Welcome once again to the world of Nandii aka Modern Bob, where buildings are made of shiny glass and all trains run on time to the right stations.

It’s nostalgia time. I recount below my first day of work (translated suitably to reflect events, where appropriate).

8.30 a.m.: Dressed in my smartest suit, I steal a quick look at the Financial Times just to make sure my commercial awareness is up to speed.

[Translation: I wake up, slightly hungover from the free wine at the Colby, Hewitt and Richards’s introductory dinner party last night. Free stuff must ALWAYS be ingested in copious amounts.]

9.15 a.m.: Being extremely perceptive, I notice the market is slightly under the weather and decide I must discuss this with my boss.

[Translation: I find a bomb scare has closed down Moorgate tube station, which means I have to take a bus to work. Of course, divine intervention ensures that there are bus stops every 50 metres. I have no choice but to read the front page of the tube paper which informs me that important takeover talks have collapsed. “Tabloid trash” I mumble to myself and crumple the paper, earning stares from my fellow bus-inhabitants.]

10.00 a.m.: My boss walks in. We connect instantly and there are smiles and handshakes all around. We have a pleasant conversation where he tells me all about his wife and kids. Naturally, he is curious about India and we make holiday plans.

[Translation: I rock up to work to find a slightly sour-faced man in my room and the following conversation takes place. 

Boss: You’re late, and what’s your name?  

Self: Sorry sir, I'm Nandii.

Boss: Nandos?  

Self: It’s closer to Nun-dee. But you can call me Bob if you like, sir.]

11.00 a.m.: I am given my first piece of work, which I complete flawlessly, impressing all at Colby, Hewitt and Richards. I am hailed as a rising star and the cleverest Indian in the firm (including the IT dudes).

[Translation: I am asked to draft a couple of simple documents. Diligently, I replicate the precedents handed to me. As luck would have it, they have slyly repealed the English Companies Act recently and replaced it with an entirely new piece of legislation. To complicate things further, my boss is aware of this and lets me know what he thinks of my drafting skills. ]

1:00 a.m.: The best looking girl in the office rings up asking me if I want to go for lunch. We have a lovely Italian lunch and promise to meet everyday.

[Translation: I ring up the best looking girl in the office, asking her what she’s doing for lunch. She tells me that she’s busy till the end of the month, but will consider lunch with me next month if I take her secretary out today. I spend my lunch hour helping a 75 year old chew (?) her way through spaghetti ravioli.]

3.00 p.m.:  I attend a seminar on recent legal developments and having read the FT this morning, I am able to contribute meaningfully to the discussion on the present condition of the market.

[Translation: An emergency firm-wide meeting is called- another important investment bank went into bankruptcy over the weekend. While I vaguely recall reading about the collapse of takeover talks in this morning’s paper, the events of last night and the warmth of the seminar room overcome me. The next thing I recall is opening my eyes with the entire room staring at me. This is not a pleasant sensation. Drawing on my vast reserves of commercial knowledge, I opine confidently that the Icelandic giant Kaupthing should take over the big British banks to save the day.]

4.30 p.m.: I perform some simple but important administrative tasks.

[Translation: I email some documents to my PA, Jackie Richards, for her to print out ASAP. Outlook automatically corrects the address to ‘Jack Richards’, who incidentally happens to be the Managing Partner of the firm. His reply cannot be reproduced here. I learn an important lesson- my PA is called Jacqueline Richards.]

5.40 p.m.: I ask my boss when I can leave. He smiles and waves me away. I leave the office for my swanky flat in South Kensington and make plans for drinks with friends.

[Translation: An urgent email is forwarded to me by my boss from his Blackberry (he is at the pub with clients) asking me simply to “Please action”. I leave the office just past midnight having learnt all about repo/reverse repo transactions in Spain and wait for a bus to my flat-share in Mile End.]

Finding: Nostalgia is great!

[Translation: When you look back at things, you tend to romanticise them slightly.]

The High Courts in India are Courts of records.

A Court of record generally has the following attributes:

     1.  generally has a seal

     2.  power to fine or imprison for contempt

     3.  keeps a record of the proceedings

     4.  proceeds according to the common law (not statutes or codes)

     5.  is independent of the magistrate (judge)

The bold highlight on top among others, means that whatever you happen to file in court is preserved
 by the court, including original documents, if any.

However, curiously, in our legal system, the court files habitually disappear.Usually after an interim
 order/injunction has been granted by the Court.

In local parlance the Kolkata attorneys refer to this extra judicial redressal mechanism as the
 ‘Ganges service’ meaning that after a party has obtained an interim order in its favour and
does not want such order to be set aside or varied or the matter to be heard in the near future,
 the court file is illegally obtained by allegedly masquerading the court staff for a few ‘Gandhis’
and immersed in the holy Ganges.

