30% HC Vacancy: 280 judges’ posts were vacant across 24 Indian high courts on 8 August, constituting vacancy of 31 per cent. The number would rise to 306 by the end of 2013 after the retirement of 26 more judges in the next four months [TOI]
Gallows halted: Chief Justice of India (CJI) P Sathasivam stayed the execution of a man held for beheading five of his daughters, in an order passed at 12:30am on Friday, after Supreme Court human rights lawyer Colin Gonsalves rushed to the CJI’s home with the plea that the convict had been denied fair legal opportunities to approach the apex court after President Pranab Mukherjee rejected his mercy petition last month [Telegraph India]
BCI to de-affialiate Kar Uni: After finding that the Karnataka University’s law college had only two faculty members to teach the non-law subjects of the five year integrated law course, the Bar Council of India (BCI) issued a show-cause notice to the college asking why they should not be suspended from awarding law degrees [Deccan Herald]
Security conscious Bangalore courts: The security precautions after the Delhi high court bomb blast have now percolated down to Bangalore’s lower courts from Karnataka’s high court, with the state government deciding to install CCTV cameras at the City Civil and Sessions Court and to deploy more police officials there [NIE]
Juvenile injustice: Over 160 juveniles to date have been incarcerated in adult prisons by the Delhi police, according to the Delhi State Legal Services Authority’s (DSLSA) report to the Delhi high court. A division bench of acting Chief Justice B D Ahmed and Justice Vibhu Bakhru has directed police commissioners to inquire and take action against the investigating officer responsible in each of the 162 cases where the police purposely showed juveniles as adults instead of presenting them before the Juvenile Justice Board [TOI]
Youngest ever UK barrister: Gabrielle Turnquest, age 18, is the youngest person to be admitted to the bar in the history of the 600-year-old English legal system. She now plans to work as a lawyer in the fashion industry – she will start an apparel industry management course in the autumn, while studying for the multistate bar exams [The Guardian]
Pakistan lawyer solidarity: A lawyer group in Pakistan opposed the removal of three Supreme Court judges of the country who had decided to change the date of the presidential election. The lawyers asked the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) to withdraw a resolution demanding a reference against the three judges [Pakistan Guardian]