Legopolis

By Sneha Kalita In the present scenario of the Covid pandemic, not only India but the whole world is going through an unprecedented upheaval and challenging time, especially in the healthcare system. There has been a crisis in terms of infrastructure, medical facilities, frontline health care workers, medicines, oxygen supplies, and so on. However, it is an underlying fact that the doctors and other medical/paramedical personnel have stood tall in front of the pandemic risking their own lives, and tirelessly worked to save the lives of their countrymen. The medical fraternity in any civil society has always upheld a very important position wherein they have had the duty and the obligation of treating a person with utmost responsibility and empathy being under every kind of situation. Owing to this selfless duty towards society, they are significantly called frontline warriors. As per the Covid Registry of martyrs report, maintained by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), while 747 d...

By Sneha Kalita In the present scenario of the Covid pandemic, not only India but the whole world is going through an unprecedented upheaval and challenging time, especially in the healthcare system. There has been a crisis in terms of infrastructure, medical facilities, frontline health care workers, medicines, oxygen supplies, and so on. However, it is an underlying fact that the doctors and other medical/paramedical personnel have stood tall in front of the pandemic risking their own lives, and tirelessly worked to save the lives of their countrymen. The medical fraternity in any civil society has always upheld a very important position wherein they have had the duty and the obligation of treating a person with utmost responsibility and empathy being under every kind of situation. Owing to this selfless duty towards society, they are significantly called frontline warriors. As per the Covid Registry of martyrs report, maintained by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), while 747 d...

A writ petition has been filed in the Supreme Court for a declaration that the newly amended rule under Part VI of Chapter II of the Bar Council of India Rules is violative of Section 49 (1) of the Advocates Act, 1961 and the fundamental rights guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution, in particular, Articles 14, 19 (1) (a), 19 (1) (c) and 21. The petition has been filed by two advocates, Rohini Amin and Maria Nedumpara. Amin is enrolled at the Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa and is also the General Secretary of National Lawyers Campaign for Judicial Transparency and Reforms (NLC), an organization registered under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950, and Nedumpara is enrolled at Bar Council of Kerala. Earlier, the Bar Council of India via a Gazette notification had amended its rules, making any statement made in Electronic or Social Media, which is indecent or derogatory, defamatory or motivated, malicious or mischievous against any Court or Judge or any member of Judic...

The Supreme Court Justice Indira Banerjee recuses herself from hearing the plea filed by a Judicial Officer challenging the Madras High Court order which had rejected his plea seeking revocation of suspension order and for enhanced allowance during the suspension period.  The matter was listed for Wednesday before the Bench of Justices Uday Umesh Lalit, Indira Banerjee and Ajay Rastogi which has directed to list the matter before the bench where Justice Indira Banerjee not a member and ordered to list this matter next week. The petition has been filed by G. Raja who is facing several charges including of moral turpitude, involving his connivance with his brother to undertake commercial activities while still in service, assets and funds grossly disproportionate to the petitioner’s known sources of income and the like. He has been suspended pursuant to a notice dated December 30, 2019. Also Read:  Allahabad High Court directs Uttar Pradesh govt to reply in two weeks on defe...

A writ petition has been filed in the Supreme Court for a declaration that the newly amended rule under Part VI of Chapter II of the Bar Council of India Rules is violative of Section 49 (1) of the Advocates Act, 1961 and the fundamental rights guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution, in particular, Articles 14, 19 (1) (a), 19 (1) (c) and 21. The petition has been filed by two advocates, Rohini Amin and Maria Nedumpara. Amin is enrolled at the Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa and is also the General Secretary of National Lawyers Campaign for Judicial Transparency and Reforms (NLC), an organization registered under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950, and Nedumpara is enrolled at Bar Council of Kerala. Earlier, the Bar Council of India via a Gazette notification had amended its rules, making any statement made in Electronic or Social Media, which is indecent or derogatory, defamatory or motivated, malicious or mischievous against any Court or Judge or any member of Judic...

The Supreme Court has issued notice on a plea filed by a man seeking regular bail, who is accused of offenses punishable under Sections 307 (Attempt to murder), 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) and 34 (Common Intention) of Indian Penal Code. (Roshan Chauhan Vs The State of Punjab)  A three-judge bench of Justice U.U. Lalit, Justice Indira Banerjee, and Justice Ajay Rastogi sought the response of the state of Punjab on or before August 27, 2021. The High Court of Punjab and Haryana had rejected his bail application making an observation that the injury attributed to the petitioner is a fracture on the left parietal bone seen with extension into left frontal and right parietal bones which is vital part i.e. the head of the victim. Thus, no case for grant of regular bail to the petitioner is made out. The accused in the present petition is charged under Sections 307, 323, 506 and 34 IPC. Though, counsel for the petitioner has...

