The only relevant portion in Justice Pratibha Rani’s order on Kanhaiya’s bail plea is paras 54 to 57. I think this order has completely misunderstood the law of sedition. Even though S. 124A has been quoted, it has not been followed. There is no connection between anti nationalism and disaffection against the government. What is punishable under the section is the preparatory actions of waging war against the State by…

It will be noticed that the constitutionality of the provisions of the sections under which the appellant was convicted had not been convassed before the High Court. But in the petition for special leave, to this Court, the ground was taken that ss. 124A and 505 of the Indian Penal Code ‘are inconsistent with Art. 19(1) (a) of the Constitution. It has not been contended before us on behalf of…

Well…I generally don’t comment on politicking between political parties, but since this judgment has opened up new arenas of accountability of political parties, I am commenting on it. The judge has made three very strong exceptions in the case of a political party. First, he has held that in case of a political party, the rule of locus standi needs to be eased, for public interest is involved. Secondly, he…

The AAP government has resigned because they couldn’t introduce the Jan Lokpal Bill in the assembly. The hurdle was the message sent by the Lt. Governor to the assembly u/s 9 of the GNCTD Act, 1991. In his message, the LG clearly stated that the bill was not sent to him for his prior consent as required u/s 22 of the GNCTD Act, 1991, for the bill was in the…

Now, the judgment of the Trial Court in the Aarushi murder case has been pronounced, and the parents have been held guilty of the murders on the basis of circumstantial evidence. The undisputed facts of the case are that Nupur Talwar, Rajesh Talwar, Hemraj and Aarushi were last seen together on the night of 15/05/2008 in the flat owned by Rajesh Talwar and occupied by the four people mentioned above….

The recent judgment of the Guwahati HC in W.A. No. 119 of 2008, Navendra Kumar vs. Union of India, has created an existential crisis for the CBI. Before the HC, the CBI tried to justify its existence on the basis of two sources: first as a “police” force established under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, and secondly as a central bureau of “investigation” established u/a 73 r/w entry 8…

APPLICATION PROCESSING AND FEES The  RTI Act provides for charging of the fees under three sections: section 6(1), section 7(1) and section 7(5). I am surprised that till date the government has not laid down any rules for the collection of fees u/s 7(1) — this is not the same as initial application fees of Rs 10 charged u/s 6(1). Of course, the fees charged under the RTI Act is…