Messages

1

Discussion / Guide for successful Mediation

« on: April 07, 2013, 05:41:06 PM »

Improving Negotiation Skills for successful Mediation
Introduction
"A negotiation is an interactive communication process that may take place whenever we want something from someone else or another person wants something from us."1
"Take it or leave it!" "This proposal is non-negotiable." "Don't ask me to go back to my client on this. This is all we are going to do." "This is it. If you don't want to accept it at that price, forget it." "Negotiating with you is a waste of time. We'll see you at the courthouse!" How do you feel when you hear statements like this? How do you feel when people are belligerent; when they hang up on you, literally or figuratively; when they let you know that they do not want to have a dialogue with you about such ethereal subjects as your needs, interests, or concerns about a proposal or a transaction?
If you react negatively to ultimatums, inflexibility, and statements like those in the preceding paragraph, you may come to the realization that other people feel the same way. Unless you are in the military, or subject to some similar hierarchical organization, you will conclude that, if you want to have a relationship with the party on the other side of the table or the other end of the phone, you must negotiate. Negotiation is unavoidable.
http://http://www.lawweb.in/2013/04/improving-negotiation-skills-for.html

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Discussion / Precautions to be taken while uploading your Photographs online

« on: April 06, 2013, 09:36:40 PM »

Precautions to be taken while uploading your Photographs online

The practice of sharing pictures of kids and family members online is a relatively new phenomenon. With the rise of social media networks and photo sharing sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Flikr, photos of you and your children as susceptible to use of the photos (often without your permission) by third parties, including friends, families, advertisers -- or worse -- child predators.
For example, when popular mom-blogger Heather Spohr was contacted by the police in 2010 about an innocent photo of her daughter that was found on a computer that contained "indecent images of children", she was both stunned and afraid. The police inquiry letter read: "Unfortunately, innocent pictures [of children] are also very attractive to certain types of people".
http://http://www.lawweb.in/2013/04/precautions-to-be-taken-while-uploading.html

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Discussion / How secure are your Email,plz check out?

« on: April 06, 2013, 09:35:43 PM »

How secure are your Email,plz check out?

This should come as no surprise anymore, but your email isn't private. In fact, it's one of the least secure methods of communication you can use. In contrast, phone calls typically aren't recorded and stored, and even if they were, your employer and law enforcement would have to go to court to gain access to them.
Emails are stored at multiple locations: on the sender's computer, your Internet Service Provider's (ISP) server, and on the receiver's computer. Deleting an email from your inbox doesn't mean there aren't multiple other copies still out there. Emails are also vastly easier for employers and law enforcement to access than phone records. Finally, due to their digital nature, they can be stored for very long periods of time, so think twice before writing something down in an email you don't want others to see.
http://http://www.lawweb.in/2013/04/how-secure-are-your-emailplz-check-out.html

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Discussion / What Is a 'Catfishing' Scam?

« on: April 06, 2013, 05:31:46 AM »

What Is a 'Catfishing' Scam?
Today and in the next few days, you may read and hear a lot about "catfishing." But unless you're a teenager or happened to have seen the documentary "Catfish," you may have no idea what catfishing really is.
Here is a hint:
In a story that's shocking the sports world, Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o says that he met a girl online and they started an Internet relationship. The two apparently became a couple, and Te'o says that he was devastated when he learned that the woman had died this past fall. Now, it's been revealed that this girl never existed.
If you believe Te'o's version of the story, he became a victim of "catfishing."
Catfishing is basically an Internet scam or hoax in which someone pretends to be someone else online and nabs an unsuspecting victim.
http://http://www.lawweb.in/2013/04/what-is-catfishing-scam.html

5

Discussion / SC warns against 'judge bashing'

« on: April 05, 2013, 06:03:10 AM »

SC warns against 'judge bashing'
New Delhi, March 19: The Supreme Court has deplored the growing tendency of "judge bashing" by disgruntled litigants and cautioned that "judiciary should not be reduced to the position of flies in the hands of wanton boys".
The judges voiced their concern while awarding a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to a Gujarat woman magistrate forced to retire on graft allegations after a high court-ordered probe. The apex court found the probe faulty.
"Judge bashing has become a favourite pastime of some people. There is a growing tendency of maligning the reputation of judicial officers by disgruntled elements who fail to secure an order which they desire," a bench of Justices B.S. Chauhan and Fakir Mohammed said.

They upheld the appeal by Nirmala J. Jhala, who was accused by a litigant of demanding and accepting Rs 20,000 as illegal gratification when she was a chief judicial magistrate in Ahmedabad in 1991.
http://http://www.lawweb.in/2013/04/sc-warns-against-judge-bashing.html

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Discussion / Judges’ Awareness, Understanding, and Application of Digital Evidence

« on: April 04, 2013, 06:14:20 AM »

Judges’ Awareness, Understanding, and Application of Digital Evidence
https://docs.google.com/file/d/1i7bSg3j2NUvk5joCeiY-zO-AZUDMh9ehBCDBteECH78qbXGXa_6Y5wSmmqIs/edit?usp=sharing
http://http://www.lawweb.in/2013/04/judges-awareness-understanding-and.html