In the northern states, it is known as ‘file gayab ho jana’.

In the South, I am certain there are suitable phrases for the same.

What follows is a very tedious procedure of ‘reconstruction of court file’. Letters are usually
written to the Court Registrar/Registry for reconstruction followed by repeated mentioning

before the Court, issuance of notices to parties to produce their records of the matter
and then removal of objections and finally a reconstructed file on which the proceedings
may continue.

Time span – safely 2-3 years

And the injunction continues.

Now, if the court of record fails to preserve it own record, why should the litigant suffer?

Who pays for such suffering?

The answer obviously is that the Court or the department of the court being responsible for such
‘disappearance’, should be answerable.

The officer in charge or the keeper of the records, if hauled up, may be able to reveal the
 truth and more importantly, the costs of such reconstruction, judicial time wasted and
 suffering to the litigant are if, made to be paid out of his salary, such a nuisance may
 perhaps be deterred. An inquiry into the affairs of the Court, suspension pending inquiry,
a quick decision, suitable exemplary punishment to the wrong doers may also create an
 example for non-repetition of such tricks.

And looking forward, ofcourse, e-filing.

Any thoughts as to how the Courts ought to preserve its own records, keep it away from gnawing

 animals , fire, flood, an occasional tsunami , unruly protests and vandalism and such similar
 stuff apart from the greasy palms removing the files for its final immersion in the nearby rivers?

Dear Learned friends,

While trying to find out whether the SICA (is still in operation or not I came across some judgments of the high courts of different states which raise questions over the credibility of the decisions pronounced by them ad shows that even the high courts do not either apply their minds or they are short of IQ or knowledge. 

We all know that Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985 for enacted for all possible revival of sick industries as per the provisions of the Act but in 2004, the President of India gave his assent to the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Repeal Act , 2003 but the provisions of the repealing Act was to be notified by the Government to come into operation which has not been done so far till date. 

In spite of the said facts and also a clear pronouncement  of the Supreme Court (2006) in this regard wherein the SC asked the Government to consider the matter of notification of the repealing Act in public interest, the Jharkhand High Court, in 2008, dismissed a Writ petition which was a PIL too on the ground that the repealing Act has repealed SICA, thus no ground could be made out to adjudicate up on SICA provisions. Similarly, the Chennai High Court in 2004 accepted the fact in its judgment that the repealing Act has repealed SICA while coming into force 02.01.2004. 

Two judges bench of the Jharkhand HC in the matter of  Surinder Singh Sahni Vs UoI and Ors, decided on 06.05.2008 (LexDoc ID : 352594), states as follows :

"Though, neither the counsel for the petitioner nor counsel for the respondents pointed out, but it has been brought to our notice that the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985 stands repealed with effect from 1st January, 2004 by the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Repeal Act, 2003.

5. The prayer of the petitioner for declaring the provisions of Section 3(1)(f)(ii) of the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985 as violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India, does not therefore survive anymore since the very Act and the provisions contained therein, stands repealed. As regards the other prayers, it Is for the Government to consider' the need for making suitable arrangement for protection of the Sick Small Scale Industrial Undertakings.

6. We do not feel inclined to give any direction to the State or the Central Government in this regard. This writ application is therefore dismissed."

A single bench of the Chennai High Court in the matter of Dunlop Facttory Employees Union Vs Dunlop India Ltd., Writ Petition No.25962 of 2004, decided on 21.12.2004 accepted the fact that the repealing Act has repealed SICA without going into the question whether the repealing Act has got notified or not.

While at the same time the apex court in the matter of Morgan Securities and Credit Pvt. Ltd. Vs Modi Rubber Ltd., 2007 AIR SCW 350, asked the State to consider the matter of notification of the repealing Act.

There may be some more judgments of high courts wherein they would have accepted that the repealing act has repealed SICA but the question arise hereto now that how could we rely on judgments of high courts or whether we get proper justice in all the high courts since in many other matters, I have seen high court judgments without merits and the matter I have referred herein only substantiates the said fact.

I often ponder the mundane things of life when I am tired. Tonight, the lucky subject of my musing is the thermostat dial which has inexplicably turned itself all the way down again, making the office unusually cold.

It isn't hard to imagine that this simple dial is a sinister tool of torture the big boss-men (who live up in the sky) employ to control the lowly employee's urge to curl up under the table and catch a few Zs before the sun comes up and the black-suited worker ants stream into work, with their quick gaits and their straight lines.

