Jerome Merchant + Partners

hello everybody,

though my hello sounds good, but am very upset at the moment... yesterday, L.L.B 1st term results of campus law center came out and it was utterly shocking! so many bright students who had immense knowledge about the subjects got mediocre marks compared to the students who just crammed dukkies by Dr. A.K Jain and secured wonderful marks.

In fact, i wrote my criminal law-1 exam so very good but got the least marks in it! I even discussed my paper with my lecturer and she was also shocked to the state of affairs existing in DU. Why is this system of checking so dependent on the luck of the students? Why do 2 0r 3 people out of 100 need to become the unfortunate victims?

I don't understand where the problem lies. Shall i focus more on knowledge or cramming dukkies? This is very discouraging.

Do you have anything to say?

     In India Judiciary is the guardian of Our Constitution. Whenever the rights of a people is breached then the Judiciary is the only means where remedy can be sought. We have full faith upon our judiciary and We should be well acquainted with the facts that whenever there is injustice from the other two organs of the Democracy i.e. Legislative and Executive the the Judiciary has provided the proper remedy to the aggrieved individual as well as Society.

     With the growing number of  Population and Less number of Judges as per ratio of Population, Our judiciary is overburden and the Judges are under tremendous pressure to accomplish their duty and to give fair Judgment as per Law.

     Our Judiciary has to give decisions and pronounce judgment as per codified Law of the Country and on the basis of  best evidence rule. In criminal jurisprudence Prosecution has to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt. Our judiciary follow the maxim  " Let Hundred Guilty be Acquitted but One Innocent should Not be Convicted". And Our Judiciary always gives emphasis to this maxim in a criminal trial before the court, due to this reason conviction rate in India is very low. Under the circumstances we can understand that whenever Our Court Convict one person for a crime, there is total and sufficient evidence against the accused. So, we should respect the decisions of Judiciary. There may be one or two exceptional case but this should not be deemed that Judicial decisions are not correct.

     Judiciary is guided by the Law text and not by the emotions. Judiciary do not favour the numbers or bourgeois. Judicial decisions are based on Law and not on Facts or rumours.

     A matter which is not morally wrong but Legally may be wrong and under such situation the court has to presume the legality of the matter. It is the Judicial decisions of our Apex court and High Cout which takes the initiative to safeguard the right of the society by Public Interest Litigation. So, it is our utmost duty to respect the Judicial Decisions pronounced by the various Courts of our County. If any party is aggrieved by the decisions of any court then he has the right to appeal against the decision in the Appellate court but publicly such decisions should not be disrespected with mala fide criticism and discussions only for publicity and personal gains.

     In the recent time we have witnessed that a trend has come out in the media, especially in the visual media to criticize the judgment of the Court taking advantage of the Privilege given to the media to make fair comment on any issue and also taking advantage of the constitutional guarantee of Freedom of Speech and Expression.

    Let's take few examples, First, the Decisions of Binayak Sen's Life imprisonment by the Chattisgrarh High Court for the crime of sedition and subsequent rejection of his bail application by the High Court are being criticised and discussed highly by the  media as most of the intellectual group of people supports Binayak Sen as morally not wrong. Second, in the Priya Darshini Mutto case when Supreme Court of India commuted the death sentence of the accused into life imprisonment then media highly criticized the decision. Third, In the Ruchika Girhotra case, when the accused SPS Rathod was punished for  only One and half years of rigorous imprisonment then the media highly criticized the impugned decision of the court and again when Supreme Court granted conditional bail to the accused Rathod, then the media highly critisised the decision.  Fourth, in the Bhopal Gas tragedy case when the District Court of Bhaopal convicted seven accused for an imprisonment of two years along with fine then the media highly criticized the decision for less quantum of punishment. Fifth, recently in the Arushi Talwar murder case when the Special CBI court framed criminal charge against the parents of Arushi then again media indulged in criticizing the decision of the court. There are innumerable instances of such too much criticisms of Judicial decisions by media.

     These acts of frequent and uncensored criticism of the Judicial decisions of the court of the county by the media mainly for their TRP and publicity taking advantage of privilege of fair comment and freedom of press, is in fact degrading and lowering the value of the judiciary before the common man and right thinking people of the society and these in turn causing the loss of faith of the people in the judiciary.

     Media and every people should understand that Court does not make laws, court pronounce judgment and give decisions according to the codified law of the Country on the basis of best evidence rule. Laws are made by the Legislatures in the Parliament, so if the media and the people of the Nation are not satisfied with the present codified law of the country then they should pressurize the the Legislatures to amend the laws and to make it more people friendly but the Court can not go beyond the codified law of the Country.

     It must be understand and accepted that the Judges give their decision without any pride and prejudice and the Judges are neutral to every one. All the decisions are made according to the written law of County. So, the Judicial Decisions must be respected.

