CLAT

Article 142 allows the Supreme Court to pass any order necessary to do “complete justice” in any case. The Supreme Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction may pass such decree or make such order as is necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it…” the Article states. The Supreme Court delivered a unanimous verdict Saturday in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case. The bench invoked Article 142 of the Constitution to hand over the disputed land to a trust to be formed by the central government in the next three months, under the Acquisition of Certain Area at Ayodhya Act, 1993.

“In exercise of the powers vested in this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution, we direct that in the scheme to be framed by the central government, appropriate representation may be given in the trust or body, to the Nirmohi Akhara in such manner as the central government deems fit,” said the order given by the five-judge bench. “Subject to the provisions of any law made in this behalf by Parliament, the Supreme Court shall, as respects the whole of the territory of India, have all and every power to make any order for the purpose of securing the attendance of any person, the discovery or production of any documents, or the investigation or punishment of any contempt of itself,” the Article adds.

Directions : Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.

While adopting a technology, Indians have made changes to their attitudes and societal norms but often also made the technology work around their instincts. One area where the law of the jungle seems to prevail is the road, especially in cities. As a rule, typically, two-wheelers and cars don’t consider lanes important. We don’t want to wait our turn but keep jumping lanes and wading around obstacles. We seem to be possessed by a primal urge to get ahead of others even if it means the driver of the car or the two-wheeler rider on the other lane has to jam hard on his brakes.
Over the next 15 years, however, Indian driving is likely to be disrupted by electric vehicles that the Indian government seems keen on introducing, without transitioning to hybrids. Far less polluting and carbon-emitting, the electric car, however, poses a challenge to Indian driving practices. The motor is much quieter than the engine and the transmission system has fewer parts too. “All one hears is wind, tyre and road noise, which is minimal in city driving,” says Mahesh Babu, CEO of Mahindra Electric. Imagine thousands of cars moving around, quietly, on our roads. Electric motors are among the perkiest prime movers. After starting, they can very quickly ramp up to full speed, unlike the internal combustion engine that needs to idle and takes time to increase speed. “Instant torque and quick acceleration,” sums up Mr. Babu. Maximum torque is available for a range of speeds too.
Another crucial, efficiency-boosting attribute of the electric car will be regenerative braking. It’s a cute application of an old physics law where the electric motor powering the car can reverse its role, becoming a generator and charging the battery. The generator load is the resistance that provides braking torque and it can be varied if you want to just bring down the speed, not stop the car altogether.Electric cars present a unique opportunity for Indian drivers. Instead of tamping down the technology, we can instead change our habits — be mindful of lanes, wait our turn, be polite and respectful of others and their needs, and make our driving smoother, as well as make best use of regenerative braking.

Direction: Read the passage below and answer the question that follows:

Prafull Chandra Ray was born on 2 August, 1861 in the district of Jessore now in Bangladesh, close to the birthplace of Madhusudan Dutt, widely regarded as the Milton of Bengal. It was the best of times and the worst The British had by now perfected their role as masters and British values permeated the Indian upper classes to the very last detail like table manners. That, of course, was not the worst of the British influence. What was far more demeaning to the educated Indians - and there were several - was the fact that senior government positions were closed to them. Being forfeited of one's right in one's land to birth would become the rallying point for the Indian intelligentsia in the years to come. Ray's father Harish Chandra Ray, a man of learning and taste, was closely associated with the cultural and intellectual leaders of the time and exerted great influence on his son. Ray had his early schooling in the village school founded by his father but soon his father shifted to Calcutta and at the age of nine, little Prafulla Set eyes for the first time, on the bustling city that would be his home for many years to come. He was filled with wonder at the ever-changing sights and sounds - the city seemed to change moods ever so often! His formal schooling was interrupted due to illness but that did not affect his education.

