• NATIONAL NEWS

Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2010 promulgated by the President

President has signed and issued the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2010 dissolving Medical Council of India. Now, an expert panel of eminent doctors will take over functioning of the MCI.

India may hang Mumbai attacker Kasab by this year-end: officials

An Indian official said on 11th May, 2010 convicted Mumbai attacker Mohammed Ajmal Amir alias Kasab is likely to be hanged by this year-end. "If there is no petition from him (Kasab) challenging the sessions court verdict in the higher court, he can be hanged by the year-end," Indian Home Secretary G.K. Pillai told the media in the national capital. Kasab was convicted and sentenced to death last week by an Indian special court for carrying out the Mumbai terror attacks with his nine accomplices during a 62-hour-long siege starting 26th November, 2008, which claimed the lives of over 170 people.

SC dismisses Jayalalithaa's plea for quashing an assets case

The Supreme Court on 11th May, 2010 dismissed a petition of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa seeking quashing of a disproportionate assets case, trial in which is to commence in Karnataka. A bench comprising Justices B Sudershan Reddy and S S Nijjar dismissed the plea of the AIADMK supremo that the Karnataka High Court had erred while holding that the trial court order taking congnisance of the complaint on 5th June, 1997, did not suffer from any illegality or irregularity. The apex court had on March 19 refused to stay the trial in the 14-year-old case while directing the trial court to fix a time frame for cross examination of the 42 witnesses after giving sufficient opportunity to Jayalalithaa. The case was transferred to a Bangalore court by the Supreme Court in 2003 during her chief ministership on a petition by DMK leader K Anbazhagan saying the manner in which the Chennai trial court had proceeded with the case raised doubts over a free and fair trial.

Moily rules out amending Hindu Marriage Act to accommodate Khaps

Union law minister Veerappa Moily on 11th May, 2010 ruled out amending the Hindu Marriage Act in order to accommodate the Khap Panchayat's demands. "We have suggested to amend the simple marriage act, not the Hindu Marriage Act," he added. Moily comment comes just a day after Congress MP and industrialist Navin Jindal said that he had never said anything to support the honour killings committed by the Khap Panchayats. Earlier, Jindal has reportedly come out in support of the Haryana Khap Panchayats. It has been reported that Jindal, who is currently abroad, sent a letter to the Khap Panchayats affirming his support to them on the issue. The self-styled Khap Panchayats gathered in Kurukshetra on April 13 and demanded a ban on marriages within the same ''gotra'' or sub caste.

Paternity suit to go on against Tiwari

Former Andhra Pradesh governor N D Tiwari on 10th May, 2010 failed to convince the Supreme Court to quash the trial of a suit by a person seeking a declaration that he was his son, but succeeded in blunting the Delhi High Court's unsavoury remarks from influencing the trial court. One Rohit Shekhar had claimed that he was Tiwari's son born to one Ujjwala Sharma and wanted a declaration to that effect. But Tiwari's counsel, senior advocate Harish Salve said that the suit was not maintainable as it was woefully late in the day. The Bench said if necessary, the trial of the suit be held in-camera and ordered the trial judge to decide the issues without being influenced by the observations made by the HC. Tiwari said Rohit attained the age of majority in the year 1997 but took no step or seek a declaration from the court about the paternity within three years from attaining majority.

SC decision on Company Law Tribunal on 11th May, 2010

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court will deliver on 11th May, 2010 a much-awaited judgment on the formation of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The decision is unanimous and it comes six years after the court admitted the appeal. The concurrent judgment, written by Justice R V Raveendran, is being delivered on the last working day of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, who presided over the bench. NCLT was proposed in the Companies (Second Amendment) Act, 2002. It was envisaged to take over the functions hitherto performed by the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction, the Appellate Authority for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction and the Company Law Board, as well as the high courts, in winding up of companies. Its formation will introduce revolutionary changes in the dispute resolution process.

Delay in Telgi trial forces SC to give bail to key accused

The trial in cases relating to the shocking fake stamp paper scam to the tune of Rs. 30,000 crore, masterminded by Abdul Karim Telgi, appear to have gone into a limbo. And this became a reason for the Supreme Court on 10th May, 2010 to grant bail to a suspended Mumbai police official. Dilip Pandurand Kamath, who allegedly harboured the main accused, pleaded that he was arrested on 13th June, 2003 and had been in judicial custody since 10th July, 2003. He said that though the chargesheet against him was filed on September 15, 2003, the trial is yet to commence. His counsel argued before a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices Deepak Verma and B S Chuahan that the charges against him, even if proved, would attract a maximum sentence of seven years, but the way the trial had been held up, it appeared that Kamath would serve the maximum sentence without even facing the trial.

