Bar, Bench & Litigation

12 BCI members to fly to DC business class in Rs 48+ lakh IBA conference attendance

BCI biz class
BCI biz class
The Bar Council of India (BCI) resolved to fly 12 of its members, by business class, to Washington DC this month to attend the International Bar Association’s (IBA) annual conference, which the BCI had missed for the last five years “due to inadvertent on the part of the [BCI] office”.

Lawyer Janhavi Gadkar drunk drive charges to be framed 20 September, faces 7+ years jail

Lawyer Janhavi Gadkar, who in 2015 while working at Reliance Industries as an in-house lawyer killed two while allegedly driving drunk in Mumbai, will likely appear in court on 20 September when charges against her will be framed, reported the Times of India:

Shameless plug: Bombay HC judge cites ‘quite excellent’ LI-Mint article in a quite excellent copyright order

In another pragmatic order dealing with the until-recently fairly haphazard regime of John Doe blocking of pirated movies on websites, Justice Gautam Patel of the Bombay high court has cited an article by Legally India published in Mint as “quite excellent”, “extremely well researched, thoughtful and incisive” (see excerpt above).

Legally Explained: Why the HC allowed women into Haji Ali and what this means for religion and equality

Why did the sun set on Haji Ali's briefly sexist period?
Why did the sun set on Haji Ali's briefly sexist period?
A Bombay high court bench of justices VM Kanade and Revati Mohite Dere had held on Friday (26 August) that the ban on women entering the sanctum sanctorum of the Haji Ali Dargah of Mumbai, contravened Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution.

BTW: Better late than never, Hindu covers story of 3 corrupt BCI members jailed

Just FYI, more than one month after a CBI court convicted three Bar Council of India (BCI) members to jail and after a PTI report on the judgment, The Hindu on 25 August 2016 is now the only mainstream media outlet (other than http://www.livemint.com/Politics/oS1IH3Hf1bc5dSMmD4fYVP/Bribery-case-exposes-the-rot-in-legal-education.html Mint) to have done a news story:

Landmark: Bombay HC opens Haji Ali Dargah to women [READ JUDGMENT]

In a historic verdict, the Bombay high court today permitted the entry of women up to the restricted grave area of the famous Haji Ali Dargah, located on the rocks off the Worli seashore.

Amity suicide: Director & prof resign to placate students over opaque admin & unanswered questions [UPDATE-3: Read fact-finding report]

In the row over the suicide of student Sushant Rohilla at Amity Law School Delhi (IP), its director Prof Dr BP Singh Sehgal and political science professor Dr Isheeta Rutabhasini have both resigned.

BCCI follows Katju‘s advice, asks for SC review of Lodha decision

The Board of Control for Cricket India in India (BCCI) on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court seeking the review of its 18 July verdict asking the country’s apex cricketing body to implement the Justice Lodha Committee recommendations for transparency and accountability in its functioning and limiting the involvement of ministers and government officials.

BCI stays its suspension-without-notice of 126 Tamil Nadu advocates

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has stayed its order of 24 July that had suspended, without notice or due process, 126 Tamil Nadu advocates who had allegedly been involved in the strikes against the Madras high court’s controversial new disciplinary rules.

Legally Explained: Irom Sharmila and what courts & judges think of the draconian AFSPA

So, one of the longest fasts in world history has come to an end with the Iron Lady of Manipur, Irom Sharmila, abandoning her ineffective fast to force the Government to repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA).

Bombay / Mumbai HC will get 2nd female chief justice, as Manjula Chellur transferred from Cal / Kol HC

The first female Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, Manjula Chellur, has been named the new Chief Justice of the Bombay high court.

Legally Explained: What BCCI, Katju, Lodha & Trump could have in common

So, after some time out, ex-Supreme Court judge Justice Markandey Katju (Retd.) is in the news again, seemingly putting a spanner in a variety of works.

Legally Explained: How the HC resolved the knotty turf war between Kejriwal & Lt Governor (and why it still ain‘t over)

So, finally, the Delhi high court ruled in favour of the Lt. Governor of Delhi, Najeeb Jung, and the Central Government, in their turf war with Delhi’s Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal.

BCCI picks ex-Justice Markandey Katju to head Lodha Panel

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday appointed former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju as the head of a legal panel to guide the board in understanding the recommendations of the Justice RM Lodha Committee which have been approved by the apex court.

The great grand masti game of online piracy whack-a-mole [via Mint]

KAT was dead, yet it will keep living
KAT was dead, yet it will keep living

When file-sharing website Kickass Torrents (KAT) went offline after its alleged owner, Artem Vaulin, was arrested in Poland a week ago, India’s people were the most heavily affected by the news.

BCI Mishra explains how 126 TN lawyers suspended: SC forced hand • No inquiry held • Got list of 126 from 'sources'

Manan Kumar Mishra
Manan Kumar Mishra
Bar Council of India (BCI) chairman Manan Kumar Mishra was interviewed by The Hindu a few days ago about the Bar Council of India (BCI) decision to suspend 126 lawyers from Tamil Nadu for allegedly protesting against controversial disciplinary rules passed by the Madras high court.

Explained: How 3 corrupt BCI officials were jailed (and how their attempt to blame Gopal Subramanium for it failed) [READ JUDGMENT]

Rajinder Singh Rana, Dhanapal Raj, Milan Kumar Dey
Rajinder Singh Rana, Dhanapal Raj, Milan Kumar Dey

In May 2010, then-prime minister Manmohan Singh made a few headlines by saying what nearly every lawyer and educator in the country knew to be true: he called Indian legal education a “sea of institutionalised mediocrity”, dotted with a few “islands of excellence”.

DJS exam: SC makes amazing common sense guidelines on how to avoid future DJS debacles

The Supreme Court has today issued guidelines to the Delhi high court on how to conduct future Delhi Judicial Services (DJS) exams, following a rejoinder petition by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) represented by Prashant Bhushan and co-petitioner and DJS candidate Sonal Gupta, represented by Sanjay Hegde, who both appeared pro bono in the case.

SC declined to stay Adarsh demolition for time being

Wire: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to put on hold, for now, the demolition of the controversial Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society building in Mumbai and told the director of military estates (army) to take the custody of building and secure it.

Delhi cops finally file chargesheets vs alleged Patiala House thug-vocates

Delhi Police has filed three separate chargesheets accusing three lawyers and suspended BJP legislator OP Sharma of the violence in the Patiala House Courts complex in February.