Pronoy Kumar Ghose, Advocate

Akshay BD, a member of the NLU Delhi team that is representing India at the Jessup World finals this year spoke to Legally India about the controversial ‘mooting coach’ allegations, the world finals preparation, the MPL standings and NLU Delhi mooting culture.

Legally India MPL: We had reported earlier about NLU Delhi appointing a new first-of-its-kind mooting coach, who is a young Nalsar alumnus, to assist the students in their mooting endeavours. How far has this plan worked? Can one see the recent success of NLU Delhi in Jessup, Ledien Air Law, etc as a result of this innovative move by the University?

Akshay BD: The official view of the Moot Court Society and Professor Singh is: We have hired a Nalsar alumnus for our moot courts. Honestly, I am disappointed with your reporting of this issue. The article seems to suggest that an associate at a law firm spends time substantively helping teams every Saturday. These are incorrect. We do not have an official moot coach. 

Anyway, to clarify, Mr. Ketan is a visiting faculty who is hired especially and only to judge our internal rounds. He judges our intras intensively spending over 2 hours for each round. This is evidenced by the fact that our intra rounds go on till 3 am in the morning. He sits through all the rounds making the procedure comprehensive and making sure that each mooter feels he or she has been heard adequately.

He is, of course, very intelligent, making it quite impossible to bluff your way through the process. Such a dedication coupled with the transparent and almost foolproof selection procedure has ensured that the teams that deserve to moot are selected. Beyond that, it is really the team's efforts that have paid off. When you are standing at the podium being grilled by a judge, no amount of spoon-feeding can save you and I am sure you will appreciate this fact.

We have worked very hard to be where we are today. Therefore, I request you to report this accurately since it is disappointing to be confronted with baseless accusations about being offered 'substantive help' (read spoonfed) and taking away credit from teams that truly deserve it.

[Editor’s response: The details in our original story came directly from Professor Singh. Now it could be that there was some internal miscommunication and Mr Ketan does not come every single Saturday and the exact help varies, but we stand by the reporting in our original story based on the facts as communicated to us at the time.

In any case, I think this issue has been blown out of all proportion and no one ever alleged ‘spoonfeeding’, except for maybe in jest by other colleges. Older colleges usually have professors providing similarly ‘substantive’ help by judging the moot teams, or they may have fifth years or alumni doing so. We think it is a testament to the initiative and creativity of NLU Delhi, which does not yet have a long mooting legacy to draw on, to innovate and it is clearly proving to be successful. But this should in no way take away from the achievement of the mooters, nor was it ever intended to. Best regards, Kian]

MPL: How are your preparations for the Washington Finals going? Do you think that being a young team of third years, you may have any disadvantage in the world finals? Are you approaching successful ex-Jessupers for guidance or sponsorship?

Akshay: We are going to start our preparations for the Washington rounds soon. We want to make sure we make the best use of this opportunity we have been presented with. We are a young team with little experience with international judges. I do not, however, think that it necessarily puts us in a position of disadvantage. In fact, it worked to our benefit in the national rounds because we were severely under confident knowing that most of the members of other teams were fifth year students. This is one of the reasons we worked that extra bit to ensure we cover up any evidence of inexperience in front of the judges, which eventually paid off.

For the international rounds, of course, we will probably face the problem of lack of experience. But, we will, as always, strive to give it our best. We are planning to approach ex-mooters and persons who have passed out from other Universities. I hope our approach to this preparation in guided in the correct direction. We are also plan to tweak our oral pleadings to suit the style that is typical of the international rounds. 

As for sponsorship, we have an absolutely wonderful Vice Chancellor Dr. Ranbir Singh, who has given us his unconditional support to order any books/journals etc. The University does not allow the students to spend one pie from their pockets for any moot court competition. We are completely funded by our University. 

MPL: What is your take on the MPL rankings this season? Do you think NLU Delhi has a shot at winning the MPL 2? How is the mooting culture in college? Is it popular on campus and competitive? How are the Intra Selection rounds and the moot allocation done?

Akshay: As far as MPL is concerned, I am very happy with the way things have turned out for our college. It offers great visibility for law schools and students who win moot court competitions. Every law student wants to make his University proud and I think if we can do that in any little way possible. MPL has added a whole new flavour to mooting, making it an exciting and competitive activity. People are checking the charts often, significantly increasing the stakes and value attached to each moot. I hope we win the MPL this time. I think it is definitely on the horizon. However, like any unpredictable sporting table, we may see a completely new actor spring to the top of the table because of one moot. So, it’s never over till its over. At present, it’s great to know my University is leading in the MPL because of our team.

Students from the first year to the third year take part in the intra selections. It happens once every year. It is judged by Mr. Ketan along with another judge. There is just one round of intense mooting based on different areas of law each time. This year, however, we plan to streamline the process by releasing two separate problems (one for international law moots and the other for national law moots) and therefore two separate rounds. 

