The Bench and the Bar

Advani & Co partner Kshitij Sancheti has joined Seth Dua & Associates as a corporate partner in its Mumbai office, following two new associate partners having joined the firm last year after four partners left.

In the ongoing hearing of the challenges to imposition of President’s rule Arunachal Pradesh, the SC constitution bench recalled its notice issued to the state Governor, Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa, when the AG, Mukul Rohatgi, pointed out that the Governor enjoys immunity under the Constitution.

165 candidates passed this year’s advocates-on-record (AoR) exam this year - a huge increase compared to the 65 candidates out of 544 who passed a year ago.

The Supreme Court has referred the section 377 curative petition to a Constitution Bench for further examination.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) TS Thakur, and justices Anil R Dave and Jagdish Singh Khehar, will hear the section 377 curative petition today at 3pm in the Supreme Court.

The social justice bench comprising justices Madan B Lokur and UU Lalit, set up by the previous chief justice of India, justice HL Dattu on 12 December 2014 has now officially ceased, and the cases which were part-heard before that bench, have been distributed to other benches.

Today’s judgment in Sachchidanand Gupta “Sachchey” vs State of UP through Chief Secretary and Others showed that the chief justice of the Allahabad high court had also opposed Justice Sanjay Misra’s name, which was proposed by the chief minister.

The Supreme Court appointed ex-Allahabad high court judge Sanjay Mishra as Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh, reported Mint , after the court had ordered ex-judge Virendra Singh to take up the post in December but admitting that the state government had not shared with the about reservations about the integrity Singh by Allahabad high court chief justice DY Chandrachud.

Also read: The curiouser and curiouser case of the UP Lokayukta appointment.

The Supreme Court’s two constitution benches in adjacent court rooms of 1 and 3 heard two governors simultaneously at 2pm today: one a former governor, and an alleged victim of political vendetta, and the other a sitting governor, who allegedly conspired with the Centre to topple a duly-elected government by recommending President’s rule.

The case Nabam Rebia vs Registrar General, Gauhati High Court, will be heard at 2pm tomorrow (27 January) before the five-judge Constitution bench in Court No 3.

Several chief justices (CJ) will be moved, according to several press reports.

The Supreme Court yesterday declined to entertain three review petitions of its original 7 May 2014 judgment banning Jallikattu, reported The Hindu, only a week after the Supreme Court had ordered that the Centre’s restarting of Jallikattu was illegal and declined to vacate its order.

As reported by Legally India on 20 January, the bench of Justices V Gopala Gowda and Pinaki Chandra Ghose had allocated five minutes for the review hearing.