Transparency triumphs: Rejection of a discharge application without disclosure of reasons is vulnerable to being overturned. The rejection of a discharge application under Section 239 Cr.P.C without providing reasons faced scrutiny in a case involving a fraudulent act by a husband and wife against their employer.Kerala High Court overturned the Order of CJM rejecting the discharge application for want of reasons. Citing a Supreme Court judgment it was emphasised that although at the discharge s...

Disqualified Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizalfinds reprieve as SC reverses the Kerala HC Order refusing to stay his conviction. It was only a week preceding that the High Court of Kerala had refused to stay the conviction of Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizalin an attempt to murder case observing thatif persons with criminal antecedents are permitted to continue as Members of Parliament /Legislatures even after conviction by a competent court, that would only send wrong signals to the public at large...

Is royalty on minerals a tax: Advocate M.K.S. Menon (SC) thinks out loud on this issue Is royalty on minerals a tax, an unresolved issue, focusing on conflicting judgments by the Hon’ble Supreme Court is dealt holistically by the author highlighting the evolution of the legal discourse through various decisions of SC and High Courts and emphasizes that the misinterpretation of royalty as a tax in India Cement’s case was due to an oversight of Section 17A(3) of the Mines and Mineral...

Who would defend the Ombudsman if made a party to a lis. Kerala High Court clears the cloud. Ombudsman for Local Self Government Institutions, a quasi-Judicial Authority cannot be called upon to defend its orders as they are self-defensible. However, in cases of allegations of personal bias or malafides, such quasi-judicial authorities, who are exercising judicial functions, should be made parties to the lis. The court suggests that if the Ombudsman is made a party, the State Government, repre...

Affixing a poster containing a symbol of a recognized political party on an electric post cannot be treated as mischief. Kerala High Court advocates common-sense policing and criticizes police action for a minor financial loss due to the affixing of a poster on an electric post. Rohit Krishna v. State of Kerala Hon’ble Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan Decided on 20th September, 2023 For Petitioners : Advs. K.N. Abhilash, Sunil Nair Palakkat, Rithik S. Anand, Anu Paul & Sreelakshmi Menon P...