Weekend Legal Updates

Saturday & Sunday, 4th& 5th June 2022

Legal Awareness :- CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

Part – XV   ELECTIONS

Article – 327 Power of Parliament to make provision with respect to elections to Legislatures

Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, Parliament may from time to time by law make provision with respect to all matters relating to, or in connection with, elections to either House of Parliament or to
the House or either House of the Legislature of a State including the preparation of electoral rolls, the delimitation of constituencies and all other matters necessary for securing the due constitution of such House or Houses.

Today’s Legal Updates :-

  1. On Saturday the Delhi High Court transferred a case from the court of a family judge who shared his personal contact number with the parties and met one of them in his chambers, observing that judges should not act in any manner to give rise to even the slightest doubt in the minds of litigants and lawyers.
    • the Court said in its order, Unfortunately, on account of the conduct of the judge for sharing his personal mobile number with both the parties and admittedly having met one of the parties in the chamber has unnecessarily given a cause of reasonable apprehension of bias.
    • The petition said that while the proceedings were pending before the High Court, the family judge decided the guardianship petition and gave visitation rights to the father. He was allowed to see the child not only on weekdays, but also on Saturday and for several days on long weekends and holidays, It was also stated that during the proceedings, the family court shared his personal mobile number with the parties and that the father met the judge in his chambers. This, it was stated, created an apprehension in the mind of the petitioner mother.
    • The principal judge, Family Court is requested to decide the said guardianship petition as expeditiously as possible preferably within four weeks. Learned Principal Judge, Family Court may also take assistance of the Child Counselor and interact with the child before deciding the visitation rights.
  2. On Saturday the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) at Mumbai upheld an order of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) which penalised Tarini International and its directors for having mis-utilized proceeds of its Initial Public Offering (IPO).  (Tarini International Ltd & Ors v. SEBI)
    •  the Bench held dismissing the appeals, Considering all the above facts which clearly prove that the appellant Tarini and its directors i.e. the other appellants have mis-utilized the IPO proceeds, we do not find any infirmity in the impugned order.
    • SEBI found that Tarini had furnished details of ₹7.94 crore, which was transferred by it mostly to various group entities on the ground of need of working capital. It was, however, found that these funds were used by these group entities for transfer to third parties which had purchased the shares of the company.
  3. On Saturday the Kerala Advocate Clerks Association (KACA) has written to Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana with their grievances regarding the manner in which e-filing has been implemented at courts in state.
    • Therefore, e-filing alone may not cure the inordinate delay in disposal of cases. lt is also pertinent to note that there are several other more egregious factors contributing to such delays, such as an acute shortage of staff including those of Judges and poor infrastructure. A more holistic approach addressing these grievances must be brought in to deal with the issue of pendency, and unless this is done e-filing will only lead to abrupt deprivation of our jobs and loss of livelihood of thousands of people like us.
    • There are over 10,000 advocate clerks in Kerala so over 10,000 families are affected. When an initiative like this that affects the entire court system is implemented, one would think that the impact on such a significant section would be considered. However, no discussions were held to consider this even though advocate clerks are a section of the court system that would be largely affected by this.
  4. On Saturday the Delhi High Court stayed an order of a lower court allowing a lawyer to be present with Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain during his interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
    • Justice Varma said, Even otherwise, admittedly, his entire recording of statement is videographed and audiographed which certainly would dispel the apprehension of any coercion, threat to the respondent.
    • the ASG had said, We anyways have facilities for video recording but he (Jain) has given a written statement saying he does not want this facility. I can submit his statement in a sealed cover as well.
    • Senior Advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, They have repeatedly called me an accused. Their remand application starts with the word accused. I am searching for his certificate of not being an accused. They have had a lawyer present during his investigation at a distance for the last few days. It has been going on without any issue. This petition is an abuse of process of law and should therefore be dismissed with costs.
  5. On Saturday A special court in Mumbai while awarding death sentence to a 45-year-old man for brutally raping and killing a woman, said that the heinous incident has brought down the dignity of Mumbai, a city that never sleeps.  (State of Maharashtra vs Mohan Kathwaru Chauhan)
    • The special court designated to hear cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was dealing with the case filed against Mohan Chauhan, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, who was booked by the Mumbai Police in September last year for raping a woman belonging to the Scheduled Caste.