The mooting culture in college is extremely competitive. It is especially so because our institution is young and the only way to showcase any legal talent to the outside world is through moots and publications. The administration has ensured, from the very beginning, that we treat moots as high priority academic activities. In addition, the University funds all the activities. Therefore, it is these added incentives in the form of encouragement from the administration and the motivation of the students to prove that they are equal to any other National Law School that has driven this performance. Besides, mooting gives you visibility in college and outside :-)

More interviews of Jessup winners to follow. Please have a look at Akshay’s perceptions on the standards of Surana judging at the Jessup Rounds.

Thousands of talented students in India from various places appear in the exam of Civil Services so that they would be able to serve country by getting themselves selected in this exam. Civil Services Exam is considered to be the toughest exam and there are only a few talented persons who clear this prestigious exam. But the incident which has happened in the city of Lucknow has raised many questions. A top police official was caught while cleaning the shoes of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Ms. Mayawati.

DSP Padam Singh has created a storm in the political arena of the country by this act. It has not only questioned the image of police in the state of Uttar Pradesh but it has also given a chance to opposition parties to take advantage of this incident. The image of state of UP is well know for the statues and parks which have been established by Ms. Mayawati ( Many statues are of Mayawati only :P ). She is well known for her Dalit cause which she has been following since she has joined politics.

But incident like this creates a bad image not only of the police but also of the government which is in power. Police officials are meant to protect the people from any danger which they might get into. Today, a person fears to go to the police station in fear of getting himself into trouble, and in fact it has become a reality in the many parts of the country. Instead of that, they try their best to solve the problems among themselves but that was not purpose for which this department was created.

This kind of incidents only deteriorates the image of officials in the society, but it would be hard to imagine whether it would be possible to stop it in near future. 

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Finally the results are out!!!!!Myself been always slow learner and low retention was not expecting any miracles in my tyrst with Law.Before the results were out my friend spread a rumor that if you get more than 2 KT you wont be allowed to appear in next semester.

I was shocked to hear this ,my strategy in exams were always quantitative masala rather than some qualitative .One thing i learned in my YUM BI YEH is that size does matter in whichever field you are, "nuisance has its own value ".

My friend a CS and myself YUM BI YEH got in to law with the thought that jo kuch nahi karta woh law karta hai..(no offence to any bdy).To keep my bachelor status intact i thought law is best option.

Finally results were out online my entire group including myself failed .Ab tension ki how many subjects we failed??My friend said "main life main kabhi fail nahi hua??"

I consoled him " aree yeh toh kuch nahi main engineer studies main 10 kt li thi?"

He asked phir,I replied casually " maine engineering chood di"

He was pissed off !!!!

Finally we both prayed to Almighty " Boss ek ya do KT do(was sounding like parivar niyojan ad ek ya do bus) ?plsss aaj tak kuch nahi manga aur abhi bhi success nahi god aapse failure mang rahe hai??? ab ismain kanjoosi mat karna!!!!!

We were suprised when we saw the results only 1 kt ..Bhagwan ne meri sun li!!!

My friend got KT in labour law..and myself in Contract !!!God was generous to one of my friend usko 3 main lagi but he said koi gal nahi full monty nahi hua ...

....to be continued

     After the arrest of former Telecom minister A.Raja, Central Bureau of Investigation on 08 th day of February, 2011 made another high profile arrest in connection with 2G spectrum Scam. This time the arrested person is from the Corporate world. CBI arrested Shahid Usman Balwa, Director of Mumbai-based "DB Realty" on 08/02/2011 for his alleged obtaining of 2G spectrum licence by malpractices in collusion with former Telecom Minister, A.RAja.

     According to a report published on  Indian Express.com Shahid Balwa's DB Realty had acquired Swan Telecon, which bagged 2G spectrum licenses for 13 circles. Within months the Company sold 45% of shares for Rs.4,500 Crore to UAE based ETISALAT. Swan Telecom was later renamed as "Etisalat DB". According to the report CBI has arrested Shahid Balwa for his role in the 2G spectrum scam. He is alleged to be involved in receiving and channelizing money for A.Raja. According to the report the Enforcement Directorate had trailed Rs. 214 crore allegedly routed by Shahid Balwa of  DB Realty to Chennai-based Kalaingar Television, a channel promoted by family members of DMK leader .

     It, is well known to every common man that the motive of the Business personal is to earn profit. But the fact  is that on the way to earn maximum profit and to withstand in the competition most of the businessman strives towards malpractices for short cut, easy and rapid success without following the Laws and procedure. Shahid Balwa is an example of such a Corporate personality who without any fear of law and ethics allegedly strives to achieve rapid success  and earn maximum profits by malpractices in collusion with A.RAJA on the way to obtain 2G spectrum license.

     For the sake of maintaining Rules of Law and Fair competition in the Corporate World, it is very much necessary to follow the laws, procedures and ethics by the each and every Corporate Entity.

     For those in the Corporate World who thinks that money can buy every thing and Law is the puppet of their hand, the arrest of Shahid Balwa is an alarm that no-one is above the Law and Law will take its own course. 

