Today’s Legal Updates

Tuesday, 26th June 2022

Legal Awareness :- CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

Part – V THE UNION

CHAPTER- I THE EXECUTIVE (The President and Vice-President)

Article – 73 Extent of executive power of the Union 

  1. Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the executive power of the Union shall extend:-
    1. to the matters with respect to which Parliament has power to make laws; and
    2. to the exercise of such rights, authority and jurisdiction as are exercisable by the Government of India by virtue of any treaty or agreement:
      • Provided that the executive power referred to in sub-clause (a) shall not, save as expressly provided in this Constitution or in any law made by Parliament, extend in any State to matters with respect to which the Legislature of the State has also power to make laws.
  2. Until otherwise provided by Parliament, a State and any officer or authority of a State may, notwithstanding anything in this article, continue to exercise in matters with respect to which Parliament has power to make laws for that State such executive power or functions as the State or officer or authority thereof could exercise immediately before the commencement of this Constitution.

Today’s Legal Updates :-

  1. On Tuesday Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana said Journalists are demoralised and lose faith in the profession when a story into which they have put in a lot of hard work, is not published by the media organisation for which they work.
    • The CJI, who had been a scribe for a brief while before he entered legal profession, said that many a time a brilliant story filed by a journalist, after taking risks and putting in a lot of hard work and energy, is “killed at the desk.”
    • the CJI said, It is thoroughly demoralizing for a genuine journalist. You cannot blame him or her, if they encounter such situations repeatedly and lose faith in the profession.
    • the CJI said, It is the responsibility of media houses to present facts. Especially in the Indian social scenario, people still believe that whatever is printed is true. All I want to say is that the media must confine itself to honest journalism without using it as a tool to expand its influence and business interests.
    • the CJI said, Unfortunately, we still do not have an award which is comparable to the Pulitzer, and neither do we produce many Pulitzer winning journalists in India. I urge upon all the stake holders to introspect as to why our standards are not considered good enough for international recognition and laurels.
    • the CJI underlined, A well-informed and rational citizenry is crucial for healthy development of the nation.
    • Print media still has certain degree of accountability. Whereas, electronic media has zero accountability as what it shows vanishes into thin year. Still worse is social media.
  2. On Tuesday the Kerala High Court expressed its disappointment over the fact that even after repeated suggestions, the State Government had chosen to not to pay heed and continued to bulldoze through with its social impact assessment and surveys for its Silverline project, a semi-highspeed rail corridor proposed by the K-Rail (Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited).  (Muralikrishnan v State of Kerala)
    • the judge orally remarked, You are supposed to be assessing social impact and you definitely created a social impact, perhaps more than you expected. When these matters were first heard by me, I said you can’t conduct a project of this size and proportion with a war cry. I still stand by that. Go slow and stealthily how the National Highway has been doing various projects.
    • Justice Ramachandran observed, This is definitely a good project, at least in principle. How and where it should happen, we do not know, but this is a project that the state needs. Not just from North to South but from West to East, in my opinion. We have to link our State well. But you thought that the objections were from isolated people, you underestimated our citizens.
    • the statement said, As submitted already, the Railway has neither approved nor concurred with the SIA and survey is being conducted by the Kerala Government under the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act. Under the Act, when a State Government is conducting a SIA, the Central Government has no role in it. However, if the K-Rail Corporation being a company, is involving in the SIA and spending its funds for the purpose, such involvement and expenditure will be at its own risk and responsibility. It is reiterated that so far no approval has been granted by the Railway Board for the project and therefore any action for acquisition of land taken by any authority is premature.
  3. Senior Advocates Sidharth Luthra and Kavin Gulati will be assisting former Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak Najib’s legal team in his final appeal in the SRC International graft case.
  4. On Tuesday Senior Advocate Vinod Ghai will be the new Advocate General of Punjab after Anmol Rattan Sidhu resigned from the post of Advocate General citing personal reasons.
  5. On Tuesday a notice issued by the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT)-I, Kolkata giving a strange explanation for cutting short the hearing midway, became a subject of social media derision, prompting the DRT to withdraw the same.
    • the notice issued by Registrar-in-Charge Chittesh Kumar said, Due to irrelevant argument made by the Ld. Counsel, Ld. Presiding Officer felt unwell. Hence, the remaining matters listed today before Ld. Presiding Officer stand adjourned.
    • the corrigendum, The earlier notice issued today i.e. 26th July,2022, is stand withdrawn. Due to unwellness of Ld. Presiding Officer the remaining matters listed today stand adjourned.
