“The term ‘locus standi’ is a Latin term, the general meaning of which is ‘place of standing’. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 10th Edn., at page 834, defines the term ‘locus standi’ as the right or capacity to bring an action or to appear in a Court. The traditional view of ‘locus standi’ has been […]
Read more "Article 136 and Criminal Appeals II"Four notifications, two dated 21.12.2010 and two dated 31.05.2012, issued by Medical Council of India and Dental Council of India, were challenged in CMC, Vellore v. Union of India, (2014) 2 SCC 305. CJI Altamas Kabir held, the notifications were ultra vires the provisions of Articles 19(1)(g), 25, 26(a), 29(1) and 30(1). Hon’ble Justice Anil […]
Read more "Curse of NEET, 2016"“It was a scorching summer day on 31st May, when the NIA sleuths gathered in the chambers of Gopal Subramanian, the Attorney General of India. He had just returned from the US where he had spent hours discussing the David Headley issue with the US Attorney General, Eric Holder… Behera spoke, ‘We will be leaving […]
Read more "D for Dayan, D for David"It is a settled legal proposition, law of limitation may harshly affect a particular party but it has to be applied with all its rigour when the statute so prescribes. A result flowing from a statutory provision is never an evil. Court has no power to ignore that provision to relieve what it considers a […]
Read more "Dura Lex Sed Lex"There is a need to build confidence to help road accident victims. Good Samaritans fear of legal consequences, involvement in litigation and repeated visits to Police Station. There is a need to provide certain incentives to Good Samaritans. There is also a dire need to enact a Good Samaritan Law. Ministry of Road Transport and […]
Read more "A Good Samaritan Law"“The power to invalidate a Legislative or Executive Act lies with the Court. A Judicial Pronouncement, either declaratory or conferring rights on the citizens cannot be set at naught by a Subsequent Legislative Act for that would amount to an encroachment on the Judicial Powers. However, the Legislature would be competent to pass an Amending […]
Read more "The Nature of Judicial Power: Hon’ble Justice Ranjan Gogoi"“It needs no special emphasis to mention, provisos can serve various purposes. Hidayatullah, J had observed, a proviso is generally added to an enactment to qualify or create an exception to what is in the enactment, and the proviso is not interpreted as stating a general rule. Further, except for instances dealt within the proviso, the […]
Read more "The Proviso I"In Ranjit Narayan Haksar v. Surendra Verma, 1995 MPLJ 21 a Division Bench of High Court of Madhya Pradesh held, an employee, retired from its service to Madhya Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation, was entitled to maintain an Eviction Petition under Chapter III-A of The Madhya Pradesh Accommodation Control Act, 1961. SC affirmed the reasoning. […]
Read more "Referred to Larger Bench VII: Chapter III-A, The Madhya Pradesh Accommodation Control Act, 1961"“It is a matter of complete disgrace, you were hounded by Press and you were intolerant of them when there was a case against you…” – Padma Bhushan, Anupam Kher, The Telegraph National Debate, 2016 The choice of Retired Hon’ble Justice Ashok Kumar Ganguly as a Panelist at The Telegraph National Debate, 2016 was confusing […]
Read more "History Has No Dustbin: Hon’ble Justice Ashok Kumar Ganguly"Several statutes confer power on authorities and officers to be exercised by them at their discretion and they are couched in permissive language, such as, “it may be lawful”, “it may be permissible”, “it may be open to do”, et cetera. But in certain situations, such power is coupled with duty and must be exercised. […]
Read more "Power Coupled With Duty II"“A 3-Judge Bench of this Court in Union of India v. Bright Power Projects (India) Pvt. Ltd., (2015) 9 SCC 695 has considered the provisions contained in Section 31(7)(a) of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and considered the words “unless otherwise agreed by parties” in the said section and held that the Arbitrator is […]
Read more "Section 31(7) of The Arbitration Act II"“New York Times, in the Editorial, ‘The Frankfurter Legacy’, on September 2, 1962, while stating about the greatness of Felix Frankfurter, chose the following expression:- “History will find greatness in Felix Frankfurter as a justice, not because of the results he reached but because of his attitude toward the process of decision. His guiding lights […]
Read more "Epistolary Jurisdiction of Constitutional Courts"“The question whether an election petition challenging the election of a returned candidate on the ground of corrupt practice is required to be accompanied either by one affidavit or two affidavits in view of the insertion of clause (4) of Rule 15 of Order VI, fell for consideration of this Court in P.A. Mohammed Riyas […]
Read more "Hon’ble Justice J. Chelameswar on Election Petitions II"Section 85(a)(i)(b) of The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 prescribes punishment for a particular offence as imprisonment which shall not be less than Six Months and fine of Five Thousand Rupees. The proviso empowers Court to impose a sentence of imprisonment for a lesser term “for any adequate and special reasons to be recorded.“ My […]
Read more "Section 85 of The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948"My Lord, What is the import of Section 216 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973? “It is graphic that the Court can change or alter the charge if there is defect or something is left out. The test is, it must be founded on the material available on record. It can be on the […]
Read more "Section 216 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973"In England it was the practice in times of danger to the State to pass what were popularly known as Habeas Corpus Suspension Acts. Suspension did not legalize an illegal arrest; it merely suspended a particular remedy in respect of particular offences. House of Lords took the view, the power to detain could not be […]
Read more "The Diamond-Bright, Diamond-Hard Hope"‘Res judicata’ literally means a ‘thing adjudicated‘ or ‘an issue that has been definitively settled by judicial decision‘. The principle operates as a bar to try the same issue once over. It aims to prevent multiplicity of proceedings and accords finality to an issue, which directly and substantially had arisen in the former suit between the […]
Read more "Res Judicata – Cause of Action"History will not forget Hon’ble Justice Pratibha Rani at the crossroad of Kanhaiya Kumar v. State of NCT of Delhi, Writ Petition (Crl.) 558 of 2016. “While dealing with the Bail Application of the Petitioner it has to be kept in mind, by all concerned, they are enjoying this freedom only because our borders are […]
Read more "The Country Without a Post Office"Interesting questions on the interplay between The Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985 and The Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 have been answered in Madras Petrochem Ltd. v. BIFR, [Civil Appeal Nos. 614-615 of 2016] by Hon’ble Justice R.F. Nariman. My Lord, Is it true that […]
Read more "SC Resolves Conflict Between SICA & SARFAESI Act"My Lord, What is the meaning of the expression “specific provision to the contrary” in Section 4(1) of The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908? The scheme of Section 4(1), as its marginal note provides, is to ‘save’ any special or local law from the applicability of The Code of Civil Procedure. The said Section therefore […]
Read more "Section 4(1) of The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908"
The Last Word 
You must be logged in to post a comment.