Bar, Bench & Litigation

SCOI Report: HC's grant of tax exemption to a film on gay sex: SC's hasty grant of leave for Guj gov SLP, raises serious questions

On September 15, the Supreme Court bench of justices Anil Dave and Adarsh Kumar Goel expedited a pending hearing on admission of SLP, and granted leave thus converting it into a civil appeal, even while continuing the ad-interim relief granted earlier. In the normal course, it would not have raised eyebrows. But when it became known that the subject of the SLP is about the Government’s denial of tax exemption to a film on gay sex, Meghdhanushya, (meaning a spectrum or a rainbow) it made news and rightly so. The film centers around a young boy who finds himself attracted by persons of his own sex.

UP district judge suffers cardiac arrest in courtroom, dies

An additional district and sessions judge posted in Bulandshahr town of Uttar Pradesh died on Friday after suffering a cardiac arrest. Additional district judge (Ist) Jagdish Singh was working in his chamber at the district courts in Bulandshahr when he complained of chest pain and breathlessness. B...

Haryana Panchayati Raj amendment mandating educated Panchayat members, stayed

In a setback for the Manohar Lal Khattar government in Haryana, the Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the state law providing that a candidate aspiring to contest the panchayat elections should have cleared the class 10 examination. A bench of Justice J Chelameswar and Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre sta...

Tandoor Murder Case accused goes from death sentence to lifer to parole, but still jailed

The Delhi high court on Thursday pulled up the state government for not releasing on parole former Youth Congress leader Sushil Sharma, convicted for the murder of his wife Naina Sahni and disposing of her body in a restaurant tandoor. Justice Siddharth Mridul expressed unhappiness that despite cour...

After ex-lawmin Bharti, Bharti's dog Don to go under for alleged wife-attack

Don, the dog most wanted by Delhi Police until recently, is not aggressive and has never bitten anybody, said his owner and former Delhi law minister Somnath Bharti, citing the medical report of his pet. Bharti said his pet dog, Don, “cannot bite any one as he is a Golden Labrador”, a breed that is ...

SC journalists now face stricter dress code and movement rules (law degree requirement remains)

The Supreme Court legal correspondent accreditation rules were changed to enforce stricter dress codes, and limits on permissible entry spaces, on journalists reporting the Supreme Court’s proceedings.

SC journalists now face stricter dress code and movement rules

The Supreme Court legal correspondent accreditation rules were changed to enforce stricter dress codes, and limits on permissible entry spaces, on journalists reporting the Supreme Court’s proceedings. According to Rule 7A, inserted in the new notified on 03.01.2007 rules , temporary and permanent c...

Altum, Inventus on $4.5m MoEngage fundraise

Altum Law advised Exfinity Ventures and Inventus Law worked along with the in-house team of Helion Venture Partners on their $4.5 co-funding of Bangalore based analytics and mobile marketing start-up MoEngage. Altum co-founder and senior partner Anindita Phukan acted for Exfinity. Inventus partner A...

Kerala HC to examine Kerala bar council's enrolment tax on 'certain' advocates

The Kerala high court has admitted a retired postal service official’s challenge to the Kerala bar council rules, reported the New Indian Express . The rules prescribe advocate enrolment fee in excess of that prescribed in the Advocates Act 1961, in case the advocates seeking enrolment have retired ...

SCOI Report: Meat-ban case will depend on yet-to-be constituted right to privacy Constitution bench

The Supreme Court bench comprising justices TS Thakur and Kurian Joseph, in their order first granted permission to file the SLP in the appeal against Bombay high court order staying the Maharashtra government’s ban on sale of meat on some days of Paryurshan, an annual holy festival of Jain community. The ban was to be effective on September 10 and 17.

Delhi HC extends arrest protection to Somnath Bharti

In a relief to former Delhi law minister Somnath Bharti, booked in a domestic violence case, the Delhi high court today continued the protection granted to him against arrest and reserved its order on his anticipatory bail plea. Justice Suresh Kait, after hearing the arguments of police and Bharti, ...

Indus, N South Law on Cipla's $13m Percos purchase

Indus Law advised India’s third-largest drug maker Cipla on its Rs 90 crore ($13m) buy of cosmetics maker Percos india’s brand rights. Percos was advised by N South Law Associates. Indus partner Nishant Singh, senior associate Aditi Verma Thakur and associates Vaibhav Ganjiwale, Ramya Sridhar and Ch...

Verus wins in meat ban again: SC preaches 'tolerance and accommodation', declines to interfere [UPDATE-1]

The Supreme Court today declined to interfere with the Bombay high court which had stayed the order of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai prohibiting the sale of meat during the Jain festival of Paryurshan. An apex court bench of Justice TS Thakur and Justice Kurian Joseph, while refusing t...

SCOI Report: Kangaroo court rape orders: SC comes to rescue but 2011 judgment on guilty cop punishment appears to have no takers [READ PETITION]

History was made in Court No.6 yesterday (Wednesday, 16 September) with justices J Chelameswar and Abhay Manohar Sapre hearing in camera, Ravi, who is in judicial custody at the police station in Khekhra, Bhagpat district, Uttar Pradesh, in connection with a crime registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act since May 28, 2015.

After CCI, Google held guilty under Russian anti-trust for using Android to win search market share

Google Inc. has violated Russian antitrust laws by requiring that manufacturers pre-install its services on their devices, the local antitrust authority ruled, in a blow to the Internet giant’s bid to overtake domestic search-market leader Yandex NV reported Bloomberg and others. Late last month Goo...

SCOI Report: Can a child with a foreigner as biological father, Indian surrogate mother be granted Indian citizenship?

The Supreme Court bench comprising justices Ranjan Gogoi and NV Ramana is likely to hear the UOI’s appeal against Gujarat High Court’s verdict in the case of UOI vs Jan Balaz from today (September 16).

Legasis, JSA drive $15m CredR fundraising

Legasis Partners advised used vehicles online marketplace CredR’s owner Incredible Technologies in raising $15m from Eight Roads Ventures, which was advised by J Sagar Associates (JSA). Legasis Pune partner Apurv Sardeshmukh and Mumbai partner Yogesh Chawak acted for the less than one-year-old start...

Does a senior counsel double your chances of success in the SC? Research suggests it might

As reported in Mint on 8 September, senior advocates charge anywhere between Rs 75,000 and Rs 16.5 lakh per hearing in the Supreme Court, and many appear in several matters per day.

Dayan Krishnan, Vijay Aggarwal win 2 days bail for Somnath Bharti in HC

In a relief to former Delhi law minister Somnath Bharti, booked in a domestic violence case on his wife’s complaint, the Delhi high court on Tuesday granted him protection against arrest till September 17. Justice Suresh Kait issued notice and sought a police report on the status of investigation in...

18,000 judges neglected by 7th pay commission; judges association asks SC for separate pay commission

The All India Judges Association’s (AIJA) petition in the Supreme Court for a separate pay commission for lower court judge is up for response by the central government, reported Mint . A bench of chief justice HL Dattu and justices Shiva Kirti Singh and Amitava Roy issued notice to the centre, in t...