Wired
SC Singhvi retires, leaves legacy
The Supreme Court’s justice GS Singhvi, most famous for his stern treatment of the 2G and the land acquisition cases, retired today just after overturned the progressive Delhi HC judgment that had decriminalised homosexuality [The Hindu]
Madras HC advocates for Ganguly
Madras HC advocates yesterday took out a rally in support of sexual harassment accused former Supreme Court judge AK Ganguly, asserting that he was being targeted because of his stern dealing of sensational cases [TOI]
CCI’s giant Coal India fine
Coal India is facing Rs 17.7 billion ($290m) Competition Commission of India fine for abusing its dominant position and imposing unfair conditions in fuel supply agreements with customers [Reuters]
E&Y legal to launch Singapore with HSF partner
“Former Herbert Smith Freehills’ Singapore partner John Dick has joined Ernst & Young Singapore as a partner as the “big four” accounting firm mulls legal services launch,” reported [The Lawyer]
PIL reveals crippled IPAB
A PIL in the Madras HC has brought attention to the “crippled” state of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board due to insufficient funds to have permanent premises for its principle and circuit benches [TOI]
Maha-NLS dream remains distant
Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan “dodged” the Times’ query regarding schedule of setting up of Nagpur NLS, even though its proposal was earlier promised to be tabled in the winter session of the state legislative assembly. The paper now writes it could be a distant dream [TOI]
BCI cozies up to NaMo
A delegation led by Bar Council of India (BCI) chief Manan Kumar Mishra met Narendra Modi on Saturday, inviting him to address the valedictory function of the Gujarat bar Council. According to a Gujarat state press release, the BCI respected Modi’s nationalism, while Modi called for better application of technology and faster disposal of criminal cases by improving forensic science education [TOI]
SC settles TDSAT-TRAI turf war: TRAI wins
Telecom tribunals’ TDSAT and TRAI’s three-and-a-half-year-long turf war has been finally put to rest by the Supreme Court which has held that the TDSAT has no business interfering in TRAI-made regulations. TDSAT can only hear and dispose of appeals against TRAI orders [Business Standard / SC judgment]
Crowds admire Kerala HC astrological garden
Kerala high court now has its very own astrological plant garden with 27 varieties of medicinal saplings that relate to the 27 constellations. Crowds thronged the HC complex on Friday in search of their medicinal star-sign flower pot [IANS]
AP HC allows lower courts to accept PILs
We haven’t succeeded in putting our finger on the legal provision Andhra HC chief justice KJ Sengupta has employed in reaching this conclusion: “The common man need not approach the high court for filing of PILs as it involves a cost factor. The filing of PILs can be done at munsiff magisterial courts also.” Can you? [PTI]
Madras HC asked for anti-sex harass cell: After the Allahabad HC is done constituting its anti-sexual harassment cell, the Madras HC is now also under the wave of demand for the cell after a PIL was filed in the HC asking for a mechanism to deal with the problem in all Tamil Nadu courts [TOI]
Bombay HC prioritises ‘younger’ senior citizens’ cases, lowers age limit
The “precedence age” – the age at which a litigant can get his case listed on priority in the Bombay HC – has reduced from 65 to 60. On 3 December the HC has issued a circular that if even one of the litigants party to a case have attained the age of 60, their case will be listed for final hearing and disposal on priority basis, on their request. In 1999, this age was fixed at 65 [PTI]
Madras HC lawyers against SC lawyers as their judges: Madras HC lawyers will have a 25 per cent empty roster rather than “importing a stranger” to fill judge seats in the HC, if their opposition to the appointment of three SC lawyers to the HC’s judgeship is anything to go by. The Advocates Association of the HC swears that the move will ‘'completely distort the present selection process”, because the appointment will not be made by the collegium’s recommendation but on the request of the SC’s Advocates-on-Record association [The Hindu]
