Unchartered Ocean of Policy Decision I / The Revival of Ray XIII

“For Muslims, place of birth of Hazrat Muhammed, i.e. Saudi Arabia, is the most sacred place. Visiting that place is pilgrimage for Muslim community, which is known as performing ‘Haj’. It is the desire of every person of Muslim faith, living anywhere in this world, to visit Saudi Arabia for performing Haj. Kingdom of Saudi […]

Section 31(7) of The Arbitration Act V

My Lord, Interest? No. “High Court has held that no interest is payable. Arbitrators are creatures of agreements. G.C. Roy, (1992) 1 SCC 508 exhaustively dealt with power of the Arbitral Tribunals to grant pre-reference and pendente lite interest. Of course, 1940 Act was in vogue at that time. In Reliance Cellulose Products Ltd., (2018) […]

Contempt Jurisdiction I

Contempt, Yes/No ≠ Mechanical Application of Mind [Sushila Raje Holkar, (2008) 14 SCC 392]. Contempt Jurisdiction = Four Corners of Disobeyed Order [Sudhir Vasudeva, (2014) 3 SCC 373]. Contempt Jurisdiction, Disobeyed Order = Willful Disobedience, Non-Compliance. Hon’ble Justice R. Banumathi, Armugam v. Balakrishnan, [Civil Appeal No. 1510 of 2019].

Section 195 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 I

“This Court in Chajoo Ram, (1971) 1 SCC 774 held, prosecution under Section 195 could be initiated only by the sanction of Court and only if the same appears to be deliberate and conscious. The category of offences which fall under Section 195(1)(b)(i) refer to the offence of giving false evidence and offences against public […]

Independent Bar & Independent Bench I

My Lord, Backbone of Democracy? “Independent Bar and Independent Bench. To preserve the very independence, the observance of constitutional values, mutual reverence and self-respect are absolutely necessary. Lawyers must avoid corruption and collusion of any kind, false pleadings, twisting of facts. Honesty, dedication and hard work is the only source towards perfection. The hunger for […]

Animus Possidendi

‘De Facto’ Possessor of Object v. ‘De Jure’ Owner of Object ≈ ‘Actually’ Has v. ‘Ought’ to Have “A person who asserts possessory title over a particular property must show that he is under settled or established possession of the said property – settled possession means such possession over the property which has existed for […]

Express, Implied Surrender, The Transfer of Property Act / The Revival of Ray XII

My Lord, When Lessor and Lessee enter Agreement for Sale/Purchase of the Tenanted Premises, Jural Relationship of Lessor and Lessee [w.r.t. Leased Property/Tenanted Premises] Ends? “Question has to be decided keeping in view Section 111 of The Transfer of Property Act, 1882 and the intention of the parties. Shah Mathuradas Maganlal, (1976) 3 SCC 660 […]

Compensatory Jurisprudence of Constitutional Courts IX : Cringing Coward

“The College has been habitually indulging in foul play. The bravado shown in an attempt to cheat Medical Council of India-Government-Court, has to be condemned. “Apology is an act of contrition. Unless apology is offered at the earliest opportunity and in good grace, the apology is shorn of penitence and hence is liable to be […]

Review of Death Penalty VII

High Court of Madhya Pradesh confirmed the Death Sentence. Learned Senior Counsel, Sri Sanjay R. Hegde contended: there is no acceptable and convincing evidence to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt; prosecution has failed to prove concept of ‘last seen’; no examination/consideration of mitigating circumstances/relevant aspects: socio-economic background, lack of criminal antecedents, possibility of reform; no […]

Review of Death Penalty VI

Appellant was convicted and awarded Capital Punishment, confirmed by High Court of Madhya Pradesh. Ruby was married to Sanjay. Appellant ‘coveted’ her; ‘warned’ her, he would not allow her to ‘live with anybody else’; ‘threw acid’, burning and injuring family members, killing her. There is no ‘conjecture’, ‘surmise’ or ‘inference’ in narration of witnesses; evidence […]

Notice to Directors II

Appellant-Director [Himanshu] cannot not be prosecuted for a Company-Issued, Director-Signed Cheque Bounce without Company [M/s. Lakshmi Cement and Industries Ltd.] being named/arraigned as an Accused. Three-Judge Bench in Aneeta Hada, (2012) 5 SCC 661 governs area of dispute. Three-Judge Bench has since been followed by a Two-Judge Bench in Charanjit Pal Jindal vs. L.N. Metalics, […]

Retrospective v. Retroactive I

“Two Judge Bench in State Bank’s Staff Union (Madras Circle) v. Union of India, (2005) 7 SCC 584 had occasion to examine the concept. Further in Jay Mahakali Rolling Mills v. Union of India, (2007) 12 SCC 198 following has been laid down: “Retrospective means looking backward, contemplating what is past, having reference to a […]

Section 12(5) of The Arbitration Act II

“After the Amendment to The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 2015 – Section 12(5) prohibits the employee of one of the parties from being an Arbitrator. In the present case, the agreement between the parties was entered into on 28.01.2000 and the Arbitration Proceedings commenced way back in 2009 and thus, one cannot invoke Section 12(5) […]

A Fasid Marriage

“Muslim Law clearly distinguishes between a valid marriage (sahih), void marriage (batil), and invalid/irregular marriage (fasid). Thus, it cannot be stated that a batil (void) marriage and a fasid (invalid/irregular) marriage are one and the same. The marriage of a Muslim Man with a Hindu Woman is neither a valid (sahih) nor a void (batil) […]

The Doctrine of Notional Extension

Daya Kishan Joshi, (2018) 11 SCC 642; Surendra Pandey, (2015) 13 SCC 625; Lord Denning. “He fell off the roof of the bus accidentally and died. Merely because the deceased was coming down the roof of the bus after having his meal, cannot be considered in isolation and interpreted so myopically to hold that he […]

Referred to Larger Bench XIV: 4 Kilograms of Opium

“We find it difficult to accept the view taken in Mohan Lal. It was held, a fair investigation, which is but the very foundation of fair trial, necessarily postulates, the informant and the investigator must not be the same person. Some have maintained a distinction in that where the investigation was conducted by the informant […]

4 Kilograms of Opium

“The NDPS Act carries a reverse burden of proof under Sections 35, 54. Section 35(2) provides, a fact can be said to have been proved if it is established beyond reasonable doubt and not on preponderance of probability. Article 21 of the Constitution would be a hollow promise if the investigation were not to be […]

Section 306, Indian Penal Code I

“It is no doubt true that Arvind committed suicide on 23.02.2002. There is also no dispute that Arvind blamed Rajesh [Wife’s Brother]. In order to bring a case within the purview of Section 306, IPC there must be a case of suicide and in the commission of the said offence, the person who is said […]

Morality of Gambling

“It needs to be borne in mind, there may be certain activities which society perceives as immoral per se. It may include gambling (though that is also becoming a debatable issue now), prostitution et cetera. It is also to be noted, standards of morality in a society change with passage of time. A particular activity, […]

Review of Death Penalty V

Appellant was a driver working with Swargate S.T. Depot, Pune. On 25.01.2012 he had requested for changing his ‘night out duty’ to ‘single day duty’. After his request was declined, he ‘hijacked’ a S.T. Bus; ‘crushed to death’ 2-3; ‘killed’ 6; ‘grievously injured’ / ‘permanently disabled’ 36; ‘damaged’ public property. Appellant was not in a […]

The Last Word

A Diversion for Lawyers and Others