to determine appropriate interest rate, considering totality of facts and circumstances in accordance with law. That apart, Courts have discretion to decide whether interest is payable from date of institution of suit, a period prior to that, or from date of decree, depending on specific facts of each case. Court must ensure, […]

Hon’ble Justice Abhay S. Oka’s Beautiful Mind

“Those who are blood thirsty, listen to us. If a fight for our rights is met with injustice, we will meet that injustice with love. If drops flowing from a candle are like a flame, we will use it to light up all paths if bodies of our loved ones are a threat to your […]

Ghosts in Higher Educational Institutions

Ayush Ashna was found dead on 08.07.2023 in his Hostel Room in Udaigiri Hostel, IIT, New Delhi. Anil Kumar was found dead on 01.09.2023 in his Hostel Room No. in Vindhyanchal Hostel, IIT Delhi. Police closed the matter saying, Ayush and Anil were unable to cope with pressure of their respective studies and in such […]

Custodial Interrogation Evidence

Driver of Kashmir University-Ghulam Nabi Dar alleged, on 06.04.1990 at about 04.20 PM, Vice Chancellor-Dr. Mushir-ul-Haq and Personal Secretary-Abdul Gani Zargar were kidnapped by armed terrorists outside Sadarbal Gate. Subsequently, dead bodies of Dr. Mushir-ul- Haq and Abdul Gani Zargar were recovered on 10.04.1990. Investigation revealed, Hilal Beg, Chief Commander of Jammu & Kashmir Students […]

Deep and Pervasive Control

Indian Council of Social Science Research is under total financial and administrative control of Ministry of Education, Government of India. Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development is under grant-in-aid of ICSSR. But, this itself cannot be called a ‘deep and pervasive control’. A ‘deep and pervasive control’ would require much more than just […]

Arbitration in Bogotá, Court in Gujarat

Disortho and Meril executed an Agreement for distribution of medical products in Colombia. Clause 16.5, clear and unambiguous, explicitly states, entire Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with laws of India and all matters arising from Agreement shall fall under jurisdiction of Courts in Gujarat. Given this, it is reasonable to assume, […]

The Real Apprehension in Transferring Cases III

A transfer of cases under Section 406, Cr.P.C. may be allowed when there is a reasonable apprehension backed by evidence, justice may not be done. A mere convenience or inconvenience of parties may not by itself be sufficient enough to pray for a transfer. Some broad factors which could be kept in mind are, i) […]

Stigma

A ‘stigma’ is indicative of a blemish, disgrace indicating a deviation from a norm. Where there is a discharge from service after prescribed probation period was completed and discharge was not based solely on assessment of employee’s work and conduct during probation, termination was held to be ‘stigmatic’ and punitive [Jaswantsingh Pratapsingh Jadeja v. Rajkot […]

Moral Turpitude IV

Section 4(6)(b)(ii) of The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 enables ‘forfeiture of gratuity’, wholly or partially, if delinquent employee is terminated for any act which constitutes an offence involving ‘moral turpitude’, if offence is committed in course of his employment. The provision of ‘forfeiture of gratuity’ does not speak of a conviction in a criminal proceeding. […]

Whispers in the Shadows

MA Ganapathy retired as Director General of National Security Guard in 2024. He has written 112 pages, carrying 12 stories! As said, these stories are intended to convey some kind of wonderment and escape from vicissitudes of a humdrum existence, while hinting towards real possibility of life beyond life as we know it. An excerpt. […]

Compassionate Appointment VII

The idea of compassionate appointment is not to provide for endless compassion [I.G. (Karmik) v. Prahalad Mani Tripathi, (2007) 6 SCC 162]. Any appointment without considering financial condition of the family of a deceased is legally impermissible [Union of India v. Amrita Sinha, (2021) 20 SCC 695]. The right to apply cannot be exercised at […]

Spirit of the Law

Justice S.R. Das pertinently observed in Rananjaya Singh v. Baijnath Singh, (1954) 2 SCC 314, “The spirit of the law may well be an elusive and unsafe guide and the supposed spirit can certainly not be given effect to in opposition to the plain language of the Sections of the Act.” In other words, the […]

Review of Death Penalty XLIII

“We may reiterate, therefore, the certificate required under Section 65B(4) is a condition precedent to admissibility of evidence by way of electronic record, as correctly held in Anvar P.V. v. P.K. Basheer, (2014) 10 SCC 473.” Arjun Panditrao Khotkar v. Kailash Kushanrao Gorantyal, (2020) 3 SCC 216 referred and Three-Judge Bench in Arjun Panditrao Khotkar […]

Gravediggers at Chhindwada

It is said, death is a great leveller. A solemn truth. There is no material produced to show, Chhindwada Gram Panchayat has in any manner prescribed, the burial ground at Karkapal to be the burial ground for Christians from Chhindwada. Furthermore, no material has been produced to support, the graveyard in Chhindwada has been designated […]

The Plea of Limitation XIX: Delays of Adjacent Slums

A limitation provision in stamp law (to seek refund of stamp duty) should not be enforced so as to oust remedy when an applicant is otherwise not blameworthy [Bano Saiyed Parwaz v. Chief Controlling Revenue Authority & Inspector General of Registration & Controller of Stamps, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 979]. We find, Rs. 27,34,500/- had […]

R.P.G.

While RPG Industrial Products Pvt. Ltd. deals in polyester wool, RPG Enterprises Limited does cover clothing, footwear, and headgear too. Since ‘RPG‘ has already been declared as a well-known mark, it is entitled to protection not only against identical or similar goods, but also against dissimilar goods. Full Bench of Calcutta High Court in Sony […]

Restitution of Conjugal Rights

Will a Husband, who secures a decree for restitution of conjugal rights, stand absolved of paying maintenance to his Wife if his Wife refuses to return to her matrimonial home? After having secured said restitution decree, Dinesh did nothing! He neither sought execution under Order XXI, Rule 32 CPC nor did he seek a divorce […]

The Last Word

A Diversion for Lawyers and Others