Lawyer punches pesky customs officer for clients: A Madras HC lawyer has managed to make headlines for taking his solemn duty for his client a tad too seriously by roughing up the customs officer who held up his clients after their questioning at the unit was over [TOI]
SC probes PwC accounts, FDI, FEMA fudging
A Chief-headed bench will examine an NGO’s allegations of financial and accounting irregularities at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and its locally allied auditing firms. PwC and others “are apparently indulging in activities in violation of various statutes and polices like evasion of income tax, violations of FDI policy, RBI guideline, Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and other rules” raising “serious apprehensions about the end use” of cash [PTI]
Delhi HC bans IIPM from advertising without court permission
The Delhi high court has passed an order affirming the UGC’s order debarring Arindam Chaudhary’s university IIPM from publishing ads in any medium without prior court permission [Firstpost]
Telangana-AP High Court Draft Reorganisation Bill
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh will have a common HC with the expenditure apportioned between the two according to state population ratio, according to the Andhra Pradesh Draft Reorganisation Bill [Deccan Chronicle]
CBI too challenges Guwahati HC unconstitutionality order
The CBI’s challenge to the Guwahati HC’s order declaring it unconstitutional, has been joined in the Supreme Court’s chief’s court to the Department of Personnel and Training’s challenge to the order [Firstpost]
Plea dismissed banning section 144 around India Gate: Delhi HC has dismissed a petition seeking a ban on imposing Section 144, CrPC, around India Gate. Section 144 prohibits the assembly of five or more people at and around India gate. It was imposed during the 16 December Delhi rape protests last year [TOI]
Coimbatore lawyers want Madras bench, Chennai don’t
Lawyers demand a Coimbatore bench of the Madras HC 10 years after Madurai got a bench of the HC, but lawyers in Chennai oppose the demand [TOI]
Advocate commission to check town planning
The Madras HC deputed three of its advocates in a commission to check improvement of facilities in Rameswaram and the Ramanathaswamy temple [PTI]
SC wants life sentence for milk-tampering
The SC has asked state governments to make laws that punish with life in prison the selling and production of adulterated milk injurious to humans [TOI]
Kalam faces faulty voting machine
Former president APJ Abdul Kalam was yesterday temporarily among the large number of Delhi voters who could not exercise their right to vote locally due to malfunctioning electronic voting machines (EVM). Kalam waited, went back home without voting, then came back to vote once the fault was corrected [Outlook]
Linklaters breaks strict associate lockstep
UK magic circle law firm Linklaters has introduced a merit-based discretionary pay element to its associate lockstep for the first time, to reward associates above two years of PQE, departing from the previous system of “strict ladder according to PQE” plus year-end bonus [The Lawyer]
Tejpal should pay Rs 25 lakh for wasteful Delhi bail application
Tehelka founding editor and rape accused Tarun Tejpal should be awarded exemplary costs of Rs 25 lakh – which should then be donated to the legal aid cell – for wasting the Delhi HC’s time with his anticipatory bail application, argues senior advocate and former additional solicitor general of India KN Bhat. Bhat says that Rs 25 lakh is equivalent to the amount of funds the court ended up wasting on the two days it entertained the application [Asian Age]
Sexual violence in India higher than US or under-reported?