I look out of the window- I have arrived. The City of London- the great Indian dream that has outlasted the demise of the Raj; the Punjabi munda's ticket to that luscious-lipped (and soon to be generously-hipped) Punjabi kudi; the Bangladeshi caterer's wet dream and the centre of the western financial world.

My corner office on the 37th floor in one of the tallest buildings in the  City offers a good view- occasionally obstructed by the stray passing cloud. I turn from the window to the rest of my office. Piles, indeed mountains of paper dominate the room. My ilk has a way of wasting paper-even my recycle bin overflows with discarded drafts of documents that no one will ever look at unless all hell breaks loose.

I assure myself that the firm does not have a team of people dedicated to watching me work. I then proceed to stare mindlessly at my computer screen for a complete half an hour, while I wonder what useful (possibly higher) alternative purpose I could instead be serving at 4.30 am. Not the first time I come to the conclusion that my chosen path severely limits options in this regard.

Having satisfied myself that I have no other choice, I work tirelessly for the next fifteen minutes. Immensely pleased with the result, I email my boss my work, noting with satisfaction that the time stamp on my email says 05:17. I hope he notices how late I am working and ignores that this could have been finished early yesterday evening (had I not spent hours poring over the latest gossip on Cricinfo).

I leave the office with the air of a hero returning victorious from battle, slipping easily into the black cab I would never take unless it was paid for by someone else.

Of course, I do not turn the thermostat back up. Now THAT would be a complete waste of my £350 an hour time.

I welcome you to my world. The world of Nandii Reywal- Solicitor at Colby, Hewitt and Richards LLP, where today is already another day.

Legally Drawn is created by Vasanth Sarathy and is published on his blog www.legallydrawn.com

We will be featuring his future cartoons on Legally India.

Hi everyone.

I am a practicing lawyer in the High Court of Gujarat.

I found the field of law very interesting and I love the Law.

Anyone can ask me any query regarding Law, I will give my best answer to that. 

I am also interested in LPO so if anyone is having much knowledge on that please write me.

Pre-sript- The links in this post will take you to some invaluable articles. Please do click on them. I have spent quite some time researching for this piece. Links at point 3 and 15 are specially brilliant. Some of you might like to move straight over to point 11, from where the advanced tips start.

Anyone can make a good CV provided you are ready to work for it. Paths are made by walking, not waiting. Touche.

1.) Learn Great English. Learn to speak english, write english. Learn how English eat, blow their noses and clean their bottoms. But to remain cultured, stick to the Indian culture. It is better, politer and more suave (Poets tend to be chauvinists).

However just to pin- prick your pride here is Wikipedia's article on 'Hin'glish. Don't make the silly mistakes pointed here. BTW as I said, poets are chauvinistic; if you prick my pride with a pin. Ouch! It swells!

2.) Intern in every possible break. Intern after college hours, if possible. There are also online internships possible.

The online internships offered by the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal and the Volintern program of Nishith Desai Associates are doable.

3.) Research. Write papers. Write professional blogs. If you want to get into a corporate firm write on corporate law. If you IP is your field get cracking on IP topics. Look for call for papers here. (In your comments you may thank me for this link).

4.) In summers do summer courses. In winters do winter courses. With all this workload you will not remain a SPRING CHICKEN. But still, try doing a SPRING course.

Soon from a chicken you will turn into a hen. An egg laying hen actually. If you do not change, you still will be a productive chick. In your CV you can be really cocky about this.

WIPO has summer courses on IP law. ISIL has a course on international law every year. CCS has short courses for the socially inclined too.

5.) Get great CGPAs. Be in the good books of your faculty members. Bootlick them, if necessary. Or ask them "Sir/Ma'am, can I be your research assistant".

This will sufficiently ego massage them. Scratching their heads, they are bound to ponder, "Have I turned into such a BIGSHOT, that I need a research assistant"?

6.) Moot. TOM should moot. HARRY should moot. DICK should moot. JOHNY with his mouth full of sugar should moot. ALICES in wonderlands should moot. Even if you are bad at it, moot. The drunk PIPO was brave enough to moot. What keeps you at bay?

7.) Get into the College's Law Journal board. Everybody can't be the editor. At least be a member.

8.) Present papers. Go to seminars and make contacts there. You will do well to read this book I am planning to read. It is called 'How to work a room' by Susan RoAne.

9.) Make best buddies with the best seniors at your college. When you meet them say a loud 'Wassup!'. Show some teeth with the lips curved upwards. They might soon employ you.

10.) Do online courses. Attend webinars. Be a sponge. Take in good from everywhere. WIPO, Asian School of Cyber laws etc. have good courses. (Readers, please come up with some more).


ADVANCED TIPS

11.) Intern once. Intern twice. The third time you go there as an associate. Pick a firm whose practice area you will like to immerse yourself in. Follow this advice. Impress. The elusive PPO will be yours.

