General Awareness

LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS - June 2022

Jun 2022

Oct 20, 2023

ED Cannot Arrest People on Whims and Fancies: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court held that the power of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to arrest a person under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is not untrammelled and the ED cannot arrest a person on its whims and fancies.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani said that there is a three-fold requirement that must be complied with by the agency before arresting a person.
Firstly, the Director must entertain a reasonable belief that the person arrested is guilty of an offence under the PMLA, and not under any other enactment; secondly, the reasons for such belief must be recorded in writing; and thirdly, such belief must be based on material that is in the Director's possession," the Court observed.
Pertinently, the Court also said that ED's powers to issue summons under Section 50 of the PMLA does not include powers to arrest.

Oct 19, 2023

Central Government Notifies Transfer of 16 High Court Judges

The Central government notified the transfers of sixteen High Court judges which were earlier recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium.
The judges who were transferred are: Justice S. P. Kesarwani from Allahabad High Court to Calcutta High Court, Justice Raj Mohan Singh from Punjab and Haryana High Court to Madhya Pradesh High Court, Justice Narendar G. from Karnataka High Court to Andhra Pradesh High Court, Justice Sudhir Singh from Patna High Court to Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice M. V. Muralidaran from Manipur High Court to Calcutta High Court, Justice Madhuresh Prasad from Patna High Court to Calcutta High Court, Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan from Punjab and Haryana High Court to Allahabad High Court, Justice Avneesh Jhingan from Punjab and Haryana High Court to Rajasthan High Court, Justice Arun Monga from Punjab and Haryana High Court to Rajasthan High Court, Justice Rajendra Kumar-IV from Allahabad High Court to Madhya Pradesh High Court, Justice Nani Tagia from Gauhati High Court to Patna High Court, Justice C. Manavedranath Roy from Andhra Pradesh High Court to Gujarat High Court, Justice Munnuri Laxman from Telangana High Court to Rajasthan High Court, Justice G. Anupama Chakravarthy from Telangana High Court to Patna High Court, Additional Judge Lapita Banerji from Calcutta High Court to Punjab and Haryana High Court, and Additional Judge Duppala Venkata Ramana from Andhra Pradesh High Court to Madhya Pradesh High Court.

Justice S. Muralidhar to Practice law in Supreme Court; Conferred Senior Gown

Former Orissa High Court Chief Justice Dr. S Muralidhar, who retired from service, is slated to practice law before the Supreme Court of India.
The Supreme Court in October designated him as a Senior Advocate.
The decision was taken at a full court meeting of the Chief Justice of India and other Supreme Court judges.
Justice Muralidhar had also served as judge of the Delhi High Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Retired Kerala High Court Judge Justice Shaji P. Chaly Appointed Central Government Counsel in Su...

Retired judge of the Kerala High Court, Justice Shaji P. Chaly, was appointed as a counsel for the Central government in the Supreme Court.
The Union Ministry of Law & Justice notified his engagement to the Group-A Panel of the Supreme Court.
He will represent the Central government in cases before the Supreme Court for a period of three years.
Born in May 1961, Justice Chaly procured his law degree from Maharaja's Government Law College, Ernakulam.
He enrolled as an advocate in January 1986 and practiced before the Kerala High Court and subordinate courts in Ernakulam.
Justice Chaly was an extremely active member of the Bar and was elected as president of the Kerala High Court Advocates' Association (KHCAA) in 2014.
On April 10, 2015, Justice Chaly was sworn in as an additional judge of the Kerala High Court and was made permanent in April 2017. He demitted office on May 29, 2023.

Oct 18, 2023

Supreme Court Unanimous in Refusing Legal Recognition to Same-sex Marriages

The Supreme Court Constitution Bench of five judges in an unanimous verdict refused to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages while holding same-sex couples not be discriminated or harassed. The Bench was divided over granting adoption rights to homosexual couples with a 3:2 verdict against giving such entitlement.
The bench was unanimous also in saying that the right to marry cannot be given the weightage of a fundamental right.
Deivering its much-awaited verdict on the petitions seeking legal recognition for same-sex marriages, the Constitution Bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Hima Kohli passed the verdict on around 20 petitions.
The Apex Court held that the law does not recognize the right to marry or the right of same-sex couples to enter into civil unions till Parliament makes laws enabling the same.

Supreme Court Releases Report on Accessibility

The Supreme Court, under Chief Justice of India Justice D. Y. Chandrachud, released an important report prepared on accessibility before Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, Chairperson of the Supreme Court Committee on Accessibility.
The CJI said that this was a monumental step towards making the Supreme Court of India a bastion of inclusivity and accessibility.
As per the report, the committee was constituted in December 2022, by the CJI and chaired by Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, with an overarching objective: to identify and address barriers to make Supreme Court accessible to persons with disabilities.

Centre Appoints New Additional Solicitor General for Telangana and Karnataka

The Secretariat of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet notified new Additional Solicitor General for the states of Telangana and Karnataka.
The Centre appointed B. Narasimha Sharma, Senior Counsel and Kuloor Arvind Kamath, Senior Counsel as the ASG for the States of Telangana and Karnataka, respectively.
Senior Counsel B. Narasimha is a senior panel member for the department of Legal Affairs and was designated as a senior counsel in the year 2022.
Senior Counsel Kuloor Arvind Kamath has been an Assistant Editor in the Karnataka Law Reporting Council and specialise in constitutional, Civil, Commercial law and even Arbitration.
Both counsels were appointed for a period of three years.

Oct 17, 2023

Central Government Clears Appointment of Justice Siddharth Mridul as Manipur High Court Chief Jus...

The Central government notified the appointment of Delhi High Court judge, Justice Siddharth Mridul as the Chief Justice of Manipur High Court.
The Supreme Court collegium had in July 2023 recommended the appointment of Justice Mridul as Manipur High Court Chief Justice. However, the recommendation remained pending with the Central government for nearly three months.
The Manipur High Court has been functioning without a permanent Chief Justice since February 2023 and Justice P. V. Muralidharan is currently serving as its acting Chief Justice.
The Manipur High Court is the High Court of the state of Manipur, India. It was established on March 25, 2013, after making suitable amendments in the Constitution of India and North-Eastern Areas (Re-organisation) Act, 1971. The seat of the High Court is at Imphal, the capital of Manipur. The first Chief Justice was Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre.

Oct 16, 2023

Central Government Clears Appointment of Two Lawyers as Additional Judges of Madras High Court

The Central government notified the appointment of two advocates as additional judges of the Madras High Court.
The two advocates are N. Senthilkumar and G. Arul Murugan.
In a notification issued, the government said that Senthilkumar and Murugan were appointed as additional judges for a period of two years.
The two names were first recommended for elevation by the Madras High Court Collegium on August 3, 2022. In July 2023, the Supreme Court Collegium passed a resolution saying that the State government as well as the Governor had agreed to their elevation.

Manipur High Court Gets First Judge from ST Community

The Central government notified the appointment of judicial officer Golmei Gaiphulshillu Kabui as judge of the Manipur High Court.
Kabui is the first woman from scheduled tribe community to serve as a judge in the Manipur High Court.
The Supreme Court collegium had in January 2023 recommended the names of judicial officers Aribam Guneshwar Sharma and Kabui for elevation as judges of the Manipur High Court.
The High Court has sanctioned strength of 5 judges and is currently (as in October 2023) functioning with 3 judges.

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