Tag: #legalarticle

Whenever one’s right is wronged, it is imperative that there is always some way to remedy that sufferance or injury caused to that person, to bring back the conviction of being just in a just society. It is done to bring about that same level of equilibrium prior to the right being wronged, the damage and injury caused. One can use the imagination of a scenario where one is wronged and has suffered some type of damage but if there was no remedy, the sufferings of that person would be prolonged, contributing to lack of peace and hence rendering the society’s system as being ineffective. If there is no relief, it would only lead to pent-up frustration and a feeling of insecurity. There would be constant feelings of apprehension due to a lack of guarantee of restoration, which would have been an important tool to the path of peace and security. Hence, the concept of torts came into the practice for this very purpose; to restore the victim of the wrong to their previous position prior to that action that led to injury or damage.

INTRODUCTION OF TORT LAW

The beginning of the Law of Torts can be followed by Roman statute alterium non-laedere. The saying signifies “not to harm another” for example not to hurt anybody by deeds or words. This saying is like trustworthiness vivere which signifies “to live respectably” and suum inner circle tribuere which is disclosed as to deliver to each man that has a place with him or it is an overall articulation to give equity to every individual. This multitude of three sayings can be ascribed for the advancement of the Law of Torts.

The fundamental goals of tort law are to compensate affected parties for harms inflicted by others, to hold those responsible that caused such injury, and to deter others from harming others. Torts allow the degree of loss to be shifted from the party who was injured to the party who caused it. Typically, a person seeking remedies under tort law will seek monetary compensation in the form of damages.

Remedies that are not normally used are injunction and restitution. The common law, the system that India follows, and state statutory law set the limits of tort law. Judges have broad discretion in assessing which activities qualify as legally cognizable wrongs, which defenses may outweigh any particular claim and the appropriate measure of damages when interpreting statutes. There are variations in the tort law across states of a country. There are three types of torts- Intentional torts (e.g., purposefully hitting a person); negligent torts (e.g., creating an accident by failing to respect traffic laws); and recklessness torts (e.g., causing an accident by deliberately failing to obey traffic rules).

TORT LAW IN INDIA

Because tort law is comparable throughout common law jurisdictions, courts have frequently relied on case law from other common law jurisdictions, like the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, in addition to local precedent. When applying foreign precedent, however, consideration is given to local norms and conditions, as well as India’s unique constitutional framework. The legislature has also enacted legislation to address specific societal issues. Aspects of tort law have been codified, as they have in other common law countries.

The Indian Penal Code or other criminal legislation may make some behavior that gives rise to a cause of action under tort law illegal. When a tort is also a criminal offense, the aggrieved party is nevertheless entitled to seek redress under tort law. The overlap between the two domains of law is due to the different purposes they serve and the different types of remedies they offer. Tort law tries to hold a tortfeasor accountable, therefore tort proceedings are taken directly by the aggrieved party to obtain damages, but criminal law intends to punish and discourage conduct that is regarded to be against the interests of society, so criminal actions are conducted by the government.

As in other common law jurisdictions, tort law in India is primarily guided by court precedent, reinforced with statutes governing damages, codifying common law torts, and civil procedure. A tort, just like other common law jurisdictions, is a breach of a non-contractual duty that causes harm to the plaintiff and gives rise to a civil cause of action with a remedy. Because the reason for tort law is to provide a solution to the individual who has been hurt, if a remedy is not present, it will be considered that a tort has not been committed.

Despite the fact that Indian tort law is largely inherited from English law, there still are distinctions between the two systems. Indian tort law is unique in that it provides remedies for constitutional torts, which are government activities that infringe on constitutional rights, as well as an absolute liability system for enterprises involved in hazardous conduct.

So, considering that the basic rule of torts is to compensate the value corresponding to the damage or injury caused, how is such a practice calculated? In India, damages are based on the principle of restitutio ad integrum. In all circumstances, India uses a compensatory approach and argues for “full and fair compensation.”

The Indian court will seek similar cases to compare when assessing the number of damages. The multiplier approach, which awards compensation corresponded to the degree of compromise to the victim’s earning power, is used in India to calculate damages in tort cases.

The fair and just amount refers to the number of years’ purchase upon which loss of reliance is capitalized under the multiplier technique. Then, in order to account for future uncertainty, a reduction in the multiplier would also have to be made. Under the Motor Vehicle Act, the multiplier concept is enshrined in the statute for tortious proceedings that involve personal injuries that have been caused by motor vehicles. The court will, however, take inflation into consideration when determining damages.

Now, in case of calculating personal injuries, in tort lawsuits involving personal injury, Indian jurisprudence recognizes seven distinct forms of harm where damages may be awarded. These categories are known as heads of claim, and they can be separated into non-pecuniary and pecuniary, similar to the more general distinction established in other common law jurisdictions between economic and non-economic damages. The following financial grounds of claim are recognized by Indian tort law:

• Earnings are lost.
• Expenses for nursing care, hospital, and medical.
• Matrimonial prospects are dwindling.

The following non-monetary heads of claim are recognized by contemporary Indian jurisprudence:

• Loss of hope for the future.
• Loss of luxuries or the ability to enjoy life.
• Physiological function loss or impairment.
• Suffering and pain.

INTENTIONAL TORTS

Intentional torts are harms that the defendant has had the intentions to do or should have had an expectation to occur as a result of his or her action or omissions. When the defendant’s such acts or omissions were unreasonably dangerous, they are called negligent torts. Unlike deliberate and torts of negligence, torts of strict liability are unaffected by the defendant’s level of care. Instead, in these situations, the courts look to see if a specific result or injury occurred.

Some moves should be made with a reason to submit a deliberate misdeed and wrong, for example, an intention is a must for an act to be committed. It is fundamental that there is a psychological component.

The Supreme Court declared in the State of Maharashtra versus M.H. George that criminal intent is a psychological truth that must be proven even in cases involving exceptional conduct unless it is clearly ruled out or ruled out by whatever necessary inference.

That is because Mens rea, or the purpose to commit a criminal act knowing the negative consequences, is one of the most fundamental elements of a crime. Mens rea is expressed by the use of phrases like intention, malice, fraud, irresponsibility, and so on. Before committing an offense, one must be a guilty mind. Mens rea include what the person is intending to do and the refusal to perform anything that is demanded of you. The mere intent to commit a crime is illegal in and of itself. An accused will be found guilty if it is proven that he intended to commit the crime, however, the burden of proving it is on the other side, and there must be sufficient evidence to decide that intention exists.

In Ramachandra Gujar’s case, the court held that a person’s intention may only be inferred from their actions and that the likely consequences of such actions must also be considered.

NEGLIGENCE TORTS

Negligence is a type of civil tort that occurs when a person violates his duty of care to another, causing that other person to suffer harm or face legal consequences. In tort law, negligence can take the following forms, that is, a method of committing various torts such as trespassing or causing a nuisance. It can be considered as a separate tort by itself.

