• NATIONAL NEWS

Law binding Corporate Bodies with Vicarious Liability

Law Minister, consequent to Bhopal Gas Tragedy verdict, has proposed for a law to bind corporate bodies liable under Civil as well as Criminal laws and to allow class action suit to be brought against them.

Cabinet likely to take up proposal to amend laws relating to Divorce

The Government is likely to consider proposal moved by Ministry of Law suggesting to amend Hindu Marriage Act and Special Marriage Act to add irretrievable breakdown of marriage as new basis for granting divorce.

Government may consider modification of New Public Holding Rule

The Government has given its indication that it is open to review the new rules that mandates all listed Companies to have a minimum of 25 per cent public float.

Akshardham temple attack: Death for three confirmed

The Gujarat High Court on 1st June, 2010 confirmed the death sentence awarded to three convicts by a designated POTA (Prevention Of Terrorism Act) Court for the Sep 24, 2002 Akshardham temple terror attack which left 32 people dead. The Court said the convicts were aware of the gravity of the offence they were going to commit and were also aware of the result and consequences of their heinous crime. The POTA Court had delivered the judgment in July 2006, against which some of the convicts appealed to the High Court. The High Court's final order rejecting the Appeal and confirming the sentences given by the POTA Court was also kept reserved for over two years.

Supreme Court says live-in relationships are fine but don't expect ancestral property

The Supreme Court held that a child born out of a live-in relationship is not entitled to claim inheritance in Hindu ancestral coparcenary property (in the undivided joint Hindu family) and can only claim a share in the parents' self-acquired property. The Bench set aside a Madras High Court judgment, which held that children born out of live-in relationships were entitled to a share in ancestral property as there was a presumption of marriage in view of the long relationship. Reiterating an earlier ruling, a Vacation Bench of Justices B.S. Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar said, "In view of the legal fiction contained in Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (legitimacy of children of void and voidable marriages), the illegitimate children, for all practical purposes, including succession to the properties of their parents, have to be treated as legitimate.

Balakrishnan joins NHRC as Chairperson

Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, former Chief Justice of India today joined as the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of India. He is the sixth Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission.

'Partying Goa police officials' bills paid by a drug dealer'

The Goa bench of Bombay High Court was informed that policemen of Anti Narcotic Cell and Anjuna police station frequently partied in a local restaurant and their bills were reportedly paid by a drug dealer. The state police records, which were placed before the court this week, contain statements of one Atiopa Bar and Restaurant's owner. "Police inspector Ashish Shirodkar and another constable, arrested for nexus with drug peddler, and those from Anjuna police station used to come at Atiopa, have food, and their bills were paid by a boy being sent by arrested Israeli drug dealer Yaniv Benaim alias Atala. The boy worked for a cyber cafe run by Atala," the order states.

Surrogacy still not an option for Indian gay, lesbian couples

Gay and lesbian couples, Indian or foreign, can't have children born with the help of an Indian surrogate mother. According to the draft `Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill 2010' prepared by a 12-member committee headed by Dr P M Bhargava under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which was submitted to the health ministry recently, till gay and lesbian relationships are legalised in India, gay couples would not be allowed to have children through a surrogate.

Samad's bail plea rejected

The bail plea of Abdul Samad, whose arrest in connection with the German bakery blast created a controversy, was rejected by a Court and his custody was not sought again by ATS, which apparently failed to produce any evidence linking him with the attack. Rejecting the bail plea, Magistrate M V Morale sent 23-year-old Samad, who was produced before him, to judicial custody till June 14 after he read the remand application of Maharashtra's Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS).

• INTERNATIONAL NEWS

SC rejects Lakhvi's petition seeking acquittal in 26/11 case

Pakistan Supreme Court on 27th May, 2010 rejected a Petition filed by LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi seeking acquittal in the Mumbai attacks case after his counsel withdrew the plea. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said Lakhvi, one of the seven suspects being tried for their involvement in Mumbai attacks, could approach the higher courts after the Anti-terrorism Court decided the case. Malik Rab Nawaz Noon, the senior advocate who represented the Government, said that the Supreme Court bench did not agree with the contention of Lakhvi's lawyer that Ajmal Kasab's confessional statement to Indian authorities had no value in Pakistan Courts.

UK faces legal action from Europe over sewage pipes

The European Commission is preparing to take the United Kingdom to the European Court of Justice, alleging it pumps too much sewage into the sea. The case is expected to be filed within weeks and proceedings will centre on sewerage systems in London and Whitburn in north east England. But the action is seen as a "test case" against the use of Combined Sewer Overflow pipes (CSOs) around the UK.

Australia lodges legal action in International Court to stop Japan whaling

Japan says legal action by Australia to stop it whaling is "extremely regrettable" and vowed to continue its annual killing of hundreds of whales. Australia filed a legal action in the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands on Monday following what it called unsuccessful diplomatic efforts to end Japan's whaling. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano called Australia's action "extremely regrettable" and said Tuesday that Japan intended to "properly respond." Japan, Norway and Iceland are allowed to hunt whales for supposed scientific purposes under exceptions to a 1986 moratorium by the International Whaling Commission, but opponents say Japan's action is a cover for commercial hunts.

In China, string of legal failures prompts reform

Deng Yujiao, a masseuse in Hubei province, was sentenced to death for stabbing a government official. Investigations later found she was acting in self-defence, protecting herself from a sexual assault that was hushed up by the authorities. Zhao Zuohai, a farmer in China's Henan province, was sentenced to life in prison for murdering his neighbour. Eleven years later, his "victim" turned up alive. Eight farmers, also from Henan province, were jailed for criminal defamation. Their crime: exposing a local government official for corruption. The three cases, though unrelated, have in recent months stirred up public debate in China, underscoring an increasing distrust of the country's legal system amid criticism over its lack of independence from the authorities.