  6. On Tuesday the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has approached the Delhi High Court against trial court orders allowing Delhi Minister Satyender Jain to be medically examined and admitted into Delhi government’s Lok Nayak Hospital.
    • the plea alleged, There is every possibility that the Respondent (Jain) will get a favourable Medical Report as he still has influence over the hospitals under the control of the Government of NCT of Delhi.
    • the plea stated, in light of the facts and circumstances of the case, the Directorate of Enforcement has a serious doubt as to whether the Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital or even the GB Pant Hospital would be able to independently assess the medical condition of the Respondent (Jain).
  7. On Tuesday the Allahabad High Court, while denying bail to Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, said that the problem of media trial was amplified on electronic and social media, especially through the use of tool kits. (Ashish Mishra @ Monu v. State of UP)
  8. On Tuesday the Delhi High Court asked the Central government to file its response in a petition seeking details about state-sponsored electronic surveillance under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. (Apar Gupta v. Central Information Commission, Ministry of Home Affairs)
  9. On Tuesday Senior Advocate and BJP’s candidate for the Vice President post, Jagdeep Dhankar has voluntarily given up his newly allotted chamber in the Supreme Court.
  10. On Tuesday the Bombay High Court said while hearing a service matter the widespread notion that no action can be taken against government servants for their wrongdoings should be done away with.  (Jaising Nivrutti Sonawane v. Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation)
  11. Last Week the Delhi High Court, directed a shipping company to issue a cargo delivery note so that the components of Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) to be used for construction and extension of phase IV of the Delhi Metro, is released.  (Ms Robbins Sabee Jv v Hanssy Shipping Pte Ltd and Ors)
  12. On Monday West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, accused in the schools jobs scam, was remanded to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody by a special court.
  13. On Tuesday the Mumbai Police has registered a first information report (FIR) against Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh for obscenity after images of his recent nude photoshoot with an e-magazine were posted by the actor on his social media accounts.
  14. On Tuesday Advocate General of Punjab, Anmol Rattan Sidhu has resigned from the post.
  15. On Tuesday the Allahabad High Court refused to grant bail to Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra, the main accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which 8 people were killed after being allegedly mowed down by Mishra’s vehicle. (Ashish Mishra @ Monu v State of UP)
  16. The ‘Arbitrator’s Handbook‘, a LexisNexis publication edited by Shashank Garg to be released by Supreme Court judges and Union Minister of Law and Justice on 5th August, 2022.
    •  Justice DY Chandrachud of the Supreme Court said, The readers of the handbook will have the benefit of engaging with the scholarship of a diverse group of contributors who interact with the mechanism of arbitration in various capacities on an everyday basis. Their vision will help in strengthening the mechanism. Their awareness of the pitfalls will ensure the continuous evolution of the law, procedure and practice of arbitration.
    • Justice Krishna Murari said, The book is recommended as a must have and read for all. I congratulate Mr. Shashank Garg for performing the herculean task of compilation of contributions from experts, having academic excellence and profound knowledge of subject.
    • Justice Vikram Nath said, “The book is not only supportive for arbitrators, providing them with all necessary and relevant references, but also for the practitioners providing them, inter alia, with an insight into the mindset of the arbitrator, thereby enabling them to approach the proceedings in a manner which is more pragmatic. 
    • Justice Satish Chandra Sharma commented, I would like to congratulate the editor, Mr Garg who has performed yeoman service by painstakingly coordinating and collecting these valuable contributions from such learned authors and presenting them as a curation of multifaceted experiences in the field of arbitration. This would provide thorough clarity in the concepts and practice related to the arbitration space and shall benefit arbitrators, practitioners and readers alike.
  17. On Tuesday A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking establishment of filing counters and virtual hearing facilities of the Allahabad High Court in District & Sessions courts of western Uttar Pradesh (UP). (Md Anas Chaudhary v Union of India)
  18. On Tuesday the Supreme Court asked the Central government to involve the Finance Commission on the issue of political parties inducing voters through freebies.
  19. On Tuesday the Karnataka High Court issued notice to the Central government on a plea by Twitter challenging blocking orders issued by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY).
  20. On Tuesday the Supreme Court dismissed petitions filed by various private tour operators seeking exemption from Goods and Service Tax (GST) for Hajj and Umrah services offered by them to pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia.
  21. On Monday the Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the elevation of 6 lawyers as judges of the Orissa High Court.

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