Pronoy Kumar Ghose, Advocate

Society is place of which all of us are an integral part as it has been formed through us only. The basic aim of creating society is to give everyone a sense of freedom so that other don't have any right to interfere in that circle of rights which every individual holds. But obviously there are some restrictions which have been imposed on each and every person to enjoy his/her freedom i.e. freedom stops where one starts interfering into the rights of other individuals. Moreover, it is a society which helps an individual to develop himself right from his birth which  imposes duty on every individual to respect the basic theme for which the society has been created. There are several mechanisms in the form of law, rules, regulations which makes every person aware not to do certain things due to the fear of getting punished. 
Now, turning to the main point why this blog has been created. It has been created to analyze the deep rooted social problems in our daily life and to reach all of you through this means. As a member of the society, it is our responsibility to keep ourselves involved in the matters relating to the society, because if we would not get involved then there would be a solution to any of the problem which are present in the society. Society distinguishes themselves on the basis of caste, culture, religion, region  etc. and remain alien to those issues pertaining to other sections of the society but why do we forget that society is not formed just with one or two sections, it comprises all the sections which are present or which have their identity. Take for example, a person sitting at Delhi would not be much interested in the issues relating to the Telangana issues but is it possible that he won't be affected? What if protesters block the road in Delhi for this demand and that person missed his interview and losses his job? But most of us do not bother as to what is happening with the society. By society I don't that we should confine ourselves to the Indian society, it also involves the whole world because there are certain matter which are interrelated within each and every country for eg. The recession which started from USA had its impact all over the world making thousands of persons unemployed and making many of them to loose their property. So, by remaining just to yourself is not a solution but it is a factor which enhances the problem.
In India, we say that politicians are corrupt and further say that nothing can be changed in the politics but has a ordinary person who is making such comment tried to look beyond this and tried to find out why it can not be changed. It is evident from the statistics of the election that only half of the population cast their votes and this is the main reason why a eligible and proficient candidate is not able to win the election. When it comes to rights, we take out rallies, protest in front of the ministry to enforce our rights, to stop the discrimination against minorities, women etc., but are we doing the same thing when it comes to the duties which have been mentioned in our Constitution, are we really bother about it ? Then why do we expect from the political system to work in a proficient way. But if you see, the political system is doing well for all those sections from where they get votes because even they know that it won't affect their vote bank if they do not pay much attention to other sections, specifically upper middle class and high society. The issue is not confined to the voting system, it has been rooted in each and every issue of the society. 
Until and unless we become more aware that it is our responsibility as a member of the society to actively participate in the issues which are highly important for the society. Individual benefit is always seen by everyone but don't make yourself confine yourself to that only, keep yourself a part of other issues also. Through this blog, I would try to analyze the issues which of general importance whether it be national, regional, economic etc. Please give your support and get involved. 
Regards, 
Abhinav Shrivastava

After sapping my precious time on an insignificant portal like AIM; I spent an entire day brooding about my inadvertent lack of self control. To add up to this trauma I realized it was a mid week crisis i.e. Wednesday. I wanted to yell my frustration out. I was fed up with my online obligations. So while I was vulnerable I saw Aadil (my best friend) and Shiffa (my cousin) barging in. I was in no mood of any offline interaction so I ignored both of them.

But ignoring them was of no recourse as they were right on my face. I knew they were up to something and I was ready for it. “We are going to Malana,” Aadil clamored with a sinister smile. For the first time in my life I had heard something spontaneous and fun from him.

I wanted to be a part of this trip but I was a bit uncertain. I was grounded for not paying the electricity bill. Like can anyone comprehend this intricate stuff? You get your thing busted in a law college for five months and when you are back to your place for an escape; you realize you can get grounded for not paying an electricity bill. Wow! I just love my parents. They always have something new in store for me.

I did my first part time job when I was in 8^th grade. I pushed myself into 2 part time jobs when I was in 11^th, so I know how things are done. Sadly I was going through a stark financial crisis. I did a bit of negotiation with Aadil and Shiffa who agreed on inviting me on an all expense paid trip to the ‘Oldest democracy of the world- Malana’, also famous for its ‘Malana Cream.'

The trip started right from Shimla where we had a friend Ramit waiting for us. The only reason for taking Ramit along was that no person can enter Malana village without being invited by someone from the village itself (Malana is a very conservative village) and Ramit had his roots in Malana. Off-course you can get to the village without the invitation formality; through the tour agencies but then you will not be able to experience the real thing.

Malana village is situated 2652m above sea level and is a tiny hamlet which has been in long isolation until it was discovered by the foreigners. Since Malana is an isolated place the best option is to avail private transportation while travelling to the village of Malana. We opted for taxi from Manali. The trek starts at Kasol, and initially it's an easy ascent, but by the time one reaches Rashol (which is a bit higher) the tiredness sets in. So take my advice start early and you can reach the place in just 3 hours.