To address the new set of challenges faced by consumers in the digital age, the Consumer Protection Bill, 2019 was passed by Parliament on 6th August 2019 and received the President’s assent on 9th August 2019 replacing Consumer Protection Act, 1986 that did not cover ecommerce transactions.

The definition of 'consumer' is widened to include any person who buys goods, through offline or online transactions, electronic means, teleshopping, direct selling or multi-level marketing.

Revised pecuniary limits have been fixed. District forum can now entertain consumer complaints where the value of goods or services paid does not exceed INR 10,000,000, the State Commission - between INR 10,000,000 and INR 100,000,000, and the National Commission – more than INR 100,000,000.

The consumer now has flexibility to file complaints with the jurisdictional consumer forum located at the place of residence or work of the consumer, unlike the current practice of filing it at the place of purchase or where the seller has its registered office address. Enabling provisions introduced for consumers to file complaints electronically and for hearing and/or examining parties through video-conferencing.

Establishment of a regulatory authority - Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), with wide powers of enforcement, including an investigation wing, headed by a Director-General, which may conduct inquiry or investigation into consumer law violations. It has wide powers to take suo-moto actions, recall products, order reimbursement of the price of goods/services, cancel licenses and file class action suits, if a consumer complaint affects more than 1 individual.

Product liability now includes the product manufacturer, service provider and seller, for any claim for compensation. Product seller includes a person involved in placing the product for a commercial purpose and would include e-commerce platforms as well. There are increased liability risks for manufacturers as compared to service providers and sellers, considering that manufacturers will be liable even where he proves that he was not negligent or fraudulent in making the express warranty of a product.

Unfair Trade Practices now also include sharing of personal information given by the consumer in confidence, unless such disclosure is made in accordance with the provisions of any other law.

The CCPA may impose a penalty of up to INR 1,000,000 on a manufacturer or an endorser, for a false or misleading advertisement. The CCPA may also sentence them to imprisonment for up to 2 years for the same. Fine for subsequent offence may extend to INR 5,000,000 and imprisonment up to 5 years. The CCPA can also prohibit the endorser of a misleading advertisement from endorsing that particular product/service for upto 1 year.

The New Act provides for mediation as an Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanism, making the process of dispute adjudication simpler and quicker. This will help with the speedier resolution of disputes and reduce pressure on consumer courts, who already have numerous cases pending before them.

In the mid-fifties when GE was expanding its operations across the globe, the president of GE, Ralph Cordiner decided to set up a corporate university an hour away from New York spread over 59 acres. In 1956 GE offered its first course that spread over 13 weeks. Today no executive can imagine spending a full quarter of the year sitting in a classroom. While the courses that are offered at Crotonville have become shorter, the efficacy of the investment remains unquestionable. The headhunters refer to GE as a leadership factory.

GE is not alone. McDonalds set up its Hamburger University in 1961. When Steve Jobs hired Joe Podolny, the then dean of Yale to start Apple University in 2008 it made a big splash. Apple University drew faculty members including professors from universities like Yale, Harvard, Berkeley, Stanford and MIT. The trend of corporate universities is on the rise. The companies have a large employee base that ranges from 8,000 to 300,000 employees or more. They cut across sectors and businesses from automobiles to pharma and everything else in between. General Motors Institute, Caterpillar, Unilever, GDF Suez, Veolia, Axa, Sanofi, Novartis, Petronas, and many more.In 1993, corporate universities existed in only 400 companies. By 2001, this number had increased to 2,000, including Walt Disney, Boeing, and Motorola. According to BCG, there are estimated to be more than 4,000 companies with formal corporate universities.Scale: McDonalds serves 68 million customers daily in 119 countries across 35,000 outlets. This complexity requires training. That ensures that McDonalds burgers taste the same from Mumbai to Moscow.Complexity: When surgeons move to the operating theater they rely on checklists. These lists reduce human error, and help the surgeon to operate with speed without having to stop and double check if they are missing any step. In performing complex tasks through collaborating teams, speed comes through training in standard processes and procedures. Apple University teaches employees that they’re at the company to be the very best at one specific task.Corporate Governance: Governance needs the ability to manage reporting relationships, finances, and facilities. Compliance and risk management demand investments in training. On any given day two billion people use Unilever products across countries that have different rules and regulations. This scale and complexity demands constant investment to ensure standards are not compromised.Education: Entry-level hires are drawn from a wide variety of educational backgrounds. There is a need to bring people to a common minimum level of knowledge and skills. From technical skills or domain knowledge or personal competencies, people need to keep upgrading. Values and Culture: The leaders need to be role models of the values the company proclaims. When the majority of employee responses to everyday situations become uniform, it forms the culture of the organization. Tying the professional development to strategic challenges is a strong reason to invest in training.The culture of the organization has to support its vision and strategy. This needs a place when people can come together and connect with others and learn. Technical training can be delivered through e-learning modules. It is the intangibles like culture that people need to learn from role models.

