We are back with the 5th Episode of SCC Online Weekly Rewind featuring Devika Sharma, Senior Editorial Assistant bringing you the most important and interesting stories from the field of law. Go check out the link below!
Supreme Court
♦ President appoints Justice NV Ramana as the next Chief Justice of India
After the final stamp of approval from the President, Justice Ramana is set to take oath as the 48th Chief Justice of India on April 24, 2021. Justice Ramana who is due to retire on August 26, 2022, will serve as the CJI for 16 months.
♦ Rohingya Refugees not to be deported without following prescribed procedure
In a significant ruling relating to the rights of the Rohingya Refugees, the Supreme Court has directed that no refugee will be deported unless the procedure prescribed for such deportation is followed.
The order came in the interim application filed in the Rohingya matter seeking
(a) the release of the detained Rohingya refugees; and
(b) a direction to the Union of India not to deport the Rohingya refugees who have been detained in the sub¬jail in Jammu.
The Court, however, refused to grant the interim relief and said that,
“Right not to be deported, is ancillary or concomitant to the right to reside or settle in any part of the territory of India.”
♦ No automatic vacation of stay under Section 254(2A) Proviso 3 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 if the assessee is not responsible for the delay
Dealing with an important question as to the constitutional validity of the third proviso to Section 254(2A) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the Supreme Court has held that any order of stay shall stand vacated after the expiry of the period or periods mentioned in the Section only if the delay in disposing of the appeal is attributable to the assessee.
Upholding the 2015 Delhi High Court verdict, the Court said,
“Unequals have been treated equally so far as assessees who are responsible for delaying appellate proceedings and those who are not so responsible, resulting in a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.”
High Courts
Delhi High Court
♦ Vehicle even if occupied by only one person would constitute a ‘public place’ and wearing of mask therein would be compulsory
Did you know that wearing face masks even while travelling alone in your car is compulsory? Well, Delhi High Court in a recent decision held that a vehicle even if occupied by only one person would constitute a ‘public place’ and wearing of a mask therein, would be compulsory. The decision came when petitioners challenged imposition of fine for non-wearing of masks while travelling alone in a private car.
https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2021/04/08/covid-19/
Madras High Court
♦ Political parties should restrain from making serious allegations or criticism against constitutional functionaries
Madras High Court while addressing a criminal petition held that “Political parties should restrain from making serious allegations against constitutional functionaries.
https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2021/04/05/defamation-3/
♦ PCOS v. Impotency? Divorce on ground of no cohabitation. Is it a legitimate expectation of husband? HC explains while discussing concept of marriage and S. 12(1)(a), HMA
While addressing a significant issue with respect to divorce being sought on ground of PCOS in wife, Madras High Court observed that PCOS cannot be termed as impotency and further remarked that concept of marriage in the present generation has been taken very lightly and even for trivial issues, divorce is filed, and marriage is broken. https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2021/04/05/divorce-3/
Bombay High Court
♦ Anil Deshmukh ‘prima facie’ committed cognizable offence, but No immediate FIR by CBI. Credibility of State machinery at stake: HC directs CBI to conclude preliminary investigation preferably within 15 days
In a significant development, Bombay High Court directed CBI to conduct a preliminary enquiry into the complaints against the Home Minister of the State of Maharashtra, Anil Deshmukh. The said order came after Former Commissioner of Mumbai Police Param Bir Singh moved the High Court seeking investigation into the allegation of illegal money collection ordered by the Home Minister.
https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2021/04/06/anil-deshmukh/
Tribunals
Reliance ménage in trouble; Irregular shareholding, default in trading regulations
SEBI imposed penalty of Rs 25 cores on Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, Nita Ambani and Tina Ambani along with others for violation of the provisions of Regulation 11(1) of Takeover Regulations due to some irregularities.
https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2021/04/08/reliance/
Foreign Courts
SCOTUS decides in favour of Google in a copyright dispute between Google and Oracle.
In a major decision in the copyright space, in a dispute between Google and Oracle; the Supreme Court of the United States, held that Google’s copying of Oracle’s Java SE API code, which included only those lines of code that were needed to allow programmers to put their accrued talents to work in a new and transformative program, was a fair use of that material as a matter of law.
Legislation Updates
♦ Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021: https://bit.ly/3wKnH3P and Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021: https://bit.ly/3uHfDiM
On April 04, 2021, the President promulgated the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 and Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021.
♦ Central Motor Vehicles (Sixth Amendment) Rules, 2021
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has notified Central Motor Vehicles (Sixth Amendment) Rules, 2021, effective from April 1, 2021. The Rules amend the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989:https://bit.ly/3dVfFMT
Key changes by the amendment
- Minimum training required for driving E-rickshaw or E-cart
- Conditions to be satisfied for learner’s license
- Form of learner‘s licence
- Permanently surrendering a class or classes of vehicles from the driving licence
- Issuance of duplicate driving licence
♦ Gujarat Assembly Passes Freedom of Religion Amendment Bill, 2021
The Freedom of Religion Amendment Bill, 2021 has been passed by Gujarat Assembly which will modify Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003. The Bill provides that:
Any marriage which is done for the purpose of unlawful conversion by the person of one religion with the person of another religion, either by converting himself/herself before or after marriage shall be declared void by the Family Court or where the Family Court is not established by the Court having jurisdiction to try such cases. https://bit.ly/39WwVQX
Fact Check
Does Section 354D say that you can go to jail for staring at a woman for 14 seconds?
Recently an instagram reel went viral which stated that a person could go to jail for staring at a woman for 14 seconds. The reel gave section 354D of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 as the source of this information. Our fact-check team found out that this is not true. Section 354D defines stalking but does not mention any 14 seconds anywhere in the definition. The origin of the ‘14 seconds rule’ can be traced back to Kerala Excise Officer Rishi Raj Singh’s statement in an event in Kochi back in 2016. If a woman feels that she is being harassed she can file a complaint with the police, however, there is no criteria of ‘staring for 14 seconds’ mentioned anywhere in the law books.
SCC Online Weekly Rewind