As we were about to enter the village Ramit told us not to touch any wall or stone or even spitting as we could get ourselves fined up to 1000 bucks. He also advised us not to talk to any villager to avoid any trouble as there was no police station or the cops in the village. So it was comprehended to me since I didn’t want to get myself into hot waters. 

With the first glimpse that I got of the village I said to myself “yaaaaaaaaar yeh kya hai?”(dude what’s this?). I mean it was so captivating, like it was pure, clean and so beautiful. There was a chill in the breeze and it felt like I was sitting in an AC in the month of July. Now I realize why this village is attracting backpackers from around the globe.

Luckily we met Ramit’s uncle who played his perfect part as a story teller. He told us that the entire land of the village is in the name of the local deity, Jamlu Devta. I also came to know the reason why this village is known as the oldest democracy of the world. It  has an impeccable system of administration with a higher and lower court guided by the spirit of village God Jamlu. Malana stands out as an autonomous self-sufficient unit whose inhabitants claim Greek ancestry, (I was dumbstrucked- Himalaya main Greek ancestry?). These guys have their own upper house known as Jayeshthang and lower house known as Kanishthang. Impressive, isn’t it? The village is practically immune from Indian laws, police or any central or state governing body. 

The village has a very secretive thing to it and it’s a unique culture just makes it different from other hotspots of the country: that too without being given any publicity.

What makes me sad is that the village is not known for being the oldest democracy of the world or for it's cultural heritage but for being nothing more than a drug production facility. Which I feel is not true as the people there have moved on and are trying to find alternate career options (so to say) like growing cash crops and it is commendable because the people in the village had never-ever grown anything legal till now. But what’s really hard to change is the image that the world has of this village.

We had the total stay of about 3 days in the village and I had some really wonderful time with Greek descendants (he-he); heard some amazing stories. I wanted to write more but as you can see the blog is way too long so I need to conclude but before I conclude I gotta say: 'I love you Malana and I will be back next June'.

P.S.

Whenever you plan out a trip to Malana avoid being too effusive and shaking hands with the villagers as you can get yourself fined up to 1000 bucks. Also maintain a group of at least 10 people, as there had been cases of travelers going missing in the valley. In our case we had Ramit who is from the village itself, so it was cool with us. Also do not forget to bring good resolution cameras along, because if you don’t you will regret leaving Malana without good clicks.

scarecrow

Read: 'Bee Ye- Yell Yell Bee- Story of A God Forsaken Girl'

What goes inside any layman when he come across a lawman, that how good is it to be a lawyer knowing the law and all about it. But the pith of the profession is skill of finding the law, not knowing it and then understanding is must as it’s always an edge. One question that always come to mind whenever talked about law is, whether law is an art or science. Well it is a matter of choice. Rather than imaging black and white, we should see the grey in between. I personally think that it has dual nature, we regard it as a form of art as long as it checks our oratory, debating and mooting skills whereas is science when it comes to experimentation, researching and other science dependencies. In your first year at law school you study legal history. I once, remember being asked by a curious, What role does history play in enforcement of law and order. Being rational in his approach he added, we say law is dynamic and changes with changing facets accordingly. It was a reasonable question although no law and order is possible without sound knowledge of its history or origin. Necessity is regarded as mother of inventions. Such necessities can be re-derived only with good knowledge of history. At the same time legal history reflects the retrospective nature of law which simultaneously gives it a prospective touch.

Ever wondered how a newfangled term became such an integral part of our life that in an event there is always a sense of uncertainty unless this so called technology is applied, how it has affected our life that even for trifles we rely on such methods.
It is always hard to define who ‘Mr. JUGAAD’ actually is. Some regard him as an immoral methodology applied to achieve targets where as others call him a smart way to accomplishment. So we may call it a matter of chance or two different faces of the same coin, one leading to mishaps like multi-million infrastructural scams, corruption etc. whereas other towards smart works like execution of more in very less. Some common examples of the former can be seen at the time of recruitments to government office which by all means is said to be true and fair but never actually is. But yeah it is fair for those who has special recommendation of ‘Mr. JUGAAD’.
No ‘Mr. JUGAAD’, no office for you. Generally ‘Mr. JUGAAD’ comes in several disguise namely power, property, money etc. If ever measured the value of ‘Mr. JUGAAD’ against merit, no doubt the ball will lie in ‘Mr. JUGAAD’s’ court.