    • Judge observed, This festival is celebrated in large amounts in every nook and corner of the streets of Mumbai. During festivals this city never sleeps. But on that dark night, the city was in such a deep sleep that nobody heard the painful and withering screams and whimpers of the victim of this case.
    • She was brutally beaten and dragged by her scarf on the road, thrown in the tempo, raped, and then murdered all done forcefully, harshly, and mercilessly. The assailant is so cold blooded, that he inserted the weapon inside her private part, so deep that it pulled out her intestine along with the weapon as well while removing it.
    • This incident showed how unsafe it is for women to be out at night alone or even with someone they know in this city.
    • the judge said, I am constrained to hold that the mitigating circumstances like middle age of accused, his socio­-economic conditions are insignificant in the light of the aggravating factors. Hence, without any doubt this case falls within the rarest of rare category. Thus, if the objective of punishment is to be achieved, then the maximum punishment will send the message to the society.
    • To show leniency or mercy in the case of such heinous crime and to the accused who have shown no repentance or remorse after exhibiting extreme depraved mentality would be a travesty of justice. Hence, though this court is fully aware of irrevocable nature of the death sentence, this court has to award the same to the accused in this case.
  6. On Friday the Delhi High Court directed the Central government to stop funding and patronage to the National Sports Federations (NSFs) that are in non-compliance with the Sports Code and judicial orders governing their functioning.
    • the Court ordered, Accordingly, no more monies will be expended nor any assistance be extended to any NSFs, till the next date. The respondent shall ensure that monies, patronage and other facilities to NSFs will be resumed, in particular, only when the NSFs comply with Annexure 2 of the Sports Code, as well as in terms of the orders passed by the Supreme Court and by this court.
    • The non-representation of sports persons violates the essential element and spirit of the regime of sports administration.
  7. On Saturday Former Supreme Court judge, Justice Deepak Gupta has been appointed as the sole arbitrator in the dispute between L&L Partners and the heirs of its Founding Partner, the late Vijay Sondhi.
  8. On Thursday the Allahabad High Court directed him to deposit ₹1 lakh in favour of any one registered Gaushala (cow shelter) and to serve cows for one month, while granting bail to a man accused of committing offences under the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955. (Saleem Alias Kaliya v. State of UP)
    • The applicant shall deposit Rs.1 lakh in favour of any one Registered Gaushal of District Bareilly within a month after release. Immediately after release from jail, the applicant shall himself available at Gaushalal and seve the cows for a period of one month (sic).
    • taking an overall view of all the facts and circumstances of this case, the nature of evidence, the period of detention already undergone, the unlikelihood of early conclusion of trial and also the absence of any convincing material to indicate the possibility of tampering with the evidence, this Court is of the view that the applicant may be enlarged on bail.
  9. On Friday the Karnataka High Court held that the consent of the first wife would be immaterial for consideration of the offence of bigamy. (Anand v Chandramma)
    • It being with the consent of the 1st wife or with the consent of the 1st and 2nd wives for the third time would become immaterial for consideration of offence of bigamy.
    • the Court said, In the teeth of the admitted facts of the petitioner marrying thrice and its subsistence even as on day, the plea of delay in registration of the crime would pale into insignificance, as bigamy in the case at hand is a continuing offence.
    • It is for the protagonists in the quadrangle to resolve the issue amongst themselves and not drag other persons into these proceedings. If the proceedings against other petitioners are not quashed, it would become an abuse of the process of law, result in miscarriage of justice and quadruplet harassment.
  10. On Saturday A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking transfer of the probe into the killing of singer Sidhu Moose Wala, from the Punjab Police to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).  (Jagjit Singh vs State of Punjab)
    • the plea filed through advocate Namit Saxena said, The way the cold blooded killing was done in broad daylight is indicative of the fact that the state machinery in the state of Punjab has miserably failed in its duty not only to prevent the crime but also to effectively curb the menace of gangwars.
  11. On Thursday the Allahabad High Court granted bail to a person accused under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act after he undertook that he would take care of the survivor, whom he had married, and their child who was born out of the alleged assault. (Ramshankar v State of UP)
    • the order said, The matter shatters the conscious of one and all. What is the fault of the new born baby who has come to world under such circumstances? A lot of water has flown down the Ganges. Now, it’s time to move ahead.
    • the judge observed, The youth in their tender age become victim to the legal parameters though rightly framed by the legislature, but here this Court is being drawn to make an exception in the extraordinary circumstances of the case.
    • The mathematical permutations and combinations have to be done away with.. Human psychosis and that too of the adolescents has to be taken into account.
    • In case of breach of any of the above conditions, it shall be a ground for cancellation of bail.
