26 February

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Abolish sedition and contempt of court by scandalization, both

In the 11-13th century, the monarch was not very powerful. He had to depend on barons for support. The King did not interfere in the affairs of the barons who were even allowed to run parallel governance, even courts. As time passed every crime was taken as a breach of the King's peace and was to be tried by the courts which sat in sessions, appointed by the king. Of all the offences, sedition, namely, even expressing a wish for the death of the King, his wife or family members was considered to be sedition. Between law of contempt and...

26 February

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Are not the civil courts the real ‘constitutional courts’?

Posted by Mathews J Nedumpara

in Blogs/Articles

In the last two decades or so, we have often heard the elite lawyers in Delhi referring to the Supreme Court as constitutional courts which gives the impression to the common man that the Supreme court and High courts are the only courts empowered to interpret the constitution. The question is, in doing so, are they not committing a fraud on the constitution. I have, in my article titled, 'Ten myths of constitutional law', dealt with at some length of the falsehoods which have become gospel truths and to doubt which, is nothing but sacrilege. The foremost of such myth...

26 February

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Nedumpara’s Open Letter to Justice Kurian Joseph

Posted by Mathews J Nedumpara

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3rd December, 2018ToHon'ble Mr. Justice Kurian Joseph ,Former Judge, Supreme Court of India,New Delhi.OPEN LETTERMAY IT PLEASE YOUR LORDSHIP: Today’s Times of India, on its front page, carried an article by Mr. Dhananjay Mohapatra, one of the illustrious legal reporters of the country, under the caption “We felt the then CJI was remote-controlled: Joseph”. Within the said main heading, there was a sub-heading titled “Ex Supreme Court Judge says minority tag hinders careers”. Under the said caption Your Lordship is reported to have said “the minority tag is a hindrance to career progression of...

26 February

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Nedumpara’s Open Letter To The Hon’ble PM, CJI, Chief Justices Of The High Courts, Members Of Parliament

Posted by Mathews J Nedumpara

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13.3.2021 An Open Letter To The Hon’ble Pm, Cji, Chief Justices Of The High Courts, Members Of Parliament Hon’ble Sirs and Mesdames, When Hon’ble Justice Indu Malhotra was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court of India, the undersigned, who is only too conscious of his insignificance, had an immense sense of happiness and joy. There is yet another instance where I was extremely jubilant, that was when the NJAC bill was introduced in the Parliament. Mrs. Indu Malhotra’s appointment came shortly after we had addressed a letter asking for greater representation of women in the Supreme Court and High Courts. The...

26 February

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Are not the eminent lawyers who lament at the misery of migrant labourers ‘ravenous wolves in the clothing of a sheep’?

Posted by Mathews J Nedumpara

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28.5.2020 The miseries which the millions of migrant labourers had to face with the imposition of the lockdown, so too its easing no words can adequately describe. It would wrench the hearts of even the most hardened ones. But the question is: could the governments be entirely blamed for the same even while fully accepting that there has been great shortcomings even in Kerala which has managed the Covid pandemic exceedingly well? But the question is: are not these functions falling under the exclusive province of the executive as has been rightly pointed out by Arghya Sen Gupta in his article...

26 February

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Are not collegium a synonym for nepotism?

Posted by Mathews J Nedumpara

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AN OPEN LETTER TO THE COLLEGIUMMay it please Your Lordships, I have come to know from the social media that the collegium of the Supreme Court of India has recommended Chief Justice Maheswari of the Karnataka High Court and Justice Sanjeev Khanna of the Delhi High court as judges of the Supreme Court. It was further reported that justice Sanjeev Khanna is the son of Justice Khanna and nephew of the legendary Justice HR Khanna who had the courage to hold that the right to life does not stand suspended on a declaration of emergency. Justice Khanna had to pay a...

26 February

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Is it true that our legal system is founded on the premise that no court can do justice? (Read the arguments notes by Shri Nedumpara in challenge of Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act)

Posted by Mathews J Nedumpara

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Brevity is the soul of wit, said Shakespeare. I would therefore like to keep the instant argument note as brief as possible. I do so for more than one reason.It is a travesty of justice that today in the 21st century when even jurisdictions other than civil law and common law countries have accepted the observance of the principles of natural justice fundamental, we in India increasingly trample the very first principles.The Petitioners, MSMEs were constrained to seek a declaration at the hands of this court that Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act which empower the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate/ District...

26 February

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Demolition of Maradu homes, who will tell the court that it went wrong?

Posted by Mathews J Nedumpara

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I pen these few lines with great amount of pain and anguish. The Government of Kerala, in furtherance of an all party meeting convened by Shri Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of Kerala, engaged Shri Harish Salve, probably the highest paid lawyer in the country, to save 450 odd families of their homes, which were ordered to be demolished by a Bench of the Supreme Court headed by Hon'ble Shri Justice Arun Misra. The background of the case is fairly known to all. Stated in brief, the Supreme Court, in complete violation of the procedure contemplated under the...

26 February

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“If the King was not above law, but under God and the law, the Master of the roster, the Chief Justice too is not above the law”

Posted by Mathews J Nedumpara

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A Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court dismissed with a cost of Rs. 20,000/- a petition by one Arun Misra as a 'party – in – person’ seeking a direction that certain Writ Petitions instituted by him shall not be listed before a particular judge. The order of the court is cryptic and it does not state what exactly is the factual matrix. All that is discernible from the order is that the petitioner had sought a direction to the Registry of the Court not to list cases filed by him before a “Particular Judge”. The order merely says that...

26 February

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There is no way to salvage our legal system unless and until we abandon the current practice of treating res judicata as precedent

Posted by Mathews J Nedumpara

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15.7.2021 There is no way to salvage our legal system unless and until we abandon the current practice of treating res judicata as precedent In this country, the distinction between the concept of res judicata and precedent is largely forgotten. As a result, a judgment of a superior court in a case between A and B, which may be erroneous but binding on the said parties, becomes binding on C and D, nay, on posterity as the law of the land. Often it is misconceived that every word of a judgment of a superior court is binding, the law of the land....

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