Delhi HC pecuniary enhancement clears another hurdle: The Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2014 which seeks enhance the Delhi HC’s pecuniary jurisdiction from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 2 crore, and which was a cause of Delhi HC bar protests, is now in the Rajya Sabha [PTI]

PIL vs anti-activist NGT bar association fine: The Madras HC made secretaries of three bar associations and two advocates association party to a PIL. The associations (Madras Bar Association, Madras High Court Advocates Association, DRT/DRAT Bar Association, The Service Bar Association, Women Lawyers Association, Law Association) had received the proceeds of a Rs 10,000 fine imposed by the National Green Tribunal on a petitioner for being 36 days late for an appeal to challenge an environmental clearance of the Kudankulam nuclear project. He then filed a PIL against the fine in the Madras HC, asserting that it would be difficult to raise such social issues in the face of arbitrary imposition of fines [PTI]

CCI vows to reduce investigation timelines by one third: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) which currently takes one-and-a-half years on an average to decide a case requiring detailed investigation, has come out with a “3-6-3” rule to reduce the average time of completion to one year. The Commission would take three months to decide whether an investigation is required or not, six months to complete the investigation, and three months to conclude hearing pursuant to investigation results [PTI]

Madan B Lokur offers Coal recusal but excused: Supreme Court justice Madan B Lokur offered to recuse himself from the hearings of the coal block allocation scam on the ground that he and his wife held shares in Reliance Infrastructure, which is a party to the case. However, the CBI, which is probing the case, and the two petitioners - lawyer and Aam Admi Party spokesperson Prashant Bhushan of the NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation and activist serial PIL lawyer ML Sharma – who are seeking the de-allocation of “illegally allotted” coal blocks, said they had no objection to Justice Lokur continuing on the bench [Dailymail]

SC’s six month lease to fill HC vacancies: The Supreme Court told an NGO Centre for Justice that it would entertain its petition regarding filling vacancies in the higher judiciary if after six months the high courts had still not made any progress in strengthening their benches [PTI]

Mukul Mudgal to chair Broadcasting Complaints Council after AP Shah: Former Punjab & Haryana high court chief justice Mukul Mudgal will take over from former Delhi HC CJ AP Shah as the chairperson of the non-news channels’ self-regulator Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC). Mudgal had recently given a statement supporting legalising betting in Indian sports [TOI]

Pakistan in ICJ aghainst Afzal Guru execution: Pakistan may challenge in the International Court of Justice the 9 February 2013 execution of its former citizen Afzal Guru in an Indian court, after Guru had been charged with masterminding a December 2011 terrorist attack in the Indian parliament [ANI]

Marriage certificates through video conf: The Delhi HC‘s justice Manmohan Singh has given a ruling allowing solemnisation of court marriage on video conferencing. Couples based abroad can now confirm their willingness to marry on video conferencing and their relatives can collect their marriage certificate from the registry without the actual couple having to be physically present [Business Standard]

New bar assoc prez in P&H: The Punjab & Haryana High Court Senior Advocate Association has a new president – senior advocate Rajiv Atma Ram, who was unanimously voted in. Senior advocate Puran Singh Hundal was voted in vice president [PTI]

Compared: Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill vs Central Act: The Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill mirrors the central Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013 in terms of appointment and removal of Lokpal, fines and penalties but gives greater protection to whistleblowers, greater investigative powers, a citizen’s charter and citizens and the Lokpal can take suo motu cognizance of any alleged act of corruption [TOI]