12.) Make sure 'googling' your name gives great results. We will soon burn our telephone directories. The smarter ones among us will save them as 'antiques' for diverser investment options. However, Google will be your buddy for some more time at least.

If you are on google you are a stud. If you are not you are a dud. Duh!

13.) Attend events. Attend seminars. Be a people's person. If you don't want to get in a pee-pool, get to know people.

I accompanied Mr. Basheer for the NUJS diversity project to Sikkim. He had spent a month there earlier and we were well received. His friends included two, grade 11 kids: Suku Singh and Palzor; the most respected monk of the area, the hotel attendant, the school teachers and the bakery owner, among others. Get the point?

The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell tells us about three kinds of people: The connectors, the mavens and the salesmen. Atleast be one of these.

14.) Develop a good LinkedIn profile. Study what like minded people are doing and shadow them. Do read this article on how law students should use LinkedIn.

15.) Tie shoe laces with the other hand. It improves left brain-right brain coordination. If you are a computer engineer, get to know cyber law. If you are a lawyer learn java and website designing.

Shake things around a little bit. Freshness is good for your lungs and your life. See how creative people can get with CV making.


PS- Or maybe, you could enjoy your life. Do what you like to do. Don't be a fake.
Work in an NGO. Paint.
Write poetry. See how life unfolds naturally.
Naturally. That is how buds flower and cocoons make butterflies.

The Controversy

 

When the two sports stars (Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik) would tie the knot, it is believed that the two countries India and Pakistan would also share a common-bond. But the marriage between the Indian tennis star and former Pakistani Cricket Captain, scheduled on April 15, 2010 has already witnessed a lot of controversies. After Shiv Sena’s threat to Sania and her family with the performance of marriage. It is now alleged that the prospective groom, Shoaib Malik has been already married to Ayesha Siddhiqui alias Maha Siddhiqui since June, 2002.

Mohammed Siddiqui, the father of Ayesha has already lodged a complaint against Shoaib Malik in Hyderabad under Sections 420 (cheating), 498-A (dowry harassment) and 506 (criminal intimidation). On the other hand Malik and his family have denied the subsistence of any such marriage.

Two sides of the same story

In their interviews, Malik and Ayesha have presented different versions of the story. Shoaib Malik contends that he had never met Ayesha in person before the alleged marriage took place. Maha, had send him the photographs of some other woman who he presumed to be Ayesha. He was deceived by her and at a tender age of 20. When he figured out the fraud in 2005 he immediately broke all his associations with Ayesha.

He said,” I walked out of my house one morning in June 2002, and went to my friend’s shop and called from there. I got a nikahnama, signed it, thinking the girl I was marrying was the one in the photographs.

In Muslim law, this arrangement doesn’t work no matter what paper may or may not be there simply because, when the proposal was made, the image in my head was the girl in the photographs, but the girl, who was accepting the proposal was someone else. That’s cheating.”

Whereas Ayesha said that they had met in Dubai in 2000 and were in constant touch since then. The internet facilities were unavailable that time and therefore there was no question only exchanging photographs. She further said that Malik was disappointed with her being fat and thus avoided her company at public functions. The growing popularity of Malik amongst the girls led to a drift between the two. She proclaimed that a telephonic marriage in Islam was perfectly legal and valid according to the sharia. Ayesha’s family has also released a the nikahnama in public.

Main Elements of a Muslim Marriage :-

1-Free Consent of the Parties

2-Payment of dower

3-Witnesses

4-May be terminated by either of the parties any time

A telephonic marriage in Sharia is valid if witnesses are present from both the sides. In the present case, the marriage claim by the Siddhiqui’s is dubious until and unless, the witnesses from both the sides are produced. Moreover, Shoaib’s argues that the consent given by him was under the misconception that the girl he is marrying was the one in the photographs and not Maha Siddhiqui, further weakens the case. As in a Muslim marriage, free consent of the parties is a pre-requisite.

Under the Indian Muslim Act, a Muslim male can enter a second marriage while the first marriage is already subsisting. Thus, Siddhiqui would not be able to prevent Sania and Shoaib’s marriages even if the alleged marriage is legally valid.

If tried under the Indian Laws the cricketer can be punished with both imprisonment and fine. The contradictory statements issued by the cricketer time and again have also diluted the veracity of his claims. If Ayesha’s claims are valid then the victim has been harassed by her celebrity husband. Calling a wife fat or public harassment amounts to mental cruelty under the Indian Law. It would be to early to jump into any conclusions as of now, I think the truth will reveal itself in due course of time.