I. The pilot course offered at Crotonville was much shorter in duration compared to the executive courses today.

II. Till today GE continues to be the only company to provide proper classroom training to its employees.

III. Culture has to be learned from leaders; e-learning modules will not do.

There is no better time than now to revive the campaign for decriminalising defamation.

Former union minister M.J. Akbar, despite resigning from his ministerial post in the wake of multiple allegations of sexual harassment, is brazening it out in court against journalist Priya Ramani through a criminal defamation case against her.

Criminal defamation is nothing more than a tool of intimation buried in our statute books from the colonial times. The law gained more notoriety after the apex court ruled it to be constitutional and elevated the so-called right to reputation to the stature of a fundamental right. When courts (as Justice Dipak Mishra, in the Subramanian Swamy v Union of India, wrote) define reputation as “fundamentally a glorious amalgam and unification of virtues which makes a man feel proud of his ancestry and satisfies him to bequeath it as a part of inheritance on posterity,” do we need the state to protect it? Loss of reputation is not a crime against society. For a private wrong, loss of reputation, the law allows use of state machinery to impose criminal sanctions.

Unfortunately, in our country civil defamation to compensate for loss of reputation is just an add-on to a criminal case that drags on for years. Here’s proof: Jay Amit Shah filed a criminal defamation case in an Ahmedabad court before filing a civil defamation suit seeking compensation. Libel and slander, both forms of defamation, are creatures of English common law, but they are not treated as distinct from each other in Indian jurisprudence. India offers the defamed a remedy both in civil law for damages and in criminal law for punishment. This is highly unusual since defamation as a crime is almost nonexistent anywhere in the world. While civil law for defamation is not codified as legislation and depends on judge-made law, criminal law is in the Indian Penal Code (section 499 creates a criminal offence of defamation.

In defamation, the claimant needs to prove that the statements injured the person’s reputation and were published. The onus then shifts to the defendant to prove that the imputations or statements were either true, or amounted to fair comment, or were uttered or stated in circumstances offering absolute or qualified privilege like Parliamentary or judicial proceedings.

The essentials of defamation can be summed up as follows. The Statement must be published i.e. for defamation to occur, the statement should be communicated by the maker of the statement, to a third party either in a direct or implied manner. Implied publishing is when a person communicates material in such a way that a third party is bound to get access to the statement. The Statement must refer to the plaintiff. It is not necessary that the plaintiff has to be mentioned by name, if he can still be individually recognised. The intention of the wrongdoer is also relevant i.e the person making the defamatory statement must know that there are high chances of other people believing the statement to be true and it will result in causing injury to the reputation of the person defamed.

Directions: In view of the passage given below, choose the best option for question.

