LEX ASPIRANTS

Let’s Have a look in to the basic Provisions which deals with Documents: As per Section 56 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, the contents of document has to be proved either by primary or secondary evidence. Primary evidence means the document itself produced for the inspection of the court and secondary evidence includes those documents mentioned under section 58 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.   Section 17 of the registration Act Mandates that registration of certain documents and Section 49(c) of the registration Act states that No document required registration under section 17 to be registered shall be received as evidence of any transaction  affecting such property or conferring such power, unless it has to be registered.  The proviso of Section 49 makes an exception to the aforesaid provision in case of a suit for specific performance and collateral transaction not required to be effected by registered instrument. Thereby an unregistered ...

First of all I would like to draw the significant importance of the will and other documents, A will is one of the most solemn documents known to law. Unlike other documents, the testator who had departed the temporal state cannot be called to confirm the genuinity of the Will. Hence trustworthy and unimpeachable evidence is insisted to establish the genuinity and authenticity of a will.The onus of proving the will is on the propounder. Regarding the statutory norms: Section 63 of the Indian Succession Act deals with the procedure to proof the execution of a will.The same need to be proved atleast through one of the attesting witness, if the attesting witness are alive. Hence the statutory provision make it incumbent for a document required by law to be attested to have its execution proved by atleast one of the attesting witness, if alive and subject to the process of the court conducting the proceedings involved and is capable of giving evidence. But the above said statutory norms is...

Right to be forgotten is the right of every individual not to be injured out of another’s acts of constant recalling of past deeds. Now the above said doctrine has been used to uphold the reputation of persons by removing the private information about him from internet sites and social Medias. Shakespeare made it clear in Othello: Act II, Scene iii that a good name, or reputation, is valuable for its owner. Stealing the reputation of one, does not make another rich. But he, who loses reputation, suffers damage. In 2019, through the personal date protection Bill the right to privacy has been a legally accepted recognizable right. But the bill has not been passed yet. After the decision on ‘Right to Privacy’ rendered by the Supreme Court of India in J. KS Puttaswami v. Union of India,  (2017) 10 SCC 1 , various High Courts upheld the rights arising from ‘right to be forgotten’, based on the dogma on ‘Right to Privacy’. The following are the land-mark decisions on ...

Constitutional morality is the adherence to the principles of constitutional values. it changes from time to time. Some of the constitutional values are democracy, secularism, equality of status and opportunities, liberty of speech and expression, liberty of belief, and equal protection. Therefore constitutional morality is rooted in the Constitution itself. Constitutional moralities are developing in accordance with the changes in society. Society does not remain static and changes with due process of time and requires the law and judicial developments to keep going with them. The judiciary upheld constitutional morality through various decisions. They are: In the case, NALSA  v. Union of India the apex court recognized the 3rd gender community. ie, transgender persons. The said case makes a very great impact on society. prior to the decisions those people did not get any acceptance in the society. Now they have been given recognition. today in every application like an applicatio...

Until the 1960's abortion was illegal in India and unless the procedure was done with good faith the mother would be punished under section 312 of the Indian Penal Code. It was in the middle of the 1960's government set up a committee and thereby in 1971, enacted the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act. The Act provides for the termination of certain pregnancies through medical practitioners. Thus legalized abortion. Initially, the law permit abortion up to 20 weeks, and in 2021 it increases the period from 20 weeks to 24 weeks for special categories of women like rape survivors, minors, mental illness, and physically disabled. In a historical judgment, the apex court declared that prohibiting single women with pregnancies up to 24 weeks from accessing abortion while allowing married women with the same term of pregnancy amounts to discrimination. The constitution guarantees a dignified life, the right to privacy, and the right to reproductive choice / bodily autonomy to the c...

India being a diverse nation with multiple religions and religious laws, have different personal laws for different religious communities. The marriage, Divorce, inheritance, adoption, and succession of people in various communities are regulated by their respective personal laws. Mostly it is based on their religious texts and customs.  The idea behind the Uniform civil code is to have a common set of laws governing personal matters such as marriage, Divorce, inheritance, adoption, and succession for all citizens irrespective of their religion. The debate on the Uniform civil code goes back to the constituent assembly debates. In fact, one could assert that the legality of the Uniform civil code is rooted in the Constitution itself.  Article 44  of the constitution (directive principles of state policy )mandates that the state shall take the endeavor for the implementation of the Uniform civil code for the citizens. The objective of  DPSP is to act as a guideline to...