Global statistics state that a woman is sexually abused in India every twenty minutes and that one in every six women experiences sexual violence in the US is an example of under-reporting, say experts [TOI]
Advocates PIL for Delhi HC sex harass cell
Two practicing advocates have filed a PIL for the formation of a sexual harassment committee for the protection of women working in the Delhi HC [TOI]
Tenndulkar’s Ratna challenge dismissed
The Madras HC has dismissed a petition challenging the prestigious Bharat Ratna national award on cricketer conferred on Sachin Tendulkar and scientist CNR Rao, for allegedly violating presidential norms of such grants [PTI]
GLC Ernakulam unrest continues over Facebook abuses
GLC Ernakulam is on top form with protests and unrest continuing throughout its campus. Causes this time: A defamation complaint by one student against another for his Facebook post, lack of transparency in attendance procedures and casteist abuses allegedly hurled by an assistant professor at a student [Deccan Chronicle]
DU prof pushes #InternJudge FIR: Former Delhi University law faculty dean SN Singh and retired IAS officer Promila Shankar have written to the Chief Justice of India to get an FIR registered on the basis of SJ’s complaint of sexual harassment against former Supreme Court justice AK Ganguly [Telegraph India]
Nokia $1bn tax settlement rejected
Nokia faces tax liabilities as its offer to settle Rs 6,500 crore liability with Rs 2,250 crore has been rejected by the tax department [NDTV Profit]
Delhi ‘11 HC blast accused claims wrongfully charged
The accused in the September 2011 Delhi HC blasts asked the HC to set aside a trial court order cancelling his bail, and has alleged that the National Investigation Agency wrongfully implicated him for the offence of waging war based on a vague FIR [PTI]
Dec 16 rape convicts say Hindi judgment illegible
Two of the four accused asked the Delhi HC for time to approach the SC claiming that the Hindi translation of the trial court’s judgement against them and its trial records were not legible. The Delhi HC is hearing the reference from the Saket court to confirm their death sentence [PTI]
Mumbai mobile traffic court on fast track
The Mumbai police’s proposal to start five mobile courts in the city to clamp down on traffic offenders is on the fast track after the chief metropolitan magistrate forwarded it to the Bombay HC’s chief justice for approval [Free Press Journal]
National Lok Adalat reduced case load by 7.1m
Between November 23 and 25 India’s case pendency score reduced by 71.5 lakh through the National Lok Adalat, which setlled 20.81 lakh pre litigation matters and 5.22 lakh traffic challans [PTI]
Delhi HC midweek-weekend
The general elections tomorrow have given the Delhi HC and lower courts a mid week break tomorrow. A new schedule has already been fixed to hear cases scheduled for the day; next Saturday is a working day for the lower courts [Notification]
A permanent office for the 11 year old IPAB (Intellectual Property Appellate Board) is now finally in the works in Kovalam, near Chennai, as the state has also invited applications to fill up its vacancies – after pressure from advocates pointing out its mounting workload [Business Standard]
Judges should introspect to keep fit, principles reduce rape in India: Karnataka HC judge AS Pachhapure said “for hours together the judges sit and also be at home, hence it is always better to have proper excise [sic], meditation and spirituality to keep themselves fit”. The HC’s judge L Narayanaswamy said that India has less than 25 per cent the number of America’s rape cases, despite a bigger population “because of our principles” [TOI]
Bench-bar tiffs shouldn’t amount to contempt of court, said UP advocate general Vinay Kumar Mishra in his felicitation address, adding that the bar and the bench are complementary to each other [TOI]
Corporate HR heads are working overtime to sensitise male employees about what is borderline behaviour causing discomfort to women colleagues and may cause the men to end up “unfairly maligned” [TOI]
‘False promise rape’ complaints on the rise: Touching and tragic portrait of family opposed to love marriage, unwanted pregnancy and a rape complaint resulting in marriage [WSJ] as part of a bigger examination of the rape complaints made by women hoping to avoid single parenthood under the ‘broken promise to marry’ doctrine [WSJ]
Nalsar reservations to split between AP / Telangana: Nalsar Hyderabad’s 16 reserved seats, out of a total of 68 LLB seats per batch, will be distributed equally between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana domiciled students post bifurcation of the state [Deccan Chronicle]
