Section 8 of The Arbitration Act VI: Arbitrable Disputes

My Lord, Consumer-Disputes are Non-Arbitrable? No. Arbitration Act does not exclude jurisdiction of Consumer Forums to decide Consumer-Disputes under The Consumer Act [Skypak Couriers Ltd., (2000) 5 SCC 294]. If X opts for Arbitration, it may be possible to state, X cannot, subsequently, file a Complaint under The Consumer Act. However, National Seeds Corporation Limited, […]

The Revival of Ray X

Recently, Hon’ble Justice Ashok Bhushan quoted 650 words of 14th Chief Justice of India, Hon’ble Justice A.N. Ray. These words are to be found in 4 Paragraphs in 2 Judgments. The style is exhibited below: “In Jagir Singh v. State of Bihar, (1976) 2 SCC 942 Court was considering the definition of “owner” as defined […]

Section 34(3) of The Arbirtration Act I

“Appeal arises from the Judgment of a Learned Single Judge of High Court of Calcutta by which the Respondent’s Application for condoning a delay of 514 days in filing an Application under Section 34 of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 was allowed. This Court needs to assess whether the benefit of Sections 5 and […]

December 8, 1930

It was decided. 8 December, 1930 would be ‘Operation Simpson Day’. The journey began at 12:00 in the afternoon. Three Men sat in a taxi and headed for the Writers Building. One of them had his Birthday < 50 hours ago. The last ride together. [File No. 59/19/30] 12:30. Cap, coat, tie, trousers, boots – […]

Courts of Record

“High Courts are Courts of Record, set up under Article 215 of The Constitution of India. It is clear that these Constitutional Courts, being Courts of Record, the jurisdiction to recall their own Orders is inherent by virtue of the fact that they are Superior Courts of Record. This has been recognized in: National Sewing […]

Section 8 of The Arbitration Act V

“Though there are different agreements involving several parties, it is a single commercial project. All the parties can be covered by the Arbitration Clause in the main agreement. High Court, in our view, erred in not keeping in view the various clauses in all the three agreements which make them an integral part of the […]

Departmental Arbitrators

It had been considered, in earlier times, that an Arbitration Clause in a Government Contract providing that an employee of the department will be the Sole Arbitrator is neither void nor unenforceable [Indian Oil Corporation Limited, (2009) 8 SCC 520; Ace Pipeline Contracts (P) Ltd., (2007) 5 SCC 304; M.P. Gupta, (2004) 10 SCC 504]. […]

Setting Aside, Acquittal Orders I

There is no limitation placed on power to review evidence in an Appeal against Acquittal. It is relevant to refer to Lord Russell in Sheo Swarup, (1934) 36 BOM LR 1185; Surajpal Singh, (1952) 3 SCR 193; Muralidhar @ Gidda, (2014) 5 SCC 730 and Ghurey Lal, (2008) 10 SCC 450. “Interference with Judgment of Trial Court, […]

Principle of Parity I

“Equality means parity of treatment under parity of conditions. The rule of parity is the equal treatment of equals in equal circumstances.” – Chief Justice of India, Hon’ble Justice A.N. Ray, State of Kerala v. N.M. Thomas, AIR 1976 SC 490. “The imposition of a penalty in disciplinary proceeding lies in the sole domain of […]

Chymoral Forte v. Chymtral Forte : Acquiescing Passing Off

Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd., ‘first past the post’, has a trade mark called ‘CHYMORAL’ and ‘CHYMORAL FORTE’, which is a drug administered post-surgically for swelling and/or wounds that may arise. They filed a suit against Wockhardt Ltd. for use of the mark ‘CHYMTRAL FORTE’. Fraud is not a necessary element of ‘passing off’ actions [Laxmikant, (2002) […]

Review of Death Penalty III

“A convict is sent to jail with the hope and expectation that he would make amends and get reformed. A positive change on a Death Row Convict should weigh the Court. The conduct of the convict in prison cannot be lost sight of. We are of the view that a time has come where we […]

Review of Death Penalty II

Sumit was Appellant Swapan’s first cousin, mother’s brother’s son. Appellant ‘kidnapped’, ‘drugged’, ‘throttled’ Sumit, placing ‘ransom calls’ for Rs. 20 Lakhs. Star Witness: Dulal Mahto, Driver, Indica Car No. JH 09D 6666. Unbroken chain of circumstances pointed unequivocally towards guilt. SC remembered well-settled legal propositions. First, Death Penalty is to be imposed only when it […]

Review of Death Penalty I

I had declared in December, 2014: “It might be very useful to find more instances such as these – with clever scrutiny of the Judge Compositions – in order to find a pattern of how frequently or infrequently an SC Judge alters or refines his Opinion/Judgment during his tenure. Especially if he has held one […]

Beauty of NEET, 2018

Every examination must be evaluated for what it is, what it should be and not for what it was, what it could be. Primary duty is to avoid arbitrary results. Correct answers to questions presented in NEET-UG, 2018 was one of the 4 Options offered. Bi-lingual questions were set in English with an Option of […]

Section 319 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 I

“The parameters of exercise of power under Section 319, CrPC has been explained by this Court time and again. It is sufficient to refer to Constitution Bench Judgment in Hardeep Singh, (2014) 3 SCC 92. Constitution Bench held, the person against whom Court decides to proceed, “has to be a person whose complicity may be […]

Legal Aid

Several matters, every week, are considered for ‘legal aid’. I had briefly assisted Senior Advocate, Jaideep Gupta in this regard and had recommended aid for Ujwala Pandurang Toraskar v. Mormugao Port Trust [Diary No. 20112 of 2018]. Judgment of HC of Bombay at Goa [Writ Petition No. 279/2016], was challenged. On July 3, 2018 SC […]

Hon’ble Justice Ashok Bhushan

Hon’ble Justice Ashok Bhushan was Elevated as a Permanent Judge of the Allahabad High Court on April 24, 2001. Circa 2005 RNR: Landmark Judgments – Hallmark of Judicial Brilliance? AB: The Judges are only known by their Judgment. They cannot have their own ideologies or perspectives in contrast to Politicians. Therefore, Judgments are the only […]

Section 482 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 II

“An agreement was entered into with regard to development of property owned by the Appellants. This property is situated at 20, Feroz Shah Road, New Delhi which falls under Lutyens Zone. Respondent No. 2 paid a sum of Rs. 1,00,00,000 (Rupees One Crore). The agreement could not be fulfilled as the new building regulations prohibited […]

Minimum Pay Scales for Temporary Employees

“The Appellants are daily rated workers employed in Group ‘D’ posts in the Forest Department in the State of Uttar Pradesh. They filed Writ Petitions before the High Court of Allahabad seeking regularization of their services, the minimum of the pay scales available to their counterparts working on regular posts and treating them as being […]

Appointment of a Chief Justice

Recent Elevations to Supreme Court of 7 Judges is interesting. None of them shall be Chief Justice of India after Hon’ble Justice Dr. Chandrachud. Seniority is neither based on age nor on experience. It is purely accidental. The following is an extract from A.R. Antulay, Appointment of a Chief Justice, (Popular Prakashan, 1973). “Many Judges […]

The Last Word

A Diversion for Lawyers and Others