Negligence’s Essentials
The plaintiff must show that the defendant had a duty of care that was owed to him and that this duty was breached. The nature of negligence liability is strictly legal, does not have to be moral or religious. ‘Duty’ might be seen as a responsibility to be cautious of others.

Duty Violation: The second stage is to prove that there was an actual breach of duty once the first criterion has been demonstrated. The defendant is expected to perform his responsibilities in a rational manner. The deciding factor is whether or not the defendant exercised reasonable caution.

Damage: The plaintiff must have suffered some loss as a result of the defendant’s breach of duty. The case of Donoghue v Stevenson represents a watershed moment in the history of the tort of negligence. The plaintiff, in this case, went to a cafe to order a ginger beer, that was sealed with an opaque cork. When the contents of the bottle were emptied, a decaying body of a snail emerged. The plaintiff became ill as a result of consuming some of the tainted contents of the bottle.

The court determined that a manufacturer that manufactures a product for the end consumer on the basis that the consumer will be injured if the manufacturer fails to exercise reasonable care, does owe a duty of care to the plaintiff.

RECKLESSNESS

A person’s actions might sometimes be so rash that they become the subject of a criminal investigation or a lawsuit. If a person acts recklessly with complete disregard for the safety of others and has the knowledge or should that his activities may cause injury to others, he may be held accountable for the injuries produced by his actions. It suggests the person was aware (or should have been aware) that his or her actions had the potential to damage others.

Recklessness is defined as behavior that is less than intentional but more than mere negligence. Unlike negligence, which occurs when a person takes an action with a risk that they should have known about, recklessness refers to taking a risk knowingly.

For example, the Supreme Court has defined what constitutes criminal culpability and differentiated between recklessness, negligence, and rashness. A person is said to have acted negligently when he or she accidentally commits an act or omission that would cause a breach of his or her legal duty, according to the law. A person who has done rashly when he or she is aware of the consequences but stupidly believes that they will not materialize as a result of his or her actions. A careless person is aware of the repercussions yet is unconcerned about whether or not they are the result of his or her actions. ‘Any behavior that is not adequate to recklessness and wilful wrongdoing shall not be subject to criminal prosecution,’ the Court stated in Poonam Verma VS. Ashwin Patel.

Many risky activities are prohibited by state law, and irresponsible actors are viewed as social risks because they jeopardize the safety of others. A person who has been hurt as a result of another’s negligence may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, rehabilitation, pain, lost wages, and suffering. Furthermore, recklessness may allow compensation from those who are normally free from liability for simple negligence, like government employees and health care providers.

Recklessness is a subjective as well as objectively defined state of mind. There are two kinds of irresponsible behavior. The first examines what the performer knew or was thought to be thinking at the time of the act (subjective test). The second evaluates what a person with a reasonable mind in the defendant’s circumstances would have believed (objective test). In all cases, the question is whether the person was aware (or should have been aware) that his acts could injure someone else.

It is dangerous, for example, for a car driver to purposely cross a highway in violation of a stop sign if traffic is approaching from both directions. In comparison, he does not stop since his attention is diverted and he is unaware that he is approaching the crossing which otherwise would be considered negligent.

CONCLUSION

Tort law allows for not only full recompense for victims, but also for the revelation of wrongdoing and the discouragement of malicious or negligent acts. A verdict of the court can be spread all over the country, if not the world, and can result in harmful practices being changed or stopped. Tort law has progressed to level the playing field, having roots in English common law. It empowers those without resources to compete with anyone on the globe, not just direct action. Any multi-billion-dollar enterprise or overreaching government agency. Besides only compensating an injured sufferer, tort law offers further advantages. Automobiles, the roads, toys, and foods are safer.

Written by Tingjin Marak, a student at Ajeenkya DY Patil University, Pune.

INTRODUCTION

Any claim made in the suit flows from the cause of action, and claims made must be with respect to the cause of action from which they derive. In Om Prakash Srivastava v. Union of India and Anr., the Supreme Court stated that “Cause of Action” refers to the conditions that constitute a violation of a right or an urgent cause for a reaction in a limited sense. Due to the facts or circumstances, several causes of action may arise in some situations. Contractual actions, statutory causes of action, and torts including assault, battery, invasion of privacy, and defamation are only a few examples.

CAUSE OF ACTION, SECTION 20, CPC

“Cause of Action” as defined by section 20 of the Civil Procedure Code of 1908, is any fact that must be proven in support of the right to obtain a judgment. The term Cause of Action is mentioned in the CPC in various places. Under the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, Order II Rule 2, it is stated that a plaint must mention the cause of action if it is to be instituted as a suit. Order VII Rule 1 reaffirms the same. Further, Order I Rule 8 states in the explanation that the parties represented in the litigation do not have to have the same cause of action as the person representing them and Order II Rule 7 explains in detail whether an objection to misjoinder of the cause of action should be submitted before the matter appears in the suit if such a complaint is valued at that time.

As stated at the outset, a Cause of Action is not only an important part of a Civil Action, but it is also the cause for the civil suit’s existence. It establishes the disputed topic or the genuine nature of the parties’ relationship. If there is no cause of action, there will be no litigation. Although, inside the CPC, the cause of action has yet to be defined.

PURPOSE OF ORDER 7 RULE 11 OF CPC

Order 7 Rule 11 of CPC provides litigants with the option of seeking an independent and special remedy, allowing courts to dismiss a suit at the preliminary stage without recording evidence and proceeding to trial based on the evidence presented if they are satisfied that the action should be dismissed on any of the grounds outlined in this provision.

In the case of Dahiben v. Arvindbhai Kalyanji Bhanusali¹, the SC reviewed several precedents on the underlying goal of O7 R 11 while dealing with the appeal before it. The court would not allow protraction of the proceedings if no cause of action is disclosed in the plaint or if the suit is precluded by limitation. In this instance, it would be important to put an end to the phony litigation to avoid wasting more judicial time. It opined, citing Azhar Hussain v. Rajiv Gandhi², that the main aim of conferring such powers under O7 R 11 is to ensure that useless and bound to prove futile litigation should not be allowed to consume the time of the courts and exercise the mind of the respondent.

The Supreme Court went on to say that while considering a motion to dismiss a plaint, courts should look at the plaint’s averments in light of the documents relied on to determine if they reveal a cause of action. In this regard, it was also stated that courts would have to disregard the defendant’s pleadings in the written statement and application for dismissal of the plaint on merit when making such a conclusion. As a result, the Supreme Court stated that when deciding any application submitted under O 7 R11, the courts should limit themselves to the plaint and not delve into the specific facts outlined in the written statement or even the O7 R 11 application.

CASE LAWS

Subodh Kumar Gupta v. Srikant Gupta and Ors.³
In this case, an agreement was composed in Bhilai for the dissolution of the partnership and distribution of partnership assets. The Supreme Court held that the agreement was void and had to be ignored at the threshold to save the time of the court and to safeguard the parties from any harm. Further, it held that Chandigarh Court had no jurisdiction to hear the suit as part of the cause of action that arose at Mandsaur.