The article is a duplication of author's post on her blog. The same can be viewed on 

http://www.legaldrift.com/the-legal-controversy-surrounding-sania-shoaibs-marriage/

The Women’s day this year was indeed very special, the parliament passed the Women Reservation Bill with full vigor.

The reservation for women in the political front emerged with the Panchayati Raj Act, 1992 which was passed in Rajeev Gandhi’s tenure. The Act provided for women’s reservation upto 33% in the Panchayats.

Subsequently demands for women’s reservation in Parliament and state legislatures were raised . In 1996, the then Prime Minister H.D. Dewe Gowda promised to fulfill these demands. After almost 13 years; the Women’s Reservation Bill [The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, 2008] was finally passed by Rajya Sabha.

The bill seeks to reserve 33% seats for women in Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. One third of these reserved seats would be allotted to the women belonging to the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. However, there is no separate reservation for women belonging to the Other Backward Classes (O.B.C’s). Further it is provided that the reservation shall cease to exist after 15 years of its commencement .

The Bill is highly criticized on several grounds :-

1. It seeks to reserve 181 out of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha and 1,370 out of a total of 4,109 seats in the 28 State Assemblies for women. It is argued that the number of seats allotted for women reservation is way too high and hence should be reduced.

2. The reserved seats would be allotted by rotation of constituencies. This means that a male legislator would not be allowed to contest from the same constituency again. Thus infringing his democratic rights to contest elections.

3. The choice of people would be restricted to only choose female representatives.

What is the most bothering aspect of the Bill?

I personally feel reservation does no good to the society. The benefits of reservation almost never percolate down to the lower strata of the society. It is widely observed that some families enjoy the perks of reservation from generations to generations. The people with most miserable conditions usually never get the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of the legislative action.

I’m afraid that the Reservation Bill would serve purposes other than women empowerment. When Lallu Prasad Yadav was caught in the Chara Ghotala, he had to resign and Rabri Devi (his beloved wife) became the Chief Minister of Bihar. She was more like a puppet in the hands of her husband. Lallu enjoyed power without any responsibility those days. It would come to no surprise, if in the years to come we will witness more of Lallus and Rabris in the Parliament and state legislatures. Believe me it won’t elevate the existing position of the women in any way. The legislators will use women as a ticket to ensure their seats in the parliament.

Not only this the “rotation of reserved constituencies” would act detrimental to the public interest. Most of the elected leaders work for their areas expecting that their work would be rewarded by re-election. But debarring them from contesting elections again, may reduce their interest in working for the public benefit.

“The reservation shall cease to exist with 15 years of the commencement of the amendment” is also a dubious clause. It has been witnessed in past that the reservation of ST’s and SC’s (which was originally meant for 10 years) has been extended each time. The same may be repeated for reservation of women as well.

Reservation is no solution for upliftment of women in the society. Being a woman I know what a woman is truly capable of doing. We had Kiran Bedi, Jhansi Ki Rani, Sarojini Naidu, Vijay Laxmi Pundit and many others without any reservation. I would appreciate the presence of more Vijay Laxmi Pundits than Rabri Devis any day.

This article is the duplication of the post published on author's blog. The same can be also read at http://www.legaldrift.com/the-ugly-truth-regarding-the-women-reservation-bill/

‘Tu jaanta hain mera baap kaun hain?’
(Do you know who my dad is?)

‘Kyun, tujhe pata nahin tera baap kaun hain?’
(Why, don’t you know who your dad is?)

This is a cliché dialogue used to indicate power and the far reaching depths of power that a person possesses due to what his/her dad does. A necessary logical reply to this line is the reply statement mentioned. But, unfortunately, things don’t work that way. Even today, power is looked upon as the be all and end all of getting work done. The field of law still happens to be one where contacts work and for the most part, is the only thing that works.

‘Jugaad’ refers to jack or an arrangement which is powerful enough to get work done. ‘Work done’ has a very wide ambit which ranges from getting an internship to getting a job to getting to be a junior under a senior counsel and can even go up to an internship with the ICJ.

When I refer to Jugaad and its colloquial usage, it is a means to get work done in the best possible manner irrespective of the qualifications that a person possesses or the way he presents himself or what his overall resume has. I have seen it happen time and again, that internships, jobs etc. get done only through this all powerful tool barring a small minority who get in through pure merit.

This post isn’t just indicative of law schools where recruitment drives are very good and people don’t need to rely on contacts, but the entire profession as such which includes colleges all over. And for a vast majority of law students present, a student for the most part, has to rely on contacts in order to get into anything that he/she does. 

