The Bench and the Bar

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has allowed Legally India’s Right to Information (RTI) appealagainst the regulator, having in December backtracked on its earlier position to provide information.

After the Supreme Court had rejected all appeals against the convict in the Noida-based Nithari killings, Surinder Koli, the Allahabad high court commuted his death sentence in public interest litigation (PIL) of the People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR).

Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PKS Baghel commuted his sentence to life in prison on the basis of the Uttar Pradesh governor’s three-and-a-half year delay in disposing his mercy petition and the “misapplication” of rules, reported The Hindu

Supreme Court senior counsel Harish Salve and KK Venugopal are set to be awarded Padma awards, with Venugopal to receive a Padma Vibhushans, India’s second-highest civilian honour, reported Zee and others.

As effigies burn, lawyers rail against Bedi, with ex-BJP and RSS members also complaining about not having been given BJP tickets in this election because of Bedi’s bias.

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has decided to not go ahead with its controversial new rules that would have banned advocates from the Supreme Court unless they had five years of lower court experience, reported Live Law.