Bloom Dekor Ltd. v. Subhash Himatlal Desai and Ors.⁴
According to the Supreme Court, the cause of action encompasses those circumstances that, if present, would enable the plaintiff to provide support for his entitlement to a court judgment. That is, a set of facts that the plaintiff will use to substantiate his or her case.

M/S South East Asia Shipping Co. Ltd. vs M/S Nav Bharat Enterprises Pvt.⁵
The Supreme Court ruled that a cause of action is made up of a group of circumstances that constitute grounds for bringing a civil action for redress in a court of law. In other words, it’s a series of circumstances that gives the plaintiff the right to sue the defendant under the legislation that applies to them. The court further stated that a cause of action must include any conduct committed by the defendant because, without one, no cause of action will likely develop.

Raghwendra Sharan Singh vs Ram Prasanna Singh⁶
In this case, the cause of action arose when the injured party disputed the gift deed after approximately 22 years from the date of the equivalent’s execution. The offended party in the situation has contested the gift deed, claiming that it is a garish one that is therefore not authoritative. After hearing both sides’ perspectives on the facts of the case, the Hon’ble Supreme Court ruled that the Statute of Limitations indisputably bars this lawsuit. Furthermore, the plaint should be dismissed according to CPC Order VII Rule 11.

Rajasthan High Court Advocates Association vs Union of India & Ors.⁷
In this case, the court held that every fact that must be proved, as opposed to any piece of evidence needed to prove each fact, must have been mentioned the essential element of ’cause of action’ according to the Rajasthan High Court. In each circumstance, the location of the cause of action must be determined.

As a result, the court will only be justified in dismissing the plaint for failure to disclose a cause of action if it considers the claims in the plaint and decides that they do not reveal any cause of action, assuming the allegations are true. However, if the court finds that there is no cause of action for the suit after reviewing all evidence and materials after the trial, the suit is dismissed rather than the plaint rejected.

OBSERVATIONS

The plaintiff’s lawsuit may be dismissed at the outset if the cause of action is not adequately established just like in the recent case. In such a case, no court proceedings will be continued in the first place to save the time of the court and to prevent such malice. Further, the claims must be backed up by facts, law, and a conclusion drawn from the law’s application to the facts.

A statement of facts in a battery case, for example, might be “While walking through XYZ Store, the plaintiff was tackled by the defendant, a store security guard, who knocked him to the ground and held him there by kneeling on her back and holding his arms behind him, while screaming in his ear to open his bag. The plaintiff suffered injuries to her head, chest, shoulders, neck, and back as a result of these actions.”

However, the facts or circumstances that lead to a person seeking judicial redress may give rise to multiple causes of action. In the previous case, the plaintiff could allege assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and violation of Civil Rights.

CONCLUSION

As for this regulation, the term “cause of action” refers to the key facts that make up the right and its infringement, which authorizes a person to sue the wrongdoer, defaulter, or anyone else who is liable for it.

However, Rule 6 of Order II of CPC states that the court may order separate trials if it appears to the court that joining causes of action in one complaint will embarrass or delay the trial or be otherwise inconvenient. It can be analyzed from the above-stated matter that a lawsuit can be dismissed if the cause of action is missing from the complaint. It is not enough to just assert that specific events or facts occurred that entitle the plaintiff to relief; the complaint must also include all of the elements of each cause of action in detail. However, if an offended party excludes any relief to which he is entitled to suit except when approved by the Court, he will not be granted such assistance later. The Court may award aid on reasons other than those specified in the plaint in exceptional situations. The aid requested by the injured party or the defendant might be broad or narrow.

Citations:

1. 2020 SCCOnline SC 562
2. 1986 AIR 1253, 1986 SCR (2) 782
3. (1993) 104 PLR 621
4. 1994 SCC (6) 322, JT 1994 (6) 89
5. 1996 SCC (3) 443, JT 1996 (3) 656
6. AIR 2019 SC 1430
7. AIR 2001 SC 416

Written by Hemant Bohra student at School of Law, Lovely Professional University, Punjab.

It is stated that accepting an offer is like lighting a match to a barrel of dynamite. For a contract to be successful, a genuine offer must be followed by acceptance of the offer. Let’s look at what defines genuine acceptance in more detail.

Acceptance

“The offer is considered to be accepted when the person to whom the proposition has been made gives his approval thereto,” reads Section 2 (b) of the Indian Contract Act 1872. As a result, the plan becomes a promise once it is authorized. Acceptance happens when the offeree to whom the proposition is made unconditionally accepts the offer, as indicated in the definition. When an offer like this is accepted, it becomes a promise.

Let’s imagine A makes an offer to buy B’s car for Rs. 2 lakhs, and B accepts. This has now become a commitment.

Once a proposal has been approved, it can no longer be amended. If accepted, an offer does not create any legal obligations, but it does create a promise. A promise is also irreversible since it creates legal obligations between parties. It’s possible that an offer will be revoked before it’s accepted. Once acceptance has been conveyed, it cannot be revoked or canceled.

Rules regarding Valid Acceptance

1. Only the person or persons to whom the offer is made and with whom it implies a contracting intention is allowed to accept it:
An offer may only be accepted by the person or persons to whom it is made and with whom it implies a contracting intention; it cannot be accepted by anyone else without the offeror’s permission.

The rule of law reads, “If you plan to create a contract with/1, then B cannot replace himself for A without your agreement.” An offer made to a single person can only be accepted by that individual. Any member of a group of individuals (for example, instructors) can accept an offer that is made to them. Anyone who is aware of the existence of an offer made to the entire world can accept it.

2. Acceptance must be unqualified and unconditional:
To be legally effective, it must be a complete and unqualified acceptance of all the conditions of the offer. If there is even the smallest deviation from the terms of the offer, the acceptance is annulled. A deviating acceptance is considered a counter-offer in the legal sense.

3. Acceptance must be communicated in a common and fair manner unless the proposal specifies how it should be accepted:
If the offeror does not indicate a method of acceptance, acceptance must be expressed in a common and fair manner. The most prevalent modes of communication are the word of mouth, mail, and behavior. An explicit acceptance is one that is expressed in words, either verbally or in writing, or by mail or telegram. When approval is expressed by behavior, it is known as implicit or tacit acceptance.

Implied acceptance can be proven by doing a necessary action, such as locating missing goods for the stated reward, or by accepting a benefit or service, such as a passenger boarding a public bus.

If the offeror specifies a form of acceptance, the acceptance offered in that style is absolutely admissible, even if the mode is funny. As a result, if the offeror specifies lighting a match as a method of acceptance and the offeree does the same, the acceptance is complete and effective.

However, what if the offeree opts for a method other than the one specified? “The proposer may, within a reasonable time after the acceptance is given to him, request that his proposal be accepted in the stated manner, and not otherwise; nevertheless, if he fails to do so, he accepts the (deviated) acceptance,” says Section 7(2).