Remember the last day of your school life when you were all set to enter into new shoes leaving that you wore for past twelve valuable years. It felt as if we have achieved everything when we hold up our first degree certificate licensing us to join the bar. We are extremely happy to see something new, something good and challenging ahead in life and in all those joyous moments we never missed our school for once but as soon as we moved to a new institution we realized its importance in almost every aspects whether it was in terms of our childhood memories, our friends that we made, the kind of treatment we got from our teachers, which now a days is globally acclaimed that Indian institutions has the best possible teacher-student relationship, or the social, civic or moral values that we learned. As I talked in my last post ‘We miss it only when lose/leave it’.
It was the time for a fresh start, when every one tried to the best of their abilities to make to one of the finest institutions of the country or abroad. Some made it to good colleges and rest to an average one. As there is no bad institution reason being it raises question over integrity of the affiliating bodies like BCI, UGC etc. which determines their existence. Once you are accustomed with your surrounding you see two phases of a law school firstly you see college somewhat standing up to your expectations and secondly you are trying to be an exception to be accepted as per their expectations i.e, you now realize that you were not meant to be here but you are an unnecessarily imposed liability over the reputation of an institution by your conscience. Which leads you to ruin your career simultaneously ruin someone else’s reputation.
Every institution has its merits and demerits, some may be good at academics but bad at infrastructure. But do you think these things actually matters at any point of time in future. Well, I don’t think so, what actually matters is you and yourself. You meaning hereby your personality, the way you have been groomed up with best of personality, communication skills and spontaneity, and yourself is your ability to fight with the adversities, your managerial skill along with all other skills you posses which are add-ons.
Once you are in a law school you are automatically vested with some responsibilities and expected to stand by that. Your presence there, envisages you to be the next Mohandas K Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Kapil Sibbal, Ram Jethmalani etc. who are regarded as the best lawcrats India has ever produced. So coming down to a law school is not like going to just an ordinary college rather demands change in notion with supporting aggression.

   After a long wait at last the former Union Cabinet minister for Telecom, Andimuthu Raja is arrested on 2nd day of February,2011 and is in CBI cusdody.

   According to a report of Times of India, Former Telecom Minister, A. Raja is involved in 2G spectrum Scam worth Rs. 1.76 Lakh crore and has been accused  of conspiring with the two officials to help certain companies to avail the 2G spectrum licence at a cheap rate. A. Raja and his two Officials has been charged U/S. 120-B of Indian Penal Code and U/S. 13(I), 13(2) and 13 (2D) of Prevention of Corruption Act.

   The arrest of A. Raja is an warning and a lesson to all the other corrupt politicians who thinks that they can criminally misappropriate the Public money and do whatever they desire and the law is in their hand.

   The fact that the  A. Raja in spite of being a present Member of Parliament and Former Union Cabinet Minister and his party is in Ministry could not save himself from the hand of Law for his wrong done, is an example that no-one is above the Law and the Law will take its own course and this example should be treated as  an warning and a lesson to all the other corrupt politicians that "No One Can Escape the Law".

   Whatever the political reason may be behind the arrest of A. Raja, but the fact is that by the Direction of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the Central Bureau of Invstigation has to submit its progress report on 2G spectrum scam investigation within 10th February, 2011 and due to this this reason it became inevitable for CBI to arrest the alleged chief accused of 2G scam, A.RAja and his two officials for investigation purpose.

   Our Nation were anxiously waiting to see the culprit of this multicrore 2G scam behind the bar and the arrest of A. Raja is a triumphant moment for us. 

   A few month ago we have witnessed that the Maharashtra C.M. Ahok Chavan had to resign his post for his alleged involvement in Adarsh Society Scam.

   The Arrest of A. Raja also implies that Law will take its own Course. So, the Corrupt Politicians be-aware of Law and stop Corruption otherwise remember "No One Can Escape the Law".

Pronoy kumar Ghose, Advocate

'Crime in India-2009' report released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reveals that cases of incest rape have 'increased by 30.7 per cent from 309 cases in 2008 to 404 cases in 2009', and out of total rape cases of 21,397, 94.9 per cent involved offenders who were known to the victims.

                                         Recent Incest rape cases

Mira Road Incest case..... March 2009

Father booked for raping minor daughter in Nagpur....October 2010

Man arrested for raping daughter at Rajkot.... January 2011

Incest means sexual relations between persons who, because of the nature of their kinship ties, are prohibited by law or custom from intermarrying, for instance: - Father, uncle, brother et al.

The Mira Road exposure of a father's sexual abuse of his daughter for nine years on being encouraged by a tantric has opened a Pandora's box of similar cases of incest across the country. The number of incest cases in India has been increasing profusely and in the rarest of rare cases the father has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Increasingly, this is also shedding light on the legal system's shortcomings in dealing with incest, as well as on social attitudes that hinder effective solutions.

The existing laws in India are highly inadequate in dealing with incest cases and particularly where the father is a perpetrator. Many developed countries such as Britain, the US and Germany have strong laws against incest. UK, which made incest punishable in 1908, sets a prison term of 12 years for the offence. Punishment in the US varies from one state to another; extending to 20 years in the state of Massachusetts, while in Hawaii it is five years. Some countries have, however, abolished or diluted their laws against incest - this is invariably because many of them viewed sexual partnerships between closely related persons - even adults - as incestuous, and in recent years there has been some liberalisation of their views on this. Incest involving minors, on the other hand, is uniformly frowned upon in the developed world, then why is India laid back at such instances?

