Section 31(7) of The Arbitration Act III : Award of Interest

“‘Interest’ is defined as “the return or compensation for the use or retention by one person for a sum of money belonging to or owned by any reason to another”. In essence, an award of interest compensates a party for its forgone return on investment, or for money withheld without a justifiable cause. The current […]

The Sabarimala Temple II: Arghya Sengupta

I was aware of Arghya Sengupta, personally, even before I had entered NLSIU. Mr. Sengupta’s words on The Sabarimala Temple Judgment are brilliant, as his words usually are. I am glad, one voice I respect thoroughly has had courage to point out Justice Chandrachud’s error. Here are his words: “That there is something deeply iniquitous […]

Section 2(1)(f)(iii) of The Arbitration Act

“Section 2(1)(f)(iii) of The Act refers to two different sets of persons: an “association” as distinct and separate from a “body of individuals”. For example, under Section 2(31) of The Income Tax Act, 1961, “person” is defined as including, under Sub-Clause (v), an association of persons, or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not. It […]

Section 372 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 I

There is always much to study in a dissenting opinion; dissents in constitutional law matters are remembered/revered; dissents in criminal law matters produce intense causes of concern. How best can one ensure advancement of justice, if Supreme Court Judges disagree on a crime? There would be a day surely when 5/7/9 or perhaps 13 shall […]

Section 14(3)(c)(iii) of The Specific Relief Act, 1963

“The Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018 amended Section 14. In the present case, we are not called upon to examine the effect of this amended provision. The issue before this Court is whether Section 14(3)(c)(iii) is a bar to a suit by a developer for specific performance of a development agreement between himself and the […]

Referred to Larger Bench XIII ANSWERED: Venue v. Seat, Arbitration

My Lord, ‘Venue’ v. ‘Seat’? The Arbitration Clause has to be appositely read to understand its intention so as to arrive at a conclusion on whether it determines the ‘seat’ or not. There is no shadow of doubt that the Arbitration Clause has to be read in a holistic manner so as to determine the […]

Piercing / Disregarding the Corporate Veil II

Doctrine of Piercing the Corporate Veil is as well settled as the Salomon, [1897] AC 22 principle itself. In Life Insurance Corporation of India v. Escorts Ltd., (1986) 1 SCC 264, this Court held: “Generally and broadly speaking, we may say that the Corporate Veil may be Lifted where a statute itself contemplates Lifting the […]

The Profane

Mr. Navtej Sarna’s Son is talented. I have had the opportunity to witness him in college. Mr. Navtej Sarna is an ‘Indian Author-Columnist, Diplomat, Indian Ambassador to the United States’. His son, Satyajit, recently published a Book of Poetry: “The Profane”. Here are a few of my favorite four lines: “But, if you believe you […]

A Man of Reason and Logic

Chess has been represented, or shall I say misrepresented, as a game – that is, a thing which could not well serve a serious purpose, solely created for the enjoyment of an empty hour. If it were a game only, Chess would never have survived the serious trials to which it has, during the long […]

Medical Negligence and Consumer Law I

“A surgeon cannot and does not guarantee that the result of surgery would invariably be beneficial, much less to the extent of 100% for the person operated on. The only assurance which such a professional can give or can be understood to have given by implication is that he is possessed of the requisite skill […]

An Independent Colonial Judiciary

“In the midst of Ripon’s Viceroyalty, in 1882, for the first time in the history of colonial India, an Indian Judge, Romesh Chunder Mitter, was appointed to act as Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, when Chief Justice Sir Richard Garth went on leave. It would take another few decades for an Indian, Badruddin Tyabji, […]

Article No. 502: The Revival of Ray VII

I was born on 5th February. This is Article No. 502. This blog was born on 21st December, 2014. Hon’ble Justice R.F. Nariman in Sabarimala Temple, covered previous decisions of SC on scope and effect of religious freedom contained in Articles 25 and 26. I highlight hereby all decisions mentioned. I bow down to: i) […]

Compensatory Jurisprudence of Constitutional Courts VII : James Watson

“Recently on 14 September 2018, Learned Chief Justice, speaking for Present Bench of Three Judges handed down a verdict granting compensation of Rs 50 Lakhs to a Space Scientist who was found upon further investigation by CBI to have been wrongfully implicated and subjected to custodial interrogation. This was on an allegation, he had leaked […]

The Sabarimala Temple I

Writ Petition (Civil) No. 373 of 2006 Hon’ble Justice Indu Malhotra The Petitioners have stated that they learnt of the practice of restricting the entry of women in the age group of 10 to 50 years in the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala from three newspaper articles written by Barkha Dutt (Scent of a Woman, Hindustan […]

Section 497: A Tripartite Labyrinth

Joseph Shine v. Union of India, [Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 194 of 2017] Hon’ble Justice Indu Malhotra The issue is whether ‘adultery’ must be treated as a penal offence or a marital wrong. Adultery has the effect of not only jeopardizing the marriage between the two consenting adults, but also affects the growth and moral […]

The Revival of Ray VI

While stating, ‘genesis’ of creamy layer principle is to be found in State of Kerala v. N.M. Thomas, (1976) 2 SCC 310 Hon’ble Justice R.F. Nariman quoted a few words of Hon’ble Justice Krishna Iyer in Jarnail Singh v. Lachhmi Narain Gupta, [Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 30621 of 2011]. Of course, Ray CJ had […]

An Alive Stream II

“Indubitably, Live Streaming of Court Proceedings has the potential of throwing up an option to the public to witness Live Court Proceedings which they otherwise could not have due to logistical issues and infrastructural restrictions of Courts; and would also provide them with a more direct sense of what has transpired. Thus, technological solutions can […]

The Aadhaar Judgment : 26.09.2018 / The Revival of Ray V / Dharma of Constitution v. Karma of Adjudication

Hon’ble Justice A.K. Sikri (CJI, Sikri and Khanwilkar JJ) In Dattatraya Govind Mahajan v. State of Maharashtra, (1977) 2 SCC 548, Spirit of our Constitution was explained thus: “Once we grasp Dharma of the Constitution, new orientation of the Karma of Adjudication becomes clear. Our Founding Fathers, aware of our Social Realities, forged our Fighting […]

Lord Roche II / The Revival of Ray IV

In Allied Motors, (2012) 2 SCC 1 reference was made to the celebrated Judgment of Privy Council in Nazir Ahmad, AIR 1936 PC 253: “Where a power is given to do a certain thing in a certain way, the thing must be done in that way, or not at all. Other methods of performance are […]

Back Wages I

“In some cases, a Court may decline to award back wages in its entirety whereas in some cases, it may award partially. The questions, how a back wage is required to be decided, what are the factors to be taken into consideration, on whom the initial burden lies etc. were elaborately discussed in several cases […]

The Last Word

A Diversion for Lawyers and Others