Soumya’s Mother Files Review Petition Against SC Verdict Acquitting Govindachami Of Murder Charges

The mother of deceased Soumya has filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against the judgment acquitting Govindachami of murder charges.Last week, a three-judge Bench comprising Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Prafulla C. Pant and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit had set aside the death penalty awarded for the offence of murder (S.302), but sentenced him to life imprisonment for rape (s.376...

Allahabad HC Convicts 7 Advocates for Assaulting Judge [Read Judgment]

It is the constitutional obligation of the High Court to ensure the safety and upholding the dignity of not only the courts, but also of the judicial officers manning the same, said the Court The Allahabad High Court in Re vs. Pradhuman Kumar Srivastava and 9 Ors on Thursday convicted seven Advocates on charges of Contempt of Court. They were sentenced to six months of simple imprisonment...

The Bombay High Court’s Abortion Judgment: Some Unanswered Questions

On 19th September, a division bench of the Bombay High Court handed down a judgment on the interpretation of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1973 (India’s abortion law). The case arose out of a suo motu PIL, which itself had arisen out of concern with the deplorable condition of a female prison inmate, but was subsequently expanded to deal with the termination of pregnancy...

The Soumya Murder Case: The Supreme Court And The Causation Quagmire

The Supreme Court deciding an appeal in the Soumya rape and murder case, acquitted the appellant, Govindaswamy of murder, and set aside the death sentence imposed on him by the trial court and the Kerala High Court. The judgment of the Court in Govindaswamy v. State of Kerala, has been a topic of intense discussion and debate over the last week. The State of Kerala is reportedly planning...

Commissions, Court & Contempt : A Decade Of Police Reforms

The chief object of Police is prevention, investigation and detention of crime and maintenance of law and order. The police system in India is guided & governed by the colonial Police Act of 1861 which was continued after independence. Following the mandate under Section 3 of this Act, ‘Police’ was included in the State list of the Seventh Schedule of our Constitution giving...

PIL In Supreme Court Seeking Nationwide Liquor Ban [Read Petition]

A Public Interest Litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking prohibition of liquor and other intoxicating drinks and drugs in all the states in spirit of the Article 47 read with the Article 21 of the Constitution. BJP leader and Delhi based lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay echoed concerns related to alcohol abuse and its ramifications on public health and safety.Update: Supreme...

Not Able To Do The Impossible Is Not Contempt Of Court: SC [Read Judgment]

It would not be fair on the part of a court to give a direction to do something which is impossible and if a person has been asked to do something which is impossible and if he fails to do so, he cannot be held guilty of contempt, the Bench said.The Supreme Court on Monday termed a High Court order which convicted a person for civil contempt, as “deplorable”. A three-judge Bench...

SC Dismisses Plea For A New Body For Judges Appointment Saying It Cannot Amend Constitution

The Supreme Court today dismissed a PIL by National Lawyers’ Campaign for Judicial Transparency and Reforms which sought a new mechanism for the appointment of Judges in High Courts and Supreme Court outside the control of the judiciary and the executive saying "we cannot amend the constitution"."We are dismissing it. We see no merit in this petition..Your ideas may be good or bad we are...

Hovering Vultures - Analysis Of Saumya Verdict

The scene is laid in the ladies compartment of a local passenger train in Kerala. Time - 8 pm on 1st February, 2012 Victim - 23-year-old Sowmya, lone passenger in the said bogie Accused- Govindachami, 30 years, a habitual offender belonging to Tamil Nadu.Nature of offences - Sec 302, 376, 394, 397 and 447 of Indian Penal CodeVerdict of Sessions Court: Capital punishment, life imprisonment,...

Previous Sanction For Investigating Public Servants: HC Rectifies, But SC Reiterates ‘Erroneous’ View [Read Judgment]

In a rare event of its kind, Justice Anand Byrareddy of the Karnataka High Court has refused to follow dictum laid down in an apex court judgment, widely opined as per incuriam, wherein his own judgment was upheld by the Supreme Court.Justice Byrareddy, in his judgment dated 21st May, 2013, in M.K. Aiyappa vs State, held that a special judge / magistrate cannot refer a complaint for...

Why PILs On Specific Issues Should Not Take A Decade To Be Disposed?

Mid day meals were being cooked in Lord Krishna Middle School in Kumbakonam on an unfortunate day in 2004. The building, housed more than 900 students in a crowded, thatched-roof building with a single entrance, a narrow stairway, windowless classrooms and only one entrance and exit.Dry coconut leaves used as firewood in a nearby makeshift kitchen with thatched-roof sparked fire and...

Real Challenge Is To Address Chronic Cases That Fester In Courts: CJI Thakur

Chief Justice (CJI) T.S. Thakur on Saturday said the real challenge before the judiciary is to address “chronic cases which remain festering in the courts”. He opined that disposal of smaller cases was like “cleaning the house of garbage littered around”.“There is an ever-increasing number of cases in courts. But then, the fact that you are conscious of it and you are sensitive...