Today’s Legal Updates

Monday, 28th February 2022

Legal Awareness :- CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

PART III FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

Cultural and Educational Rights

Article – 29 Protection of interests of minorities

(1) Any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same.
(2) No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them.

Today’s Legal Updates:-

  1. Today the Kerala High Court expressed its strong displeasure at streets being lined with flag masts of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) ahead of its 23rd State party conference scheduled to be held in Kochi from March 1 to 4.
    • the Court said in its order, “It is ironical that even when the Road Safety Commisioner issued preemptive orders to avoid accidents on account of these installations, the officers concerned turn a blind eye, when they are so done by powerful entities. This Court fails to understand how this can ever be permitted, especially when the danger to pedestrians and motorists are grave and real, should an of these installations fall into the road unexpectedly, or if the numerous flags on the pedestrian handrails, road medians or traffic islands flutter and create diversions or distraction to the traffic,“
  2. Today Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik has approached the Bombay High Court challenging the case of money laundering registered against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
  3. Today (as for Indian time zone) Ukraine has filed an application before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking provisional measures directing Russia to immediately suspend military actions in the region.
    • “Ukraine emphatically denies that any such genocide has occurred and brings this Application to establish that Russia has no lawful basis to take action in and against Ukraine for the purpose of preventing and punishing any purported genocide,” 
    • The application has invoked the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
      • Adjudge and declare that contrary to what the Russian Federation claims, no acts of genocide, as defined by Article III of the Genocide Convention, have been committed in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of Ukraine.
      • Adjudge and declare that the Russian Federation cannot lawfully take any action under the Genocide Convention in or against Ukraine aimed at preventing or punishing an alleged genocide, on the basis of its false claims of genocide in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of Ukraine.
      • Adjudge and declare that the Russian Federation’s recognition of the independence of the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic” on 22 February 2022 is based on a false claim of genocide and therefore has no basis in the Genocide Convention.
      • Adjudge and declare that the “special military operation” declared and carried out by the Russian Federation on and after 24 February 2022 is based on a false claim of genocide and therefore has no basis in the Genocide Convention.
      • Require that the Russian Federation provide assurances and guarantees of non-repetition that it will not take any unlawful measures in and against Ukraine, including the use of force, on the basis of its false claim of genocide.
      • Order full reparation for all damage caused by the Russian Federation as a consequence of any actions taken on the basis of Russia’s false claim of genocide.
    • Ukraine has sought directions to be issued to Russian to immediately suspend all military operations.
      • The Russian Federation shall immediately suspend the military operations commenced on 24 February 2022 that have as their stated purpose and objective the prevention and punishment of a claimed genocide in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of Ukraine.
      • The Russian Federation shall immediately ensure that any military or irregular armed units which may be directed or supported by it, as well as any organizations and persons which may be subject to its control, direction or influence, take no steps in furtherance of the military operations which have as their stated purpose and objective preventing or punishing Ukraine for committing genocide.
      • The Russian Federation shall refrain from any action and shall provide assurances that no action is taken that may aggravate or extend the dispute that is the subject of this Application, or render this dispute more difficult to resolve.
      • The Russian Federation shall provide a report to the Court on measures taken to implement the Court’s Order on Provisional Measures one week after such Order and then on a regular basis to be fixed by the Court.
  4. The Patna High Court stayed the recruitment process for law officers of the Bihar Mining Corporation Limited, which had preferred only graduates from Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) for the post. (Saurav Narayan v. State of Bihar)
    • “The rules of recruitment to the post of Law Officer or executive order has not been placed on record. Therefore, learned counsel for the petitioner is permitted to produce the same before the next date of hearing. In the meanwhile, Bihar State Mining Corporation Limited shall not proceed with the process of recruitment to the post of Law Officer till next date of hearing,” 
  5. As things return to normalcy following the lifting of restrictions necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, top Indian law firms continue to develop novel ways of working.
