Editor’s Note: In this post, Sahiba Vyas and Varun Litoriya* critically evaluate India’s criminal contempt law against the backdrop of the recent Prashant Bhushan case. They point out that the criminal contempt law is vague, its “scandalising the court” standard needs a relook, and there is danger of criticism of individual judges also being adjudged [...]
Editor’s Note: In this post, Padmini Subhashree* points out several discrepancies in Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act dealing with electronic evidence, and highlights the need to have a re-look at this Section in today’s technology age. The entire system of justice delivery runs point on the presumption of making decisions where the ‘proof’ [...]
Editor’s Note: In this post, Ananth Kini* writes about two grey areas in the Civil Procedure Code – first, whether an admitted statement can be put forth before a court during final arguments and second, whether averments in the written statement acknowledging a debt have to looked into while determining whether a suit is time-barred. [...]
Editor’s Note: In this post, Roshan Santhalia* writes about the negative and positive implications of the Covid-19 pandemic on advocates in India. The unprecedented pandemic has affected almost everyone across the World. It would be difficult to find a particular set of people or an industry which has not been severely affected by the pandemic. [...]
Editor’s Note: This post (the second part of a two-part series) is a transcript of a webinar conducted by Justice N. Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court on the Structuring of Pleadings under the Civil Procedure Code. The webinar is a part of the Nyaya Forum for Courtroom Lawyering’s Webinar Series on Practical Skills [...]
Editor’s Note: This post (the first part of a two-part series) is a transcript of a webinar conducted by Justice N. Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court on the Structuring of Pleadings under the Civil Procedure Code. The webinar is a part of the Nyaya Forum for Courtroom Lawyering’s Webinar Series on Practical Skills [...]
Editor’s Note: In this blog post, Sanchit Khandelwal highlights the nepotism and favouritism prevalent in appointment procedures of the judiciary, selection of senior counsels, and at the bar. Due to such nepotism and favouritism, young lawyers and subordinate judiciary judges from marginalised communities suffer unduly. This necessitates the need for reform. Introduction Recent findings and [...]
Editor's Note: In this blog post, against the backdrop of limited hearings being taken up by the Supreme Court owing to the pandemic, Abhinand Lagisetti critiques the manner of prioritisation adopted by the Registry of the Supreme Court. The author analyses the present norms being adopted and critiques the Registry's prioritisation of matters that concern [...]
Editor's Note: In this Article, against the backdrop of recent cancellations of vacations by the judiciary during the Covid-19 crisis, Tanvi Apte highlights the pros and cons of vacations for the judiciary in general, initiating discussions on whether there is a need to modify or do away with the judicial vacation calendar as it stands [...]
Editor's Note: In this Article, Swapnil Tripathi discusses the appointment of "distinguished jurists" as Judges of the Supreme Court of India under Art 124 of the Constitution. Next month, Professor Andrew Burrows (University of Oxford) shall be sworn in as a Justice/Judge of the United Kingdom Supreme Court. Prof. Burrows is following the footsteps of [...]
Editor's Note: In this article, Swathi Sukumar analyses how the profession of litigation is likely to undergo massive changes as we move into the world of remote adjudication. In my first month of practice, after a hotly contested matter, I was told that I should be less fidgety, because the court can sense anxiety and [...]
Editor’s Note: In this article, Namratha Murugeshan critically assesses the executive government’s power to appoint retired judges to tribunals and commissions (post-retirement appointments). She first underscores the impact that these post-retirement offers have on judicial independence and second, appraises the suitability of judges as members of tribunals. Recently Supreme Court Justice A.K. Sikri was caught [...]
Editor’s Note: In the final part of his series on truth as the normative goal of the judiciary, Justice K. Kannan analyses three systemic hurdles in securing truth – the Fundamental Right against self-incrimination, privileged communications and professional ethics. He ends his three-part series with a noteworthy message to all members of the legal community, [...]
In the second part of his three-part series on truth as the normative goal of judicial process, Justice K. Kannan looks at two tools used in a trial to arrive at the truth – the casting of the burden of proof and cross-examination. He comments on the efficacy of raising certain presumptions in the trial [...]
“Legal profession requires full-time attention and would not countenance an advocate riding two horses or more at a time". Justice Majumdar in Haniraj L. Chulani v. Bar Council In September 2018, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court (SC) refused to prevent legislators from practising law during the incumbency of their office. Relying on the lack [...]
This is the first part of Justice K. Kannan's three-part series 'Towards Truth as the Only Goal'. In a set of three articles, he shall analyse the function of the judicial process of arriving at the normative goal of truth. In this first article, he argues that while essentially all litigations are always exercises to [...]