Encounter Killings violate the fundamental rights of criminals as every person has a right to life and liberty which can only be deprived following the procedure established by law under Article 21 of the Constitution. This right extends to all persons without exception, including a fair investigation and trial even if a person is accused of a heinous crime thereby safeguarding the equality before law under Article 14. There is a procedure prescribed by the law for criminal investigation which is embedded in the Constitution under Article 21 as the Right to Life and Personal Liberty. It is fundamental, non-derogable, and available to every person. Even the State cannot violate that right. Hence, it is the responsibility of the police, being the officers of the State, to follow the Constitutional principles and uphold the Right to Life of every individual whether an innocent one or a criminal.   In Gian Kaur vs The State Of Punjab held, the right to life does not include the ri...

The part III of the constitution enshrines the backbone of our democratic system which is the fundamental rights. Article 13 establishes the supremacy of fundamental rights by declaring that all laws which are inconsistent with or against fundamental rights shall be void to the extent of the inconsistency.   A law must incorporate the principles of natural justice and if a law deprives a person of his fundamental rights without complying with the rules of natural Justice could not be held as valid and it lacks reasonableness which is the core of the fundamental rights.    Article 21 of the constitution says that: “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure establish by law”. Also, personal liberty is one of the most important of all fundamental rights. The restriction upon freedoms can be only imposed if they are reasonable. Hence a restriction to be constitutionally valid must be satisfying the following 2 tests: 1...

Jai Prakash Tiwari vs State of Madhya Pradesh   on 4 August 2022  CJI NV Ramana, Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli observed that while examining an accused under Section 313 CrPC, all the adverse evidences has to put in the form of questions so as to give an opportunity to the accused to articulate his defence and give his explanation. "If all the circumstances are bundled together and a single opportunity is provided to the accused to explain himself, he may not able to put forth a rational and intelligible explanation." , the court observed. The court clarified such an omission does not ipso facto vitiate the trial, unless the accused fails to prove that grave prejudice has been caused to him. The court was considering an appeal filed by accused who was concurrently convicted under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ('IPC') and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act, 1959. The prosecution case against the accused was that he and co-accused went to the comp...

The presentation of a plaint marks the institution of a civil suit.  The CPC, provides for the remedy of rejection of the plaint under Order VII Rule 11, on certain specifically stated grounds.  Order VII Rule 11 provides: "Court shall reject a plaint: (a) where it does not disclose a cause of action; (b) where the relief claimed is undervalued, and the plaintiff, on being required by the court to correct the valuation within a time to be fixed by the court, fails to do so; (c) where the relief claimed is properly valued, but the plaint is written upon paper insufficiently stamped, and the plaintiff, on being required by the court to supply the requisite stamp paper within a time to be fixed by the Court, fails to do so; (d) where the suit appears from the statement in the plaint to be barred by any law; (e) where it is not filed in duplicate; (f) where the plaintiff fails to comply with the provision of Rule 9. If the court, for reasons to be recorded, is satisfied that the p...

The purpose of the capital punishment is to develop fear in the mind of people and it operates as ominous warning to the public. The so called punishment is given to those offenders who are incurable, and thereby prevents repetition of crime as it is in the interest of the society. The legislative history with regard to criminal punishment shows that there has been significant change in thinking and approach. Prior to 1955 , normal rule was to impose sentence of death on a person convicted for murder and if lesser sentence was to be imposed, the court was required to record the reason.   In 1955 , court is free to award either death or life imprisonment and life imprisonment was the rule and death sentence is the exception .   In 1973 – judgment shall state the reasons for giving life imprisonment and special reasons for death penalty. In 1980 the landmark decision – bacchan Singh v. state of Punjab. – Court held that death penalty is constitutionally valid and not ...