Sherlock, Sherlock Holmes

My Lord, Supreme Court Quotations of Sherlock Holmes? One. “After all, an ordinary purchaser is not gifted with the powers of observation of a Sherlock Holmes.” [Parle Products, (1972) 1 SCC 618] My Lord, High Court Quotations of Sherlock Holmes? Some. “It would not require the penetrating intelligence of a Sherlock Holmes to realize in […]

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Rebuttable Presumption I

The presumption under Section 139 is a rebuttable presumption; Section 139 is an example of a reverse onus and test of proportionality should guide construction and interpretation of reverse onus clauses on accused and accused cannot be expected to discharge an unduly high standard of proof; standard of proof for rebutting is of preponderance of […]

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The Revival of Ray XX

My Lord, Recent Events? Hon’ble Justice Ranjan Gogoi quoted a Judgment authored under Chief Justiceship of Hon’ble Justice A.N. Ray; Hon’ble Justice K.M. Joseph quoted a Judgment authored by Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, Hon’ble Justice A.N. Ray. _____ An issue has been raised by Learned Attorney General with regard to the manner in which […]

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Choice of School

In 2006, the marriage of the Appellant-Wife and the Respondent-Husband was solemnized. In 2009, Master Krishav Gautam was born. In 2012, Respondent-Husband filed for divorce. Trial Court directed, Master Krishav Gautam should be admitted in Col. Satsangi’s Kiran Memorial Public School, New Delhi. Learned Counsel submitted, Master Krishav Gautam is not willing to study in […]

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Then Mark, Denmark

“Something is rotten in the State of Denmark“, sensed Marcellus, said Shakespeare in Hamlet, and it can similarly be said, something is rotten in Allahabad High Court, said Hon’ble Judges Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra in Raja Khan v. U.P. Sunni Central Waqf Board, (2011) 1 SCC (LS) 359. The rot was, of course, […]

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Four Crore Apartment

“Araya Complex”, Sector 62, Golf Course Extension Road, Gurugram Respondent/Flat Purchaser – Apartment Buyer’s Agreement – Appellant/Builder. Appellant/Builder, Failed! Respondent/Flat Purchaser, NCDRC, Consumer Complaint. “Respondent – Flat Purchaser could not be compelled to take possession at such a belated stage. The inordinate delay in handing over possession of the flat clearly amounts to ‘deficiency of service’. A […]

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Back Wages II

“Learned Counsel relied upon Ranchhodji Chaturji Thakore, 1996 (11) SCC 603 and Jaipal Singh, 2004 (1) SCC 121 to contend, in case, criminal proceedings are initiated at behest of employer, and employee is acquitted, he would be entitled to claim full wages for the period he was kept out of duty during pendency of criminal […]

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Tort of Negligence

21 March 2006, 18:30 – 20:00 Satyendra Pratap Singh entered the swimming pool of Hotel Samudra, Kovalam. All of a sudden, Satyendra Pratap Singh became unconscious and sank into the pool. The victim was pulled out of the water and was taken to hospital. He died at 21:00 on the same day. ____ NCDRC has […]

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Malaria in Mozambique

“Court is tasked with determining whether a death due to malaria occasioned by a mosquito bite in Mozambique, constituted a death due to accident. Debashis Bhattacharjee was working as a Manager of a Tea Factory at Cha-De-Magoma, District: Gurue, Province: Zambezia, Republic of Mozambique. In order to constitute an accident, the event must be in […]

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The Revival of Ray XIX

“This Court has laid down the test as to how the Court should decide the question as to whether a particular item is a part of other. The test is  a thing is a part of the other if the other is incomplete without it. In other words, a thing is a part of the […]

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Ratio Decidendi I

My Lord, Hon’ble Justice A.P. Sen View, Paragraphs 86-87, Express Newspapers v. Union of India, (1986) 1 SCC 133 = Majority View? Yes. “We, consider it apposite to refer to The Guardians of The Poor of The West Derby Union v. The Guardians of The Poor of The Atcham, (1889) 24 QBD 117. The question […]

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Disappearance of Anik’s Ghost

FILM IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF COMMERCIAL ART: SATYAJIT RAY Despite CBFC approval, State of West Bengal & Kolkata Police obstructed Director, Anik Datta’s ‘Future Ghosts’, from being exhibited. It had been duly released in Kolkata on 15.02.2019. By evening of 16.02.2019, without any communication from exhibitors, the film was abruptly and suddenly taken off […]

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Contempt Jurisdiction III

This is not the first time that Shri Nedumpara has attempted to browbeat and insult Judges of this Court. He is in the habit of using intemperate language to achieve his ends before several Judges of the Bombay High Court. Contempt when committed in the face of the Court, Judges’ hands are not tied behind […]

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The Transformative Constitution

“The idea for this book took shape during a seminar course that I taught at NLSIU, Bengaluru in January, 2015 and NUJS, Kolkata in June, 2016. This book advances Justice Vivian Bose’s vision of the Constitution, a vision that understood both the historical monument of framing, and the Constitution itself, as fundamentally transformative. But it […]

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Review of Death Penalty XII

Something mysterious inside me silently tells, every exit is an entrance to somewhere else. “The instant case rests on circumstantial evidence. There cannot be any dispute as to the well-settled proposition that the circumstances from which the conclusion of guilt is to be drawn must or “should be” and not merely “may be” fully established. […]

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