TN Lok Adalat settles Rs 1,000 crore: In Tamil Nadu’s Lok Adalat, part of the recent massive National Lok Adalat, more than 13 lakh cases were resolved and Rs 1,041 crores settled [PTI]
Delhi gang rape parents ask SC to try juvenile: The parents of the December 2012 Delhi rape victim have asked the Supreme Court for the 17-year-old accused’s fresh trial in an ordinary criminal court, challenging proceedings against him before the Juvenile Justice Board [TOI]
Madurai judges lost case documents and now have to show cause to the Madras high court. The judges include Madurai’s principal district judge and a few other judicial officers [TOI]
Pick and choose, said the Madras high court while lambasting the state government for contesting all and sundry cases that come to it instead of choosing the deserving ones [Zee News]
Vodafone Rs 1300 cr TP writ sent to DRP: The Bombay HC said that the Vodafone transfer pricing tax writ petition of the department’s transfer pricing adjustment of Rs 1,300 crore, should be referred to the tax department’s dispute resolution panel (DRP) [Mint]
CCI checks Ericsson-Micromax royalties: CCI has begun a probe to examine whether Ericsson cellphone patent royalties of 1.25% to 2% from Indian phone maker Micromax, are too high by virtue of abuse of its alleged dominant position [WSJ]
DHCBA election rules argued: Delhi HC reserves judgment on Delhi District Court Bar Association plea, filed by bar council Delhi member Rajiv Khosla, seeking amendments Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) over upcoming 13 December elections [PTI]
Lalu fodder scam bail notice to CBI: The SC’s chief justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi issue notice to the CBI in Rashtirya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad’s bail petition – argued by senior counsel Ram Jethmalani - over the fodder scam case [IBN Live]
Gruesome Kerala robbery decapitation death sentence commuted by SC justices BS Chauhan and SA Bobde for not being one of “gravest cases of extreme culpability” [The Hindu]
Sunburn’s stolen Powerpoint: Sunburn festival moves Bombay HC at Goa to restrain rival festival from using Sunburn’s Powerpoint presentations [TOI]
SC: Live-in couples deserve protection: An apex court bench of Justices KS Radhakrishnan and Pinaki Chandra Ghose has asked for an amendment to bring couples in non-married relationships into the ambit of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act [The Hindu / BBC]
Slicing Kerala HC benches? Minister Shashi Tharoor asks for Kerala HC bench in Thiruvananthapuram, going against the views of eminent ex-SC judge VR Krishna Iyer [PTI]
SC: Don’t over-examine state decisions: SC bench of justices KS Radhakrishnan and AK Sikri says: “If every decision taken by the State is tested by a microscopic and a suspicious eye, the administration will come to a standstill and the decision-makers will lose all their initiative and enthusiasm.” [PTI]
Bank can publish defaulters’ photos: Bombay HC says it’s ok for SBI to publish defaulters’ photos in newspapers, as being in public interest [PTI]
Reprieve in TN lawyer clash: Madras’ Madurai bench grants interim stay in criminal proceedings against leader of opposition, Vijayakanth, relating to violence in clashes with advocates in district court on 1 July [TOI]
Mumbai autos move writ on gas supply [DNA]
Law means Tejpal raped, says journalist who was allegedly raped by Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal, in a forceful and tightly-argued statement: “I don’t know if I am ready to see myself as a ‘rape victim’, for my colleagues, friends, supporters and critics to see me thus. It is not the victim that categorizes crimes: it is the law. And in this case, the law is clear: what Mr. Tejpal did to me falls within the legal definition of rape” [Statement] In the meantime, Tejpal has reportedly landed in Goa to meet police there [Firstpost live blog]
SCBA for JudgeCam: SCBA president MN Krishnamani called for the installation of CCTV camera in judges’ chambers in his law day address. “Serious allegations are coming up against judges. The fixing of cameras inside judges' chambers can be done,” he said. Others, including law minister Kapil Sibal, disagreed [PTI]
Sexual harassment in law: A female Vadodara lawyer is currently grappling with inaction over her sexual harassment complaint of September made to the city police against a senior advocate. The Baroda Bar Association and the district court do not have a sexual harassment cell [TOI]
Advocates Association runs canteen: The Advocates Association Bangalore (AAB) will start its own canteen from 2 December, after being fed up of the allegedly bad food quality and exorbitant rates of the Karnataka HC canteen. The AAB has already met with the chief justice of the HC for permission to start its own canteen [Bangalore Mirror]
