Articles
118A OF Kerala Police Act: An Affront On Parrhesia
In exercise of the exceptional powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 213 of the Constitution of India, the Governor of Kerala promulgated an exceptional Ordinance amending the Kerala Police Act, 2011 (8 of 2011) and inserting a new provision 118A. Section 118A reads thus: whoever makes, expresses, publishes or disseminates through any kind of mode of communication, any matter...
'A Lawyer With High Principles' : A Junior Remembers His Senior KG Kannabiran
'Kannabiran used to say that the legal profession is the only profession where one would get a chance to deal with different subjects and provides an opportunity to fight for human rights, and various freedoms given under the Constitution'.
The Supreme Court Should Protect The Heart And Soul Of The Constitution Of India
A few days back the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India Mr. S A Bobde made certain observations about Article 32 ofthe Constitution. A three-judge Bench led by the Chief Justice was hearing an Article 32 petition filed by a Kerala-based journalist who was arrested by the U.P. Police at Hathras. Chief Justice Bobde expressed his reservation to entertain the petition and said that such...
Law Of Confessions In Matters Of Corporate Fraud : An Analysis
Corporate fraud is synonymous with white collar crimes. It poses a threat to the economy all across the globe. Such crimes are characterized by deceit, concealment and violation of trust. In addition to causing significant financial losses to investors, corporate fraud has the potential to cause immeasurable damage to a nation's economy and investor confidence. Therefore, Corporate fraud...
Populism Trumped: Moment Of Truth For Democracy
Democracy today stands on an inflection point precariously poised on a path that forks towards oligarchy, riding on pandemical waves. And yet, the ballot still holds hope for the people to reclaim the fading political standards that must form the bedrock for the working of a constitutional democracy. Trump's comical yet profoundly telling Freudian slip a few weeks ago, calling for...
CJI Bobde's One Year At Office: A Look At Pending Cases Involving Serious Constitutional Questions
As the Chief Justice of India S A Bobde completes one year at the office on November 18, it is worthwhile to have a look at major cases involving substantial constitutional questions, which are awaiting adjudication by the Supreme Court.The Supreme Court has come under considerable criticism for not showing a sense of urgency in deciding several cases of vital national importance such...
The Meaning Of The Expression "Legal Proceedings" And Its Judicial Interpretation
The expression "legal proceeding/s" finds place in several Union and State statutes in India. The expression is most commonly used in negatively worded sections that bar the filing of "legal proceedings" against certain official or judicial functionaries. Examples of such sections are For instance, sections such as Section 98 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019[1] Section 157 of...
The Story Of Arbitral Meddling: Analyzing The Arbitration And Conciliation Act (Amendment) Ordinance 2020
Introduction What can be perceived as nothing but an interesting move, the President has promulgated the Arbitration and Conciliation Act (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 ("Ordinance") with the object of ensuring that stakeholders gets an opportunity to seek an unconditional stay of enforcement of arbitral awards where the underlying arbitration agreement or contract or making of the...
Death Of Democratic Institutions: The Inevitable Logic of Neo-Liberal Political Economy & Abandonment of Directive Principles of State Policy
This is the full text of the lecture delivered by Justice B Sudershan Reddy, former Supreme Court judge, as part of the first KG Kannabiran Commemoration Lecture on Law, Justice and Human Rights on 9 November 2020 At the very outset, let me unreservedly place on record that I feel it to be a great honour to have been asked to deliver this lecture in memory of Shri. Kannabiran –...
Insolvency Law In Review – October 2020
BY Rahul Sibal, Siddharth Sunil, Akshata Singh, Pranav Narsaria & Karan Sangani The enactment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (the Code) has had significant ramifications on the corporate insolvency landscape. Over time, the Code has witnessed a manifold increase in litigation, and consequently in the number of decisions. This has made it difficult for insolvency...
Who Knows What Is Obscene? I Know It When I See It.
The offences relating to 'obscenity' are back in the news. Last week an FIR was registered against actor and model Milind Soman for running naked on a Goa beach. Mr Soman shared a picture of himself running nude on a beach to mark his 55th birthday. Around the same time, another complaint was filed with the Goa Police against the actor and model Poonam Pandey for shooting an 'obscene'...
Why Bail Matters: An Introspection Of Section 7 Of Muslim Women (Protection Of Rights On Marriage) Act 2019
The time has again come to reiterate the famous quote of Justice Felix Frankfurter who through McNabb v. United States stated that "The history of liberty has largely been the history of the observance of procedural safeguards" Infact the recent Bombay HC order rejecting the anticipatory bail in Ebrahim Mohd. Iqbal Lakdawala v. State of Maharastra as per the provisions of Sec 7 (c) of...