Thus, at the extreme left stand the Marxists, whose prediction of the ultimate undoing of our system is little changed from the days of Karl Marx himself. Their prophecy we know; their persuasion is that we should line up on the side of the future which the Marxists try to sell us, but a sense of historical participation, of joining the winning team, of riding the ‘wave of the future’. If Russia or China were not there as an object lession in applied Marxism, their urgings might be a more formidable competitor for our belief. As things now stand, the rigours which are the price of rapid collectivist growth have an appeal only to the most miserable people in the world— those who have never known anything but a beggar’s lot. Perhaps, our task is to understand with genuine compassion the hard choice that history has enjoined on the poor— and to attempt in every way to facilitate their escape from poverty.To the right of the Marxists are the socialists. Many of them are Marxian in their prognosis of capitalism’s end, but they are not Marxian in their prediction of things to come. The Marxists extol the inevitability of history; the socialists extol the idea of liberty inherent in social change. The Marxists are not so much interested in what comes next, but this is the very heart and essence of the socialist persuaders. Whether the society of the future is to be centralized or built on old-fashioned guilds; whether it is to be entirely planned, or only partially so; the extent to which the consumer should have a voice, and the extent to which the producer should be hard—these are the burning questions of socialism—but not of communal. While the Marxists hold out the prospect of blindly and trustingly enlisting oneself with the inexorable process of history, the socialists ask us to join them in shaping history as they wish it. Next on the spectrum of prophecy and persuasion are the advocates of managed capitalism. Unlike the socialists, they do not believe that capitalism must disappear, and unlike the socialists they do not want to displace the institution of private ownership with public-ownership. Their central philosophy is something else again; they feel that capitalism can be maintained if we intervene sufficiently to make it viable. Left to itself, they say, capitalism may run off the rails—if not its economic rails, then its moral rails. Given a strong policy of guidance, it can continue to prosper. Hence, we are asked to ensure our futures with a strong pillar of government investment, with active enforcement of anti-monopoly laws, with the encouragement of public activity as well as private. This road to the future lies in making capitalism work—rather than in relying on its inner stability. Not so, say the next group of public counsellors, the protagonists of the Right-ofCenter. Capitalism can work only in an atmosphere of hands-off. While liberal aims may be commendable, the liberal means are incompatible with the essence of a market economy itself. Leave the system alone and it will fare well; try to patch it up and you will only succeed in hopelessly paralyzing it. It is some such spectrum of prophecy

and persuasion that we face.As we listen to the debates which now surround us—and which will command our attention as long as our society survives—we can recognize the voices of the past. Adam Smith still speaks to us from the platform to the Right; Karl Marx seeks to enroll us in the legions of the Left. We can distinguish the voice of John Stuart Mill in the words of the socialists, and that of John Maynard Keynes in the arguments of Malthus, the vision of the more utopian Utopians, the complacency of the Victorians, the disqu of the underworld, the shrewd skepticism of Veblen— they are all there. The Marxists believe in

Passage: In the second week of August 1998, just a few days after the incidents of bombing the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam, a highpowered, brain-storming session was held near Washington D.C., to discuss various aspects of terrorism. The meeting was attended by ten of America‘s leading experts in various fields such as germ and chemical warfare, public health, disease control and also by the doctors and the law- enforcing officers. Being asked to describe the horror of possible bio-attack, one of the experts narrated the following gloomy scenario. A culprit in a crowded business centre or in a busy shopping mall of a town empties a test tube containing some fluid, which in turn creates an unseen cloud of germ of a dreaded disease like anthrax capable of inflicting a horrible death within5 days on any one who inhales it. At first500,or so victims feel that they have mild influenza which may recede after a day or two. Then the symptoms return again and their lungs start filling with fluid. They rush to local hospitals for treatment, but the panic-stricken people may find that the medicare services run quickly out of drugs due to excessive demand. But no one would be able to realize that a terrorist attack has occurred. One cannot deny the possibility that the germ involved would be of contagious variety capable of causing an epidemic. The meeting concluded that such attacks, apart from causing immediate human tragedy, would have dire long-term effects on the political and social fabric of a country by way of ending people‘s trust on the competence of the government. The experts also said that the bombs used in Kenya and Tanzania were of the old-fashion variety and involved quantities of high explosives, but new terrorism will prove to be more deadly and probably more elusive than hijacking an aeroplane or a gelignite of previous decades. According to Bruce Hoffman, an American specialist on political violence, old terrorism generally had a specific manifesto-to overthrow a colonial power or the capitalist system and so on. These terrorists were not shy about planting a bomb or hijacking an aircraft and they set some limit to their brutality. Killing so many innocent people might turn their natural supporters off. Political terrorists want a lot of people watching but not a lot of people dead. ―Old terrorism sought to change the world while the new sort is often practised by those who believe that the world has gone beyond redemption, he added. Hoffman says, ―New terrorism has no long- term agenda but is ruthless in its shortterm intentions. It is often just a cacophonous cry of protest or an outburst of religious intolerance or a protest against the West in general and the US in particular. Its perpetrators may be religious fanatics or diehard opponent of a government and see no reason to show restraint. They are simply intent on inflicting the maximum amount of pain on the victim.
Directions: choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the passage

