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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Sports and Astrology

Greenstone Lobo, Howzzat?, (Readomania, 2019) is an interesting read. It is not enough to state, Mr. Lobo, over time, has predicted several times correctly. He has been writing a regular column on sports astrology, ‘Octozone’, in a popular Indian daily, DNA, since 2008. He has also been a columnist for Anandabazar Patrika, Times of India, Mumbai Mirror, Telegraph, Life Positive […]

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Hard Cases Make Bad Law

Hon’ble Justice L. Nageswara Rao in State of Tamil Nadu v. G. Hemalathaa, Civil Appeal No. 6669 of 2019 quoted Chief Justice John Roberts in Caperton v. A.T. Massey, 556 U.S. 868 (2009). “Extreme cases often test the bounds of established legal principles. There is a cost to yielding to the desire to correct the […]

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Prospective Resignation

“The circumstances under which an employee can withdraw the resignation tendered by him and what are the limitations to the exercise of such right, have been dealt by this Court in a number of decisions. It is well settled, normally, until the resignation becomes effective, it is open to an employee to withdraw his resignation. […]

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The Revival of Ray XXV

P.S. Malik, Additional District Judge [Dwarka, New Delhi], against whom disciplinary proceedings alleging sexual harassment is underway, filed a Writ Petition under Article 32. Supreme Court was quick to note, expression of opinion by Court on issues relevant and material in a disciplinary inquiry may cause prejudice. An important question was considered, nonetheless. The word […]

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Non-Communicated File Notings I

It is admitted, after a personal hearing took place on 30.07.2011, no decision was passed on objections submitted by land-owners, either allowing or disallowing their objections; nor was any communication sent to them. It is abundantly clear, in absence of an order being passed as contemplated by Section 20D of The Railways Act, 1989 no […]

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Non-Signatories to Arbitration II

Arbitration Agreements need not be a formal contract. Section 7(4)(b) states, an Arbitration Agreement can be derived from exchange of letters, telex, telegram or other means of communication, including through electronic means. What is required to be ascertained is, intention of parties to refer their disputes or differences to Arbitration. A common-sense approach must be […]

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