The Supreme Court Justice Indira Banerjee recuses herself from hearing the plea filed by a Judicial Officer challenging the Madras High Court order which had rejected his plea seeking revocation of suspension order and for enhanced allowance during the suspension period.  The matter was listed for Wednesday before the Bench of Justices Uday Umesh Lalit, Indira Banerjee and Ajay Rastogi which has directed to list the matter before the bench where Justice Indira Banerjee not a member and ordered to list this matter next week. The petition has been filed by G. Raja who is facing several charges including of moral turpitude, involving his connivance with his brother to undertake commercial activities while still in service, assets and funds grossly disproportionate to the petitioner’s known sources of income and the like. He has been suspended pursuant to a notice dated December 30, 2019. The High Court had observed that, “it has to be accepted that a person facing serious charges i...

The Allahabad High Court directed the Uttar Pradesh Government to reply within two weeks on the defects in the question paper which was given to the students for the Assistant Teacher Recruitment Examination, the paper had some portion which was out of syllabus and had wrong options to be answered. The Division Bench of Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Dinesh Pathak asked the appellants to file an affidavit within two weeks whether the question in the examination were wrong or out of syllabus. The exam was held for recruitment of 69 thousand assistant teachers in the state. A Special Appeal was filed by Abhishek Srivastava and 14 others who said, that in the examination conducted for appointment of the post of Assistant Teacher there were certain questions, key answers of which were not correct and there were certain questions which were out of the syllabus prescribed, and therefore, marks awarded on those questions should either be excluded while ascertaining merit of a candidate, or...

By Justice Bhanwar Singh and Professor (Dr) NK Bahl “Prison bus with wings is back without Choksi—A mission of extradition unaccomplished” Mehul Chinubhai Choksi, a beleaguered diamantaire, the founder and managing director of Gitanjali Gems is a fugitive Indian—born in India, but doing business in Antigua and Barbuda. He is wanted by the Indian courts for trial of offences of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, corruption, embezzlement and money laundering. Choksi is accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank (PNB) to the tune of around Rs 13,500 crore by conducting fraudulent transactions. He left India on January 7, 2018, days before the PNB scam came to light. A non-bailable warrant is already issued against Choksi by a special court in India and a red corner notice of Interpol for his provisional arrest with the intention of extradition on the request of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), is also pending against him. When Choksi fled from India, he...

The Supreme Court today has issued notice in a plea seeking ex-gratia monetary compensation to families of each person who succumbed to the side-effect/post-Covid-19 disease i.e. black, yellow, white fungus.  The bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, Vineet Saran, and M.R. Shah also directed the Central government to file its reply in this matter. The plea states that a majority of patients with mucormycosis, or black, yellow & white fungus, etc are those who have recovered from Covid-19. The treatment of Covid-19 leads to a weakened immune system, preventing the body from effectively preventing infection. As a result, individuals recovering from Covid-19 are at risk for mucormycosis, or black, yellow or white fungus. Covid-19 suppresses the immune system, so the immune system cannot clear other bacteria or fungi.  “That the steroid treatments for Covid-19 also suppress the body’s immune response, contributing to these increased mucormycosis/ fungi infection,” th...

The Chief Justice of India, Justice N.V. Ramana, along with members of the bar and bench bid farewell to Justice Ashok Bhushan on his last working day on Wednesday. Although Justice Bhushan’s last working day was supposed to be on July 4 but due to the sad demise of his mother, Justice Bhushan had his last working day as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India today.  Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Vikas Singh was the first to address the ceremonial bench, thereafter Shivaji Yadav, President, SCAORA addressed the bar and bench bidding their warm farewell to the Judge. SCBA Secretary Ardhendumauli Kumar Prasad expressed his heartfelt wishes to the Judge and stated that he felt sorry as the Judge retires from the bench. SCAORA Vice-President Manoj Kumar Mishra and Diksha Rai Goswami were amongst others who also expressed their warm regards to the Judge. Young members of the bar said they were always fond of appearing before Justice Bhushan’s bench as he was a sturdy...

The Chief Justice of India, Justice N.V. Ramana, along with members of the bar and bench bid farewell to Justice Ashok Bhushan on his last working day on Wednesday. Although Justice Bhushan’s last working day was supposed to be on July 4 but due to the sad demise of his mother, Justice Bhushan had his last working day as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India today.  Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Vikas Singh was the first to address the ceremonial bench, thereafter Shivaji Yadav, President, SCAORA addressed the bar and bench bidding their warm farewell to the Judge. SCBA Secretary Ardhendumauli Kumar Prasad expressed his heartfelt wishes to the Judge and stated that he felt sorry as the Judge retires from the bench. SCAORA Vice-President Manoj Kumar Mishra and Diksha Rai Goswami were amongst others who also expressed their warm regards to the Judge. Young members of the bar said they were always fond of appearing before Justice Bhushan’s bench as he was a sturdy...

