• NATIONAL

Thomson Reuters buys online content provider Indlaw Com

Leading financial information provider Thomson Reuters has acquired a city-based online content provider Indlaw Communications for an undisclosed amount. The online content provider, which runs its flagship internet site indlaw.com, was acquired by Thomson Reuters on July 1, 2009. Thomson Reuters will focus on providing uninterrupted service to Indlaw clients and would also offer them access to a whole suite of comprehensive legal information solutions from its international and common legal database.

Ruling legalising gay sex challenged

The recent landmark ruling which legalised gay sex has been challenged in the court. The Supreme Court of India issued a notice to the nonprofit Naz Foundation that had won a lower-court verdict after a seven-year legal fight to decriminalize gay sex. Notices also were issued to the federal government and the New Delhi high court, which ruled last week that consensual sex between partners of the same gender was legal. An astrologer filed a petition challenging the ruling. The Petitioner argued that no Constitutional right is violated by the Indian penal code's Section 377, which had outlawed gay sex, said his  lawyer Praveen Agrawal. The petition also cited Indian culture and health as grounds for seeking a stay on last week's ruling, he said.

Gas companies sweating it out in legal battle

With the Supreme Court fixing a date for hearing, the legal wrangle between Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) over supply of natural gas does seems to have reached a crescendo. Yet it is ironic that the spate of court cases over the gas deal - the Bombay High Court gave its ruling in June - is in the backdrop of no detailed gas Act and attandent guidelines. And the fact remains that the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) as per the 1999 policy - that opened up exploration and licensing of hydrocarbons in domestic sedimentary basins - has only a few, ambiguous clauses to determine gas valuation, pricing and supply. The policy on gas needs overhauling.

No service tax on legal outfits working as proprietorships

Many legal outfits will not come within the purview of the service tax proposed to be imposed on legal consultancy services as they operate as sole proprietorships, say experts. "As the service tax will apply on advice provided by a business entity to another business entity, sole proprietorships will not come within the purview of the proposed service tax," said Diljeet Titus, senior partner of law firm Titus and Co. While proposing to extend the ambit of service tax to cover legal advice and consultancy, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in his budget speech clarified, "This (service tax) will not be applicable in case the service provider or the service receiver is an individual".

Legal nod for Shaw Wallace merger with United Spirits

United Spirits, the flagship spirits firm of UB Group owned by billionaire Vijay Mallya, has said that it has got the required legal approval for merger of Shaw Wallace into United Spirits.

United Spirits during 2005 had acquired its direct competitor Shaw Wallace in a deal valued Rs 1,300 crore. According to a statement from United Spirits, Shaw Wallace shareholders will get 4 shares of United Spirits for every 17 shares they submit.

Samrat Hotel demolished amid legal wrangles

The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) on Tuesday afternoon finally razed Samrat Hotel, a 24x7 restaurant near Vadodara railway station, amid controversy and confusion.

While the restaurant's owner alleged the VMC officials ignored the court order 'to maintain the status-quo for a day', the officials said they had stopped the work as soon as they received the message about the court order. The hotel was, however, by that time demolished.

"Samrat was not just a small-time restaurant; thousands of memories are attached to it. We have heard that the rulers of the city - Gaekwads -had given the premises on which the hotel exists to Ramarav Ghadge and Kirtimalini Suryavanshi on lease. It was a painful experience for us to see bulldozers banging our restaurant," Vishnu Agrawal, the owner of the restaurant, told Newsline.

• INTERNATIONAL

Soldier's mother in legal challenge

The mother of a soldier killed in a Snatch Land Rover in Iraq is launching a legal challenge over the Government's refusal to hold a public inquiry into the continued use of the controversial, lightly-armoured vehicles. Susan Smith, of Tamworth, Staffordshire, is applying to the High Court for permission to seek judicial review over the lack of an independent investigation. Her 21-year-old son Phillip Hewett, a private in the 1st Battalion Staffordshire Regiment, died on July 16 2005, in a roadside bomb attack while on patrol. Ms Smith's lawyers are expected to argue that the Defence Secretary was required to set up an inquiry by Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which protects the "right to life".