Madras lawyers like Aarushi judgment language: Madras HC lawyers found the language of the CBI Court’s judgment in the Aarushi Talwar case like a ‘breath of fresh air’ at a time when the quality of language in judgment writing is dipping, reported the [New Indian Express]
Madras Advocates versus police: Over 100 lawyers of the Madras HC Advocates’ Association (MHCAA) and the Women Lawyer’s Association staged a demonstration to protest the “high-handed” behaviour of the state police which allegedly registers false complaints against them to obstruct them in appearing for their clients. The MHCAA president alleged that the association has received at least six complaints of police high handedness within a week [TOI]
Failed sex harassment complaint: The Bombay HC today restrained the NCW from proceeding on the sexual harassment complaint of a former KPMG employee who had alleged she was harassed during her employment there between 2005-06 [Indian Express]
New MP HC CJ: 56-year-old AM Khanwilkar took over as the chief justice of the Madhya Pradesh HC on Tuesday. Justice KK Lahoti has been officiating as the CJ of the MP HC since former chief justice SA Bobde was elevated to the SC in April 2013 [TOI]
Tejpal still bail less: Tehelka founding editor Tarun Tejpal’s bail hearing has been postponed till Friday – until then the Goa police could arrest him. [Bail arguments summary NDTV / Deccan Chronicle]. The Goa police was represented by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, as senior KTS Tulsi was on for Tejpal [The Hindu]. The alleged victim has recorded her FIR statement in the meantime [DNA], as Goa police has requested Tejpal to appear for questioning before 3pm on Thursday [Zee Liveblog]
Cash-at-judge’s door could see SC: A CBI court allowed former Punjab & Haryana HC judge Nirmal Yadav – accused in the “cash-at-judge’s-door” scam – 2 weeks to move the Supreme Court against the P&H HC’s order dismissing her application for stay on the CBI court’s trial of the scam [IBN Live]
26/11 Taj sued in London: A British paralysed victim of the 2008 terror attacks on the Taj Hotel in Mumbai, is suing the hotel in London’s high court, for failure to deploy enough security at the premises despite warnings of an imminent terror attack [Zee News]
Dainik courts sex harassment: A former employee of the Dainik Bhaskar group’s MY FM radio station with two other colleagues, has pressed on with claiming against the station’s CEO Harish Bhatia for sexual harassment and intimidation. The woman journalist has made the complaint before the National Commission for Women and the Delhi HC [The Hindu]
NOTA law: If a majority of voters exercise the recently introduced “None of the Above (NOTA)” option during polls, the election commission cannot be directed to hold fresh polls, said the Supreme Court while dismissing a PIL seeking this remedy. The SC said that it is for the legislature to suitable amend the law after seeing how voters respond to NOTA [IBN Live]
Speedy Karnataka judiciary: The Karnataka judiciary has settled over 91,000 cases in the state in the last 90 days, through Lok Adalats conducted by the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority. 83,023 of these cases were pending for adjudication in various courts across the State, 9,169 cases were at pre-litigation stage before legal services committees in various districts [The Hindu]
Nalsar student suicide committee: None of the Universities in Andhra Pradesh have implemented the Nalsar Committee’s recommendations on measures to alleviate student suicides in the state. The nine member committee hosted by Nalsar Hyderabad had recommended examination pattern and curriculum changes, suicide probe task force, student grievance cells, restorative justice centre [TOI]
Anon RTIs: A Right to Information application can now also be made using only a Post Box number instead of the applicant’s name and address, the Calcutta HC has ruled [HT]
Loco Adalat: 300 benches of the National Lok Adalat on Saturday disposed of 3.44 lakh cases and disbursed a total compensation amount of Rs 39.89 crore [PTI]
Shah for LawComm: Former Delhi HC chief justice AP Shah has been appointed to succeed former SC justice DK Jain as chairman of the 20th Law Commission after Jain resigned to preside over the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission [PTI]
Bombay HC new 6: Bombay HC additional judges Abhay Mahadeo Thipsay, Justice Utkarsh Vishvanath Bakre, Justice Manoj Shivlal Sanklecha, Justice Ramesh Deokinandan Dhanuka, Justice Sunil Prabhakarrao and Justice Nitin Madhukar Jamdar have been elevated as permanent judges in that HC [PTI]