Sarosh Homi Kapadia is the new Chief Justice of India

Justice Sarosh Homi Kapadia takes over as the Chief Justice of India today. He succeeds Justice K G Balakrishnan who has retired. The 62-year-old judge will remain at the helm of Indian Judiciary till September 29, 2012. Justice Kapadia's deep knowledge on wide ranging issues, particularly tax laws, has earned him accolades from the Bench and the Bar in equal measure. Justice Kapadia, known for maintaining strict judicial discipline, assumes the office at a crucial time when Indian judiciary is hit by controversies of corruption.

SC clears way for Tribunal to speed up Corporate cases

In a landmark judgment, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court on 11th May, 2010 upheld the legality of the Companies (Second Amendment) Act, 2002, providing for the establishment of the National Company Law Tribunal and National Company Law Appellate Tribunal to deal exclusively with the company cases for their speedy disposal.

Barring the judicial review power under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, almost all jurisdictions exercised by the High Courts with regard to company matters would now be transferred to the proposed Tribunal and the Appellate Tribunal. All company-related matters pending with the Company Law Board, and the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) will also be transferred to the NCLT and the NCLAT.

Cream no bar in politics - SC clears air on political reservation

The "creamy layer" concept does not apply to political reservation, the Supreme Court said today while upholding "proportionate" representation for OBCs in elected local bodies. "While the exclusion of the creamy layer may be... desirable in reservations for education and employment, the principle cannot be extended to local self-government," the court said, upholding the OBC quotas in panchayats and municipalities in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. The five-judge bench cited "an inherent difference" between the benefits of grass-roots political reservation and those conferred by job and education quotas. "While access to higher education and public employment increases the likelihood of socio-economic uplift of individual beneficiaries, participation in local self-government was intended as a more immediate measure of empowerment for the community that the elected representative belonged to," it said.

Surinder Koli gets death sentence for Aarti's rape and murder in Nithari

Surinder Koli has been given death sentence for the rape and murder of Aarti, a seven-year-old who was among the 19 young women and children killed in the Nithari massacre. This is the second death sentence for Koli in connection with the Nithari killings. He has been tried for two murders so far. In December 2006, the police stumbled upon bones and skulls, many of them belonging to young children, in a drain in Noida, a Delhi suburb. Moninder Singh Pandher and Surinder Koli were accused of their murders, which collectively came to be known as the Nithari massacre.

New fatwa against working women

Leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband has decreed that it was illegal according to the sharia law for a family to accept a woman's earnings. The fatwa was issued by a bench of three clerics including chief mufti Habib-ur-Rehman on March 29. But it was made public recently, Deoband sources said today. Clerics at the largest Sunni muslim seminary said the decree was based on the fact that the sharia prohibited proximity of men and women in the workplace.

Judicial background must for Tribunal members: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court while upholding the Centre's decision to create the NCLT and the NCLAT, held, however, that only judges and advocates could be considered for appointment as judicial members of the tribunals, a Constitution Bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan (since retired) and Justices R.V. Raveendran, D.K. Jain, P. Sathasivam and J.M. Panchal said in its judgment on dated 11th May, 2010

Service Tax demand from Insurers revoked

The Finance Ministry has revoked the Service tax demand from Insurers on commission they receive from reinsurance Companies. CBEC has clarified that Service tax cannot be levied on reinsurance commission because Insurance Company does not provide any service to a reinsurance Company

Royalty Payment Norms relaxed by Reserve Bank of India

The RBI vide AP (DIR Series) Circular No. 52, dated 13 May, 2010 has clarified that AD Category-I Banks may permit drawal of Foreign Exchange by Persons for Royalty Payment and Lump-sum payment under Technology Collaboration Agreements without approval of Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Same-gotra marriage legal, court had ruled 65 years ago

The sustained effort by aggressive khap panchayats and their influential political backers to force leading political parties to have a rethink on same gotra marriages is patently illegal. Sixty-five years ago, in 1945, the issue was settled by the Bombay High Court which categorically declared same gotra marriages were legal. And that's been the law of the land since. In wake of the khap panchayat's defiance of the law, not only have top politicians like Om Prakash Chautala and Naveen Jindal caved in - no doubt to retain the political support of these medieval organisations - but national parties like BJP, too, have been wavering.

