Thank You, Murali

Thank You, Murali. Not too many people have a kind word to say about the Hon’ble High Court at Calcutta. But you had the gumption. And for that, you shall soon see, you will rise to the absolute top. I shall do anything and everything to protect the honor of Calcutta. For me, all else […]

Obiter Observations of Chandrachud J

My Lord, State of Madras v. Gannon Dunkerley, [1959] 1 SCR 379 – Good Law? “It is interesting to note, a 7 Judge Bench in M/s. Vishnu Agencies (Pvt.) Ltd. v. Commercial Tax Officer, (1978) 1 SCC 520, doubted Gannon Dunkerley’s case by stating, its correctness would have to await a more suitable occasion in […]

Uphaar: The Gift of Freedom

In appropriate cases, seemingly large amounts of compensation are justified. It is settled, inflation should be considered by while deciding on quantum of compensation. In (2014) 6 SCC 173, Hon’ble Justice T.S. Thakur observed, “cynical Chalta Hai Attitude… more often than not costs society dearly in man-made tragedies.“ The price of Mr. Sushil Ansal’s ‘Chalta Hai […]

Writ Court Appointed Committees

“A Writ Court should ordinarily not entertain a Writ Petition, if there is a breach of contract involving disputed questions of fact. When an issue arises whether in a particular State there are toilets for school children and there is an assertion by the State that there are good toilets, definitely the Court can appoint […]

The Judicial Indiscipline of Justice Chelameswar

The legal position regarding the existence of a ‘fundamental right to privacy’ is doubtful in view of the Judgments in M.P. Sharma and Kharak Singh. In Justice K.S. Puttasamy (Retd.) v. Union of India, [Writ Petition No. 494 of 2012] the warning is clear: “If the observations made in M.P. Sharma and Kharak Singh are to […]

Per Incuriam I

My Lord, Per Incuriam? “In Mamleshwar Prasad, (1975) 3 SCR 834, Krishna Iyer, J., succinctly laid down what is meant by the per incuriam principle. He stated: “We do not intend to detract from the rule that, in exceptional instances, whereby obvious inadvertence or oversight a Judgment fails to notice a plain statutory provision or […]

Sen J I

Hon’ble Justice Vikramajit Sen turns 65 on the last day of this year and retires duly. I shall forever associate him with ‘precedents’. What binds and what holds is a recurrent theme in several of his Judgments. Rashmi Metaliks, (2013) 10 SCC 95: SC often has to “face lengthy arguments in each case because of the […]

Condonation of Delay III: Section 18, SARFAESI Act Appeals

“Section 18(2) of The SARFAESI Act provides that the Appellate Tribunal shall follow the provisions of The Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 in disposing of the appeal unless otherwise provided under The SARFAESI Act or the Rules made thereunder. The proviso to Section 20(3) of The RDDBFI Act empowers […]

Safety and Security of Supreme Court

A meeting was called by Chief Justice of India after Bomb Blasts outside Delhi High Court on 07.09.2011. Court on its Administrative Side, after deliberations with Delhi Police, prohibited vendors to squat along the perimeter of Supreme Court. There is a road called Bhagwan Das Road after Supreme Court compound wall. After crossing the road, […]

Lawyer Profiles I: The Case of Counterfeit Bottles and Spurious Medicines

In Bottled Water Processors Association v. Union of India, [Writ Petition (C) No. 11672 of 2009] Hon’ble Justice S. Muralidhar found, “considering water borne diseases are on the increase during summer months, time is of the essence”. Many summers have gone by. The Task Force, ordered to be constituted, for cracking down on units manufacturing […]

Power Coupled With Duty I

In Julius v. Bishop of Oxford, (1880) 5 AC 214 it was observed, “The words ‘it shall be lawful’ are plain and unambiguous. They confer a faculty or power, and they do not of themselves do more than confer a faculty or power. But there may be something in the nature of the thing empowered to […]

The Yakub Hanging

The Last Word: As per standards of Hurra, (2002) 4 SCC 388 a Curative Petition shall be circulated amongst “3 Senior-Most Judges” of SC and “Judges who passed the Judgment complained of, if available”. When a Majority concludes, a hearing is required – it should be listed. Hon’ble Justice Dipak Misra: “Needless to say, the availability […]

My Name is Memon

Review Petitions, Curative Petitions, Mercy Petitions, Media Petitions are all variations of soft law jurisprudence. Judges are soft. As per standards of Hurra, (2002) 4 SCC 388 a Curative Petition shall be circulated amongst “3 Senior-Most Judges” of SC and “Judges who passed the Judgment complained of, if available”. When a Majority concludes, a hearing is […]

Battle of the Articles I: 32/226

“No question other than relating to Fundamental Rights will be determined in a proceeding under Article 32. The difference between Article 32 and 226 is that while an application under Article 32 lies only for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights, the High Court under Article 226 has a wider power to exercise its jurisdiction not only for the […]

Section 405/406, Indian Penal Code I

“Needless to say that to constitute an offence punishable under Section 406, IPC the essential ingredient is the ‘entrustment’ of the property. It is only after entrustment is shown, it can be said that there was criminal breach of trust. In Ram Narayan Popli, (2003) 3 SCC 641 this Court, per Majority, has explained ‘entrustment’ […]

Section 31(7) of The Arbitration Act I

“Section 31(7) of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 by using the words ‘unless otherwise agreed by the parties’, categorically specifies that the Arbitrator is bound by the terms of the contract so far as award of interest from the date of cause of action to the date of the award is concerned. Therefore, where […]

A Review of “Aarushi”

It is said that Truman Capote started investigating The Clutter Murders after reading a 300-word New York Times article. 6 years spent on the case, gave us ‘In Cold Blood’, the first book of its kind. Capote was no journalist and Avirook Sen is no author. ‘Aarushi’ is a compelling read, no doubt. But I […]

Anatole France

Recently, SC, while imposing exemplary costs of Rs. 10,00,000/- (Rupees Ten Lakhs) on Industrialist-Appellant, in Vijay Mallya v. Enforcement Directorate, [Criminal Appeal No. 1406 of 2009], quoted Anatole France. The famous words of Anatole: “The law in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in […]

Birth Certificates

“It may be recalled that owing to curial fiat, it is no longer necessary to state the name of the father in applications seeking admission of children to school, as well as for obtaining a passport for a minor child. However, in both these cases, it may still remain necessary to furnish a birth certificate. […]

Costs Jurisprudence I: Actual Reasonable Costs

Paragraph 37, Salem Advocate Bar Association v. Union of India, (2005) 6 SCC 344: “Judicial notice can be taken of the fact that many unscrupulous parties take advantage of the fact that either the costs are not awarded or nominal costs are awarded on the unsuccessful party. Unfortunately, it has become a practice to direct parties […]