Centre’s clean chit to ex-CJI K G Balakrishnan in benami case but SC refuses to accept it

In a huge relief to former Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan, the centre today submitted before the supreme court that detailed probe into complaints that his kith and kin amassed wealth during his tenure as Chief Justice of India from January 2007 to May 2010 “yielded nothing”.Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi appearing for the Centre said there cannot be a CBI probe afresh as it...

Exclusive; BCI says SC collegium should consult Lawmin/AG/ SG on Judges Appointment [Read Suggestions]

Two days before the SC is set to continue the hearing on improving the collegium system of appointment of judges, the Bar Council of India today submitted its suggestions to the Supreme Court and said the executive cannot be completely kept away from the judge selection process.The resolution passed by the BCI under the Chairmanship of Manan Kumar Mishra after wide consultations with all...

Justice Kurian Joseph- the letter PIL ‘petitioner’- after improving Delhi’s children's parks, now the Taj Mahal

Justice Kurian Joseph, a vibrant judge of the Supreme Court is in a way also of late donning the role of an active letter PIL ‘petitioner’.After his letter to the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court in April 2013 became instrumental in improving the condition of children’s parks in Delhi, Justice Joseph has now embarked on restoring the Taj Mahal to its original glory.In a letter written...

US Supreme Court sanctions ‘Shoot first, Think later’ approach to policing ; Sotomayor.J dissents [Read the Opinions]

While Majority opined that “Qualified immunity protects actions in the “‘hazy border between excessive and acceptable force.’”, the Dissenting judge said “By sanctioning a “shoot first, think later” approach to policing, the Court renders the protections of the Fourth Amendment hollow”.Supreme Court of United States have ruled that Qualified immunity applies to the actions of...

High Courts Weekly Round-up

Allahabad High CourtFrame ‘funding’ policyIn a significant decision, the Allahabad High court, in the matter of delay in Funding of private unaided schools, directed the State Government to frame its policy regarding funding of unaided private schools falling under the Right to Education Act.Bombay High CourtOvernight access to father of a kid stayedBombay High Court on Monday stayed an...

Supreme Court's New Judges: who will make it to Collegium's shortlist?

As the new CJI takes over on December 2, the Constitution Bench is understandably anxious to complete its reform of the Collegium by laying down guidelines at the earliest. The case for early completion of the consequential hearing on Collegium is that the next Collegium can begin its meetings immediately after the next CJI takes over, in order to fill six vacancies in the Supreme Court...

Transgender Welfare Boards, 24x7 helpline, monthly pension, self employment grants: Kerala Govt. releases historic transgender policy [Read the Full Text]

In a landmark step, Kerala Government has unveiled its Transgender Policy, for the purpose of safeguarding their constitutional rights, as well as the right to self-identify as male, female or third gender. The Policy will cover all the categories of transgenders, including but not limited to Female to Male TGs, Male to Female TGs and Inter-sex people.The Policy was unveiled by State...

Reforming the Collegium: Issues at stake

As the Supreme Court's Constitution Bench continues its unusual consequential hearing on the question of reforming the Collegium to recruit Judges on November 18, the doubts and misgivings expressed by the bench as well as the counsel on November 3 and 5 on the scope of reform itself stem from interpretations placed on the judgments in the Second and Third Judges cases. Do the judgments in...

What NCRB statistics says about Criminal Justice system in India?

National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has published its ‘Crime In India – 2014’ report in its Website.  The following are some facts and figures related to disposal of Criminal cases by Police and Courts across the country. Report was published in July 2015.Investigation and Trial7229193 new crimes were reported in India in 2014. 9930625 criminal cases were tried in Indian courts in 2014...

Kerala HC directs all colleges in the state to install CCTV Cameras in Exam Halls [Read Judgment]

The installation of CCTV cameras would certainly act as a deterrent for a student to indulge in the mal-practices for fear of being detected eventually, the Court observed.High Court of Kerala has asked the Education department of the state to install CCTV cameras in the examination halls of the colleges to function during examination hours before June, next year. According to Justice...

Barry Sen, Counsel’s Counsel

A tribute to Eminent Lawyer and former legal adviser to the Ministry of External Affairs B.SEN who passed away on November 8 at the age of 90.In the summer of 1949, the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of India, Sir Harilal Kania, was in London for his vacation. The jurisdiction of the Privy Council over appeals from India had been abolished and Kania was set to take over as the first...

Supreme Court Weekly Round-Up

Police Witness can’t be disbelieved merely because he is a policeSupreme Court, in Baldev Singh Vs State of Haryana, held that evidence of police witnesses cannot be discarded merely on the ground that they belong to police force and interested in the investigation and their desire to see the success of the case. This observation was made by Apex Court bench of Justices Jagdish Singh Kehar...