Such inhumane conduct shall never be exculpated and camouflaged under whatsoever circumstances. Girls need to be secured and protected against such predators rather than coercing the victim to be silent to preserve the family reputation. People need to accept that incest is a part of the society and they need to shield their children against the same. Most of the cases go unreported because the family wants to protect both the victim and the perpetrator, especially if he is the father.  There would be a rise in the number of reported incest cases provided there is a fall in the society’s approach accepting it as a stigma and realizing the fact that even they could mirror such a situation.

However let us examine the present Laws governing ‘rape’ in India. According to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code a man is said to have committed rape if he has intercourse with a woman without her consent by fear, force or fraud, when she is under 16 years of age (amendment). Sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, where the wife is over 18 years of age, is not rape. Now there are Impediments to justice in rape cases as Section 375 leaves a few questions unanswered. For instance, what about sexual intercourse by a man with his wife, and without her consent, where the wife is over 16 years of age? “A marriage license should not be viewed as a license for a husband to forcibly rape his wife with impunity.”

The victim is the accused in the eyes of law .As a whole, the process of law is biased against the victim. If the victim is a minor, the onus is on the accused to prove his innocence. But if the victim is a major, it is up to her to prove her charge. Therefore, the defense finds it worthwhile to prove that the victim is a major. Also, in rape cases, unless the woman is examined medically within 24 hours, it becomes difficult forensically to prove that rape has occurred.

The laws too are discriminatory in nature. According to Section 155 (4) of Indian Evidence Act, “When a man is prosecuted for rape or an attempt to ravish, it may be shown that the prosecutrix (victim) was of generally immoral character.” Section 54 of Indian Evidence Act says, “In criminal proceedings (including rape) the fact that the accused person has a bad character is irrelevant, unless  evidence has been given (by him) that he has a good character, in which case it becomes relevant.”

However in all fairness it must be said that there has also been a positive change in the Judiciary’s approach towards rape cases. For example, the level of corroboration needed for a victim’s testimony has really come a long way. In the 1956, Ghanshyam case, it was said that there should be complete corroboration of each and every part of the victim’s story in order for there to be a conviction. Earlier there used to be acquittals on the basis of medical opinion and medical examination of the victim, of late the Supreme Court has held in several cases that medical opinion is merely advisory in nature and rape being a legal condition and not a medical one it is not for the medical expert to decide whether there has been a rape but for the court. This shows the changing attitude of the judiciary as moving towards a more victim friendly approach and prospectively we hope to see least acquittals in such cases.

There really needs to be a legislative augmentation in laws relating to rape and incest in India or else the victims would just sit back, holding themselves accursed and anticipating denial of justice at all times. All that they would be left with throughout their lives is the physical, psychological and social trauma of being raped. With such infallible signs by the Judiciary, we await a legislation whereby the victim is no more a victim but a Survivor.........

As an outsider to Law (Engineer in US), I was pleased with yet another fantastic judgment from the Supreme Court of India's Division Bench of Honorable Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra on Prafull Goradia V. Union of India case today. Here it is in TOI: http://bit.ly/hHraVi

The Division Bench dismissed Petitioner's claim of Haj subsidies by the Government as unconstitutional.

It was an interesting asseveration by the Bench that Article 27 can be interpreted in basically two ways: Either the statute states that the taxes are expressly being collected to serve the purposes of a particular religion OR a generic statute that levies taxes for general purposes diverts substantive portions of those taxes to serve the purposes of a particular religion.

In this case, as the Division Bench pointed out, no such violation was made out in order to substantiate the claim of Unconstitutionality. At a time when partisanship rules high in Washington with potential gridlocks in the form of litigious suits, the learned Bench's quote of former US Justice Holmes, "The interpretation of constitutional principles must not be too literal. We must remember that the machinery of the government would not work if it were not allowed a little play in its joints”, was not only thought-provoking, but, very respectful of non-interference into the affairs of the Government.

Having been a long-time resident of the US, Division Bench of Justices Katju and GS Misra's argument that the "Principles of interpreting the Constitution are to some extent different from those of interpreting an ordinary statute", to me, struck very familiar the ideological divide of two main Judicial philosophies right here in Washington DC. While Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia believes in textualism of laws and originalism of Constitution wherein interpretation as per modern Zeitgeist isn't cool, Liberal Justice Stephen Breyer believes just the opposite. Besides, the current Judgment has a liberal citation of foreign Jurisprudence, which echoes more of Justice Stephen Breyer's school of thought. Further, the Division Bench owed some of its leanings on the matter by liberally citing former US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall (1755-1835)

By highlighting the fact that the Petitioner did not quantify the level of proceeds being diverted towards subsidization of Haj, the Division Bench was able to easily pulverize the Petitioner's claims. It even mildly admonished Petitioner by saying his allegations were "vague". For the record, barely a paltry 0.13% of the levied taxes were used for this purpose. As the Calcutta Telegraph reports, "In Parliament last year, foreign minister S.M. Krishna had put the Haj subsidy at Rs 611 crore for 2009-10. The figure is just 0.13 per cent of the Rs 4.65 lakh crore (revised estimates) the Centre collected in taxes in the same year."

