Introduction

For an act to qualify as a criminal offence, it has to have 3 elements— mens rea, actus reus and causation. While mens rea and actus reus refer to guilty mind and guilty act respectively, causation, in criminal law, refers to the causal relationship between the actus reus of the offence and the prohibited consequence which is usually harm, damage or loss.¹ …

Introduction

Parliament passed two Acts, the Constitution (Ninety-ninth Amendment) Act of 2014 and the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act of 2014¹, to create a National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) for the selection, appointment, and transfer of judges to the higher judiciary. It will take the place of the current Collegium process, which is governed by Articles 124(2) and 217(1) of the Constitution. The main goal was to make the selection process more transparent.

The Constitution (Ninety-ninth Amendment) Act, 2014, which obtained Presidential assent on December 31, 2014, amended Articles 124 and 217 of the Constitution. The National Judicial Appointments Commission…

Abstract

Corporate Governance refers to the set of practices through which a company is governed. In India, there are various compliance requirements under Companies Act, 2013 and SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015, for a company from the point-of-view of corporate governance. Some of these requirements are appointment of independent directors, prior disclosure of related party transactions, quorum for board meetings etc. These practices ensure that a company is managed in a way that is in the best interests of minority shareholders and other stakeholders. However, the question of validity of compulsory share transfer provisions and their exercise by a company to…

I. Introduction

The Parliament of India passed a Juvenile Justice Act 2015 (hereinafter “JJ Act”), repealing the older act to punish juvenile offenders aged between 16–18 years for any heinous offence committed by them. The well-known known case of Nirbhaya in 2013 acted as a catalyst to the drastic change brought in the JJ Act, 2015, which hitherto focused primarily on the ‘rehabilitative’ approach, rather than the ‘retributive’ approach. The new JJ Act also overturned the established principles of United Nations Convention on Child Rights (hereinafter “UNCRC”), to which India is also a signatory. …

Since the enactment of The Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in 2012, India has seen unprecedented momentum towards safeguarding the interests of children against sexual abuse. The gravity of sexual offences committed against children has been well-acknowledged by the legislature through POCSO Act which provides for stringent punishments against offences like sexual assault, sexual harassment, and child pornography to ensure deterrence towards their commission. However, the mantle of any act can only be deciphered by its implementation. …

Introduction

“A nation’s ability to fight a modern war is as good as its technological ability” ~ Frank Whittle.

India’s unilateral action of stripping Kashmir of its special status of autonomy back in August, 2019 to usher the new dawn of “peace and development” resulted in shaking up the tentative balance between India, Pakistan and China — all of which hold portions of land of Kashmir. Staring down at the possibility of a confrontation involving nuclear power, Indian’s open vow to get back Gilgit-Baltistan, a northern part of Kashmir that went with Pakistan in 1947, appears to be the trigger…

Introduction

The Covid-19 pandemic has thwarted the operation of businesses across the globe, causing them considerable hardship in performing their obligations under their contracts. Complications have been brewing in the aviation sector since March when the government had begun to impose travel restrictions, thereby causing the airline companies to halt their operations. The International Air Transport Association has projected the revenue losses for the aviation industry to be $113 Billion internationally¹. Airline companies lease their aircraft from lessors under a lease agreement. According to a typical aircraft lease agreement, aircrafts are delivered in “as in, where in” basis, barring any…

Introduction

Contempt of Court is machinery used by Judiciary to protect themselves from unwarranted attacks and criticisms, and punish those making an attempt to lower their authority and prestige.

In light of the recent incident of Supreme Court of India initiating a suo moto criminal contempt proceeding against Prashant Bhushan for a couple of posts made on Twitter, several issues regarding the contempt laws have emerged on the surface of discourse in India. …