Reality acceptance is ineffective:
Mental approval or quiet permission without words or activity does not establish legal acceptance, even if the offeror has stated that such a mode of acceptance will suffice. Otherwise, until the offeror is notified, acceptance has no effect.

4. Acknowledgment must be transmitted by the acceptor:
For an acceptance to be valid, it must be communicated to the offeror not just by the offeree, but also by or with the offeree’s authority (or acceptor).

5. Acceptance must be made in a fair amount of time before the offer expires or is revoked:
Because an offer cannot be kept open indefinitely, acceptance must be made within the given time limit, if any. Acceptance must be made within a reasonable time if no time restriction is specified (Shree Jay a Mahal Cooperative Housing Society versus Zenith Chemical Works Pvt. Ltd.).

Before the offer is revoked or expires owing to the offeree’s understanding of the offeror’s death or insanity, acceptance must be provided.

6. Acceptance must happen after the offer is made:
Acceptance must happen after the offer is made. It should come after, not before, the offer. A person was handed shares in a corporation that had not applied for them. He then applied for shares, completely unaware of the previous allocation. Prior to the application, the distribution of shares was deemed to be invalid.

7. Rejected offers may only be accepted if they are renewed:
If an offer has previously been rejected, it cannot be accepted again unless a fresh offer is made (Hyde vs Wrench).

Are There Different Kinds of Contract Acceptance?

Bill acceptances are divided into two categories: general acceptance and qualified acceptance. Absolute acceptance refers to wide approbation that is unqualified and unconditional. Acquiescence that is given without qualification is referred regarded as general acceptance. When someone accepts an order to pay a certain sum in whole and without limitations, this is known as a general acceptance. This is a common type of acceptance unless other payment
arrangements are made.

An acceptance must be wide in order to be legitimate as a general standard. When someone accepts an instrument, they qualify it by attaching a condition to it.

Acceptance can be divided into three categories:

• Acceptance by the Empress
• Acceptance is implied.
• Acceptance on condition

While any of these methods of acceptance is appropriate, signing a formal contract ensures that there is a legally enforceable element in the event of a disagreement. Finally, acceptance involves expressing and affirming one’s agreement to the transaction.

Implied acceptance is defined as acceptance that is indicated indirectly, rather than directly, through the acts of the person to whom an offer is made. An example of implicit acceptance of a bidder’s offer to the auctioneer is the auctioneer striking his hammer three times to signify his approval of a bidder’s offer.

The word “express acceptance” refers to acceptance that is stated orally, in writing, or vocally. For instance, A may write B an email offering his watch for sale, and B could accept the offer.

Qualified Acceptance: Another phrase for conditional acceptance is qualified acceptance. This happens when the person who made the offer tells the person who made the offer that if the terms and conditions alter, or if something happens, he or she will accept the offer. A conditional acceptance is good when you’re not sure how your position will turn out or if there are elements that might modify your existing situation.

This can be used as a counteroffer as well. Before the contract may be made, the initial offeror must accept a counteroffer. It sets expectations for the offer’s acceptance. The most prevalent kinds of conditional acceptance are:

• Qualified to place
• Qualified to amount
• Qualified to time
• Acceptance by some only
• Acceptance for installment payments

This is known as qualified to place when the drawee pays a bill at a certain location alone. It is referred to as qualified to amount if the drawee accepts the exchange and accepts payment for only a portion of what is owed. Qualified to time occurs when the drawee accepts the exchange and pays the bill at a period other than that stipulated in the contract.

When some, but not all, of the drawee’s consent to the transaction, it is referred to as acceptance by some. The bill is accepted for installment payments when the drawee agrees to pay the amount in installments. This must be mentioned explicitly in the contract from the beginning.

The acceptance requirement must be expressed very clearly in the agreement and must be quickly understood. If drawee desires to make a qualifier during acceptance, he or she must do it in such a way that the instrument’s holder knows what was accepted and on the basis of particular criteria.

Written by Muskan Patidar student at Kirit P. Mehta School of law (NMIMS), Mumbai.

The environment assumes a vital part in human existence as well as in the advancement of society. With developing mechanical progression and industrialization, the immaculateness of the climate has been threatened to a horrifying degree. The need to secure and further develop the climate is so convincing for the endurance of humankind and other life structures on planet Earth that the right to climate has arisen as basic liberty. Climate alludes to the regular environmental factors and conditions where we reside. Tragically, the environment has gone under genuine danger. This danger is for the most part because of human practices. These human exercises have absolutely made genuine harm to the environment. Most significant, this harm takes a chance with the endurance of living things on Earth. Subsequently, there is a pressing need to save the Environment.

For this, environment security is improving, guarding, and keeping up with the nature of the climate. The fundamental strategies for natural assurance are reusing, reusing, and lessening; be that as it may, a few different techniques like Green Energy creation, green transportation improvement, and eco-accommodating industrialization likewise exist. Inhabitants, as well as organizations and ventures, should assume their essential parts to work on the climate.

HISTORY OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS

Mankind has forever been worried about the climate. The antiquated Greeks were quick to foster a natural way of thinking, and they were trailed by other significant human advancements like India and China. In later times, the worry for the climate has expanded due to developing consciousness of the biological emergency. The Club of Rome, a research organization, was quick to caution the world with regards to the risks of overpopulation and contamination in its report “The Limits to Growth” (1972).

The advanced ecological development started during the 1960s when worries about the adverse consequence of people on the climate started to increment. Because of these worries, legislatures all over the world started to pass regulations to safeguard the climate. In the United States, for instance, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was laid out in 1970.

The start of ‘present day’ global ecological regulation is dated 5 June 1972 which denotes the start of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. This period incorporates numerous advancements that occurred up until the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

STOCKHOLM CONFERENCE

It was in 1972 when interestingly nations across the world met up to distinguish and resolve natural issues at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. This occasion has had an enduring impact on the improvement of global ecological regulation. This gathering depended on the focal issue of contention between the financial turn of events and ecological insurance and it was this meeting where the idea of Sustainable Development was molded. The gathering was gone before by the Founex Meet in Switzerland where it was perceived that natural insurance and monetary improvement should go connected at the hip accordingly establishing a framework for the idea of feasible turn of events, which legislatures affirmed later at the Rio Conference on Environment and Development. At the Stockholm Conference, the Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment was taken on which prompted further improvement of worldwide natural regulation. Because of the Stockholm Conference, nations laid out the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya which was not laid out as a United Nations specific organization.

A few significant multilateral arrangements related to the Stockholm Conference, are the Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matters and the Convention for the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, in 1972, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973. These arrangements were the early support points of global ecological regulation and along with the UN Conference, set up for the improvements in worldwide natural regulation.

In the following twenty years, global natural arrangements multiplied and in excess of 1100 worldwide legitimate instruments that were in without a doubt committed to the climate. In this period, nations became skillful at haggling new arrangements in brief periods which didn’t surpass 2 months.