JUGAAD has certain essential characteristics which makes it all the more effective:
·    It can be used anywhere, anytime.
·    It has to be used as a necessary tool to get things done especially if your college is not reputed.
·    It has far reaching depths depending on where it gets to be used and how has to be used.
·    It can be utilised through various means-relatives, friends, relatives’ friends, relative’s friend’s friends’ etc.
·    Qualifications aren’t as important as the surname that the person utilising it possesses. ·    There is a forever lasting obligation/debt created by the person who utilises the Jugaad in favour of the person through whom the Jugaad was used.
·    Jugaad is most effective in case of above average, average and below average candidates who need the extra push or who just need push in order to get through somewhere. In cases of meritorious students and toppers, it may not pose such a threat or may not be resorted to.

Therefore, the next time that you see anyone come up with certificates of top law firms, counsels etc. without having even seeing their offices even once, don’t get perturbed, they owe it all to the power of Jugaad. Jugaad is best witnessed during recruitment drives when surprise recruitments are made and people keep wondering as to how a candidate graduated from a level of no hope to a level of top notch recruitment. 

Always remember, ‘Jugaad helps, and absolute Jugaad helps absolutely!’
P.S. Depending on which part of the country you’re from, Jugaad may be replaced by alternative terms of colloquial usage.

National Judicial Service has been one of the most political-legal contentious issues in the judicial history of India. The debate has continued for years. On one hand the law ministry and the legislature intends to introduce the National Judicial Service in the country where as on the other hand the judiciary intends to postpone the same.

Why do judges oppose the commission of All India Judicial Service?

There are four basic ways of judicial appointments:-

1. By political institutions (Partially practiced in Italy and South Korea)

2. By judges themselves (Japan, Iraq and India)

3. By non-judge members (Brazil and Most American States)

4. Through Election (Some American States like Washington)

Presently in India, the appointment of district judges is done by the governor on consultation with High Court Judges by the purview Article 233(1) of the Indian Constitution. The Chief Justice of a High Court is consulted by the President before the appointment of any High Court Judge. These appointments are highly politicized and partial in many respects. The lower judiciary is under the dominance and control of the High Court. The district judges have to please the Chief Justice for their promotion as a High Court Judge. The commencement of Indian Judicial Service would surely decrease the power of High Court judges with reference to appointment and recruitment of judges.

When did it start?

The clause related to All India Judicial Service was incorporated in Article 312 (which deals with ALL INDIA SERVICES) by the 42nd Amendment, 1976. The clause specifically provides that Parliament in national interest may create judicial service for one or more states on request of the council of states. The provision clearly states that any post subordinate to district judge would not be included in the All India Judicial Service.

The creation of National Judicial Service is objected on three grounds:-

1.  Impairment of Independence of Judiciary

2.  Lack of regional language proficiency would affect the delivery of justice.

3.  It would be deterrent to the interest of those who have already entered the service.

All the three contentions do not hold water. Appointments and recruitment would not affect the independence of judiciary rather it would ensure the autonomy of lower judiciary. Secondly, it is suggested that the issue of inadequate language knowledge can be easily addressed with proper allotment of states or study of multiple languages can be included as a part of judge-training. Lastly, since it is suggested that only 25% of judges in each state would be drawn from the All-India cadre; the same would not be detrimental to those already in service.

National Judicial System vis-a-vis Civil Services

The judiciary is not considered a lucrative career by most of the lawyers. The profession fails to attract a large number of competent lawyers. This adversely affects the quality of justice in the courts, which further results in delay of justice. In 2009 there were about 53,000 cases pending in SC, 40 lakh with High Courts and about 2.7 Crore in lower courts. The two main reasons for this high pendency of cases are High vacancy in courts and low judges-to-population ratio.  In India the current judge-population ratio is 12.5 per million people where as in U.S. it is 114 per million. Presently 23% of sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court, 26% High Courts and 18% of Lower Courts is vacant.

Each year about 200,000 youngsters compete through an examination to enter services like I.A.S or I.P.S. The candidates are selected on merits and competency for a rigorous training of two years. If a similar system is also incorporated in the judicial services, well-qualified and competent lawyers could be attracted to the posts of judges. It would not only increase the judge-population ratio but would also improve the quality of justice.

The article can also be viewed on authors blog  

http://www.legaldrift.com/will-the-quality-of-justice-improve-by-the-creation-of-national-judicial-service/

SIM-POOL Legal Language = Happy Lawyers?

My friends were red, blue and green. They were playing in the cess pool. Holi ka festival tha. My friends were behaving like animals and shouting hoooooo, haaaaaaa, wooooooo etc etc. They were in joy. Only simple monosyllables like these could be uttered. Like animals you know, I know.

Maybe even early man was very happy. Because sim-pool language (straight from the gut) is the language of the heart. Poetry (straight from the heart) is the language of the soul.

