Nandini v. Nandhini : No Deceptive Similarity

The Respondent, a Cooperative Federation of Milk Producers of Karnataka, adopted the mark ‘NANDINI’ in the year 1985 and under that brand name produced and sold milk. The Appellant adopted the mark ‘NANDHINI’, for its restaurants in the year 1989, and applied for registration of the said mark in respect of various food items sold. The Respondent […]

Clear and Present Danger

“A single revolutionary spark may kindle a fire that, smouldering for a time, may burst into a sweeping and destructive conflagration.” It was the Judgment of Holmes J in Schenck v. United States, 249 US 47 at 52 (1910) that gave rise to the test of ‘clear and present danger’ for determining whether restrictions on […]

Reasonable Restriction II

Rewarded with the presence of Justice A.N. Ray, Himat Lal K. Shah, (1973) 1 SCC 227 held: “Public meeting in open spaces and public streets forms part of the tradition of our national life. In the pre-Independence days such meetings have been held in open spaces and public streets and the people have come to regard […]

The Fear of Law and Lynching

Behind every successful fortune there is a crime, wrote Mario Puzo. Truly, not everyone fears the law. How else would a Head Constable’s son be Dawood? It is magnificent that the Supreme Court has recommended to the Parliament the creation of a separate offence of lynching. While all that you read after is the charm […]

Consistent Loyalty v. Contextual Thinking

Shyam’s Offer Shyam also met Karna and in attempt to avert war told him what no one else had told him. ‘Know that your birth mother is Kunti. By law, you are the eldest son of the man she married, Pandu. This makes you, by law, the eldest Pandava, with full rights to Pandu’s kingdom […]

The Revival of Ray II

I have not published 10,00,000 further words of Chief Justice A.N. Ray. Are his words at Calcutta High Court or at Supreme Court his only songs? I bow down to Hon’ble Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Hon’ble Justice Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud. They have quoted Samsher Singh v. State of Punjab, (1974) 2 SCC 831 in […]

Veere Disarray

Some men try hard for reasons best known to them. Team 2, even before it had shot and finalized the final print of its movie, filed a case before Bom HC. Dr. Abhinav Chandrachud fought for Team 1. He won. Hon’ble Justice G.S. Patel wrote: “In the present case there is no evidence of the […]

The Haynes Discourse

“Haynes was a role model of mine. He and Greenidge were a pair that would take apart any bowling attack in the world. From the start of the day’s play I had kept a close watch on him. He was sitting in the Sussex dressing room, absorbed in the match. I worried that he might […]

The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law

“A distinguished South African Judge, Albie Sachs has spoken of the importance of understanding the value of Constitutional Transformation. In his book titled ‘The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law’, explaining the role of the Constitutional Court, Sachs has this to say: “It is difficult to analyze the impact that Court Decisions have on actual […]

The Proof of Forgery I

“Section 465 provides punishment for the commission of the offence of forgery. In order to sustain a conviction under Section 465, first it has to be proved that forgery was committed under Section 463, implying that ingredients under Section 464 should also be satisfied. Therefore unless and until ingredients under Section 463 are satisfied a […]

The Freedom of a Major Girl

Thushara, when 19, married a man, not yet 21, at Chakkulathukavu Bagavathi Temple. Thushara‘s father filed a petition before High Court of Kerala and was awarded her custody. Supreme Court recently called a submission ‘neat’: “High Court has adopted an approach which is not permissible… Thushara is admittedly a major… she has the right to […]

Aggression of SC Judges

Judge 4 of Indian Supreme Court, Justice Lokur, will retire this year. Earlier, he questioned the integrity of the Chief Justice. April, he has interestingly worded a decision. “The couldn’t-care-less and insouciant attitude of Union of India with regard to litigation, particularly in Supreme Court, has gone a little too far… Union of India must […]

The Revival of Ray I

“Whether in the case of promotion from the Subordinate Judiciary or of direct recruitment from the Bar, the performance of the candidate would be best known to the High Court.” While judging so, SC in Gauhati High Court v. Goto Ete & Others, [Civil Appeal No. 4298 of 2018] quoted, with minor compliment, two paragraphs […]

The Sad Death of Judge Loya

An inquiry was sought into the circumstances of death of District Judge, Brijgopal Harikishan Loya. The petitions were essentially based on articles published in Caravan on November 20/21, 2017. The issue was whether the death of Judge Loya was due to natural causes or there are circumstances which raise a reasonable suspicion about an unnatural […]

The Kesavananda Bench III: Pingle Jaganmohan Reddy

P. Jaganmohan Reddy was born into an aristocratic, wealthy, and prominent family in Former Princely State of Hyderabad on 23 January, 1910. An uncle of Jaganmohan Reddy, though a Lincoln’s Inn Barrister, never practiced law. Jaganmohan Reddy was the first member of his family to practice law as a profession. He was 59 when he […]

The Writ of Quo Warranto I

“Writ of Quo Warranto cannot be issued on basis of assumptions, inferences or suspicion regarding factum of fulfillment of eligibility criteria. Being an extraordinary power, ordinarily such a Writ ought to be issued only on basis of indisputable facts leading to a singular conclusion – incumbent was in fact or in law disqualified to occupy […]

The Last Word on Aiyaary

Last year, it was claimed before Bombay High Court, trailers of The State v. Jolly LL.B 2 projected Indian Judiciary and Indian Legal System in a derogatory manner. Court found there was a prima facie case of contempt. It constituted a Three-Member Committee, out of which Two Members were Lawyers. Bom HC’s ‘Legitimization of Special […]

The Harmon Doctrine

The Doctrine of Absolute Territorial Sovereignty is most often identified with an opinion prepared in 1895 by the 41st Attorney General of the United States, Judson Harmon, in response to a request by the Department of State for advice concerning a dispute with Mexico over the use of waters of the Rio Grande. Pursuant to […]

Execution of Final Arbitral Award / Deemed Decree

“The enforcement of an Award through its execution can be filed anywhere in the country where such decree can be executed and there is no requirement for obtaining a transfer of the decree from the Court, which would have jurisdiction over the Arbitral Proceedings. In Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., (2011) 4 LW 745 (Mad HC) […]

Section 50 of The Arbitration Act II

My Lord, Appeal – Not Maintainable under Section 50 of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 – Maintainable under Section 13(1) of The Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act, 2015? No. “Both The Commercial Courts Act as well as the detailed Arbitration Amendment Act of 2015, were brought into […]