The global natural arrangements went into during this period began as a means of observing and revealing explicit ecological dangers and had its own, discrete office to help nations in executing the concurrence with independent conventions for the exchange of peaceful accords, including trans-limit air contamination ozone environment, and so on the time frame between 1972-1992 saw changes in the subjects and the focal point of global ecological arrangements. The extent of arrangements additionally extended from controlling trans-limit contamination to worldwide contamination issues, for example, the consumption of the ozone layer, monitoring environments, and so on.

HISTORY OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN INDIA

In the course of the most recent twenty years, the Indian judiciary has cultivated a broad and inventive way to deal with environmental rights in the country. Complex matters of ecological administration have been settled and therefore a progression of inventive procedural solutions have advanced to go with this new meaningful right. The new environmental right is subsequently advocated as a legitimate pathway to expedient and modest lawful solutions.

The notional development of the right to life was perceived even without any particular reference to the infringement of this major right. However, the basic liberty culture has permeated down to the Indian human rights system within a short time frame. An interdisciplinary way to deal with environmental protection might be one more justification for the activity of the right to a healthy and clean climate. This has been attempted through global ecological agreements and shows, public administrative measures, and judicial reactions.

It has been studied in the case of environmental laws and policies, the Indian scenario is actually filled with attempts and examples in trying to preserve the environment from further degradation. Let’s look into how that protection came into being by going back to the historical background. Ancient India had always been keen and concerned in maintaining protecting the environment. But let’s look into how the British’s then passed legal regulations and actions carried out as it is what has had a huge impact on how India has turned out to be in the present age.

During the British Period, they looted India off of their natural resources, combined with a total indifference with regards to environmental protection. An overall overview of early natural resource regulation uncovers that separated from the wood’s regulations, nineteenth-century regulation likewise somewhat directed two different parts of Indian climate- water contamination and wildlife. These regulations, in any case, had a restricted reason and restricted spread in other regions. Obviously authoritative measures were taken by the British Government for fighting against contamination and for the preservation of natural resources. In spite of the fact that pundits call attention to that the British authorized these regulations, not with the object of safeguarding the climate but rather fully intending on procuring income for themselves, it ought to be viewed as the initial move towards the preservation of natural resources. Regardless of the way that these actions were made with ulterior intentions, British-sanctioned regulations have contributed essentially to the development of environmental jurisprudence in India.

Some of the laws passed during the British rule are,

• Merchant Shipping Act of 1858 dealt with the prevention of sea pollution by oil.
• Shore Nuisance (Bombay and Kolaba) Act, 1853 imposed restrictions on the fouling of seawater.
• The Fisheries Act, 1897
• Wild Birds and Animals Protection Act, 1912
• The Bengal Smoke Nuisance Act of 1905
• Bombay Smoke Nuisance Act of 1912

And after Independence,

• The Indian Constitution embraced in 1950 didn’t manage the subject of climate or counteraction and control of contamination all things considered.
• It was the Stockholm Declaration of 1972 that turned the consideration of the Indian Government to consider environmental protection.
• Exhaustive (exceptional) ecological regulations were established by the Central Government in India.
• Public Council for Environmental Policy and Planning was set up in 1972 which was subsequently developed into the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in 1985.
• The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, focused on the objective and present-day wildlife management, and many more.

ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS AND POLICIES IN PRESENT INDIA

Prominently, the public authority has passed different regulations to check the harm caused to the climate, for example, the Environmental Protection Act, 1986, Forest Conservation Act, 1980, Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act, of 1974, Public Liability Insurance Act of 1889, Biological Diversity Act of 2002, and National Green Tribunal Act of 2010.

As indicated by Article 48 (A) of the Indian Constitution, the state will attempt to safeguard and work on the climate. It ought to likewise attempt to defend woodlands and the natural life of the country. As per Article 51(A) (g) of the Indian Constitution, each resident of India has a basic obligation to safeguard and further develop the indigenous habitat including backwoods, lakes, waterways, and untamed life and ought to have empathy for living animals. These are some of the rights among others like sections 253, 246, etc.

Now let’s get into how these regulations tend to have a fallback or poor implementation. One of the primary explanations behind this is that there is no autonomous administrative body for ecological administration. It is taken care of by the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF). Because of inordinate obstruction by the government on the administration of the Ministry, there is unfortunate execution of natural regulation. The politicians also lack the willingness to further push the need for effective implementation, adding on with the lack of awareness of the people.

Businesses are committed to taking authorization from the State Pollution Control Board to release effluents and cause outflows yet there is laxity in consistence because of the absence of solid punishment measures. The Comptroller and Auditor General in India in its 2011-12 report on Performance Audit of Water Pollution in India say that the punishments for the contradiction of WPCA 1974 are excessively frail. There is also a lack of funds for the Pollution Control Boards and they don’t even have proper infrastructure or laboratories. These are just some of the problems amongst many in India. And to correct these few, the following solutions are recommended. A free administrative body should be laid out. The MoEF in 2009 had proposed for a “Public Environmental Protection Authority” in its discussion paper which would go probably as a body for ‘noticing, rule, and execution’ of natural administration. Like on account of Vellore Citizen Forum versus Association of India the guideline of polluter pay rule was applied. For this situation, a Public Interest Litigation was recorded by the candidates in light of the fact that the tanneries and different enterprises were releasing untreated effluents into the River Palar in Tamil Nadu. 35,000 hectares of the farming area has become either absolutely or somewhat ill-suited for development as per Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Research Center, it was held that the enterprises need to pay the townspeople for the harm brought about by them and furthermore make up for the rebuilding of the environment.

Public awareness and an increase in the political will to help is an absolute necessity. NGOs can assume a vital part in this. Prizes should be given to businesses, associations, and so on to recognize infringement and make a move to resolve the issue. Financial endowments, cost-sharing ought to likewise be advanced. And many other steps should be taken like giving more funds to SPCP.

Actions to protect the environment are also taken by the people themselves. Many climate/environment-oriented actions have been initiated which is indeed commendable. Some of the notable movements have taken the forms of advertisements, protests, like the recent protest which was staged by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and All Assam Matak Youth Students’ Union against the decision made by the National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) to allow North-Eastern Coal Fields (NEC) to do opencast mining in 98.59 hectares of Dehing-Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary in 2020, to protect the wildlife sanctuary and the vast fauna. Or the SAVE AARAY movement in 2019, mobilized by the people to go against the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited’s (MMRLC) metro 3 car-shed plan that would lead to the felling of the Aarey Colony, and the only national park that was situated outskirts the metropolis, rich in flora and fauna. This was also done to protest against the fact that many tribal communities had also been displaced by big project plans.

CONCLUSION

So, therefore, the Stockholm Conference definitely assumed a critical part in illuminating ecological corruption that has been caused around the world. Thus, the worldwide level of natural and biological issues has been improved to a particular level which the nations of the world had never envisioned ever.

