Policing the Kitchen. Whether permissible under the Delhi Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act, 1994 ?

Cow slaughter has always been a controversial topic in India. Many states have passed laws banning cow slaughter and such laws have been challenged before the Supreme Court of India. Article 48 of the Constitution of India, which forms part of the Directive Principles of State Policy states that the State shall take steps for prohibiting the slaughter of cows and calves and other milch...

“Judicial activism should not lead to the dilution of separation of powers” ; President Pranab Mukharjee inaugurates Delhi HC Golden Jubilee celebrations

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of High Court of Delhi yesterday. Chief Justice of India H L Dattu, Najeeb Jung, Lt. Governor of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi and  Justice G Rohini, Chief Justice, Delhi High Court were also present in on the occasion.The President said that he is happy to note that the theme of the...

Thanks to Supreme Court, 25 million NRIs can soon vote through E-Vote

The move to allow e-voting by NRIs got a major push with the Modi government today submitting before the Supreme Court that the union cabinet would soon consider a draft bill in this regard before it is tabled in the parliament.The government is also planning to extend the facility to armed forces personnel and defence personnel and their family serving away from their native place,...

SC agrees to hear PIL seeking ban on websites spreading ‘Sardar Jokes’

The Supreme Court of India today agreed to hear a public interest litigation which sought a ban on websites which spread jokes portraying the 'sardar' community as “persons of low intellect, stupid and foolish”.“We shall give you a detailed hearing after four weeks. Come well prepared. Assist the court with relevant documents”, Justice T S Thakur who headed a two judge bench of the...

Law on equal right for daughters over property is prospective: Supreme Court [Read Judgment]

The law, which gave equal right to daughters in ancestral property under the Hindu Succession Act, is prospectively enforceable and not with retrospective effect (as held by some High Courts in the country), the Supreme Court declared in its recent verdict.A Bench comprising Justice Anil R Dave and Justice A.K. Goel, in its October 16, 2015, interpreted the succession law while setting aside...

The Governments should do away with reservations in Medical Super-speciality courses: Supreme Court [Read Judgment]

The Supreme Court Division Bench comprising of Justices Deepak Mishra and Prafulla C. Pant while dismissing a batch of petitions filed by some MBBS doctors complaining about eligibility criteria for admissions to certain courses – D.M. (Doctor of Medicine) and M.Ch. (Master of Chirurgiae) expressed its opinion that the Government of India and the State Governments shall seriously consider...

Amendment of Indian Arbitration Act: A Sigh of Relief for the Indian Arbitration Professionals and Clients!

The Indian arbitration scenario had always been abysmal. If the way in which arbitration proceedings were conducted under the 1940 Arbitration Act had made lawyers laugh and legal philosophers weep in view of unending prolixity, at every stage providing a legal trap to the unwary, the attempt to correct it under the 1996 Arbitration Act also failed. Arbitrators were competing with Courts to...

Statement of Accused about the complicity of Co-Accused which led to his Arrest is admissible U/S 27 Evidence Act; SC [Read Judgment]

A two Judge Bench of the Supreme Court Today held that the statement of Accused about the complicity of a Co-accused which was unknown to the Police is admissible under Section 27 of Indian Evidence Act if it is confirmed by subsequent events. The Bench comprising of Chief Justice Dattu and Justice Arun Mishra was hearing an Appeal [Mehboob Ali & Anr. Vs.State of Rajasthan Crl.A. No. 808...

#NJAC Judgment reflects a craving of the Judiciary to arrogate to itself the Power of Appointment

This is an unfortunate judgment. Look at the background of the Constitutional amendment. It was felt almost unanimously that the collegium system is studded with flaws like subjectivity, partiality and lack of transparency. Some of the most eligible persons could not get into both levels of the court (High Court and Supreme Court) as they were not inclined to do any lobbying work. In fact,...

NJAC verdict: After then CJI Lodha’s tough words, Govt should have seen it coming?

On August 15, 2014, a day after Parliament passed the bill for setting up the National Judicial Appointments Commission, the then Chief Justice of India R. M. Lodha, present CJI H L Dattu’s predecessor, surprisingly minced no words while warning the Central government against encroaching into the sphere of the judiciary and reminded the centre of the principle of separation of power...

Ban on Cow Slaughter: The Camouflage of Article 48

In primary school, we had a composition book in which we wrote compositions on different topics. One such topic was ‘The Cow’. I neither remember having written anything like “Cow is my mother”, or “The cow is more than a mother to me”, nor did I write about the cow being sacred. I might have written that cow is a domestic animal; that cow gives us milk; that cow has four legs and...

Exclusive; #NJAC Verdict is a great Success for Indian Democracy; Law Minister and AG should resign; Interview with Ram Jethmalani

Senior Advocate Ram Jethmalani, in this short interview to LiveLaw shares his views on Today’s Landmark Judgment which quashed the 99th Constitution Amendment and National Judicial Appointment Commission Act 2015.LiveLaw : Sir, What is your initial reaction to Today’s Judgment?Ram Jethmalani : I think it is a great success for Indian Democracy; the litigating public; the bar and all those who respect honest judges and a clean judicial system. The crooks who want judges to be subordinate to the...