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Discussion / Any set off of refund under Income tax without intimation to assessee is illegal

« on: April 01, 2013, 08:49:42 PM »

Any set off of refund under Income tax without intimation to assessee is illegal

A reading of the section would indicate that for the purpose of any adjustment of the amount due to the assessee by way of refund against an outstanding demand due from the assessee to the Revenue an intimation in writing is required to be given to the concerned person of the action proposed. Proposed action would mean a notice before making the adjustments and not an intimation of making the adjustment. It is not in the nature of information, It has to be an intimation that the Revenue proposes to adjust the amount of refund due to the assessee towards the amount of tax due from the assessee. An order passed purporting to set off an amount of refund due to the assessee without a prior intimation would be against the express provisions of law and therefore bad in law. The provisions of section 245 are mandatory in nature. In the present case there was no prior intimation of the proposed action of adjusting the amount of refund due to the assessee towards any other amount due from the assessee. It was an intimation informing th
http://http://www.lawweb.in/2013/04/any-set-off-of-refund-under-income-tax.html

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Discussion / Credit Card Data and Encryption: Big Holes in Protection

« on: March 31, 2013, 09:03:40 PM »

Credit Card Data and Encryption: Big Holes in Protection

These days many people fear the theft of credit card data during online purchases or through malicious software on their personal computers. However, the biggest risk to your credit card number probably isn't someone stealing it from you, but rather someone stealing it from one of the merchants you pay everyday or from the payment processor a merchant uses.
In the wake of the largest credit card data heist yet recorded, many are wondering how a twenty-something in Miami (plus his partners) can rob one of the nation's largest card payment processors blind for more than a year. They may also wonder how he could cruise down the highway and remotely detect which big box retailers have credit card transaction data open for the plucking.
The answer would surprise most: credit card data often goes unencrypted at some point along the chain. As it goes from cardholder to merchant to payment processor to credit card company and back, someone getting hold of it at any point while its not encrypted has gold in their hands.
http://http://www.lawweb.in/2013/03/credit-card-data-and-encryption-big.html#more

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Discussion / Signing Up for Credit Card Fraud Alerts Can Pay Off

« on: March 31, 2013, 09:00:58 PM »

Signing Up for Credit Card Fraud Alerts Can Pay Off
You know that email from your credit card company, inviting you to sign up for their credit card fraud alerts?
Well, in most cases this isn't spam, or a scam. And if you haven't already signed up, you should definitely think about it.
A credit card fraud alert can save you major headaches down the road by letting you know of suspicious transactions almost immediately after they occur, anywhere around the world. This prevents that unpleasant surprise when you open your monthly credit card statement and see a bunch of transactions you did not make.
Here are some things to know about credit card fraud alerts:
What are they? Your credit card company monitors all of your transactions. They know where you typically purchase goods and in what amounts. So if they start getting strange transactions (like a $300 charge at a gas station in Argentina, when you live in Omaha), the company may alert you and verify whether you made the purchase.
http://http://www.lawweb.in/2013/03/signing-up-for-credit-card-fraud-alerts.html

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Discussion / Basic principle that procedural law is retrospective in its operation

« on: March 31, 2013, 06:39:42 PM »

Basic principle that procedural law is retrospective in its operation

The Court summed up the legal position with regard to the procedural law being retrospective in its operation and the right of a litigant to claim that he be tried by a particular Court, in the following words:
i. A statute which affects substantive rights is presumed to be prospective in operation unless made retrospective, either expressly or by necessary intendment, whereas a statute which merely affects procedure, unless such a construction is textually impossible, is presumed to be retrospective in its application, should not be given an extended meaning and should be strictly confined to its clearly defined limits.
ii. Law relating to forum and limitation is procedural in nature, whereas law relating to right of action and right of appeal even though remedial is substantive in nature.
iii. Every litigant has a vested right in substantive law but no such right exists in procedural law.
iv. A procedural statute should not generally speaking be applied retrospectively where the result would be to create new disabilities or obligations or to impose new duties in respect of transactions already accomplished.
v. A statute which not only changes the procedure but also creates new rights and liabilities shall be construed to be prospective in operation, unless otherwise provided, either expressly or by necessary implication.
Ramesh Kumar Soni Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh
[Criminal Appeal No. 353 of 2013 arising out of S.L.P. (CRL.) No.5663 of 2011]
http://http://www.lawweb.in/2013/03/basic-principle-that-procedural-law-is.html

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Discussion / This Court is bound to take notice of the change in the law

« on: March 31, 2013, 06:38:37 PM »

This Court was bound to take notice of the change in the law
Mr. Maneksha says that, at the date when the suit was filed, the defendants had a right with regard to the land at Vikhroli to have the suit heard in the District Court of Thana and he cannot be deprived of that right by subsequent legislation. Now, as I said before, the defendants have no vested right in any particular forum. This Court was bound to take notice of the change in the law and was bound to administer the law as it was when the suit came on for hearing. Therefore, if the Court had jurisdiction to try the suit when it came on for disposal, it could not refuse to assume jurisdiction by reason of the fact that it had no jurisdiction to entertain it at the date when it was instituted.