The Courts in India have played a distinctive job in step by step broadening the extent of a good standard of living by applying different issues of ecological protection. Therefore, practices representing a significant danger to the climate were diminished to safeguard the person’s human right to a healthy climate. Article 21 has been dependent in plenty of cases, albeit certain cases have consolidated a more extensive point of view of the Constitution.

With contamination expanding every year and causing the crumbling of the natural habitat, it has become important to find ways to safeguard the common habitat. As we realize that the justification for this multitude of issues is people, state-run administrations should decide to limit their exercises that are actually hurting the climate. And if they are not halted direly, then, at that point, the world could see some devastating collapse and degradation before it’s too long. For instance, environmental change has been a huge issue, and this is one of the reasons for continued contamination. A good future relies upon the climate in general.

Written by Tingjin Marak, a student at Ajeenkya DY Patil University, Pune.

ABSTRACT

The given article seeks to explore the evolution of the Arbitration laws in the Indian sub context from stem to stern. The article traces the journey of Arbitration from the enactment of the very first legislative piece in 1899 until the most recent amendment of 2019.

INTRODUCTION

In order to decipher the insightful journey of the arbitration laws, it shall be necessary to first comprehend the meaning of the term ‘arbitration’. Colloquially speaking, the term ‘arbitration’ basically means an adjudication of disputes by an impartial and independent third party i.e. arbitrator. Thus, arbitration is a private, out of the court procedure. Regular court procedures are usually complex, expensive, and time-consuming. Adjudication of the disputes via the less formal and alternate forums such as the ‘arbitration’ provides a more effective and speedy resolution of disputes.

Thus, Arbitration is the result of written agreements between the parties wherein the parties agree to submit the accruing present or future disputes arising out of a legal relationship between them to an arbitrator.

ARBITRATION PRACTICE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD

The practice of arbitration has been pervasive throughout the world since ancient times. King Solomon of the ancient Jewish empire is usually hailed as one of the first arbitrators as per the Old Testament. The book by Elkouri and Elkouri¹ describes in length the arbitration proceedings of Solomon that bear resemblance to the modern-day arbitration practice. Further, the Greece historian Homer also gave detailed accounts of arbitration in his poem wherein the third party adjudicators settled the disputes between the masses.

In the Indian subcontinent, mentions of arbitration can be found in ancient texts of Brhadaranayaka Upanishads² that mentioned about srenis, kulas, pugas, and other autonomous bodies which adjudicated arbitration proceedings. Instances of local adjudication of disputes without the intervention of courts via the panchayats can also be found in Mauryan and Mughal times. Even today, the Khap panchayats are examples of such extra-judicial bodies that arbitrate disputes among the parties involved.

SCOPE OF THE LEGISLATIVE ENACTMENTS

1. THE INDIAN ARBITRATION ACT 1899
The said Act³ came into force on 1 st July 1899 and was drawn on the lines of the English Arbitration Act. It was the first legal attempt to formalize and codify the laws and procedures pertaining to the arena of arbitration by filling in the void created due to the absence of legislative enactments. The Act sought to amend and facilitate the process of Arbitration by agreement between the parties which therein gave away the need for engaging in the long-drawn tedious and complex procedures of the civil laws. However, the applicability of the Act was limited only to the presidency towns of Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta.

The Act provided that if the parties explicitly agreed in writing to refer to an arbitrator in the event of any dispute, then in the event of an eruption of any dispute, an application could be made to the court, having jurisdiction in the said matter, to enforce the arbitration agreement, the subject matter of which should be legal off course, in accordance with the provisions of the agreement and appoint an arbitrator, in absence of any agreed provision for appointment of any specific arbitrator between the parties thereto.

The Act lays down in length and breadth about the ifs and nots for appointment of an arbitrator, procedure for the perusal of the evidence, grounds of mistake for setting aside an arbitration award, powers of the court to enact arbitration agreement, enforcement of arbitration award, stay of proceedings, award of the decree, and a host of other provisions.

The scope of Arbitration further got modified and codified with the enactment of CPC in 1908 under Clause 1 to 16 of Schedule II, whereby the provisions of arbitration were extended to the other parts of India. However, the infancy of the Indian Arbitration Act with its inborn imprudence coupled with the technicalities of the CPC 1908 proved to be incapable of governing the catena of arbitration and thus paved the way for the enactment of The Arbitration Act 1940.

2. THE ARBITRATION ACT 1940
The act⁴ provided systematic and comprehensive legislation on arbitration by improving upon the shortcomings of the previous Act. It came into force on 1 st July 1940 and extended to the entire Indian territory except for the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The Act sought to amend, bolster and integrate laws relating to arbitration and provide for a hassle-free arbitration experience, thereby saving the precious time of civil courts.

The Act provided for agreement between the parties thereto for the appointment of an arbitrator by a third party and; the appointment of up to three arbitrators by the parties themselves. The appointment of an arbitrator could be revoked only by the leave of the court and further, the death of the parties did not discharge the arbitration agreement. The Act widened the horizon of the court by empowering it to appoint, modify or remove the arbitrators; or modify/ remit the arbitration award after its filing in the court, if it deemed it to be fit. The Act also imbibed the provisions for insolvency of the parties, powers of the arbitrator to grant interim awards, powers, and procedure of civil courts, etc. It is to be noted that the Act was subservient to the provisions of the Indian Limitation Act 1908.

The major flaw of the Act was that it only dealt with adjudication of domestic arbitration rewards and had no imbibed provision for the enforcement of foreign awards. Further, ineffective application of the provisions of the Act, leading to irregular and faulty proceedings gave a major blow to the applicability and usefulness of the Act. In the case of Guru Nanak Foundation v Rattan Singh⁵, the Supreme Court lamented over the inefficacious working of the Act which had led to time-consuming and complex procedural claptraps.

Despite the inherent malaise in the applicability of the act, combined with other infirmities, the act remained operational until the year 1995. The economic liberalization policy of the 1990s necessitated the creation of a favorable and conducive business environment so as to attract investments and provide speedy dispute resolutions, thereby enhancing the ease of business. Now, in order to simplify the tedious and complex court procedures and facilitate the businesses, arbitration as a method for commercial dispute resolution was encouraged and it was in this background that the Arbitration and the Conciliation Act 1996 was passed by the parliament.

3. THE ARBITRATION AND THE CONCILIATION ACT 1996
The act⁶ came into force on 25th January 1996 and repealed the Arbitration Act 1940. The Act was enacted in consideration to and in consonance with the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration.

The Act provides for domestic as well the foreign commercial arbitration coupled with the enforcement of the international awards. The Act for the first time carved out an avenue for the process of conciliation. The Act is divided into four parts, spanning 87 Sections. Part 1 provides for the procedural details of domestic arbitration and Part 2 provides for enforcement of certain foreign awards in the light of New York and Geneva conventions while Part 3 deals with the aspect of Conciliation by elucidating it in length and breadth.

