Author: Anvita Dwivedi
In a significant development concerning the ongoing investigation into the alleged “DJ remark” case, the Calcutta High Court has directed Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee to cooperate with the investigation by providing his voice sample, while simultaneously directing the police administration to ensure that law and order is maintained during his appearance before the trial court. The Court specifically instructed the police to prevent any untoward incident, including reported apprehensions of protesters pelting eggs or creating disturbances outside the court premises. The order reflects the judiciary’s dual responsibility of ensuring that criminal investigations proceed unhindered while simultaneously safeguarding the dignity…
In a landmark ruling reinforcing the mandatory reporting framework under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act), the Supreme Court has held that school authorities cannot escape criminal liability by conducting their own internal inquiry after a child directly discloses sexual abuse. Setting aside the discharge of a school headmistress accused of suppressing a child’s complaint of rape, the Court observed that the statutory obligation under Section 19 of the POCSO Act arises immediately upon receiving credible information from the child and does not permit school officials to independently verify the allegations before informing law enforcement…
The Supreme Court is set to hear a batch of petitions seeking an independent investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged misappropriation of donations received by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple at Ayodhya. The matter, which was earlier declined urgent listing during the Court’s vacation, has now been directed to be listed for hearing on July 13 before the regular Bench. The petitions seek transfer of the investigation from the State police to an independent central agency, contending that the magnitude of the alleged financial irregularities, the public character of the donations and the national importance…
In a significant judgment clarifying the interplay between banking amalgamation schemes and tenancy law, the Supreme Court has held that the statutory merger of a bank under a scheme approved by the Reserve Bank of India does not extinguish or dilute the landlord’s statutory right to seek eviction under the Delhi Rent Control Act where tenancy rights stand transferred to another legal entity without the landlord’s written consent. Restoring an eviction decree against Punjab National Bank (PNB), the Court ruled that even though the transfer of tenancy occurred by operation of a statutory amalgamation, the legal consequence remained a transfer…
In a significant judgment reaffirming the constitutional philosophy underlying reservation in local self-government institutions, the Allahabad High Court has held that electors residing in a constituency reserved for a particular category cannot assert a legal or constitutional right to vote for a candidate belonging to the general category. Rejecting a challenge founded upon the alleged deprivation of voter choice, the Court observed that reservation of electoral constituencies is itself a constitutionally recognised mechanism designed to secure adequate political representation for historically disadvantaged communities. Consequently, the inability of voters to elect a general category candidate in a reserved constituency cannot be…
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the manner in which evidence is discovered, analysed and presented before investigative agencies and courts. The latest entrant in this evolving ecosystem is GEOX AI, an artificial intelligence-based geospatial intelligence platform developed by TraceX Labs that claims to identify the real-world location of an image or video without relying upon GPS metadata. By analysing visible environmental features such as architecture, road layouts, terrain, vegetation, shadows, weather conditions and cultural indicators, the platform seeks to determine where a photograph or video was captured using computer vision and machine learning rather than embedded location tags. While the…
In a significant interim order that is likely to contribute to the evolving jurisprudence surrounding State anti-conversion legislations, the Supreme Court has stayed further criminal proceedings against a Hindu man who had been prosecuted under the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act on allegations that he attempted to compel members of his own family to embrace Islam. While refraining from making any final observations on the merits of the allegations, the Court found it appropriate to protect the accused from further criminal proceedings until the legal issues raised in the matter receive comprehensive judicial examination. The order reflects the Supreme…
In a significant ruling reinforcing the supremacy of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) over unilateral administrative action affecting the assets of an insolvent company, the Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has set aside the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation’s (MIDC) decision cancelling the allotment of industrial plots leased to Jet Airways (India) Limited. The Tribunal further directed MIDC to execute the lease deeds in favour of the airline, holding that the statutory authority could not rely upon technical or procedural defaults to deprive the corporate debtor of valuable assets after insolvency proceedings had commenced. The…
The Kerala High Court has reserved its verdict on the application filed by Sunil N.S., popularly known as Pulsar Suni, seeking suspension of the twenty-year rigorous imprisonment imposed upon him by the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court in the widely discussed 2017 Malayalam actress assault case. The matter came up before a Division Bench hearing the criminal appeals filed by the convicted accused against their conviction and sentence. After hearing extensive submissions from both the defence and the prosecution, the High Court deferred its decision on whether the sentence should remain suspended during the pendency of the appeal. The proceedings mark…
A recent public conversation between Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Dushyant Dave has reignited an important constitutional debate concerning the expanding powers of investigative agencies, the functioning of the judiciary, judicial appointments and the protection of civil liberties under the Indian Constitution. During the interview, former Supreme Court Bar Association President Dushyant Dave described the operation of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) as amounting to “open State terrorism” and expressed concern that constitutional courts have increasingly failed to adequately protect individual rights against executive excesses. The remarks, delivered in the course of an extensive discussion on the…