Q. Intolerance

Extradition is the official transfer or delivery of a person from one country to another, so that the formal authority over the person shifts to the country where the person is transferred. The person who is transferred is either someone who is accused of a crime or a convicted criminal in the country to which he is being delivered. The crime for which the person is being transferred should also be a crime under the law of the country which is transferring the person. A country shall make a request to another country to extradite a person so that the requesting country can appropriately deal with his crimes. An extradition request for an accused can be initiated in the case of under-investigation, under-trial and convicted criminals. The Extradition Act, 1962 regulates the extradition of fugitive criminals to and from India. A fugitive criminal is a person who is accused or convicted of an extradition offence in a foreign country. An extradition treaty is an agreement or arrangement made by India with a foreign country relating to the extradition of fugitive criminals. Currently, we have extradition treaties with 43 countries. It is possible for India to make an extradition request to any country. If we have an extradition treaty with another country, the foreign country has an obligation to consider our extradition request. If we don’t have an extradition arrangement in place, the foreign country may consider our request keeping in mind its domestic laws and procedures. In relation to a foreign country with whom India has an extradition treaty or agreement, the meaning of an extradition offence is defined in the treaty itself. In other cases, an extradition offence can be any offence for which the punishment is imprisonment for at least one year under the laws of India, or the laws of a foreign country. Requests for extradition on behalf of India can only be made by the Ministry of External Affairs, which formally submits the request for extradition to the respective foreign country through diplomatic channels. Extradition is not available at the request of members of the public. India allows Indian nationals to be extradited to foreign countries from India. However, in doing this, our country follows a dual system based on reciprocity. The concept of extradition advances the principle that no person should escape the reach of the law merely by using influence, power and finances to take refuge in a foreign jurisdiction.

In the light of the passage, which of the following can be inferred for India?

Plastic water bottles were the third most commonly collected trash during the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Clean-up behind trash like cigarette butts and plastic food wrappers. It is estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic waste by weight in the oceans than fish. A study by Orb Media and the State University of New York found bottled water samples contained nearly twice as many pieces of micro-plastic per litre (10.4) than the tap water samples (4.45) with 93% of bottles showing some sign of micro-plastic contamination. Banning bottled water would reduce the number of plastic bottles manufactured – a process that emits harmful chemicals. Studies indicate that communities living close to PET factories suffer from increased levels of chronic illness and birth defects. Bottled water is expensive. It can cost between 400 to 2,000 times more than tap water, four times more than a gallon of milk, and three times more than a gallon of gasoline. Almost 64% of bottled water comes from municipal supplies. Bottling water can drain water sources that local communities rely on. According to Dr Matthew Davis of the University of New Hampshire, ""during droughts, bottling plants could dry up wells and wetlands or deplete the streamflow in the immediate area."" (which additional info would help in reaching).

Which of the following, if true, weakens the assertion of the author that the tap water is cheaper than the bottled water?