In the case of Bhatia International v. Bulk Trading S.A. and Another⁷, it was held that the arbitration benches seated outside India shall be subjected to Part 1 of the 1996 Act unless it was impliedly or expressly excluded.

The Act gives paramount importance to the autonomy of parties which can be adduced by the expressions used in the Act such as “with the agreement of the parties” every now and then. The Act underpins the necessity of the arbitration agreements for enforcement of arbitration proceedings, gives full autonomy to the arbitration tribunal to carve out the procedures, and seeks to clearly distinguish between arbitration and conciliation. Moreover, the Act intends to provide for speedy resolutions which could be deduced from the fact that it did not provide a second appeal except for an appeal to the SC.

In the case of Centrotrade Minerals and Metals Inc. v. Hindustan Copper Ltd⁸, the court underpinned the fair and impartial adjudication process of the arbitration tribunals that gave paramount consideration to the party autonomy and safeguards therein. However, the court criticized the cumbersome procedure for setting aside the arbitration awards.

Given the beneficiary aspect of the said Act, it suffered from the twin malady of excessive court intervention and procedural expensiveness. Challenge of an Arbitral award under Section 34 of the Act would put an automatic stay on the execution of an award thus, making it executable. Also, a charge of excessive fees by the arbitrators and absence of time limit for adjudication of the arbitration award would make the option of arbitration altogether as a means for dispute resolution unfeasible and cumbersome.

This necessitated the needful improvisations in the said act and hence the Arbitration and Conciliation Amendment Act was passed in 2015, incorporating the required amendments.

4. THE ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION AMENDMENT ACT 2015
The act⁹ came into force on 23 rd October 2015 and sought to amend and consolidate the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996. The Act amended Section 2(1), 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 17, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 31, 34, 36, 37, 47, 48, 56, and 57, and furthermore, added a fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh schedule to the principal Act. The key features of the amended Act are as follows:

• The Act added to the meaning and interpretation of the term “courts” with respect to domestic and international arbitration. As regards domestic arbitration, the term ‘court’ shall include both principal civil courts in districts and High Courts in the exercise of their original jurisdiction and with regards to international arbitration, the term ‘court’ shall include only High Courts in the exercise of their original civil jurisdiction.
• International commercial arbitrations whose benches are seated outside India shall also be subject to the provisions of 9, 27, and 37 of the Act, and the ensuing arbitral reward of such cases shall be perfectly enforceable in India.
• As regards interim protection awarded by the courts, the arbitration proceedings shall commence within a period of 90 days or if any as determined by the court, from the date of order for grant of interim protection.
• In order to curb the unnecessary court interventions and uphold the spirit of the arbitration agreement, the act makes it necessary to refer the subject matter disputes to arbitration in case of the existence of arbitration agreements for such matters.
• The Act seeks to curb the discretionary power of CJI and bring to the center stage, the twin institutions of the Supreme Court and High Courts instead of keeping CJI and his nominated institutions at the forefront for the task of appointing arbitrators.
• The Act confers power upon the central government to amend the fourth schedule.
• In order to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the process of arbitration, the Act prescribes a period of 12 months for the completion of the arbitration proceedings under the Act and also accordingly awards the arbitrators for speedy dispute resolutions.
• To encourage transparency, impartiality, and fairness of the entire scheme of arbitration proceedings, the Act prescribes for disclosure of any past/present or direct/ indirect relationship of the arbitrator with parties thereto or subject matter of the dispute that may give rise to justifiable doubts as regards to impartiality and independence of the proceedings. The fifth schedule of the Act extensively and methodically lists out the cases of arbitrator’s relationship with parties thereto that are likely to vitiate independence and fairness of the proceedings.
• The Act provides a scope for the appointment of guardians during the course of arbitration proceedings for minors or for persons of unsound mind.
• The Act seeks to encourage to the greatest extent, the scheme for oral hearings. Moreover, the Act drives to foster the virtue of regularity as regards the arbitration proceedings and dissuades adjournments by levying heavy costs.
• The Act equips the arbitrators/ courts with discretion to determine and award the costs to be paid by the parties to each other and to the arbitrators/ courts per se.
• The Act uncovers speculations by defining the conditions that lead to a conflict of public policy in India. The conditions include the cases of fraud and contravention of Indian law and notions of morality or justice.

The case of Perkins Eastman Architects DPC and Ors. vs. HSCC (India) Ltd.¹⁰ dealt with the unilateral appointment of the arbitrators, wherein the two judges bench of SC held that a person who was ineligible to act as an arbitrator cannot appoint one of his choices and the court could exercise its power under the Section11(6) of the Arbitration Act 1996 and appoint an independent arbitrator to maintain fairness and impartiality of the proceedings.

In spite of the much-sought amendments brought in by the Amendment Act of 2015, the lack of institutionalized arbitration mechanism was deep-rooted in the country. In order to perpetuate the institutionalization of systematic arbitration, an ad-hoc committee headed by Justice B.N Srikrishna was constituted. On the lines of proposed improvements suggested by the committee, the Arbitration and Conciliation Amendment Act 2019 was enacted.

5. THE ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION AMENDMENT ACT 2019
The amendment Act of 2019¹¹ came into force on 9th August 2019. The act seeks to amend Section 2, 11, 17, 23, 29A, 34, 37, 42 43, 45, 50, and 86 of the Principal Act. The Act further adjoins the eighth schedule and part 1A to the Act. The salient features of the Act are as follows:

• The act seeks to ease out the responsibility of the already overburdened HCs and SC by provisioning the addition of arbitral institutions for presiding over the process of arbitration which shall be accordingly designated by the SC and respective HCs, thereby ensuring speedy disposal of the disputes. In the absence of designation of arbitral institutions by the HCs, the CJ of the concerned High Court shall appoint a panel of arbitrators for the purpose of discharging the said functions of arbitral institutions.
• The arbitral institutions so constituted shall have the authority to adjudicate the cases of international arbitration.
• In order to expedite the process of admittance of claims and defenses during the course of arbitration proceedings and encourage speedy disposal of cases, the act provides for completion of the above-said claims and defenses within a period of six months from the appointment of arbitrators.
• The Act curbs the extraneous application of other laws as regards appeal under this Act and provides for only those appeals that are listed and validated by Section 37 of the Act.
• The Act absolves the liability of the arbitrators from those impugned actions that are done in good faith.
• In order to boost the competency of the arbitrators, the act prescribes minimum qualifications for the appointment of the arbitrators which shall ultimately lead to the excellence of the arbitration mechanism.
• The showstopper of the amended Act is the establishment of the Arbitration council of India that will seek to regulate the niche practice of Arbitration and Conciliation in India and make the country, a booming hub for inexpensive, effective, and sought after hub for the process of arbitration. Part 1A inserted via the amendment Act of 2019, describes in length about the constitution, functioning, and governance of the Arbitration Council of India.

