Consumption Of Narcotics – Bailable Or Non-Bailable?

The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 ("NDPS Act") was enacted to consolidate the law relating to control and regulation of operations relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, including illicit traffic of the same. Narcotic drug is defined to mean coca leaf, cannabis (hemp), opium, poppy straw and includes all manufactured drugs[2] and psychotropic substance is defined to mean any substance, natural or synthetic, or any natural material or any salt...

Judge-Wise Statistics Of Reportable Supreme Court Judgments In January 2022

Despite January having only 18 Court working days, the Supreme Court delivered 88 Reportable Judgments across various fields of law. On an average, therefore, on every working day in January, the Supreme Court delivered approximately 5 Reportable Judgments. These numbers are despite various reports indicating that about 13 Judges of the Supreme Court, and 400 registry officers had tested positive for COVID-19 in January. The authors of this article present to you a statistical study...

Confusion Regarding The Jurisdiction Of NCLT Qua Personal Guarantor's Insolvency

The National Company Law Tribunals (NCLT) gained huge prominence after the enactment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code/IBC), and became an epicenter ajudications of commercial laws across the country. As per Section 63 of the Code, it is the only judicial forum that has the jurisdiction to deal with the insolvency resolution process of a company and even the High Courts were cautioned by the Supreme Court in the case of Ghanashyam Mishra& Sons (P) Ltd. v. Edelweiss...

SEBI Tightens Rules For Fundraising Through IPO And Preferential Issue Amidst 2022, IPO Rush.

In the pandemic era where several stories of socio-economic crisis in India were seen, the stock market's surge is certain to perplex individuals unfamiliar with its operation. According to market experts, the "bull market" is fueled by the exponential growth of Demat accounts and investment by retail investors. Several renowned Indian startups, including Paytm, Zomato, and Policybazaar, obtained funding via initial public offerings ("IPOs") on the Indian stock exchange in 2021....

What's In (Part Of) A Name? The Delhi High Court Explains

Recently, the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi dealt with the issue of protection over part of a trademark in Hamdard National Foundation (India) & Anr. vs.Sadar Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. [1]. The dispute revolved around two 'word' marks- "Rooh-Afza" and "Dil-Afza". The Plaintiff (having registered trademark – "Rooh Afza") alleged trademark infringement and passing off against the Defendant (having registered trademark- "Sharbat Dil Afza"). The Plaintiff also sought an ad-interim injunction...

The Influence Of Professor Upendra Baxi's Writings On The Supreme Court Of India

Professor Upendra Baxi, an eminent legal philosopher and public intellectual, is among the few names who have immensely impacted Indian constitutional and human rights jurisprudence. His academic works spread across various fields, including the human rights debate, constitutional and legal philosophy debates, and issues relating to the exercise of judicial power and accountability. Professor Baxi has also contributed substantially in influencing the decision-making process of the Supreme...

Changing Pattern Of CLAT And AILET

The year 2020 saw the pattern for CLAT being altered by reducing the number of questions from 200 to 150, to be attempted within the same span of 120 minutes. This was a well-received change both by the legal fraternity and the law aspirants. Following suit, now the pattern for AILET has also been modified by NLU Delhi, for the year 2022, albeit, only 3.5 months before the AILET expected date (May 1, 2022). No sample question paper of any sample questions based on this new pattern has...

Having A Central Bank Digital Currency: Path Ahead

In the Union Budget for 2022-23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will introduce the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) as India's official digital rupee in 2022. In a major boost to crypto players, a 30 percent tax rate has been imposed on income from transfer of virtual digital assets. While the Government is yet to regulate the investment, transaction and use of private cryptocurrencies in India, the Government's decision to launch an...

Model Code Of Conduct: An Equalizer Lost In Implementation

The role of free and fair elections in any democracy cannot be understated. And the enormousness of that task in a democracy as heterogeneous as India can only be tackled by a body free of state interference, mandated under constitutional powers, armed with the ability to take immediate, spontaneous remedial action in case anyone intends to make a plaything of the election process which is the foundation of a democratic country. And although the Election Commission of India is a...

Analysis Of Recent Changes In The RPT Framework Vis-À-Vis SEBI (LODR) (Sixth Amendment) Regulations, 2021

On September 28, 2021, SEBI in its Board meeting approved changes in the Related Party Transaction ('RPT') framework under the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements), Regulations 2015 ("LODR").[1] The changes were based on the recommendations of the Working Group,[2] constituted in November 2019, to review the policy space pertaining to related party transactions. The approved changes in the form of SEBI (LODR) (Sixth Amendment) Regulations, 2021 were notified on...

Bridge Over Troubled Waters of Art & The Law

One of the few things to have stayed with me throughout law school is Justice Hidayatullah's quote in the landmark judgment Sajjan Singh v. State of Rajasthan, "The Constitution gives so many assurances in Part III (of the constitution) that it would be difficult to think that they were the play things of a special majority." Essentially, he says artists either try to depict the prescriptive power of law, its limitations, the lacunae it leaves in its midst or the very notion of...

'Think Mediation First' A Tribute to the Doyen of Indian Mediation – Mr D.S. Parikh

Mr D.S. Parikh, Senior counsel and a doyen of Indian Mediation, was spoken about with deep affection and in awestruck voices even by the most reputed Mediators in India. He passed away recently, on 28th January, at the age of ninety-four years, in the 73rd year of his practice He enrolled on 4th February 1949 as a first-generation lawyer at the young age of 21 at the chambers of Bhaishanker Kanga and Girdharlal. Harnessing experience gathered over several decades of practise in the...