Law Critical Digest: 19.12.2011

1. The results of the Advocates on Record examination held this year were released some time back and 71 out of about 400 candidates qualified. A piece of news that would be otherwise unremarkable save for the fact that the AOR system itself is under challenge in the Delhi High Court by lawyers seeking to open the field of practice in the Supreme Court to all advocates. Prashant Narang, an LL.M candidate from Jindal Global Law School lays down the arguments against the existing system at Law and Other Things. http://lawandotherthings.blogspot.com/2011/12/advocates-on-record-name-on-rent.html.

*****

2. It has been something of an unprecedented year for the Supreme Court of India (pun intended!) with major decisions, important PILs and large scale retirements and appointments of judges. Over at livemint, Nikhil Kanekal takes a look back at the ten most important cases heard or decided by the Supreme Court of India in 2011. The PJ Thomas case finds mention of course, but it is a list more geared to the general reader than to the lawyer. http://www.livemint.com/2011/12/09011809/Supreme-Court-the-balancing-a.html

*****

3. The inner workings of Indian law firms are suddenly under scrutiny once again as the proposed merger of Fox Mandal and Little & Co. has ended in acrimony. For Fox Mandal, already struggling in the face of some mismanagement and the global economic downturn, this could not have come at a worse time. It is a good time perhaps to re-plug this full length article on Amarchand & Mangaldass & Suresh A Shroff & Co, perhaps India’s most well known and influential law in Forbes Indiaand the sibling rivalry that underpins the firm. http://business.in.com/article/boardroom/indias-biggest-in-law-amarchand-mangaldas/15382/0

*****

4. The Supreme Court’s monitoring of the implementation of the PDS scheme has made the headlines repeatedly this year, mostly for Governmental failure to tackle the problems adequately( remember the infamous 32 rupees a day affidavit?). The Food Security Bill, seeking to end the spectre of malnutrition and hunger among India’s poorest has been cleared by the Cabinet and will be introduced in the 2011 Winter Session of Parliament itself. It’s not without its critics such as Jean Dreze who’d written some time back about the structural problems with the Bill (as it stood then). http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article2042980.ece?homepage=true

*****

5. Insiders know that transfers of High Court judges these days in “public interest” is a polite euphemism for “Too many allegations of corruption, but not enough material to start proceedings.” So when Justice Mohinder Pal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court was transferred in “public interest”, the matter would have passed with a few nudges and winks in the Bar library and quickly forgotten. Except, Indian Express broke this story about the possible link between a controversial order passed by Justice Pal and his transfer. Stunningly, the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Ranjan Gogoi (a fine and outstanding judge who was destined for the Supreme Court this year but for a serious illness) has gone on record about the exact link between the order and the transfer. All hell naturally broke loose (both in the P&H High Court and the Gujarat High Court) and Animesh Sharma gives us a closer look at these events in Scandal Season”. http://mylaw.net/Article/Scandal_season/.

*****
Follow us on our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/CriticalTwenties

You can follow us on our new twitter account @Ctwenties