Caveat emptier: The appointment of 11 presidents and 23 members to Karnataka’s district consumer forums have been in limbo for almost three months now after a writ challenging the propriety of the procedure for their selection is pending in the Karnataka HC [TOI]
Antiquated construction of museum: The Madras HC museum is 70 per cent complete nine months into its construction. Paraphernalia includes a 1915 Mahatma Gandhi speech, pre-HC era British judgments, retrograde judge uniforms and wood pens used to write judgements in the 1900s [The Hindu]
SC allows jailed candidates: The SC has approved an amendment in the Representation of People Act, which allows jailed politicians to contest elections while in police custody, unless they are held guilty and convicted by a trial court [ANI]
Lawyers challenge DHCBA election bona fides: Delhi bar council member advocate Rajiv Khosla, on behalf of the Delhi District Court Bar Association, told the Delhi HC that the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) constitution’s election-related amendments are “malafide and illegal”, and were made “unlawfully and arbitrarily” [PTI]
Sexual harassment committee demands: P&H HC lawyers are demanding setting up of a gender sensitisation and internal complaints committee in the premises of the HC and subordinate courts of Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana [TOI]
Mega Karnataka Adalat: Five Karnataka high court judges are expected to dispose of 900 miscellaneous first appeals on insurance claims in six days. The claims have been pending in the HC since 2011. Dubbed the ‘mega adalat’, the initiative is part of a series of Lok Adalats being held in the state from 1 to 23 November [Bangalore Mirror]
SC examines death row pardon in extreme brutality: The Supreme Court will hear a PIL on whether the President can commute death penalties in cases of extreme brutality. The petitioner Pinki Virani’s plea referred to five death sentences of convicted rapists of children, which former President Pratibha Patil had commuted [NDTV]
Technical porn block feasible, asks apex court to the Department of Telecommunications. Justice BS Chauhan, heading the bench, queried whether websites with pornographic content (particularly child pornography) could be blocked technically [PTI]
AP-split PIL rejected: Supreme Court justices HL Dattu and Madan B Lokur reject PIL on Telangana Andhra Pradesh bifurcation [PTI]
Madras HC judgeships: As Madras HC’s 15 judge recommendations await the SC’s approval, the next list of recommendations is already in the offing to fill the court’s 25 per cent vacant roster [TOI]
Delayed judge transfers: Himachal HC chief justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar was today transferred to Madhya Pradesh HC as chief justice, four months after the SC’s recommendation. Sources said that the delay in his transfer was because of a representation made by a senior Madhya Pradesh High Court judge to the President [Deccan Chronicle]
CCI vs CAT: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) will not take the Competition Appellate Tribunal’s ban on its practice of imposing high penalties, sitting down. The CCI plans a Supreme Court challenge [ET]
CCI can rule on petrol? The CCI, which is currently looking into suspected unfair trade practices by state-run oil marketing firms while setting petrol prices, will rule on its own jurisdiction to examine the issue this month [PTI]
Lacking SHRCs: Tripura and 10 other states and Union territories are yet to set up a human rights watchdog - a State Human Rights Commission (SHRC). Except Assam no other north eastern state has a full-fledged SHRC. However, Manipur and Meghalaya are in the process of constituting such a body. The NHRC is presently looking into 60,000 human rights violations [TOI]
Consti bench rules police must file FIR: A five-judge constitution bench of CJI P Sathasivam and justices B S Chauhan, Ranjan P Desai, Ranjan Gogoi and S A Bobde ruled in the Lalita Kumari case yesterday that action must be taken against police officers who do not register a First Information Report (FIR) in a cognisable offence [PTI / Order]
Videoing the courtroom: The law ministry’s advisory committee has unanimously agreed that court proceedings must be recorded on video and that appropriate technology for this must be put in place [PTI]
Short circuit: Work at the Madurai bench of the Madras HC is suffering, say practicing lawyers, after one of the two division benches in the circuit has gone to the principal bench until 15 November [TOI]
CCI clears Jet-Etihad merger: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the merger between Jet and Etihad Airways, with member Anurag Goel dissenting, arguing the deal could adversely affect international air travel competition. [PTI / Majority / Dissenting] Law firms Amarchand, ELP, Gagrats and senior counsel Harish Salve advised on the takeover