  6. Today the Supreme Court held that an advocate is an officer of the court and is subordinate to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) or District Magistrate (DM) for the purposes of Section 14(1A) of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act (SARFAESI Act). (NKGSB Cooperative Bank Ltd v. Subir Chakravarty and Ors)
  7. Today the Karnataka High Court ordered the State government not to take any coercive action against bike-taxi services offered by Ola till the next date of hearing. (ANI Technologies Private Ltd v. State of Karnataka and Ors)
  8. Today the Supreme Court held that one of the measures to be adopted by Constitutional courts in order to weed out frivolous public interest litigation (PIL) petitions, is to be cautious when examining locus standi of the petitioner.  (Esteem Properties Pvt Ltd vs Chetan Kamble)
  9. Today the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court took strong exception to the use of government employees by higher officials in the police or prison department for personal work. (P Vadivel v. The Deputy Inspector General of Prisons)
  10. Today A Mumbai Sessions Court rejected bail plea filed by Vishal Jha, first arrested accused in the Bulli Bai case.
  11. Today in the Amazon-Future dispute, Senior Advocate Harish Salve argued before the Delhi High Court that when an Indian court gives a finding or expresses its prima facie view in a case, an arbitral tribunal has to defer to the same.
    • Salve said, “The finding is clear as daylight. The finding is that these agreements cannot be conflated. The EA may have held to the contrary but when a High Court holds this then the tribunal must yield,” 
    • “Let a message go out clearly that where courts are concerned, it is not for the tribunal to second guess the supervising courts or any other court. However junior the judge, he has the imprimatur of Indian law. You can’t jump over them.”
  12. Today the Karnataka High Court permitted a British national with an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status to seek divorce and file for child custody in a Family Court in Bangalore while noting that OCIs are treated on par with Non-Resident Indians in many aspects, and are not excluded from seeking matrimonial relief.
    • “…if marriage has taken place in India in which parties are ordinarily residing, the native Courts have substantive jurisdiction to adjudge matrimonial disputes; parties cannot be asked to go to some other country to have redressal to their grievances; it is more so when the grieving party is the wife; this view gains support from several International Conventions,” 
    • “Law is not the slave of dictionaries; words employed in a statute do not have a fixed meaning; the contours of their meaning vary with the run of time. Statutes do not suffer from rigor mortis,” 
    • “‘Truly fair equality of opportunity’ for both persons in the marriage in terms of opting into marriage & opting out, i.e., dissolution of marriage. Allowing the husband to curtail the ‘exit’ option of the wife, on the ground of lack of jurisdiction or such other factors militates against our constitutional philosophy. It is also pertinent to state that the principle of ‘spousal–equality’ is premised on the provision of effective freedom to both parties to determine the nature of their lives, different styles and ways of living,”
    • “Part of this respect will mean not being dictatorial about the good, at least for adults and at least in some core areas of choice, leaving individuals a wide space for important types of choice and meaningful affiliation. But this very respect means taking a stand on the conditions that permit them to follow their own lights free from tyranny …”, 
  13. Today the Supreme Court upheld a stay on enforcement of single-judge order of Delhi High Court which had held that the Delhi government is bound by the assurances given by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at a press conference.  (Najma vs NCT of Delhi)
  14. Today the Delhi High Court issued a circular reiterating that stray animals like monkeys and dogs should not be fed within the court complex.
    • “All the advocates/ litigants/ staff members/ police & CRPF personnel of this Court are therefore, once again directed to strictly refrain from feeding the stray animals like monkeys & dogs within this court complex,” 
  15. Today the Bombay High Court adjourned the hearing in the contempt of court petition filed against Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik after noting that Malik is already behind bars in a money laundering case.
  16. Today the Delhi High Court questioned why orders and case information pertaining to the Central Government Industrial Tribunal (CGIT) were not available on its website.  (Pooja Saroj v. Ministry of Labour and Employment Govt of India and ors)
  17. Today the Delhi High Court issued notice in a plea filed by media services company MediaGuru challenging a show-cause served on it by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
  18. The Tripura High Court directed the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) to not allow the sale of meat products in public places and streets.
  19. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas lawyer Kartikey Mahajan is set to join Khaitan & Co at the firm’s new Singapore office.
  20. Today A Delhi court rejected the bail plea of a 55-year-old woman accused in the assault of a 20-year-old woman who was smeared with black ink and paraded in broad daylight in the national capital.  (State v. Baby)
