Bar, Bench & Litigation

Court reporter Avantika Mehta’s Biting Friends personal blog tells the story of Kishan Bahadur and other Nepali staff working in Delhi’s Patiala House district court, who have lost property (and often more), in the 25 April earthquake that levelled 90 per cent of buildings in places such as his hometown Pokhara.

His colleagues are trying to raise funds and so far have Rs 2,000 towards rebuilding a house that will cost many times that. But shockingly, neither Tis Hazari court, which has about 50 Nepalis working in it, Saket court with around 20 Nepalis, nor Patiala House Court with 18 to 20 Nepalis, have granted any of those affected compassionate leave.

Post worth reading in full, and if you “want to help Kishan and others like him, please go to the Court Staff Secretaries at the various district courts, and donate what you comfortably can to their cause”, writes Mehta.

Calcutta high court advocates, following the local high court bar association’s majority resolution, have gone on strike for three days from today due to the heat, reported the PTI, with judges waiting in vain in chambers to handle cases without lawyers present despite relaxing lawyers’ dress code requirements to “white shirt and pants”.

Chief Justice Manjula Chellur “likened the attitude of a section of lawyers practising at the high court with that of schoolchildren” and that the strike was irritating and painful.

NDTV reported that vice president (legal) of Reliance Industries and former Talwar Thakore Associates managing associate Janhavi Gadkar had allegedly killed two persons in a taxi while driving her Audi Q3 drunk in Mumbai last night on the wrong side of a major freeway.

The 35 year old lawyer has been arrested by police, after killing Mohd Salim Saboowala, 50, and the taxi’s driver Mohd Hussain Sayaed, 57. Three passengers survived the crash which mangled the taxi and caused heavy damage to the Audi.

She has been booked with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and rash driving, said the police, relying on video evidence shot minutes before the crash.

She had worked at TTA between 2007 and 2013, according to her Linked in profile.

Prashant Bhushan today termed the government’s decision to appoint former Central Board of Direct Taxation chief KV Chowdary as the new chief vigilance commissioner (CVC) as “shameful and unfortunate”, as senior counsel and BJP politician Ram Jethmalani penned a public break up letter to the Prime Minister earlier today.

“It’s shameful and unfortunate that the BJP and the Congress have come together to destroy the CVC (by) appointing a dubious and pliable person as its chief,” Bhushan told IANS

Bhushan said he would take up the matter: “I will challenge it in the court.”

Earlier in the day, the central government announced appointment of former Central Board of Direct Taxation chief KV Chowdary as the new CVC

TM Bhasin, chairman and managing director of the public sector Indian Bank, was appointed vigilance commissioner and senior most Information Commissioner Vijai Sharma was named the new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC).

Senior counsel Ram Jethmalani tweeted, “My breakup with the Prime Minister”, attaching a letter slamming Narendra Modi’s choice of KV Chowdary central vigilance commissioner (CVC).

Legally India has responded to the legal notice sent by Bar Council of India (BCI) chairman Manan Kumar Mishra on 25 May 2015 to Legally India, Kian Ganz and Prachi Shrivastava.