Articles
The Curious Case Of Serajuddin Ansari
This is the story of one Serajuddin Ansari resident of Bikram, Distt Patna, Bihar. On 15.2.1984, he asked his mother for milk to which his mother answered that she could not bring it because he had not given her money for it. A minor altercation took place between the mother and son and on the spur of the moment, he picked up a stick used for stirring rice and struck her on the head due...
The Offence Of Cheating And Rapidly Emerging Defence Of Part-Payment - An Ambiguity In Law?
INTRODUCTION Cheating is an act of deception which causes loss, damage or harm to the person who is deceived, in body, mind, reputation or property and in which the deceiver's object is fraudulent and dishonest right from the very beginning. It is a criminal offence and contains numerous ingredients. Section 415 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 defines cheating...
Impact Of Lockdown Due To Covid-19 On Mandatory Timelines Prescribed Under The Arbitration & Conciliation Act,1996
Introduction: The number of cases of COVID-19 has rapidly increased throughout the world, leading to a world-wide crisis. This is not only a health crisis but also has impacted the financial conditions of many countries which are affected by this pandemic. Even in the countries where the reported number of cases infected by the virus is comparatively low, the risk of a...
Tribunals Hearing Cases Without Judicial Members – An Anathema To Rule Of Law
In the present legal system in India, tribunalisation is here to stay and the Supreme Court right from Sampath Kumar Vs. Union of India, (1987) 1 SCC 124 onwards has given its seal of approval to creation of Tribunals, subject of course, to various safeguards. The question that is sought to be examined in this article is whether presence of a judicial member is a must in every bench of...
Another Challenge to Independence of Constitutional Institutions: Can AP Government Remove Election Commissioner?
Andhra Pradesh Ordinance on term of SEC is now under challenge before the bench headed by Chief Justice Maheswari, of AP High Court, who gave four weeks of time to Government to answer the petitions filed by N Ramesh Kumar, 'removed' SEC and others. A serious Constitutional controversy is kicked off by the AP Government, which used its extraordinary power through promulgation of ordinance to...
End Crime,Not Lives!
An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind: Mahatma Gandhi As expected, the recent hanging of the four condemned persons in the Nirbhaya gang rape has evoked mixed reactions from within and outside of India. Many within the country celebrate the execution, calling it "an exemplary punishment". In stark contrast, a good number of people with liberal views at home and...
Karuna In The Times Of Corona : A Case For Direct Government Transfer Of Wages During The Epidemic
While Babasaheb Ambedkar is given the lion's share of our national gratitude for giving "WE THE PEOPLE" a revolutionary document as the Constitution, few would remember the behind the scenes contribution of one more man - he was Sir BN Rau, the Advisor to the Constituent Assembly. He travelled far and wide to secure inputs as we shaped our Basic Law. After all the Rig Vedic Mandate...
COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis Of Employment Issues In India
COVID-19 AND EMPLOYMENT IN INDIA:- Employment is a relationship between two parties, usually based on a contract where work is paid for, where one party is the employer and the other is the employee. Employees work in return for payment, which may be in form of an hourly wage, by piecework or annual salary, depending on the type of work an employee does or which sector...
Gently And Warmly Into The Light: Remembering Ashok H. Desai, Senior Advocate
How does one capture with the written word the essence of a man who was simultaneously the quintessential English barrister but also Indian to the core; who was a socialist in the mould of Harold Laski – presumably from when he studied at the London School of Economics during the 1950s – but who was among the most sought after senior counsel by the largest Indian and...
Kerala High Court: A Torchbearer For The Digital Age
Kerala High Court's response to Covid 19 lockdown Necessity is the mother of invention. Responding to this adage, the Kerala High Court decided to dispense justice during the country-wide lockdown through video conferencing technology. With the Supreme Court of India setting the path for this disruptive technology on 27th March, 2020, the Kerala High Court set the ball rolling from...
A Tribute To My Mentor - Ashok H Desai
All those who knew Ashok H.Desai, popularly known as 'Ashok Bhai' and 'Sir' to me, will always remember him fondly. A man with the soul of a monk and the heart of a king. My association with Sir goes back to March 2005 when I joined his chambers as a junior. I was relatively new in the profession at that time. He was about 71 years old and was on the verge of completing 50 glorious years at...
Draft Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2020: Welcome Changes And Missed Opportunities
The draft Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2020 ("Bill") was released on 12 February 2020 suggesting a variety of amendments to the Competition Act, 2002 ("Act") after a gap of almost 13 years. The last major amendments to the Act took place in 2007. The Bill is largely based on a report dated July 2019 prepared by the Competition Law Review Committee ("CLRC") set up in October 2018 to...