Bombay High Court
Shiv Bhagwan Moti Ram Saraoji vs Onkarmal Ishar Dass And Ors. on 8 October, 1951
Equivalent citations: AIR 1952 Bom 365, (1952) 54 BOMLR 330
Author: Chagla
Bench: Chagla, Bhagwati
http://http://www.lawweb.in/2013/03/this-court-was-bound-to-take-notice-of.html

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Discussion / The role of superior courts is like a friend, philosopher and guide of the judic

« on: March 31, 2013, 06:25:42 AM »

The role of superior courts is like a friend, philosopher and guide of the judiciary subordinate to it. The judicial officers have to be treated with parental care and affection.

When we examine the facts of the instant case in the light of the judicial decisions spreading over a century, the following principles of law can be culled out:
(I) Erosion of credibility of judiciary in the public mind, for whatever reason, is the greatest threat to the independence of judiciary.
(II) Judicial discipline and restraint are imperative for the orderly administration of justice.
(III) Judicial decorum makes it imperative that the courts' judgments and orders must be confined to the facts and the legal position involved in the cases and the courts should not deviate from propriety, moderation and sobriety.
(IV) Majesty of Court is not displayed solely in cracking the whip on mistakes, inadvertent errors or lapses, but by persuasive reasoning so that the similar errors and mistakes are not repeated by the judicial officers.
(V) Majesty of Court would be enhanced by practicing discipline and self-restraint in discharging of all judicial functions. All actions of a judge must be judicious in character.
http://http://www.lawweb.in/2013/03/the-role-of-superior-courts-is-like.html

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Discussion / finding of fact may give rise to a substantial question of law

« on: March 30, 2013, 09:57:57 PM »

It is trite law that a finding of fact may give rise to a substantial question of law

It is trite law that a finding of fact may give rise to
a substantial question of law, inter-alia, in the event the findings are based on no evidence and/or while arriving at the said finding, relevant admissible evidence has not been taken into consideration or inadmissible evidence has been taken into consideration or legal principles have not been applied in appreciating the evidence, or when the evidence has been misread.
 This Court culled out three principles for determining whether a question of law raised in a case is substantial. One of the principles so summarised, is : The general rule is that High Court will not interfere with the concurrent findings of the courts below. But it is not an absolute rule. Some of the well-recognized exceptions are where (i) the courts below have ignored material evidence or acted on no evidence; (ii) the courts have drawn wrong inferences from proved facts by applying the law erroneously; or (iii) the courts have wrongly cast the burden of proof.

Supreme Court of India
Chandna Impex P.Ltd. vs Commr.Of Customs on 6 July, 2011
http://http://www.lawweb.in/2013/03/it-is-trite-law-that-finding-of-fact.html

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Discussion / Property in the name of mother -whether is joint family property or her stridhan

« on: March 30, 2013, 09:49:53 PM »

Property in the name of mother -whether is joint family property or her stridhan property?

 There is no presumption
of a joint Hindu family but on the evidence if it is established that the property was joint Hindu family and the other properties were acquired out of that nucleus, if the initial burden is discharged by the person who claims joint Hindu family, then the burden shifts to the party alleging self-acquisition to establish affirmatively that property was acquired without the aid of the joint family property by cogent and necessary evidence.
Section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 clearly mandates that any property of a female Hindu is her absolute property and she, therefore, has full ownership. The Explanation to sub-section (1) further clarifies that a Hindu woman has full ownership over any property that she has acquired on her own or as stridhana. As a consequence, she may dispose of the same as per her wish, and that the same shall not be treated as a part of the joint Hindu family property.
In any event, whenever a mother is there and the properties are purchased in the name of the mother, the presumption is that it is for the benefit of the family. It is nobody's case that the lands purchased is for the intention and for the benefit of the mother alone and she also did not differentiate between her sons and daughters.
http://http://www.lawweb.in/2013/03/property-in-name-of-mother-whether-is.html

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Discussion / If the High Court were to initiate disciplinary proceedings based on a judicial

« on: March 30, 2013, 06:16:45 AM »

If the High Court were to initiate disciplinary proceedings based on a judicial order, there should have been strong grounds to suspect officer's bona fides and the order itself should have been actuated by malice, bias or illegality.
We fail to understand as to how the High Court arrived at a decision to initiate disciplinary proceedings solely based on the complaint, the contents of which were not believed to be true by the High Court. If the High Court were to initiate disciplinary proceedings based on a judicial order, there should have been strong grounds to suspect officer's bona fides and the order itself should have been actuated by malice, bias or illegality. The appellant-officer was well within his right to grant bail to the accused in discharge of his judicial functions. Unlike provisions for granting bail in TADA Act or NDPS Act, there was no statutory bar in granting bail to the accused in this case. A Sessions Judge was competent to grant bail and if any disciplinary proceedings are initiated against the officer for passing such an order, it would adversely affect the morale of subordinate judiciary and no officer would be able to exercise this power freely and independently.

Supreme Court of India
Ramesh Chander Singh vs High Court Of Allahabad & Anr on 26 February, 2007
http://http://www.lawweb.in/2013/03/if-high-court-were-to-initiate.html