Tamil lawyers want a break from 7-day week: Tamil Nadu lawyers fed up with the seven-day week imposed on them by setting up India’s first weekend family courts in the state in 2010, are of the view that lawyers and judges shouldn’t be made to slog extra without statutory sanction [TOI]
CCI tamed by COMPAT: The COMPAT’s order on guiding principles to be applied by the CCI before imposing penalties, offers hope that the CCI’s arbitrary imposition of humongous penalties may be a thing of the past, law firm competition law experts tell Money Control
“Wired for crime” is good defence: US criminal defence counsel are increasingly relying on brain scans and genetic evidence to use inherent defects in the brain of those accused of crimes, as a defence. The number of neurolaw cases rose from 100 to 250 a year between 2005 and 2012 [The Guardian]
Dec 16 rape trial: The Delhi December 16 rape convicts’ defence counsel are on the verge of losing their roles to amicus curiae after the Delhi HC expressed frustration with their repeated absence from the death sentence confirmation hearings [Zee News]
Sathasivam for speed in women cases: Women, corruption, arbitration and environment should be high priority subjects in disposing off cases, said CJI Sathasivam while speaking at the 99th birth anniversary of former SC justice VR Krishna Iyer [PTI]
Protect courts’ ‘lady officers’ from hostility, SC: The Supreme Court told off Gujarat district and high court judges for not protecting a female junior judicial officer from unwarranted inquiry and getting her job terminated for extraneous reasons. Reinstating her, the SC held: “We would like to take this opportunity to emphasise that the high courts must see to it that the hostile work environment for junior judicial officers, particularly the lady officers, is eliminated.” [PTI]
Judge disposes 382 cases in few words: Justice K B K Vasuki of the Madras High Court disposed of a possible-record 382 criminal original petitions in a single day by passing a common order of two sentences. The judge, in essence, told cops to investigate the crimes before it. Of the 382 petitions, three were filed in 2009, 29 in 2010, two in 2011, 37 in 2012, and 311 this year. [New Indian Express]
Jain arbitration: The Jain International Organisation – an NGO that was inaugurated last week, has started the International Settlement Forum (ISF) - an institutionalised arbitration service at its Churchgate office in Bombay. ISF will deliver quick decisions within a few weeks to people of all communities - the only condition is that the parties must agree to abide by the verdict. [TOI]
Foreign editors’ fate hangs: The Delhi high court on Friday reserved its decision on the issue of foreigners holding editorial position in Indian newspapers. Politician Subramanian Swamy’s petition had questioned S Varadarajan holding the position of editor in the national daily The Hindu, without being an Indian citizen [Mint]
Bombay HC to examine mass juvenile release: The Bombay High Court has suo motu decided to hear appeals against the order of the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), Pune, which disposed of 82 cases in a single day on September 16 last year by releasing juveniles on probation after recording the plea of their guardians although they had attained majority [PTI]
MP slayed RTI activist? The use of RTI by a Gujarat-based environment activist, against a member of parliament’s (MP) involvement in illegal mining in the Gir forest, led to his alleged murder by the MP and his aides. The MP has now been arrested after a CBI report [NYT]
Menaka Guruswamy interview: Mint does a pithy interview with Menaka Guruswamy – the lawyer for the petitioners in Thursday’s bureaucrats judgment of the SC. Guruswamy was also among the leading lawyers challenging Section 377 of the IPC
Fake advocate: The Madras HC has on procedural defects suspended the jail term of a man being tried under the IPC for enrolling with the Tamil Nadu Bar council on a bogus law degree [The Hindu]
AP HC in Vizag: The Vishakhapatnam Bar Association has reiterated its demand for an Andhra Pradesh HC bench in Vizag, “since Seemadhra advocates were facing hostile attitude from Telangana advocates” [The Hindu]
New UP Adv Gen: Former BCI chairman and Allahabad HC senior advocate Vinay Chandra Mishra yesterday took charge as the advocate general of Uttar Pradesh [TOI]
Ambitious Sibal: Kapil Sibal today called a meeting of the advisory council of the National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms, headed by the law minister to deliberate on important issues, including the litigation policy and making audio-video recording of all court proceedings mandatory. Sibal purports to achieve in six months what his predecessors failed to made any progress in in more than 4 years [TOI]