Read the passage given below and answer the questions based on it.

“Well, lately Mas’r has been saying that he was a fool to let me marry off the place; that he hates Mr. Shelby and all his tribe, because they are proud, and hold their heads up above him, and that I’ve got proud notions from you; and he says he won’t let me come here anymore, and that I shall take a wife and settle down on his place. At first he only scolded and grumbled these things; but yesterday he told me that I should take Mina for a wife, and settle down in a cabin with her, or he would sell me down river.”
“Why—but you were married to me, by the minister, as much as if you’d been a white man!” said Eliza, simply.
“Don’t you know a slave can’t be married? There is no law in this country for that; I can’t hold you for my wife, if he chooses to part us. That’s why I wish I’d never seen you,—why I wish I’d never been born; it would have been better for us both,—it would have been better for this poor child if he had never been born. All this may happen to him yet!”
“O, but master is so kind!”
“Yes, but who knows?—he may die—and then he may be sold to nobody knows who. What pleasure is it that he is handsome, and smart, and bright? I tell you, Eliza, that a sword will pierce through your soul for every good and pleasant thing your child is or has; it will make him worth too much for you to keep.”
The words smote heavily on Eliza’s heart; the vision of the trader came before her eyes, and, as if someone had struck her a deadly blow, she turned pale and gasped for breath. She looked nervously out on the verandah, where the boy, tired of the grave conversation, had retired, and where he was riding triumphantly up and down on Mr. Shelby’s walking-stick. She would have spoken to tell her husband her fears, but checked herself.

Q. What does George mean when he says "a sword will pierce through your soul for every good and pleasant thing your child is or has"?

I entered the room where the corpse lay, and was led up to the coffin. How can I describe my sensations on beholding it? I feel yet parched with horror, nor can I reflect on that terrible moment without shuddering and agony, that faintly reminds me of the anguish of the recognition. The trial, the presence of the Magistrate and witnesses, passed like a dream from my memory, when I saw the lifeless form of Henry Clerval stretched before me. I gasped for breath; and, throwing myself on the body, I exclaimed, "Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry of life? Two I have already destroyed; other victims await their destiny: but you, Clerval, my friend, my benefactor -" The human frame could no longer support the agonizing suffering that I endured, and I was carried out of the room in strong convulsions. A fever succeeded to this. I lay for two months on the point of death; my ravings, as I afterwards heard, were frightful; I called myself the murderer of William,of Justine, and of Clerval.Sometimes I entreated my attendants to assist me in the destruction of the fiend by whom I was tormented;and, at others,I felt the fingers of the monster already grasping my neck,and screamed aloud with agony and terror. Fortunately, as I spoke my native language, Mr. Kirwin alone understand me;but my gestures and bitter cries were sufficient to affright the other witnesses. Why did I not die? More miserable than man ever was before, why did I not sink into forgetfulness and rest? Death snatches away many blooming children, the only hopes of their doting parents; how many brides and youthful lovers have been one day in the bloom of health and hope and the next a prey for worms and the decay of the tomb! Of what materials was I made, that I could thus resist so many shocks, which, like the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture?

The narrator appears to make several references to his own suffering, but ignores the suffering undergone by those he claimed to have murdered, or others bereaved by the deaths. Considering this, the style of the passage may best be described as:

Principle of Natural Justice is derived from the word ‘Jus Natural’ of the Roman law and it is closely related to Common law and moral principles but is not codified. It is a law of nature which is not derived from any statute or constitution. The principle of Natural Justice is adhered to by all the citizens of civilised State with Supreme importance. Natural justice simply means to make a sensible and reasonable decision making procedure on a particular issue. Somet imes, it doesn‘t matter what is the reasonable decision but in the end, what matters is the procedure and who all are engaged in taking the reasonable decision. It is not restricted within the concept of ‘fairness’ it has different colours and shades which vary from the context. Basically, natural justice consists of 3 rules.
The first one is “Hearing rule” which states that the person or party who is affected by the decision made by the Panel of expert members should be given a fair opportunity to express his point of view to defend himself. Secondly, “Bias rule” generally expresses that Panel of expert should be free from bias while taking the decision. The decision should be given in a free and fair manner which can fulfil the rule of natural just ice. And thirdly, “Reasoned Decision” which states that order, decision or judgement of the Court given by the Presiding authorities with a valid and reasonable ground. The principles of Natural Justice have been adopted and followed by the judiciary to protect public rights against the arbitrary decision by the administrative authority. One can easily see that the rule of natural justice include the concept of fairness: they stay alive and support to safeguard the fair dealing.

LEGAL PRINCIPAL: Even if the sovereign functions of the State are discharged negligently the state is not vicariously liable in tort.

FACTUAL SITUATION: A was a trader in gold. There he was arrested by police and was detained in the police lock up after search. The gold with him along with sundry other things were seized. Later he was discharged. His possessions seized by the police were returned, except the gold. He moved against the State in tort. In the words of Supreme Court, “There can be no escape from the conclusion that the Police Officers were negligent in dealing with the property after it was seized” One of the Constables was a Muslim. He fled with gold to Pakistan.

Statement: The General Administration Department has issued a circular to all the employees informing them that henceforth the employees can avail their lunch break at any of the half-hour slots between 1.00 pm and 2.30 pm.

I. The employees may welcome the decision and avail lunch break at different time slots.

II. There may not be any break in the work of the organization as the employees will have their lunch break at different time slots.

On August 14, 2020, the Supreme court found Prashant Bhushan guilty under the contempt of courts act, 1971, for two social media posts in June for, it said had “the effect of destabilising the very foundation” of India’s judiciary. Sentencing was set for August 20. On August 19, Bhushan filed an application seeking to defer the sentencing hearing until a review petition is filed and considered. According to section 2(c) of The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, criminal contempt means the publication (whether by word, spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise) of any matter or the doing of any other act whatsoever which- Scandalizes or tends to scandalize, or lowers or tends to lower the authority of, any court, or Prejudices or interferes or tends to interfere with the due course of any judicial proceeding. Thus, from the abovementioned definition, it can be ascertained that there are three important essentials to constitute criminal contempt: Firstly, Publication of any matter-The word publication has been given a very wide meaning so far as contempt of court is concerned. It includes words (spoken/written), signs and visible representation, Secondly, Scandalizing or lowering the authority of the court -scandalizing might manifest itself in various ways but in substance, it is an attack on individual judges in particular or the court as a whole, with or without reference to a particular case, by casting unwarranted and defamatory aspersions upon the character or the ability of the judges and lastly, Prejudice or interference with the due course of any judicial proceeding - Any publication which prejudices or interferes with the due course of any judicial proceeding would amount to criminal contempt of court. The defences against Criminal Contempt are- Innocent publication and distribution of matter, fair and accurate report of judicial proceedings, fair criticism of judicial act, bonafide complaint against the presiding officer of a subordinate court and defamation of the judge in personal capacity and not interfering with the administration of justice.

A United Nations commission voted on Wednesday to remove [X] for medicinal purposes from a category of the world’s most dangerous drugs, a highly anticipated and long-delayed decision that could clear the way for an expansion of [X] research and medical use.

The vote by the Commission for Narcotic Drugs, which is based in Vienna and includes 53 member states, considered a series of recommendations from the World Health Organization on reclassifying [X] and its derivatives. But attention centered on a key recommendation to remove [X] from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs — where it was listed alongside dangerous and highly addictive opioids like heroin.

Experts say that the vote will have no immediate impact on loosening international controls because governments will still have jurisdiction over how to classify [X]. But many countries look to global conventions for guidance, and United Nations recognition is a symbolic win for advocates of drug policy change who say that international law is out of date.