Weekend Bulletin (20th February, 2021 - 22nd February, 2021)

NATIONAL NEWS SUMMARIES

1. Subsequent purchaser can also challenge willingness of plaintiff in a case of specific performance: SC

• In the case of Kadupugotla Varalakshmi v. Vudagiri Venkata Rao, it was held by the Supreme Court that a subsequent purchaser can aslo challenge the willingness of the plaintiff in the case of specific performance.
• Earlier, the High Court had held that the subsequent purchasers have the right of only defending their purchase.
• The High Court had held that only vendors and their legal representatives can challenge the willingness of the plaintiff.

2. Delhi HC relies on a video by NDTV for granting bail.

• In the case of Junaid v. State, the Delhi High Court granted bail to the petitioner relying on the video of NDTV with respect to the Delhi Riots.
• The prosecution had made a case against the accused based on the same video.
• However, the lawyer of the petitioner played the video and showed that the accused were not present in that video on which the prosecution had relied.

3. Making unsubstantial allegations on the spouse amounts to mental cruelty: Bombay HC

• The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has held that the making of unsubstantial allegations by the husband against the wife would amount to mental cruelty.
• This has been held in a divorce case filed by the wife.
• The Court held that "except for the normal wear and tear of marital life there was no substantial evidence brought on record by the respondent to prove the ground of cruelty".

4. FIR against Vivek Oberoi

• An e-challan had been issued to actor Vivek Oberoi for driving without a helmet.
• Later on an FIR had been lodged against him for not wearing a mask in public.
• To this, the actor reacted on Twitter stating that he is thankful to the police for making him "realise that safety is always most important".

5. Strong suspicion cannot become proof: SC

• In the case of State of Odisha v. Banabihari Mohapatra, the Supreme Court has held that no matter how strong suspicion is, it cannot take the place of proof.
• The Court held that the chain of the evidences produced must show that the act must have been done by the accused in all probability.
• Thus, the accused was acquitted.

6. Late filing of chargesheets shakes confidence on justice delivery system: Delhi HC

• The Delhi High Court has observed that the late filing of chargesheets even after the investigation has completed on time would shake the confidence of the public in the justice delivery system.
• The Court held that the consequence of such delay is that "while a right of hearing accrues in favor of the accused because of such negligence of IO, it also delays dispensation of justice leading to further victimization of the complainant/victim".
• The filing status of the chargesheets of the last 3 years has also been sought.

7. Court duty bound to restore dignity of profession: Orissa HC

• The Odisha High Court imposed a fine of Rs. 500 on a lawyer who was not wearing a a band.
• The Court held that "being an advocate, he is expected to appear before the court in a dignified manner with proper dress".
• It was held that the Court is duty bound to restore the dignity of the profession.

8. Banks are duty bound to exercise due diligence: SC

• In the case of Amitabha Dasgupta v. United Bank of India, the Supreme Court held that the banks have to exercise proper diligence while the maintenance of the lockers.
• It was held that the banks cannot say that they had no liability towards the lockers of the customers.

Therefore, the Court laid down a set of guidelines to be followed and directed the RBI to lay down rules and regulations.

9. Hunger strike not suicide: Madras HC

• In the case of P Chandrakumar v. State, it has been held by the Madras HC that the merely sitting on a hunger strike would not constitute a suicide attempt.
• Therefore, the Court held that the provisions of Section 309 IPC would not be attracted in the case of a hunger strike.
• This ruling was given by Justice N Anand Venkatesh.

10. SC moved to expunge the personal remarks made by the 5 member Bench of NCLAT

• The sitting members of a 3 member Bench of the NCLAT have moved the Supreme Court to expunge the personal and unsavory comments made by a 5 member Bench made against them.
• The remarks were made in the judgment of a case which the 3 member Bench had referred to the larger 5 member Bench.
• The petitioners have contended that the larger bench has crossed the limits of jurisdiction and has made the ‘most disparaging comments’ which are personal in nature.

11. Guidelines by Justice Gautam Patel of Bombay HC to regulate crowd

• In the wake of the pandemic and the increasing number of Covid-19 cases certain guidelines have been released by Justice Gautam Patel.
• These guidelines were issued when the overcrowding of the litigants and lawyers started taking place in the Court.
• He warned by a notice that if the "minimal precautionary measures are not observed, the Court will immediately suspend all physical hearings".

12. Disha Ravi sent to 3 days judicial custody

• In the ‘toolkit’ case, activist Disha Ravi has been sent to a judicial custody of 3 days by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Akash Jain.
• She was produced before the Court after her 5 day long custodial interrogation ended.
• The police said that her custodial interrogation is not required right now and that her interrogation will be sought once the co-accused join the interrogation.
• However, the defence lawyer has requested the Court to release Disha Ravi.

13. Delhi High Court on the leaking of Disha Ravi’s WhatsApp chats

• A plea was filed by activist Disha Ravi against the leaking of her chats on WhatsApp to the media by the Police.
• The Delhi High Court directed the police to not "rush to the press with half-baked, speculative or unconfirmed information about ongoing investigations".
• Media houses have also been directed to exercise "editorial control" over the content so that the investigation is not hampered in any manner.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS SUMMARIES

1. Ban on news content by Facebook in response to the new Australian law

• In response to the proposed media law in Australia, Facebook has banned news content in Australia.
• Now, the Australians would not be able to able see or share news content on Facebook.
• The new media law aims to make Facebook & Google pay for publishing their content to the Australian media houses to protect local journalism.

2. Uber drivers are workers: UK Supreme Court

• The Supreme Court of UK has held that the drivers working with Uber must be classified as workers and that they are entitled to minimum wage and holiday pay.
• In this case of appeal, Uber had contended that the drivers are independent contractors and they are free to choose working hours.
• The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal stating that Uber tightly defines and controls all the drivers and that the contract terms according to which drivers perform services are imposed by Uber without asking them for input.