By Lokendra Malik Under the Indian constitutional scheme of things, the governor is the formal head of a state government and acts on the aid and advice of the council of ministers headed by the chief minister (CM). There are only a few areas where the governor acts on his discretion. The CM, who gets a mandate from the people to run the administration, is the real head of the state government. He takes all decisions and remains responsible to the legislative assembly, not to the governor. However, the Constitution does not make the governor only a figurehead or a cipher. He has a significant constitutional role in the state. Under Article 167 of the Constitution, the governor can seek any information from the CM regarding the affairs of the state, government’s decisions, proposals of legislation, etc. and the CM has to furnish that information. The governor is a nominee of the president of India, who appoints him on the prime minister’s (PM) advice. He holds his office during the p...

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the constitutional validity of the Tamil Nadu Land Acquisition (Revival of Operation, Amendment, and Validation) Act, 2019 which was to be applied retrospectively from 2013. A Bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar rejected the pleas made by G. Mohan Rao and other petitioners, who contended that the 2019 state law and its notification should be struck down as “unconstitutional, illegal and void”. The challenge to the revival of Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Land for Harijan Welfare Scheme Act, 1978; Tamil Nadu Acquisition for Land for Industrial Purposes Act, 1997; and the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001 (‘State enactments’) by way of a retrospective, validating enactment had been mounted on the ground that the 2019 Act was a legislative tool to revive unconstitutional enactments and an attempt to overrule a 2017 Madras High Court judgment. By the said 2017 judgment, the Madras High Court had struck down the State-introduced Section 105A of the 2013 Act, w...

The Delhi High Court refused to hear a plea seeking a direction to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to publish the rationale document on Class X assessment criteria, saying, “Litigation is not a game of chance.” A two-judge vacation bench comprising Justice Manmohan and Justice Navin Chawla, however, granted permission to petitioner Justice for All to withdraw the present application, with liberty to move an application for early hearing of the writ petition before the Roster Bench.  The Bench expressed its unhappiness that no application for any interim relief was filed in the beginning with the writ petition, and now filed this application at the ‘eleventh hour’. “Litigation is not a game of chance…..You espouse petition on genuine causes. You have to maintain very high standards if you’re evoking public interest litigations. You can’t become an ordinary litigant,” said the Bench. The interim application has been moved in the petition filed by Justice for All, ...

The Supreme Court today directed the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAI) to allow CA exam candidates the option to opt out of the exams if they have recently suffered Covid-19 or are yet to recover from its after-effects and are consequently unable to appear. The Apex Court asked ICAI to offer this for candidates under both the Old and New syllabuses.  The ICAI was told to allow such candidates to appear in the backup examination which is held around November 2021. As discussed yesterday in court, the ICAI counsel submitted the note pertaining to guidelines and relief for candidates.  Whereas, the bench comprising of Justices A.M. Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Aniruddha Bose observed that the options provided in the note submitted by ICAI is not enough and it needs to be expanded. Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora, who appeared for the candidates, raised several points– – The note does not capture the point that the opt-out option has to be given to candidates who...

The Supreme Court today has asked yoga guru Baba Ramdev to produce the original video and transcript over his alleged remarks on allopathy cure for Covid-19 and list the matter for further hearing on July 5, next Monday.  A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana was hearing the plea filed by Ramdev seeking a stay on proceedings in multiple FIRs lodged against him in various states over his remarks on allopathy criticizing doctors on their treatment of Covid-19 cases. During the hearing today, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Ramdev, submitted that he is a proponent of yoga. He also clarified that his client has nothing against the doctors and he is entitled to have a view. There are all kinds of FIRs that have been filed against him all over the country. When he got Coronil, all doctors went against him. He has freedom of speech too, said Rohatgi.  Justice Hrishikesh Roy: “You haven’t placed the whole thing what he said. What is the original thing? ...

To recover arbitration approved dues, Cairn targets other GOVT firms Having sued Air India and having come up against stiff resistance from the Indian government, British Oil company Cairn Energy Plc has now set its sight on assets of other Indian government-owned firms from the US to Singapore in its bid to recover monies due to it from the Indian government after winning an arbitration award in a retrospective tax dispute. Through the lawsuits, Cairn wants to make the state-owned firms liable to pay $1.2 billion, along with the interest and penalties. The government of India has been participating in the arbitration for over four years and has not accepted the award. It has filed a setting aside petition in court in the seat of arbitration in the Netherlands. The oil company has refused to name the companies that it wants to target. Its arbitration award has already been registered and recognised in the US, UK, the Netherlands, France, Canada and Singapore. The Indian government h...

A Public Interest Litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court, seeking direction to the Union of India to frame effective rules, regulations, and guidelines to control population explosion and to ascertain the feasibility of making Two-Child Law as criteria for government jobs, aids, and subsidies, right to vote, right to contest, right to property, right to free shelter, etc. The petitioner sought direction to the Centre to declare the first Sunday of every month as ‘Health Day’ in place of ‘Polio Day’ to spread awareness on population explosion and provide contraceptive pills, condoms, vaccines etc. to EWS and BPL families, with polio vaccines and direction to the Law Commission of India to prepare a comprehensive Report on Population Explosion within three months and suggest the ways to control it. The PIL has been filed by Firoz Bakht Ahmed, Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad through Advocate Ashutosh Dubey. According to the petition, at present, 1...