Section 195 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 II

“At this stage, it is important to understand the difference between the offences mentioned in Section 195(1)(b)(i) and Section 195(1)(b)(ii). Where the facts mentioned in a complaint attracts the provisions of Section 191 to 193 of the IPC, Section 195(1)(b)(i) applies. What is important is that once these sections of the IPC are attracted, the […]

Referred to Larger Bench XIV Answered Again: Mohan Lal

“Mohan Lal observed, in a case where the informant and the investigator is the same, trial is vitiated and accused is entitled to acquittal. Varinder Kumar held, decision in Mohan Lal shall be applicable prospectively. The NDPS Act does not specifically bar an informant/complainant to be an investigator. Therefore, as such, there is no reason […]

Contempt Jurisdiction VI / Childish Magnanimity

Pusan raised questions and submitted letters about Busan’s company and his other employees, present and former. Busan was obviously upset. Busan: Pusan, apologize. That’s it. Pusan: No; neither my questions nor my submissions are incorrect. I will happily undergo punishment. Pusan’s Senior Colleague: Pusan has been under your employment for years now. Sir Busan, be […]

Section 100 of The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908

“The existence of a ‘substantial question of law’ is the sine qua non for the exercise of jurisdiction under Section 100. The principles for deciding when a ‘question of law’ becomes a ‘substantial question of law’, have been enunciated by a Constitution Bench of this Court in Sir Chunilal V. Mehta & Sons Ltd. v. […]

Life of Numbers

“We cannot obviously feed into a judicial computer all such… astrological imponderables in an imperfect and undulating society.” – Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab, (1982) 3 SCC 24. _____ Rule 55A of The Motor Vehicles Rules, 1994, framed and published by Madhya Pradesh, prescribes ₹ 10,000/- for reservation of a large series of registration […]

Act of Transformation

Most jurists draw distinction between ‘direct application’ of treaties in domestic law, and national legal systems that mandate and require ‘act of transformation’ for an international treaty to apply and be a part of domestic law; ‘direct application’ means and mandates that the treaty norms, either wholly or to some extent, are directly treated as […]

Aggrieved Person I / The Revival of Ray LI

“In A. Subash Babu v. State of A.P., (2011) 7 SCC 616 this Court held, “The expression ‘aggrieved person’ denotes an elastic and an elusive concept… Its scope and meaning depends on diverse, variable factors such as the content and intent of the statute of which contravention is alleged, the specific circumstances of the case…” […]

Arbitrability of Fraud

“It is clear, ‘serious allegations of fraud’ arise only if either of the two tests laid down are satisfied, and not otherwise. The first test is satisfied only when it can be said, the Arbitration Clause or agreement itself cannot be said to exist in a clear case in which Court finds, the party against […]

The Importance of Being Earnest III

“The matter relates to the unnatural death of Actor, Sushant Singh Rajput on 14.6.2020. He was in a live-in relationship with Rhea. But, on 8.6.2020, Rhea shifted to her own residence… The legal process must be focused upon revelation of the correct facts through credible and legally acceptable investigation. It must be determined whether the […]

Contempt Jurisdiction V / The Revival of Ray L

Justice Krishna Iyer, in his inimitable style, has observed, a wise economy of use of the contempt power by the Court is the first rule. The Court should act with seriousness and severity, where justice is jeopardized by a gross and/or unfounded attack on the Judges, where the attack is calculated to obstruct or destroy […]

Section 4 of The Arbitration Act II

Konkan Railway Corporation v. Rani Construction (P) Ltd., (2002) 2 SCC 388 held, Section 16 empowers the Arbitral Tribunal to rule on its own jurisdiction; the Arbitral Tribunal’s authority under Section 16 is not confined to the width of its jurisdiction, but goes to the very root of its jurisdiction. Konkan Railway was decided on […]

The Coparcenary Concept

“The basic concept of coparcenary is based upon common ownership by coparceners. When it remains undivided, share of coparcener is not certain. Nobody can claim with precision, extent of his right in undivided property. Coparcener cannot claim any precise share as interest in coparcenary is fluctuating. It increases and diminishes by death and birth in […]

The Revival of Ray XLIX

When it comes to the penalty of blacklisting, the classic formulation of principles in regard to blacklisting have been laid down in Erusian Equipment & Chemicals Ltd. v. State of West Bengal, (1975) 1 SCC 70. “Equality of opportunity should apply to matters of public contracts. An ordinary individual can choose not to deal with […]

Order 7, Rule 10-A of The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908

“The parties clearly indicated, it was only a Court at Delhi which shall have exclusive jurisdiction with regard to any dispute and no other Court would have jurisdiction over the same. In that view of the matter, the presentation of the plaint at Gurgaon was certainly not before a Court having jurisdiction in the matter. […]

No Reservations, Lebanon

A. “West German Consul said, he had received information that, similar charges had been made against Hans Muller in Lebanon and in Egypt.” – Hans Muller of Nurenburg v. Superintendent, Presidency Jail, Calcutta, AIR 1955 SC 367. B. “On 15-9-1963, he left Delhi for Beirut under the name Donze Jean Claude, a French national. It […]

The Nature of Judicial Power: Short Tenure of Supreme Court Judges

The importance of statistical data, in interpreting careers, is often highlighted. It hides as much as it reveals. It’s not without reason Wilfred Rhodes had a Test career which lasted more than 30 years! We aren’t discussing sports, though. Hon’ble Justice P.N. Bhagwati still holds the record for the longest tenure [4905 days; DoA, 17.07.1973 […]

The Whiff of Money

In Hindi-movies, there are quite a few library-scenes and scenes of a character reading. One may consider, When Eight Bells Toll (Alistair MacLean) in Aradhana (1969, dir. Shakti Samanta); You’ll Never Eat Lunch In This Town Again (Julia Phillips) in Khel (1992, dir. Rakesh Roshan); The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield) in Dil To Pagal Hai […]

Section 141, The NI Act I

“S.M.S. Pharmaceuticals Ltd. v. Neeta Bhalla, (2005) 8 SCC 89 had occasion to consider the requirements of Section 141. “What is required is that the persons who are sought to be made criminally liable under Section 141 should be at the time the offence was committed, in charge of and responsible to the company for […]

The Doctrine of Contemporanea Expositio II

“Doctrine of Contemporanea Expositio is applied as a guide to the interpretation of a statute or even document by referring to the exposition that the same had received from competent authority at the relevant point of time. An exposition standing for a long length of time is considered to be a law settled and is […]

The Tenth Schedule

E.P. Royappa, (1974) 4 SCC 3 is clear, the burden of establishing mala fides is very heavily on the person who alleges it. Courts should not uphold a plea of mala fides on the basis of mere probabilities. _____ It is said, a Judge must not alter the material of which the Act is woven, […]

The Last Word

A Diversion for Lawyers and Others