The Bench and the Bar

Google Inc. has violated Russian antitrust laws by requiring that manufacturers pre-install its services on their devices, the local antitrust authority ruled, in a blow to the Internet giant’s bid to overtake domestic search-market leader Yandex NV

reported Bloomberg and others.

Late last month Google was hit with an unfavourable preliminary report from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) director general in respect of its search advertising business, which could result in a multi-crore fine if the CCI agrees.

The Supreme Court bench comprising justices Ranjan Gogoi and NV Ramana is likely to hear the UOI’s appeal against Gujarat High Court’s verdict in the case of UOI vs Jan Balaz from today (September 16).

Legasis Partners advised used vehicles online marketplace CredR’s owner Incredible Technologies in raising $15m from Eight Roads Ventures, which was advised by J Sagar Associates (JSA).

Legasis Pune partner Apurv Sardeshmukh and Mumbai partner Yogesh Chawak acted for the less than one-year-old start-up Incredible, which was founded by IIT alumni and, according to Mint, had raised funds from Growthstory in June.

JSA Delhi partner Manvinder Singh, senior associate Nalin Bawa and associate Sonali Kapoor acted for Eight Roads - formerly known as Fidelity Growth Partners.

The online used vehicles space is crowded with several other players such as Truebil, Zoomo, CarDekho, Carwale and CarTrade in addition to horizontal P2P platforms such as OLX and Quikr, reported VC Circle.

As reported in Mint on 8 September, senior advocates charge anywhere between Rs 75,000 and Rs 16.5 lakh per hearing in the Supreme Court, and many appear in several matters per day.

The All India Judges Association’s (AIJA) petition in the Supreme Court for a separate pay commission for lower court judge is up for response by the central government, reported Mint.

A bench of chief justice HL Dattu and justices Shiva Kirti Singh and Amitava Roy issued notice to the centre, in the case, yesterday.

AIJA’s petition states that there is no provision for increasing the pay scale of lower court judges in the seventh pay commission, thus neglecting 18,000 Indian judges.

The AIJA has prayed for directions to set up an independent pay commission - the All India Judicial Commission - to review the service conditions of the lower judiciary, which includes pay scale, pension and retirement age.

The Indian judiciary has been grappling with the question of whether to permit foreign lawyers to practice in India for more than two decades. After yesterday’s hearing in the Supreme Court, it doesn’t look like any end is in sight.

A Delhi court on Monday issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against former Delhi law minister Somnath Bharti, who has been booked for domestic violence.

Metropolitan Magistrate Manika issued the warrant against the Aam Aadmi Party leader after police informed the court that he was not cooperating in the probe.

Meanwhile, Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay Garg on Monday refused to grant anticipatory bail to Bharti, the legislator from Malviya Nagar constituency.

Advocate Deepak Khosla is appearing for Bharti and told Legally India that he would appeal before the high court today and prove that the case was an abuse of the criminal justice system.

Bharti was last week named in a first information report (FIR) filed under many sections of the Indian Penal Code, including domestic violence and attempt to murder, at Dwarka North police station in west Delhi.

Police said they filed the FIR following the June 10 complaint by Bharti’s wife Lipika Mitra, who said the AAP leader has been abusing her ever since their marriage in 2010. She also claimed that Bharti beat and tortured her and once even tried to kill her.

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Monday said it would now issue arrest warrants against people who fail to appear before it despite being summoned, an official statement said.

The commission also said it has sought senior lawyer Indira Jaisingh’s opinion on the matter.

Jaisingh opined that the DCW not only could issue arrest warrant but also attach the property of the person who fails to appear before it.

“It is shocking to note that all other State Women Commissions too possess the same powers but these are never used. The opinion given by Jaising in writing clarifies that the Commission has the authority to issue arrest warrants and property attachments against persons who fail to appear before the Commission on the summons issued to them,” the DCW statement added.

DCW chief Swati Maliwal also tweeted that the commission would now act in cases that are deemed fit for it in accordance with the authority given.

“From now on, in cases deemed fit, DCW will issue arrest warrants and attach property of people who do not appear in DCW on DCW summons,” she tweeted.

The Delhi High Court on Monday agreed to hear a plea challenging the establishment and jurisdiction of the {National Green Tribunal (NGT)} and also the rules for appointment of its chairperson, judicial and expert members.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath admitted the plea which has sought to declare NGT as illegal, invalid and ultra vires of the constitution.

Filed by advocate Ravinder Kumar, the plea challenged the constitutional validity of various provisions of of the NGT act relating to the establishment and composition of the tribunal and qualifications required for appointing the chairman and judicial and expert members.

The plea alleged that the fixation of the terms of office of the chairman and judicial members smacked of political intervention statutorily incorporated in the NGT Act to accommodate post retirement, re-employment extension and benefits to judges of the Supreme Court, high courts and bureaucracy.

High drama was witnessed in Court No 3 on Monday, September 14 when Justices V Gopala Gowda and Adarsh Kumar Goel assembled to hear Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association vs Manohar Lal Sharma and Ors, which came up at 2.15 pm.

A Supreme Court bench comprising of justices Madan B Lokur, Kurian Joseph and AK Sikri finally gave the go-ahead today (14 September), to the inquiry team led by former CBI special director ML Sharma to probe the visitors’ diary of former CBI chief Ranjit Sinha.

Verus won an order lifting the city-wide Mumbai ban on the sale of meat that was imposed by the government in solidarity with the Jain fasting period.