Articles
Should Grounds Of Arrest Be Mandatorily Supplied 'Prior' To Arrest In Every Case?
After the Apex Court reiterates ground of arrest should be informed to the arrestee, a new argument is being raised by the prosecution side that if somebody is caught red-handed committing an offence...whether still notice stating his ground of arrest should be required to be given to him? Doesn't he know as to why he has been arrested? If a person is found in possession of huge quantity of narcotics or shooting someone, doesn't he know as to why he is being arrested?An examinee cannot be called...
Can Arbitral Awards Be Modified In Setting-Aside Proceedings? – A Brief On Supreme Court's Re-Interpretation Of Section 34 Of Arbitration Act
Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ('Act'), governs the setting-aside of awards arising from arbitrations seated in India. This provision does not provide any powers for the setting-aside court to vary or modify portions of the award. This was the legal position in vogue under Indian law, until the Hon'ble Supreme Court's reinterpretation of Section 34, by its judgment dated 30th April 2025 in Gayatri Balasamy v. M/s ISG Novasoft Technologies Limited ('Balasamy'). By their...
Section 131 of BSA- Deliberate Legislative Exercise Or Draftsman's Error?
Every citizen who has knowledge of the commission of any cognizable offence has a duty to lay information before the police and co-operate with the investigating officer who is enjoined to collect the evidence.1 It is the duty of every citizen to give information to the police regarding the commission of any offence of which he has got knowledge. Does the law protect a person, who is a stranger to a crime, who gives secret information of it to the police?Section 125 of the Evidence ActSection...
Senior Advocate Sanjay Singhvi: A Life Of Commitment Combined With Determination And Compassion
Sanjay Singhvi was an indefatigable foe of injustice: right from the stirrings of youth to his wrenchingly early death at the age of 66. In different phases of his life, Sanjay immersed himself in an astonishing range of commitments: student activism, the fight against caste atrocities, the struggles of slum-dwellers and workers and the cause of communal harmony. These were all deep engagements in Sanjay's pursuit of justice and bore shining testimony to his unflinching egalitarian...
Opportunity Of Hearing To Proposed Accused At Pre-Cognizance Stage In Complaint Cases: Implications Of Proviso To S. 223(1) Of BNSS
OverviewThe Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2024 (for short, BNSS), a transformative piece of legislation, has redefined criminal jurisprudence by incorporating a proviso to Section 223(1). This provision stipulates that in cases originating from private complaints, the magistrate must serve a notice to the accused, affording them an opportunity to be heard prior to the court taking cognisance of the offence. This pioneering reform has unlocked a cascade of legal intricacies and procedural...
Judging Chats: The Legal Maze Of Whatsapp Evidence In India
In 2024, the Canadian court in the case of South West Terminal Ltd. vs. Achter Land and Cattle Ltd. held that a “thumbs up” emoji in a text message was a valid form of acceptance in a contract. This case highlights the evolving role of electronic signatures and electronic evidence.The Indian courts and statutes are advanced and accept the evolution of digital communication. From casual chats to business agreements, WhatsApp chat plays an effective role in the digital age. Here, the courts get...
Protestations To Supreme Court Judgment Untenable
In the ongoing politico-legal debate certain fundamentals need to be remembered and kept in view so that the focus is not lost. These fundamentals are:The Constitution has adopted the Cabinet form of representative democratic government tersely described as based on the 'Westminster model' where the King reigns but does not rule, the real power being vested in the Council of Ministers on whose aid and advice he is to act. “He can do nothing contrary to their advice nor can he do anything without...
Hungary's Open Defiance And International Criminal Court's Uncertain Future
The Hamas attack of Israel on October 7 has set off a chain of events that sees no potential end in sight soon. The horrific nature of the attack and the equally dreadful counterattack by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has ignited a regional armed conflict with non-state groups and several Arab and European countries playing a proxy war with each other. In response, the IDF launched a ground invasion intended to effectively cripple the offensive capabilities of Hamas and in the process had...
Supreme Court In Defence Of Rule Of Law, Federal Loyalty And Constitutional Supremacy
In a landmark judgement emblematic of stare decisis, the Supreme Court of India recently clarified the temporal limitations on the President's authority to reserve Bills under Article 201 of the Constitution, capping such reservations at three months. This jurisprudential milestone, arising from the State of Tamil Nadu v. Union of India (2023), has sparked a significant constitutional discourse on federal comity, gubernatorial propriety, and the separation of powers. The apex court's censure of...
Cognizance And Criminal Complaints: A New Perspective In The BNSS Era
The concept of cognizance has been debated in the discourse on criminal law in India. The meaning of the term “cognizance” has been mystifying since it has been nowhere defined in the Criminal Procedure Code or the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. Black's Law Dictionary defines the term “cognizance” as 'jurisdiction', or 'exercise of jurisdiction', or 'power to try and determine causes'.[1] As a result, over the years, the Supreme Court has developed the meaning of this term through various...
Patent Pooling And Diffusion Of Green Technology: A Critical Analysis
Patent pool is a consortium of two or more patent-holders to promote a particular technology and share the market monopoly.Patent pool is an association of two or more companies to cross-license their patents in respect to a particular technology. In other words, this is an agreement between companies to license or permit one another or any third party to use the patents owned by them."The aggregation of intellectual property rights which are the subject of cross-licensing, whether they are...