Now here is a simple assumption: Where language is simple, there is a clarity of thought. Where there is clarity of thoughts, things go well.

But what about the legal language (straight from the wicked brains and evil hearts)?. Why is it so complicated?

Now here is a weird question/conclusion: Are lawyers generally unhappy coz the language is so foreign to their existence? Because complicated and perennially confusing usage of words disturbs them? (Ahhh! Profound)

A time comes when they are proud that they know the complication and the confusion well. Being eternally confused they do things which are very muddy coz their thoughts lack clarity.

A simple question/ conclusion: Do we need to simplify our legal parlance to promote knowledge of law everywhere (including Bihar)? That will surely result in more awareness of legal rights etc.

MYSELF BIHARI BABU

Hi pee-pool! (You smell of susu. Yucks!)

Myself Bihari Babu! I am a law e-student. No! No! I not taking any electronic/ wheel-electronic course. But am clarifying because pee-pool making fun when I say e-student. I tell them “Chalo! Chalo! Bhago”.

BTW...I thought let me try my hand at blogging. Maybe I can make you e-smile. I write simple and short posts. Maximum 200 words.

Bye bye Bhai.

See me. This is Bihari Babu.

See you.

Laughing full-too. Haina? I know, you know.

ps- I love churning makkhan (butter) from milk. I do that to people’s brains too. This is what the blog will be about.

Sara went to a bar to party with few of her friends. When she went to rest room one of her friends. Jacob carefully poured a colorless, odorless and tasteless powder in her drink. Coming back she consumed the drugged drink without knowing its consequences. Next morning she found herself in the bed of the accused. Under the effect of the drug she knew about nothing that had happened the previous night.  The accused possessed some photographs of the previous night, which he used to threaten and blackmail the victim. The victim was victimized for months and due to the fear and guilt she remained silent and confided in nobody. Ultimately she committed suicide to get rid of this miserable condition. This story may become a reality in life of any woman. Date rape is something we feel would never happen to us but it is a dangerous mistake to believe so.

It is unfortunate that many victims of date rape or acquaintance rape commit suicide. Recently a 15 year old girl committed suicide when she was gang raped by her boy friend and his friends. Bijal Joshi rape case which formed the headlines in 2004 was no exception. The lower court has recently awarded the five accused (Sajal Jain, Sugam Jaiswal, Ashok Jaiswal, Chandan Jaiswal and Karan Jain with life imprisonment. Bijal Joshi (24 years) was allegedly raped by her boy friend Sajal Jain and his four friends on the New Year’s Eve in a room at Hotel Ashok Palace, Ahemdabad. When the police took no notice of her complaints, she committed suicide leaving a suicide letter which mentioned the names of all the accused.

It is estimated that around 70,000 college students in the United States are victims of drug rapes or sexual assault every year. Mostly drugs like Rohynol, Ketamine and GHB are administered to commit such crimes. They are also known as predator’s drugs or club drugs. Their effects are generally permanent and a woman may not be able to conceive ever if administered such drugs.

Rohynol:

1. Its effect starts within 10 minutes of ingestion which can continue up to eight hours.

2. It may cause difficulty in walking, nausea, confusion, dizziness, muscle relaxation, slurred speech and impaired judgement.

3. However it is banned in U.S., it is legal in almost 60 countries including U.K. and Mexico as it is used as a medicine for insomnia.

Ketamine:

1. It is administered through injections in veterinary practice .

2. Causes hallucinations, numbness, aggressive behaviour, vomiting and dream-like effects.

3. It is available in both liquid and powder form.

GHB:

1. It is available in powder or liquid form and is easily slipped into a drink.

2. It causes unconsciousness, dizziness, drowsiness,sweating, nausea and respiratory problems.

3. Although the drug is odorless and colorless, it is quite salty.

How to protect yourself?

1. Don’t accept or share drinks.
2. Never leave your drink unattended, even if you are going to the washroom.
3. If you find something suspicious in your drink pour it out immediately.
4. Have a non-drinking friend with you at a party.
5. Don’t hesitate to take help, if you feel you have been drugged.
6. Choose taking drinks from a closed container and not from a pitcher.

What must be done by a date-rape victim?

1. If you believe that you are a victim of date rape take medical help. A urine test within 72 hours of the administration of the drug would reveal the presence of drug in your system.

2. Inform the police. To avoid any sort of harassment by police, consult and take help of  a N.G.O .

3. Don’t hold yourself responsible for the tragedy. Counseling would definitely help you to get over your guilt.

4. Suicide is no option. It is not the victim but the perpetrator who deserves punishment.

Indian Penal Code

Although we don’t have any specific laws related to Date Rape or acquaintance rape, the section 375 of Indian Penal Code, clearly states that sexual intercourse without the consent of victim is considered to be rape. It further states that, if consent for sexual intercourse is obtained by intoxication; then also rape would be deemed to have occurred. The minimum punishment for rape as prescribed under Section 376 is seven years. Hence a victim may take the benefit of the above section.

