Bollywood law comedy-drama Jolly LLB has received three legal notices for allegedly depicting lawyers in a bad light, defaming a law college, and causing ridicule to a lawyer with the surname Jolly. The journalist-turned-director Subhash Kapoor’s film is slated for release next Friday (15 March).

Update 1 March: The Union Budget 2013-2014, announced by finance minister P Chidambaram yesterday, glossed over investor interests, didn’t touch the Direct Tax Code, and left GAAR mostly unchanged. We bring you a selection of law firm reactions to the Finance Bill 2013 we’ve received via email.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill 2012, was yesterday passed by the upper house of the Parliament, almost six months after it was signed off by the Lok Sabha.

Prime minister Manmohan Singh addressed lawyers present at the Bar Council of India’s (BCI) centenary celebrations on 16 February in Delhi, urging them to take on more pro bono matters.

Dr Amardeep Kainth, the well-known Bangalore corporate lawyer and founder of Dr Kainth & Associates, was found murdered at home today, according to a one-paragraph Times of India report.

Rahul Cherian, an expert and policy activist in disability law, intellectual property (IP) law and technology law, passed away today at the age of 39 while on a family holiday in Goa.

A Kerala law student ran in the nude on the streets of Ernakulam, a town near Kochi, demanding the resignation of former chief justice of India KG Balakrishnan from the National Human Rights Commission chair. The man, identified as studying in Ernakulam Government Law College, covered his face with ...

Global retailing giant Walmart’s India joint venture with Bharti Enterprises may have violated US anti-bribery laws and India’s foreign exchange rules. The chief financial officer (CFO) and other employees of the JV have been suspended pending investigation into the US laws’ violation. Walmart’s $10...

A 21-year-old woman and her friend were arrested for allegedly posting and endorsing a comment on Facebook that was critical of the two-day bandh following the death of Mumbai politician Bal Thackeray on Saturday, according to several independent media reports.

The Indian courts made 20 orders for the removal of 487 content items hosted on the internet by Google services between January and June 2012, setting a new record and keeping India’s second global place in Google’s internet censorship rankings, as the executive asked for personal data on 3,467 users of Google services.

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Current affairs, media and culture blog Newslaundry’s Madhu Trehan asks former Supreme Court Justice Markandey Katju, now the chairman of the Press Council of India (PCI), some tough questions about himself and freedom of speech (46 minute video interview). Is Katju’s bark not already bad enough, she asks, that you need more bite? As the interview proceeds, Katju’s fuse is lit several times, and barks and giggles ensue. Click through for a potted digest…

Breaking: Senior advocate Ashwani Kumar, the minister of state for parliamentary affairs and planning, will be minister of law and justice, after Salman Khursheed was elevated to head up the foreign affairs ministry in today’s Congress cabinet reshuffle.

Union law minister Salman Khursheed reportedly “dared” campaigner Arvind Kejriwal to protest in his Farukkhabad constituency, suggesting it would be hard to return from there. Kejriwal alleged this was a murder threat from the minister. Last week Kejriwal had demanded Khursheed’s resignation allegin...

Lawyers are the most exposed people to the risk of depression - a health disorder which causes 850,000 deaths worldwide annually - according to a research report by John Hopkins University. The risk to lawyers is 3.6 times higher than other professionals. A US law firm’s managing partner blamed pess...

The now more than one-year old Punjab government-formulated policy for the protection of whistle blowers in the state was notified on the state government’s website last week after the Punjab and Haryana high court reportedly directed the government to make the policy public. The policy notified on ...

Union law minister Salman Khursheed said that the entry of foreign lawyers should be left for the bar to decide, welcomed the All India Bar Exam (AIBE), said the government was thinking about reforming the collegium system of judicial appointments, while admitting that pendency was a huge problem, in an interview with legal website Bar & Bench published today. Legally India brings you the digested read and highlights.

‘The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act 1986 – a law which was enacted to curb lewd depiction of women in advertisements and publications – will soon be amended with harsher penalties. First conviction will invite three years of imprisonment and a fine ranging between Rs 50,000 and R...

Delhi high court forces Delhi’s auto-rickshaws to install compulsory GPS and bill-printing machine that would cost Rs 13,500 + Rs 5,000 annually. The HC’s move was aimed to curb over-charging of passengers but with the transport department already burdened with unmanageable paperwork, tracking every...

After November 2011’s false start in liberalising multi-brand retail, the Manmohan Singh-led government has decided to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in the multi-brand retail sector and the aviation industry. Foreigners will be able to invest 51 per cent in multi-brand retail outlets, such a...

For the US, the skill V chance debate for the game of poker is almost extinct as a New York federal court declares it a game of skill, based on empirical evidence. The US gov’t has not ruled out the possibility of appealing against the decision. “Since there is a huge debate in India regarding the l...