By Annunthra Rangan The 18th BRICS Summit, held at Bharat Mandapam on September 12-13, ended a year in which India held the grouping’s chairmanship for the fourth time—and BRICS marked two decades since the acronym first appeared in a Goldman Sachs research note. Eleven member states signed a 140-paragraph New Delhi Declaration, representing close to…
Can a minor enter into a contract under Indian law? Or, to put it more directly, can a 13-year-old enter into a contract with a digital or social media platform by simply clicking “I agree”? This was the question before the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya…
There are certain legal clichés that judges—and lawyers, journalists and citizens—like to repeat. Bail is the rule, jail the exception. Justice delayed is justice denied. And, with a weary shrug, the wheels of justice grind exceedingly slowly. But what happens when those wheels appear to have stopped altogether? On September 13, Umar Khalid completed six…
Former Supreme Court judge Justice Abhay Oka has called upon the Bar Council of India (BCI) to take action against lawyers who speak to the media about their arguments in ongoing cases, observing that such conduct could amount to self-promotion and attract restrictions on advertising and solicitation under the BCI Rules. Speaking at a “Discourse…
The Central government on Saturday notified the appointment of seven judicial officers as judges of the Delhi High Court, following the recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium. Nivedita Anil Sharma and Nisha Sahay Saxena have been appointed as permanent judges, while Sanjay Sharma, Bharat Parashar, Aditi Choudhary, Dinesh Bhatt and Arun Bhardwaj have been…
The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh Police to provide protection to a Hindu-Muslim lesbian couple who approached the Court alleging threats from their family members over their decision to live together. In an order passed on September 14, Justice Dr Gautam Chowdhary observed that the couple, being adult citizens who had chosen…
Former Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Friday said human rights cannot be viewed separately from social and economic development, stressing that fundamental freedoms have little substantive value when people lack access to basic necessities and conditions required for a dignified life. Justice Gavai was delivering the ninth Chief Justice MC Chagla Memorial Lecture,…
The NCLT Bar Association has approached the Supreme Court alleging that at least 18 benches of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) are conducting only half-day sittings due to a shortage of members. The Association has filed an intervention application in the Supreme Court’s suo motu proceedings concerning the appointment of judicial and technical members…
Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has expressed serious concern over the reported rise in extra-judicial killings and instances of police violence, questioning whether investigative agencies are increasingly resorting to impermissible shortcuts in criminal investigations. Speaking at a programme on criminal justice and constitutional jurisprudence, Justice Bhuyan reflected on the persistence of custodial violence and extra-judicial…
Former West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) interim decision to freeze the party’s name and its traditional ‘Flowers & Grass’ election symbol amid an escalating dispute between rival factions. The challenge follows the poll panel’s September 17 decision…