  12. The Supreme Court held that pension is a continuous cause of action and arrears of pension cannot be denied on ground of delay in filing petition for the same.  (ML Patil (Dead) through LRs v. State of Goa and Another)
    • the appellants had challenged the action of the respondents in superannuating/retiring them at the age of 58 years. According to the appellants, the retirement age was 60 years.
    • The appellants were inducted in service prior to the appointment day as provided under the Goa, Damn and Diu Reorganization Act, 1987 (Reorganization Act) by which the State of Goa and Union Territory of Daman and Diu came into existence.
    • It was contended that the act of the Government in superannuating them was in violation of Section 60(6) of the Reorganization Act which contemplated the conditions of service applicable immediately before the appointed day, shall not be varied to the disadvantage of the employees appointed prior to it, except with approval of the Central government.
    • As far as the pension is concerned, it is a continuous cause of action. There is no justification at all for denying the arrears of pension as if they would have been retired/superannuated at the age of 60 years. There is no justification at all by the High Court to deny the pension at the revised rates and payable only from January 1, 2020. Under the circumstances, the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court is required to be modified to the aforesaid extent.
  13. An interactive online panel session titled “Military Justice: Reflections and Learnings“ will be held on 6 June, 2022 at 7:30 pm.
    • The session will be live-streamed here :- Watch
  14. Kerala High Court judge, Justice N Nagaresh, recently came to the rescue of a lawyer who was being assaulted on public road in a case of road rage incident.
    • he incident happened on Foreshore road in Kochi when a Thodupuzha native, Jijo Sebastian rammed into the rear of a car being driven by lawyer Leo Lucose.
  15. A Special Court in Delhi as been granted bail a  former National Investigation Agency (NIA) officer accused of allegedly leaking sensitive information to a person who passed on the same to a handler of proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). (NIA v. Arvind Negi)
    • the bail order, The entire evidence to prove these facts which has been relied upon by the prosecution, is documentary/electronic in nature as it is the information retrieved from the phone of the accused that had allegedly established communication of these documents to his co-accused.
    • Without getting into much controversy whether these documents were secret or not, I find that at this stage keeping in view the nature of the evidence, the fact that chances of accused tampering with the evidence or influencing the witnesses are very less and the period of incarceration of the applicant, the application is allowed.
    • With regard to Section 5 (wrongful communication or information) of Official Secrets Act, I find that what the prosecution needs to prove the commission of this offence is that there was a secret document which was possession of the accused/applicant and that he has communicated that document to his co-accused.
  16. The Sikkim High Court upheld the State government’s “One Family One Government Job” scheme stating that it has no doubt about the bonafides of the scheme and it is beneficial for the citizens.  (Henna Subba and Ors vs State of Sikkim)
    • the Court said, More than 13,000 citizens residing in the State of Sikkim have got employment in the process. As such, the bona fides of the exercise undertaken under the Scheme cannot be held to be suspect since its object and purpose was to provide one family one job.
    • That apart and in any event, the beneficial nature of the Scheme cannot be doubted and examined at this stage purely on the basis of technicalities as provided under the Sikkim Government Service Rules, 1974.
    •  the bench noted, During the said tour, it was observed that the main grievance of the people of Sikkim was lack of employment in government service.
    • the Court said, A bare perusal of the explanation provided by the official, in the affidavit reveals that while the the Sikkim Government Service Rules, 1974, may not have been strictly adhered to by observing all technical requirements as mandated by the said Rules, there has been substantial compliance….However, the State of Sikkim is directed to ensure that in all future recruitment process, it adheres to the relevant statutory laws and Rules scrupulously and meticulously so that eyebrows are not raised unnecessarily or accusatory fingers pointed towards the State, while welfare and beneficial Schemes – such as the one before us – are sought to be implemented by the State or its agencies.
    • The Court was seized of a clutch of petitions filed by highly qualified yet unemployed youth, who objected to the “One Family One Job” policy decision of the State Government, which, according to them, failed to comply with any statutory provision.
    • Umesh Sunam, a Joint Secretary at the Department of Personnel, Administrative Reforms & Training, Government of Sikkim, filed an affidavit stating that the scheme was launched by the former Chief Minister (CM) after completing his tour of all the 31 constituencies in the State.
  17. At least seven law graduates have cleared the 2021 Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) main exams.
    • Three students from National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore, and one each from National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), Hyderabad; Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU), Raipur; National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS), Kochi; and University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab University have cleared the exam.

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