Criticism

It is unfortunate that some people believe that rape was justified if a woman asks the male out. Some of the perpetrators claim that they had right to have sex with their victims. Both the arguments are highly flawed; a man does not own his date. It is not obligatory on a woman to have sex with her partner. A relationship does not necessarily mean sexual relationship.

To prevent date rape a woman must be vigilant and careful. “Betrayal occurs only where there is presence of trust.” Both young males and females must be taught about sexuality in educational institutions. The risk factors and legal consequences related to rape must be discussed with students. It is the moral responsibility of every individual to inform police, if he or she feels that a woman is administered a club drug.

* the post has been published on author's blog www.legaldrift.com

Legally Drawn is created by Vasanth Sarathy and is published on his blog www.legallydrawn.com

 “There is a moment that comes in your life, if you’re queer. It’s a moment of utter loneliness, when you realize that the world isn’t exactly designed for people like us. At this point, we scavenged. We took the novels we read and changed the pronouns of the protagonists. We saw films and changed the gender of the hero or heroine. We read between lines, we found spaces between cracks, we desperately looked at any gesture of affection : anything to know that  somewhere, in someone, there was a mirror to our reality, a name to our desire, or simply, a companion to our confusion.”

-          Gautam Bhan, “Because I Have a Voice”

A film-by-film account of the recently held Bangalore Queer Film Festival 2010, with its heady mix of documentaries, feature length films, and shorts wouldn’t quite do it justice. Instead,  I’ll get to the part where, for me, this 3 day affair of screenings, panel discussions, cultural performances, and a photography exhibition, transcended its film festival trappings, and became something bigger. When is a film festival not just a film festival ?  I was about to find out.

Noontime, on the second day, and the documentary feature, Edie and Thea : A Very Long Engagement was playing. This is  a disarming, moving story of a lesbian couple  finding their way through battles both personal and political, to finally come together in matrimony after a 42 year long relationship. As Edie and Thea exchanged their wedding vows on camera for us all to see, something quite wonderful happened. The audience in the Alliance Francaise auditorium, caught up in the onscreen celebration, cheered and applauded, even louder than the characters on screen : a heartwarming moment transcended the screen and enfolded the crowd in a wonderful shared experience.

Stories, Realities, about love, loss, hope, struggle, violence.  A night out cruising goes hilariously wrong – A near-broken marriage rights itself in an unpredictable manner  –  A chance encounter at an airport with metaphysical hues  –  a documentary tracing the unique, sexually diverse community of the Zapotec  Indians  –  a bleak, phantasmagoric short engaging with the stories (or rather, experiences) of a young actress and a hustler  - A brave, albeit amateurish Egyptian feature based on actual Human Rights Watch reports. And of course, “ A Single Man” – the BQFF event film . In a particularly enterprising move, the organizers tied up with PVR Pictures to position the festival as the premiere for  this Colin Firth starring Oscar nominated film. While I found the film curiously lacking in heart, it more than makes up in its looks. Designer Tom Ford’s directorial debut is an absolute stunner to look at : every frame is immaculately tailored,  art directed to perfection, the designer frames combining with a haunting score to  powerful effect.

Also on display were a double bill of panel discussions and cultural performances : first, a  panel discussion on the Naz Foundation case and its implications that gave the audience immensely entertaining food for thought, with Lawrence Liang drawing linkages between Plato’s Symposium and the “litigation on love” to compelling effect, and co-panelist Arvind Narrain detailing the challenges to the case before the Supreme Court, mining much laughter from the outrageously worded  petitions.  The second discussion focussing on  Queer Women’s Histories and Voices followed the next day, with the Bangalore-based panelists, Christy Raj and Sumathi talking about queer women and female-to-male transgender experiences in the city, while Apphia Kumar delivered an account of bisexual identities.

So when is a film festival not just a film festival ?

The Naz Foundation appeal stands listed for final arguments this month. Whether the appeal is allowed or not, we can be sure of one thing : Our fights will not be won just in the courtroom or the legislature. Our fights are in the spaces where people’s lives are directly impacted, in  spreading awareness, in furthering advocacy. Queer cinema is an important strategy both in increasing awareness and in ongoing advocacy efforts to bring the concerns  of queer people to the Indian public.

And, as an audience discovered during the 3 days of the Bangalore Queer Film Festival, it’s a wonderful mirror to our collective realities.