  21. Today the Delhi High Court issued notice to Union Minister Anurag Thakur, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Kapil Mishra and Pravesh Saheb Singh Verma, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal,Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, activist Harsh Mander, AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi, actress Swara Bhaskar and former judge of the Bombay High Court Justice (retired) BG Kolse Patil, among others in a plea seeking their impleadment in a hate speech case related to the Delhi riots of February 2020.  (Jamit Ulama-i-Hind v Union of India and Ors)
  22. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has cleared the appointment of Madhabi Puri Buch as the new chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for a period of three years or until further orders.
  23. Today the Delhi High Court refused to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a change of title of the upcoming Akshay Kumar-starrer on Prithiviraj Chauhan.  (Rashtriya Pravasi Parishad (Regd) and Ors v Union of India and Ors)
    • “We only want the movie to have a suitable title to honour the king who ruled for nearly 26 years. In its present form, the movie is lowering the dignity of King Prithviraj Chauhan. This is in contravention of laws and therefore hurts the sentiments of the people,” 
  24. Today the Punjab & Haryana High Court granted police protection to a married woman and her live-in partner, stating that it was its fundamental duty to guard their lives. (Jai Nrain v. State of Punjab)
    • “We are governed by the rule of law and follow the Constitutional dharma. In the ever-evolving society, evolving the law with it, the time is to shift perspective from didactics of the orthodox society, shackled with the strong strings of morality supported by religions to one that values an individual’s life above all,”
    • “This protection is subject to the stringent condition that from the time such protection is given, the petitioners shall not go outside the boundaries of the place of their residence, except for medical necessities, to buy household necessities, and for bereavements in the families of the persons who are close to them.”
  25. Today the Bombay High Court issued notice to the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking stipend for junior lawyers.
  26. Shapoorji Pallonji group head Cyrus Mistry has approached the Supreme Court seeking expunction of certain remarks against him in the apex court’s March 2021 judgment in relation to his dispute with Tata Sons.  (Tata Consultancy Services Ltd v. Cyrus Investments)
  27. Today A special court in Mumbai sentenced a 33-year-old man to three years of rigorous imprisonment after finding him guilty of molesting a minor girl and her visually impaired aunt on a local train.  (The State of Maharashtra v. Mohsin Allauddin Chougule)
    • the Court concluded:-
      • Minor discrepancies are not to be given undue emphasis and evidence is to be considered from the point of view of trustworthiness.
      • The culpable intention of the accused is the crux of the matter and the reaction of the woman, is very relevant.
      • Conviction can be recorded on the sole, uncorroborated testimony of a victim provided it does not suffer from any basic infirmities or improbabilities which render it unworthy of credence.
      •  In the present case the testimony of PW­1/victim and PW­2 appears to be cogent, reliable and worthy of credence. It is undisputed that the accused and the victims did not have any previous enmity between them or victims hatched conspiracy, to malign the reputation of the accused, to falsely implicate him.
      • Section 30 of the POCSO Act contemplates presumption of culpable mental state. Accused failed to rebut the presumption under Section 30 of the Act.
      • The essence of a woman’s modesty is her womanhood.
      • Accused could not produce any disability certificate to make him entitled for traveling in handicap compartment.
  28. An emergency arbitrator of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) has refused to stay the investigation being conducted into allegations of financial irregularities on the part of BharatPe co-founder and Managing Director Ashneer Grover.
  29. Today the Andhra Pradesh High Court observed that citizens have a right to protest on an issue already pending adjudication before a constitutional court.  (KV Krishnaiah v. State of Andhra Pradesh)
  30. Today the Bombay High Court directed an accused to compensate his child born ought of sexual assault committed on the deceased victim, holding that the welfare of the child is of paramount importance.
    • “Looking to (sic) the young age of the appellant and his future prospects in his profession as a Disc Jockey as well as the fact of his willingness to provide adequate compensation to the child, we are of the considered view that, no fruitful purpose would be served in detaining the appellant for his entire life, instead, if the amount of compensation to be awarded to the child, is adequate, it would serve the ends of justice,“
    • “The appellant had taken undue malefit (sic) of the tender age of the victim by seducing her for his amorous sexual lust resulting into not only impregnating by committing aggravate penetrative sexual assault but is also responsible for her untimely death and in addition to that permanently abandoned his own child at the mercy of an orphanage,”
  31. The Supreme Court held that no person shall be said to have committed an offence of abetment under Section 14C of the Foreigners Act 1946, if he was not aware about the visa status of the foreigners.  (Abinash Dixit v. State of Madhya Pradesh)

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