Articles
A Barrister,An Official Receiver And The Chief Justice-The Curious Tale Of Khwaja Nazir Ahmad
On 17th October 1944, the Privy Council tendered its advice to the King on an appeal filed by the then Punjab Government against an order of the High Court of Lahore interdicting a police investigation in exercise of its inherent power under Section 561-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. Allowing the appeal, the Board, in an oft quoted passage, reasoned that it is "of the...
The Distinction Between "Cognizable Offence" And "The Curial Act Of Taking Cognizance Of An Offence"
INTRODUCTION I retired from the High Court of Kerala in the year 2012. During my tenure as a Judge in the High Court all the Chief Justices while fixing the roster, were giving me mostly criminal jurisdictions and I metamorphosed into a confirmed criminal judge, although as a lawyer, I was practicing exclusively on the civil side. While I was convalescing after an influenza during...
NAFED Case On Unenforceable Foreign Award: The Unanswered Questions
On April 22, 2020, the Supreme Court of India in its ruling in National Agriculture CooperativeMarketing Federation of India v. Alimenta S.A, in a rarest of rare circumstance, rejected the enforcement of a 30 year old foreign award. The foreign arbitral award arose out of a dispute pertaining to an agreement between the parties for the export of 5,000 tonnes of Indian HPS...
Federal Structure A Casuality In times Of Pandemic?
Has the pandemic also caged and confined Federalism which is a basic feature of the Constitution? It will not be an overstatement to say that currently, the length and breadth of the country is being governed by notifications issued under Section 10(2) (l) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. Are the notifications issued under Section 10 (2)(l) of the Disaster Management tinkering...
IBC Amendment,2020: Constitutional Vires Of The Minimum Threshold On The Allottees
The Legislature of India enacted the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 ("the Code") for the speedy revival of companies and consolidation of laws relating to liquidation. The Code provided Financial Creditors and Operation Creditors a right to initiate the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process ("the CIRP") against a Corporate Debtor, before the National Company Law Tribunal...
IBC: Retrospective Application of Revised Threshold- An Alternate Perspective
INTRODUCTION 1.1In an apparent bid to avoid large-scale insolvencies, especially against the MSMEs, as a result of the financial stress caused by Covid-19 pandemic, the Central Government had, vide notification bearing no. SO 1205(E) dated March 24, 2020 ("Notification"), increased the threshold of the minimum amount of default for the purpose of maintainability of an application...
The Law On RERA From The Perspective On An Allottee
Historically, real estate industry in India was unorganized and lacked transparency and accountability. However, owing to the increasing overhead costs and massive delay in completion of projects, there was a need for a governing authority to be established to mitigate the loopholes that are prevalent in the industry. The Real Estate Regulation and Development Act (hereinafter referred...
Winding Up Of Franklin Templeton Schemes: Regulatory Frame Work
INTRODUCTION As the disclosure states "Mutual fund investments are subjected to market risk" is not just a mere caveat but a decisive factor which the investors and their advisors should consider prior to the investments. Assets Under Management (AUM) of Indian Mutual Fund Industry as on March 31, 2020 stood at Rs. 22,26,203 crore. The AUM of the Indian MF Industry has...
Non-Registration And Insufficient Stamp Duty ; Added Limitations To The Arbitration
Arbitration was introduced to provide an effective and speedy dispute resolution mechanism. It emerged as a viable alternative to the slow and long litigations. However, with the passage of time, the arbitration itself becomes complex, and faced with various limitations. Therefore it, often, unable to furnish a hassle free mechanism. The reasons could be many, but both legislative...
The Habeas Corpus Conundrum- The Supreme Court Must Resurrect Itself
Recent cases invoking the writ of habeas corpus filed before the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India reveal a disquieting trend of the Court not taking up the petitions with the speed and urgency, it deserves. The remedy has been weakened- indeed an alarming trend for the Supreme Court who has been assigned the task of the sentinel -on –the-qui- vive to safeguard the rights and liberties of...
Section 24 Of New Land Acquisition Act 2013
Right to Fair Compensation Act 2013 In this article I propose to deal with interpretation of Sec 24 of the Act, with particular emphasis on its impact on pending proceedings. I wish to begin with posing two questions; which perhaps will also be concluding part; leaving it to the wise counsel of the READER. Question 1 Whether the concept of statutory deemed lapsing of...
Why Commercial Civil Courts Have The Potential To Be And Possibly Are Better Than Domestic Arbitrations
The process of adjudication in domestic arbitrations has always been slow and has not gathered significant pace even with the multiple amendments in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. This is primarily since arbitrators and attorneys assisting arbitrators take up multiple matters in courts and multiple arbitrations, whether on the same day or otherwise, the culture...