LEX ASPIRANTS

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...

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 ...

The Supreme Court on Wednesday to keep court proceedings under section 124A of IPC in abeyance has the effect of temporarily erasing the colonial provision from the statute book while the union reexamines it. It was argued in court that nearly 13000 people were already in jail under the sedition provision. National crime records bureau (NCRB) report says 356 cases of sedition under section 124A of IPC had been registered and 548 people arrested between 2015 &2020 with just 6 convictions. Section 124 A of IPC, which criminalizes any speech, writing, or representation that excites disaffection against the government. The Indian experiences shows that whenever the court dilutes the harshness of penal provisions in a balancing approach, instead of striking down the entire provision, the instrumentalities of the state (police, prosecution, and court) continue to overuse or misuse the provision. The judgment of the top court in Kedar Nath Singh  V. State of Bihar (AIR 1962 SC...

The concept of secularism mentioned in the preamble of the Constitution considers secularism as neither anti God nor pro god, it treats alike the devout, the antagonistic and the atheist. Worshipping God should be according to the dictates of one's own conscience.  In Aruna Roy v. Union of India ,  court quoted gandhiji who said "The real meaning of secularism is sarva dharma sambhav meaning equal treatment and respect for all religions. But we have misunderstood the meaning of secularism as sarva dharma abhav meaning negation of all religions". On 2 December 1948, Dr Ambedkar acknowledged that religious conceptions in India “cover every aspect of life, from birth to death”. However, he added, “There is nothing extraordinary in saying that we ought to strive hereafter to limit the definition of religion in such a manner that we shall not extend it beyond beliefs and such rituals as may be connected with ceremonials which are essentially religious.” Essentially religious’ ...

  In  Sapna and Anr v. State of Punjab while dealing with the protection plea of a young couple in a live-in relationship, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on observed that merely because the adult boy is not of marriageable age, it would not deprive the young couple of their fundamental right as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution.  Justice Harnaresh Singh Gill was adjudicating upon a writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution wherein the petitioners (young couple) had sought police protection against their parents who had objected to their live-in relationship. boy although a major, had not yet attained marriageable age which is why the parents had been issuing threats to the couple.  Directing the Senior Superintendent of Police, Gurdaspur to grant protection to the couple in case any threat to life and liberty is perceived, the Court observed,  "It is the bounden duty of the State as per the Constitutional ob...