223 Kilograms of Poppy Straw

Sahi Ram was driving a Tavera, RJ27-TC-0323. The vehicle was searched, during which 7 bags of poppy straw, the gross weight being 223 kilograms, were found behind the driver’s seat. Sahi Ram was convicted for offence punishable under Section 8 r/w Section 15 of The NDPS Act; sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 15 years […]

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Ex Turpi Causa Non Oritur Actio

Kedar Nath Motani, (1960) 1 SCR 861 had an occasion to consider the question of application of the maxims ‘ex turpi causa non oritur actio‘ and ‘ex dolo malo non oritur actio‘. Three-­Judge Bench, speaking through M. Hidayatullah, J (as His Lordship then was), observed thus: “The correct position in law, in our opinion, is, […]

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Appointment of Justice

“I am glad, Arghya Sengupta and Ritwika Sharma have decided to publish a book dealing with appointment of Judges to Supreme Court of India. From time immemorial, mankind desired to have wise and humane Judges with the wisdom to discriminate between truth and falsehood. The legends of King Solomon and Dharmaraja and the like are […]

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The Revival of Ray XXX

“It is settled law that the fundamental right under Article 30 cannot be waived. The historical reasons for enacting Article 30(1) have been set out in some detail in the Judgment of Shelat, J. and Grover, J. in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973) 4 SCC 225. This was further fleshed out in the […]

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Judges and Astrology III

Mysteries all around! Here is a mnemonic: “Great Britain resident, Mr. Noble Boris, likes ketchup, chips; black raspberry, kraft singles. Not so greedy, Mr. Boris, swims, jogs. Good relaxation settles reactive minds. Kindly greet/kiss/bless because Mr. Boris rationalizes respect.” 1 2 3 Here you Go! “Great Britain Resident, Mr. Noble Boris, Likes Ketchup, Chips; Black […]

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Cheque Bounce Acquittal

The legal heirs of someone deceased, convicted under Section 138, are neither liable to pay the fine or undergo imprisonment. However, they have a right to challenge the conviction of their predecessor. Trial Court had acquitted the (now) deceased on basis of an opinion of a handwriting expert. High Court considered, the opinion was inconclusive. […]

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The Revival of Ray XXIX

“Reliance is placed on Sri Nasiruddin, (1975) 2 SCC 671. Muhammed Ashraf, AIR 2009 KER 14 took support from the dictum in Holmes v. Bradfield Rural District Council, 1949 (1) All ER 381 and also in Sri Nasiruddin, (1975) 2 SCC 671 wherein this Court adopted ‘just, reasonable and sensible’ interpretation.”  – Hon’ble Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, The Authorised […]

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Purity of Character I

Shivrang Yadavrao Waghmare was appointed as a Judicial Magistrate on 01.03.1985. He was dismissed from service on 15.01.2004. The allegation was, Justice Waghmare had a ‘proximate relationship’ with a Lawyer and thus, decided favorably in favor of the Lawyer’s clients, including the Lawyer’s family when they were parties to certain proceedings. This is ‘gratification’ of […]

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The Revival of Ray XXVIII

“The sheet anchor is the Constitution Bench Judgment in P. Vajravelu Mudaliar, (1965) 1 SCR 614 and Nagpur Improvement Trust, (1973) 1 SCC 500. In Nagpur Improvement Trust a Seven-Judge Bench of this Court examined the matter in some detail, and followed P. Vajravelu Mudaliar together with another Judgment, Balammal, (1969) 1 SCR 90. Both, […]

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The Perfect Murder

The incident occurred on 01.05.1997. Additional Sessions Judge, Ambala adjudicated with finality on 09.06.1998. High Court of Punjab and Haryana adjudicated with finality on 05.03.2008. It wasn’t ever final. Smt. Gargi [Wife] was charged with the imputation that she killed Tirloki Nath [Husband] by strangulation and hung the dead body, as if it were a […]

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The Revival of Ray XXVI

Anant Mills Co. Ltd. v. State of Gujarat and Others, (1975) 2 SCC 175 considered challenge to validity of Section 406, The Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949. The principles laid down in Anant Mills Co. Ltd. and in Seth Nand Lal, 1980 (Supp) SCC 574 have consistently been followed, for instance in (i) Vijay […]

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Economic Adventures of Statutory Bodies

Hon’ble Judges R.F. Nariman and Indu Malhotra, on 13.07.2018, questioned the view of Hon’ble Judges D.M. Dharmadhikari and B.N. Srikrishna, as declared on 14.01.2005 [HUDA v. Sunita, (2005) 2 SCC 479]. The question was right. _____ It is established that a beneficial or remedial legislation needs ‘fair and liberal interpretation’ [Om Prakash, (2017) 9 SCC 724]. The definition of […]

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Civil Code in Goa

“The territories forming part of Goa, Daman and Diu were part of the kingdom of Portugal. They were annexed by the Government of India by conquest on 20.12.1961 and became a part of India by virtue of Article 1(3)(c) of the Constitution. The President of India, exercising powers vested in him under Article 123(1) of […]

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Fraud v. Misrepresentation

“A perusal of the definition of the word ‘fraud’, as defined in Section 17 of The Indian Contract Act, 1872 would reveal that the concept of fraud is very wide. It includes any suggestion, as a fact, of that which is not true, by a person who does or does not believe it to be […]

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Albert, Albert Einstein

A. “Albert Einstein spoke of change when he said, ‘world as we have created is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking’.” – Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, Hon’ble Justice T.S. Thakur, Board of Control for Cricket v. Cricket Association of Bihar, (2016) 8 SCC 535. B. “We would like […]

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The Doctrine of Separation of Powers I

“The most significant impact of Doctrine of Separation of Powers is seen and felt in terms of institutional independence of Judiciary from other Organs of State. Judiciary, in terms of personnel, the Judges, is independent. Constitutional Bench Judgments have uniformly ruled, Doctrine of Separation of Powers, though not specifically engrafted, forms part of the Basic […]

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The Nature of Judicial Power: Hon’ble Justice R. Banumathi

King-Emperor v. Khwaja Nazir Ahmad, AIR 1945 PC 18 has been quoted with approval, several times. The functions of Judiciary and Police are ‘complementary’ and not ‘overlapping’. They must be left to exercise their own function, subject to exceptions. Investigation into crimes is the prerogative of Police and excepting in ‘rare cases’, Judiciary must keep […]

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