Shun The Caste System: Himachal Pradesh HC [Read Judgment]

There is no scientific, intellectual, social and logical basis for caste system. The caste system is profoundly illogical and is also against the basic tenets of the Constitution, said the Bench.In a landmark Judgment, the High Court of Himachal Pradesh has held that mentioning of caste/status separately in the criminal proceedings is a colonial legacy and requires to be stopped forthwith....

Need For A Judicial Service Commission: Prashant Bhushan

At a national symposium on 'Law and Citizens', organised by Swaraj Abhiyan in New Delhi, today, advocate and social activist, Prashant Bhushan called for two full-time bodies, on the lines of the Public Service Commission, for the purpose of recruiting Judges to the Lower and Higher Judiciary. These two full-time bodies could be called Judicial Service Commissions (JSC), and entrusted with...

The Forensic Nuances Of Saumya’s Case, Examined

Even though the media, both print and electronic, is responsible for sensationalizing the tragic death of Saumya beyond all proportions by resorting to the much criticized mode of trial by media, this article is not written to quench the curiosity of the media or of the general public; nor is it attempted as a review in disguise. My only endeavor is to independently analyze the legal...

SC Commutes Death Penalty In 7-yr-Old Girl’s Rape & Murder Case [Read Judgment]

He shall not be released from prison till he completes actual period of 25 years of imprisonment, the court held.The Supreme Court on Friday commuted the death sentence awarded by a trial court and confirmed by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh for a man accused of raping and murdering a 7-year-old girl, to life imprisonment with the further direction that he shall not be released from prison...

History Of the Jury System In India Must Go Beyond The Nanavati Trial, Says Princeton Researcher Kalyani Ramnath

Juries were established by Letters Patent in the Supreme Courts (as the apex Crown courts in the Presidency towns of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras were then called) in 1774, 1800 and 1823 in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay respectively. The East India Company Courts also had juries. The recent Bollywood film, Rustom, revived the interest in India's legal history, of which the jury system was an essential part. The famous Nanavati trial, in which the accused was prosecuted for the murder of his wife's...

Soumya Case: SC Acquits Govindachami Of Murder Charges; Awards LIFE TERM For Rape [Read Judgment]

The Supreme Court has acquitted Govindachami alias Govindaswamy, the accused in Soumya Rape and Murder case, of Murder charges while upholding the conviction and sentence under Section 376 IPC for Rape and other offences."we are of the view that not only the offence under Section 376 IPC was committed by the accused, the same was so committed in a most brutal and grotesque manner which...

Are You Framing National Health Policy Or Not: SC Asks Centre [Read Judgment]

The court observed that treating a national programme as a public health issue has to stop and somebody must take ownership of the Population Control and Family Planning programme.On a public interest litigation filed by prominent health right activist Devika Biswas, the Supreme Court has issued certain directions to the Centre and states in the matter of implementation of sterilisation...

Magistrate Can Allow Complainant To Conduct Prosecution Independently: SC [Read Judgment]

He has to file a written application making out a case, so that the magistrate can exercise the jurisdiction as vested in him and form the requisite opinion, the Bench said.Examining the difference between Section 301 and Section 302 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the Supreme Court in Dhariwal Industries Ltd. vs. Kishore Wadhwani & Ors, has held that Section 302 CrPC confers...

“Such a fine, old world lawyer”

When I became a lawyer forty years ago, I joined an unusual chamber. There were two senior counsel heading and sharing it. And they were committed to each other in a relationship which didn’t need a legal cloak; they were open, honest and courageous about it. They were the late M.K.Ramamurthi and the now late Shyamala Pappu.  Though I joined as Ramamurthi’s junior, it was Shyamala who...

Breaking; Kerala HC directs Central Government and MCC to conduct multiple counseling till exhaustion of All India Quota [Read Order]

In a significant development in the admission of ‘All India Quota Seats’, the High Court of Kerala has directed the Government of India and Medical Counseling Committee (MCC) to conduct as many counseling as possible without limiting it to ‘two’. This would ensure admission of meritorious students from NEET rank list and considerably reduce and last minute chaos and heart burn of...

One year of the 21st Law Commission; Nil Report!

Vide notification dated 14.09.2015 in the Official Gazette, the 21st Law Commission was constituted with effect from 01.09.2015 to 31.08.2018. More than a year out of the three granted has passed, but the present Law Commission has surprisingly not submitted any report till date. The 20th Law Commission headed by Justice A.P.Shah had raised the standards by quality of recommendations and...

CLAT PIL: Law Schools Flout PWD, NRI Admission Norms, Alleges Prof Shamnad In SC

In the pending CLAT matter in the Supreme Court, legal scholar Prof. Shamnad Basheer has alleged that law colleges that participated in the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) this year conducted the admission process in blatant contravention of the clear provisions of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995.In the PIL, he...