Restaurants body wants legal age for drinking cut

You can choose your electoral representative or even get married at 18 years. But you cannot drink till you are 21 or 25, depending on the State you are in, laments the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI), making a plea to reduce the age limit to 18 years. In Tamil Nadu, the minimum legal age for drinking is 18 years, in Delhi it is 25 and in Maharashtra it is 21 years - though the State Government proposes to increase it to 25 years. "It is strange. You can vote, get a driving license at 18, but cannot drink," the NRAI President Mr Samir Kuckreja, told Business Line.

• INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Entertainment duty levied on cinemas: Justice Azmat Saeed wants larger bench to hear petition

Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on 6th May, 2010 read a writ petition challenging the entertainment duty levied on cinemas, to chief justice for constituting a larger bench to proceed on the matter. The judge observed that an important matter relating to the levy of a duty is raised in the petition, and a larger bench should hear it. he court had already restrained the government from taking any coercive measures against four cinemas, namely Shabistan, Empire, CineStar and Metropole. Petitioners' counsel Ali Sibtan Fazli submitted that the provincial government started charging entertainment duty from the petitioners, whereas entertainment tax was an excise duty and under the constitution, only federal government was empowered to impose such a tax.

Judging The Judges 2010 : Survey raises questions about women on the bench

Six of the seven district judges who received "do not retain" recommendations in this year's Judicial Performance Evaluation survey are women. For the past decade, the average retention score of women judges each year has been at least 7 points lower than the average for male judges. Are these facts statistically significant? Does it mean the lawyers who did the grading are biased against females? Or does it mean that some women judges lack the requisite legal knowledge and temperament to be on the bench? The argument for all of the above could also be made. After all, twice as many women judges earned high scores this year.

Judge rules no translator needed in dangerous offender hearing

There is no compelling evidence to suggest Harry Dunsford needs a Saulteaux-language translator in order to understand what's being said at his dangerous offender hearing, a Saskatoon Queen's Bench judge has ruled. "At this point in his life, Mr. Dunsford only speaks Saulteaux when he telephones his relatives or when his aunt occasionally visits him at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre," Justice Duane Koch noted in a written decision obtained 10th May, 2010 by The StarPhoenix. "Notably, the issue did not arise in this case until after the conviction. Mr. Dunsford's simplistic and unconvincing explanation is that he was too scared to ask."

European Jews sign petition critical of Israel (AP)

More than 3,000 European Jews, including prominent intellectuals, have signed a petition speaking out against Israeli settlement policies and warning that systematic support for the Israeli government is dangerous.

All SC judges to hear pleas against 18th Amendment, CJ Iftikhar to chair full Court

The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, on 12th May, 2010 constituted a full court, consisting of all available judges of the Supreme Court, to hear a set of petitions against the 18th Amendment from May 24 onward in Islamabad. CJ Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will head the full court. Earlier, on April 28, a five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk, had referred the petitions, challenging the 18th Amendment to the CJ to constitute a larger bench or full court bench to hear these pleas.

Corona takes oath as Philippines SC Chief Justice

Justice Renato Corona took his oath on 17th May, 2010 as the Philippines's 23rd Supreme Court Chief Justice. Corona took his oath before President Arroyo in a simple ceremony in Malacañang Palace. Arroyo appointed Corona last week despite questions about the timing of the appointment. Legal watchdogs, as well as leading presidential bet Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, had said that President Arroyo should have just allowed the incoming Chief Executive to appoint the next Chief Justice.

British Airways wins legal battle over strikes

British Airways won a High Court legal battle brought in a last-ditch attempt to avert strikes by cabin crew. The airline, facing mounting chaos because of the industrial dispute coupled with the volcanic ash cloud, went to court to urge a judge in London to grant an injunction blocking the strikes, due to start soon. Mr Justice McCombe granted the order against the union, Unite. Unite sent text messages to its cabin crew members at BA tonight urging them to work normally in view of the judgment, and saying that the union planned to appeal against the decision.

Canadian on death row in U.S. down to last legal remedy

It's been a quarter-century of legal battles and court hearings, and now the only Canadian on death row in the United States is about to hit the wall in his fight to stay alive. Ronald Smith's case is to go before the U.S. Supreme Court this fall the last legal option available to him. Smith, 52, has been living on borrowed time since he was convicted in 1983 of murdering two cousins, Harvey Madman Jr. and Thomas Running Rabbit, while he was high on drugs and alcohol.