The Bench's punctilio was evident when it put bluntly: The object of Article 27 is to maintain secularism, and hence we must construe it from that angle.

As is emblematic of Honorable Justice Markandey Katju to make edifying observations, the parting comments of the Judgment are given wide coverage by the Press today. Here, both the Justices solidly avow their faith in Secularism and how it has made India for what it is by citing the moral dilemma that existed during Partition.

Their implied notion that, for India to subsist and exist as a nation of variegated diversity, secularism is not just an ideological and expedient choice, but essentially a sine qua non. 

That, I think, has made this a secular judgment to savor.

Ever since I quit my job at Colby, Hewitt & Richards LLP last year to take up employment at the London office of the US firm Bradbury & Laithrose, it has become increasingly clear to me that things are looking up. The world economy is recovering and the bank manager is a friend again (even a skeptic such as he was moved to increase my credit card limit after a single glance at my new and vastly improved salary slip).

Naturally, as a consequence of my newfound riches, I have moved to a pretty nice part of South Kensington. It’s a small flat and the heating is pretty ineffective but if I crane my neck from my kitchen window I can see Laxmi Mittal's car park. Pretty good stuff that.

My move to Kensington, however, still leaves me a significant amount of travelling time (given that the B&L office is still in that hell-hole called the City of London). I find that the variety of people you meet on your way to work is pretty incredible. Some examples:

1. The man who is late for a breakfast meeting- he is the one staring at his watch trying to stop time while simultaneously increase the speed of the train;
2. The executive who regrets dating the college girl who knows how to party- he is the man with bloodshot eyes who doesn’t smell very nice; and
3. The nattily attired, demure and incredibly handsome Indian lawyer- he is Nandii Reywal.

But when I say the people you meet on your way to work, what I actually mean is the people you see on your way to work. That is because everyone on the tube is busy doing nothing. On second thoughts, they are actually doing something. Except that “something” is ignoring everyone around them, if you know what I mean?

To clarify that rather confusing formulation above (to tell you the truth I rather enjoyed it- it will make sense if you read it slowly), the whole tube experience is a pretty impersonal one. Nobody smiles at you or attempts to strike up a conversation. Most people are either listening to bad British pop music on their I-Pods or reading newspapers in a concerted effort to pretend that the person next to them doesn’t exist. I once saw a man who was snoring soundly with a newspaper held up firmly in front of his face. Pretty impressive, I thought to myself.

There are also other peculiar habits that I have noticed such as crowding next to the tube door. Anyone who has ever travelled in a Bombay local knows that the surest way of getting an umbrella/knee in your nether regions is to crowd next to the door when there is space available inside the compartment. Quite evidently, Slumdog Millionaire didn’t adequately educate the British tube traveller.  

So while you are quietly contemplating the anthropological value of studying tube travellers in London (especially the pretty females ones), most times you will hear a robotic voice announcing that the train you are on will terminate at the next stop or will be waiting here for approximately 30 minutes or that your destination station is no longer accepting incoming trains. As luck would have it, often this is when you look around and spot one of your Indian friends on the same train- you both then bitch happily in your native tongue about the wonders of the most expensive transport system in the world and promise to quit this country and go back home in ‘another couple of years’, i.e., once you have made enough money.

The train eventually reaches your destination and a stream of people bursts through the doors. You look around and everyone walking is fast towards the exits- age no bar, sex no bar. It is often said that you can identify a Londoner by his/her quick gait. What is a ‘Londoner’? Is it even a real word? Am I not a ‘Londoner’ if I don’t walk fast? 

Anyhow, once the crowd has passed another great London tube mystery will reveal itself- the mystery of the single glove. Every successful tube journey must have this. There are just millions and millions of single gloves lying all around London tube stations. I am sure these gloves were manufactured specially to decorate the Underground. These gloves have no pairs and are of absolutely no value to anyone. Who would want mismatched gloves? I suppose that at some level it keeps people honest.

Once you get past the damn escalators, which are machines from hell designed to shave off the front of your pointy formal shoes, you are just a few steps away from the exits. This is where the final surprise lies- you will see Londoners continuing to be deeply engrossed in their novels, newspapers, magazines, Kindles, Galaxy Tabs or I-Pads even when their morning joy ride is over and they are walking on busy roads outside the tube station. Personally, I find reading and walking a pretty inefficient combination, since I would have to keep re-starting each sentence to make sure I didn’t smash into oncoming traffic. Imagine having to do the fast Londoner walk along with that- its all a bit much for me.

Today, at the end of a journey substantially similar to that described above, I stepped outside the tube station and it began to rain. 

"Great!", I thought to myself and began planning this blog post in my mind.