LEXIS AND COMPANY

 The Allahabad High Court has taken suo moto cognizance of the incident of Etah where the UP police had brutally beaten and dragged an advocate and his family members too. The Division Bench of High Court comprised of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice aumitra Dayal Singh while acknowledging the letter send by High Court Bar Association has directed the Chief Judicial Magistrate for the enquiry of the matter and submit a complete report till next date. The court after considering the facts of present matter stated that, “We deem it appropriate to have a complete report of the incident through Chief Judicial Magistrate, Etah. The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Etah is directed to make a necessary inquiry by availing all relevant facts including audio visual electronic documents and submit to this Court on or before next date of listing.” The apex statutory body of the Advocates of the State of Uttar Pradesh; the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh has addressed a letter to the Chief Justi...

 Punjab and Haryana high court has ruled that the adult couple can live together without the man attaining the marriageable age. The court said that the couple's right to live together can't be denied as long as they are within the boundaries of the law. "The society cannot determine how an individual should live her or his life. The Constitution guarantees every individual the right to life. The freedom to choose one’s partner is an important facet of the right to life. In the present case, the girl’s parents cannot dictate how and with whom she should spend her life since she is an adult. Parents cannot compel a child to live life on their terms," a report in Hindustan Times quoted from the order given by a bench of Justice Alka Sarin. The court's order came on a plea by the couple seeking police protection. The bench also directed Fatehgarh Sahib Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) to look into the couple's plea to provide protection to them. The couple h...

 A UK court will hear the closing arguments in the extradition case of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi on January 7 and 8 next year. Reports suggest that District Judge Samuel Goozee will hear the final arguments from both sides before he delivers the final judgement in the case a few weeks later. Earlier on Tuesday, the Westminster Magistrates' Court had extended the remand of Nirav Modi until January 7. He had appeared before the court via videolink for a routine 28-day remand hearing. Modi has been behind bars at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London since his arrest last year following India's extradition request for him. Modi is the prime accused in a $2 billion bank fraud at Punjab National Bank (PNB). He has also been charged with intimidating witnesses and tampering with evidence. At the last full hearing in the case in November, Judge Goozee heard the arguments for and against the admissibility of certain witness statements provided by the Central Bureau of Investigat...

 On Tuesday, Russian state investigators said that they had opened a new criminal case against Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, accusing him of fraudulently spending public donations to organisations he controls on his personal needs. The move is likely to be seen as the latest sign that the Kremlin does not want Navalny, who is convalescing in Germany, to return to Russia after what Berlin & other Western nations say was an attempt in Aug to murder him with a nerve agent. Navalny is one of President Vladimir Putin’s leading critics & the Kremlin has said he is free to return home just like any other Russian citizen, something he has said he plans to do. It has said it has seen no evidence he was poisoned however & has denied any involvement in the Aug incident which saw him collapse on a plane before being airlifted to Germany. Russia’s Investigative Committee, which looks into serious crimes, late on Tuesday accused Navalny & unnamed individuals of large-scale fraud...

 On Wednesday, the Andhra Pradesh High Court observed that the recent transfer of Chief Justices of High Courts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana would delay proceedings in the three capitals case and the CBI cases pending against Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, giving him an “undue advantage”. The scathing observation was made by Justice Rakesh Kumar, while rejecting an application moved by the AP Government to recuse himself from a case involving the sale of government land in Guntur and Visakhapatnam districts. Justice Kumar also observed that Andhra Pradesh High Court and Supreme Court is “under attack” by those in power. “We are not aware as to whether any contempt proceeding for such an action (Jagan’s letter to CJI) has been taken or not by the Chief Justice of India. But, it is a fact that recommendation has been made on December 14 by the Collegium of Supreme Court for transfer/appointment of Chief Justices, which includes transfer of Chief Justice of AP High Court to ...

 The Kerala Assembly Thursday passed a unanimous resolution demanding the repeal of all the three contentious agricultural laws enacted by the Centre in September. The resolution introduced by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was passed by voice vote with all 140 MLAs supporting it. Significantly, the lone BJP member in the House, O Rajagopal, also voted in favour of the resolution though he had spoken against it. “I supported the substance of the resolution in accordance with the democratic spirit, but I had differences of opinion with certain words used in the resolution, which I pointed out during my speech,” said Rajagopal, the MLA from Nemom. When reporters pointed out the conflict of interest he faces as a BJP MLA backing a resolution which demands the repeal of the farm laws, he replied vaguely, “There would be no issues. In a democratic system, some compromises will have to be made.” The Chief Minister, in his address to the Assembly, said the solution to middlemen cheating ...

 On Thursday, the Central Government has notified the appointment of three new Chief Justices to the High Courts of Orissa, Telangana and Madras. Justice Hima Kohli, Justice Dr. S Muralidhar, Justice Sanjib Banerjee whose elevations were recommended by SC Collegium dated 14th-Dec-2020 has now got Govt's green signal. Appointment of Dr. S Muralidhar has been made as the next Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court. He was transferred to Punjab & Haryana High Court in February 2020 from his parent Delhi High Court where he is currently functioning as a puisne Judge. The transfer of Justice Murlidhar gathered quiet a controversy. Justice Muralidhar began his law practice in Chennai in 1984 before he shifted to Delhi in 1987. He became a judge of the Delhi High Court in 2006. Justice Hima Kohli who was a Judge of the Delhi High Court, has been now been elevated as the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court. Justice Kohli got herlself enrolled in the Bar Council in 1984 and was ap...