Lawyer authors profiled: The Hindu succinctly profiles lawyers-and-writers NLSIU Bangalore grads Satyajit Sarna and Aditya Sudershan, BMS College of law Bangalore grad Rishi Kumar and Osmania University grad Kalyan Kankanala
Death row worthiness: SC justices AK Patnaik and Gyan Sudha Mishra rendered a 33-page judgment ruling on the principle that courts should record “special” reasons while awarding death penalty and “must” take into account the crime and the character of the criminal which should reflect “extreme depravity” to deserve such a punishment [PTI]
Tribunal refunds: The high court of Bombay at Goa has ordered that the tribunals shall issue certificates for refund of fees paid by the claimants after their petitions are settled before the Lok Adalats [TOI]
CBI exposed: “Fascinating insight into how the CBI actually works, manpower and expertise shortage and all,” tweets @CourtWitness1 [Caged parrot or a poor man’s Hercule Poirot? Business Standard]
Lawyer myths: NLSIU Bangalore grad and Singapore’s Nanyang Tech B-school lecturer Krishna Udayasankar has penned down a mythological trilogy – the Aryavarta Chronicles. Interview by [Bangalore Mirror]
TOI didn’t defame: The Times of India is off the hook for criminal defamation after the Madras HC dismissed the Tamil Nadu government’s case against the paper for a 28 March news item exposing an irregular public auction. “The court taking cognizance of a complaint against the press must follow due diligence. Before taking a prima facie view, the news item should be analysed and an attempt should be made at least to indicate the basic reasons, which would attract the offence of defamation and as to whether the news item made a reference to the government or minister with an intention to defame or tarnish the image,” said the HC judge [TOI]
SC Tarun Chatterjee to UP HRC: Former Supreme Court justice Tarun Chatterjee has been appointed as the UP state human rights commission’s chairman [Jagran Post]
Dec 16 rape confirmation: The Delhi HC has begun confirmation hearings for the death sentence reference by the Saket trial court in the 16 December Delhi gang rape case [PTI]
Law school paycheques: ET reports breathlessly that national law schools have broken the business consultancy glass ceiling with Bain Capital creating its first legal position after hiring from NLSIU Bangalore this year – also the campus from where McKinsey and Deutsche Bank have made an offer each so far. At Nalsar Hyderabad, between 25 2014 graduates hired so far the average salary is, reportedly, Rs 14.5 lakh per annum, while the highest international pay package is 40,000 pounds. The average salary at NUJS Kolkata is Rs 9 lakh per annum – marginally up from last year
Forced MP: Congress MP from Vijayawada L Rajagopal has petitioned the Delhi HC to rid him of his MP post, alleging that he is being forced to carry on as MP despite handing over a resignation on 2 August in protest against the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh [India Today]
Infosys US soup: India’s second largest software exporter Infosys will pay $35m to avoid restrictions on its use of US work visas under a potential resolution of the company’s use of entry permits. It received a federal grand jury subpoena seeking records related to its sponsorships for B-1 business visas and its use of them and reserved $35 million for a settlement tied to the probe [Bloomberg]
Vodafone bullish on India: World’s second largest mobile operator Vodafone Plc of UK on Tuesday sought FIPB approval to invest Rs 10,141 crore in raising its stake in the Indian arm to 100 percent [Money Control]
Mumbai nightlife out of licence shackles: Mumbai restaurateurs now need only 19 instead of 38 clearances to open up joints in the city. Discontinued licenses and permits include that for rolling shutters, medical certificates for employees, permit room licence, pollution NOC, police registration certificate, live orchestra, permit for chimney and the DJ licence from police. Several other licences and permits will be combined to clear the clutter. For instance, there will be now a combined licence for signages, neon signs and stall boards [Mumbai Mirror]
Indian business sense(lessness): India’s rank has experienced no noticeable change in the World Bank and IFC’s Doing Business Rankings’ 2014 edition, suggesting that reforms have had minimal impact. India has dropped three places from 131 to 134 out of a total 189 countries [India Corp Law]
Patent suits: A barrage of patent infringement suits against generic drug companies since 2009 threatens to overturn the compulsory licensing regime, argues Frontline