• NATIONAL

Supreme Court ruling in Rhizome Distilleries and Pernod Ricard case

The Supreme Court Bench, headed by Justice Markandey Katju, upholding a Delhi High Court Division Bench's decision, ruled that French liquor manufacturer Pernod Ricard cannot claim exclusive rights over the word 'Imperial'. After the said ruling, Indian firms - Rhizome Distillers, Maurya Distillers and Durga Liquors - can market their whiskey using the word in their brands.

RTI Act not applicable with respect to information on judgments rules SC

The Supreme Court declared that the RTI Act cannot be used to question a judgment or the reasons behind a decision. The Division Bench ruling on a petition filed by an agriculturist alleging "judicial dishonesty on part of a judge in making a particular judgment, held that a judge was not required to furnish the reason for which he had given a particular judgment.

Repeated threats and attempts at suicide by a spouse tantamounts to cruelty to the other spouse

The Bombay High Court hearing a case against the judgement of a Pune family court that had granted a husband a divorce on the grounds that his wife was temperamental, often fought with him and tried to commit suicide, held that repeated threats and attempts at suicide tantamount to mental cruelty and can therefore be a ground for seeking divorce. The Court ruled that it was not possible for a couple to maintain a peaceful married life if one spouse repeatedly threatened to commit suicide in public or at home.

PIL against use of term "Dalit" in government communications

A Public Interest Litigation has been filed by a social activist-MLA against the use of the term 'Dalit' in all governmental communication. The petitioner contends that the use of the term 'Dalit' to describe Scheduled Castes (SCs) is derogatory and demeaning and is not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution abusive and carries with it the stigma of untouchability, which is specifically prohibited by Article 17. The petitioner cites an alleged circular issued last year by National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) disallowing the use of the term 'Dalit' in government communication.

• INTERNATIONAL

Disclosure of client information to US was illegal, rules Swiss Court

The Federal Administrative Court of Switzerland ruled that the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) violated the law when it ordered UBS(bank) to disclose information to the US on more than 250 of the bank's clients. FINMA issued the order after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) accused UBS of assisting Americans in hiding accounts from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The court stated that FINMA lacked the authority to authorize the release of information, and that the issue should have been addressed by the Federal Council.

Preliminary approval to same-sex marriage bill in Portugal

The Portuguese Parliament approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. The bill gives same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual married couples, but stops short of allowing same-sex couples to adopt.

First Circuit upholds civil commitment of sex offenders

A three judge panel from the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld the constitutionality of provisions of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, which allow a person deemed "sexually dangerous" to be civilly committed after the expiration of a federal criminal sentence. The panel found that civil commitments were within the power granted to Congress under the Constitution's Necessary and Proper Clause as an extension of the government's custodial responsibility for federal inmates.