CONCLUSION

The practice of arbitration as means for the settlement of commercial disputes has been a popular tool. Being speedy, cost-effective, and efficient, it provides viable options for the resolution of disputes that would otherwise take tremendous time, cost, and effort of the parties involved under regular civil litigation. The legislative enactments in the field of arbitration underwent major amendments since 1899 in order to keep abreast with the latest developments. The recent amendment of 2015 and 2019 took leap-bound steps to inculcate practices that would encourage transparency, independence, and impartiality of the arbitration proceedings, thereby preventing unnecessary intervention of the courts and ensuring speedy and timebound disposal of the cases.

References:

1. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/216936738.pdf
2. http://csjournals.com/IJITKM/PDF%2010-2/21.%20Sumit.pdf
3. http://jkarchives.nic.in/Record_Holdings_PDF/Acc.%20No.%201149.pdf
4. https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1052228/
5. (1981) 4 SCC 634
6. https://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/A1996-26.pdf
7. (2002) 4 SCC 105
8. 2006 11 scc 245
9. https://lawmin.gov.in/sites/default/files/ArbitrationandConciliation.pdf
10. SC/1628/2019
11. https://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2019/210414.pdf

Written by Riya Ganguly student at Bharati Vidyapeeth New Law College, Pune.

Introduction

Over time, many changes occur in society; these changes have both beneficial and harmful consequences. As the nature of law evolves, new laws and amendments are introduced into society to regulate the violation of living beings’ rights, privacy, and security.

There’s a Bible proverb that goes something like this: “Either you can believe all of it or you can’t trust any of it,” and that’s how fake news spreads. If you can’t distinguish which news is real vs phony, which is truth vs lies, many people will quickly throw up their hands and declare that none of them can be trusted.

With the introduction of computers, the internet, social media, and networking websites, these developments, particularly on the technological front, became mass development with the introduction of computers, the internet, social media, and networking websites, which crept into and made their way into people’s lives.¹

The law of social changes as trends change. People are discovering new ways to conduct crimes in a high-tech manner as time progresses. However, by adopting new statutes and enactments, the law has broadened its jurisdiction and begun to remove these flaws from society. As a result, the Government of India has submitted a bill called the Fake News (Prohibition) Bill, 2019.

Fake News Prohibition Bill, 2019

The Fake News (Prohibition) Bill of 2019 was passed to make it illegal to create and distribute fake news in the media, as well as other related issues. In India, fake news refers to misinformation or disinformation conveyed by word of mouth and conventional media, as well as more recently through digital modes of communication such as altered videos, memes, unconfirmed adverts, and rumors circulated on social media. This statute applies to the entire country of India, it includes:

a) Misquotation of one’s remark is an example of fake news.
b) Altering audio and video files, causing facts and context to be distorted.
c) For the advantage of a person, agency, or entity.

Objectives of the Bill

Fake news has made it easier to spread false information in the era of the internet, where anybody can submit a report or a comment that appears to be a news item and declare it to be accurate and factual. Fake news or information must display or intend to exhibit propaganda to blacken or disgrace one’s reputation or create or plan to induce fear, division, turmoil, violence, or hate. Due to the propagation of fake news on social media platforms such as Whatsapp, Facebook, and Twitter, a huge number of mob lynching occurrences have been recorded around the country. Political parties were also discovered to be distributing misinformation on social media during the country’s elections, according to studies.

To control and the spread of fake news in any form, whether it is through circulation, sharing, misquotation of statements, editing of audio and video clips, fabricating content, undermining, sowing seeds of enmity, sedition, hatred, disseminate, edit, abet, etc., a debate took place in the House of Lok Sabha on the subject on February 8, 2019, and Shri. Tej Pratap Singh from Mainpuri proposed before the Hon’ble Chairperson to introduce The Indian media research organization CMS indicated in a report by The Guardian that the growth of false news was due to India’s “lack of (a) media strategy for verification.” Additionally, reporters and journalists have been imprisoned for “making false stories, “particularly when the pieces were contentious.

Fake News in India

In Alakh Alok Srivastava v. Union of India², the Supreme Court of India acknowledged the problem of infodemics in India and issued an order for state governments to follow the Centre’s orders to combat the threat of fake news. The top court also highlighted the necessity for the government of India to provide a daily bulletin through all media outlets as a source of real-time verifiable information on Covid-19 to alleviate the fear and apprehension generated by the uncontrolled flow of fake news.

The recent mass evacuation of migrant workers was caused, according to this petition, by the anxiety induced in the minds of the laborers as a result of bogus news that inflated the duration of the lockdown to endure for more than three months. Poor migrant laborers were killed as a result of this evacuation, which was brought about by the distribution of illicit information.

Fake news spread over WhatsApp in Odisha, claiming that a person from outside the state had been sick. After an inquiry, the police discovered that the claim was untrue. At the time, India lacks a specialized law to control false news; yet the epidemic is demonstrating the necessity for one.

Provisions of different laws in India

Information Technology Act, 2008 (IT Act)
In India, social media platforms that are classified as ‘intermediaries’ under Section 79(2)(c) of the Information Technology Act, 2008 are obligated to exercise due diligence when performing their tasks. Initially, under the Act and the April 2011 guidelines, intermediaries were not liable if they were not responsible for the origination, transmission, or reception of such content across their reach. As a result of this change, intermediaries gained protection, allowing them to be slackers in their efforts to combat bogus news.

When the government realized its error, it devised a remedy on the opposite extreme of the spectrum, instructing intermediaries to proactively block information. These restrictions have been compared to censorship in China. The government can use this as a political weapon to suppress stuff that does not benefit them. The free expression would be harmed by such a law.

Indian Penal Code (IPC)³
Section 505(1)(b) of the IPC deals with the dissemination of false and malicious material that causes fear or panic in the general public, or in any segment of the general public, with the intent of inducing an individual to commit an offense against the state or public peace. The offender under this section can be punished with imprisonment of a maximum of 6 years and a fine. Section 505(1)(b) combined with Section 54 of the DMA have been envisaged to include the expansion of fake news to a large extent.

The actual issue with fake news is fraudulent information that is disguised as real news in the form of unpaid pieces. The malice requirement might be avoided, and the spreader of misleading information could face severe responsibility and exemplary damages. The implementation of strict responsibility, on the other hand, would need tracking the disinformation back to its source, which has been recognized as a time-consuming and inefficient procedure.

Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DMA)⁴
Section 54 of the DMA professes to handle ‘false alarm or warning as to disaster or its severity or magnitude, leading to panic’ and this has been applied while recording arrests so far. It makes the offense punishable with imprisonment up to 1 year and the imposition of a fine. The same provision, on the other hand, has long been criticized for being too narrowly focused on catastrophes at a time when the breadth of false news is far broader.

While this one-of-a-kind characteristic of the Act restricts its use to disasters, it does have a good side effect. It ensures that the use of this clause does not extend beyond the extraordinary circumstances of a disaster, preventing the government from using it to further restrict free expression.

Curbing Fake News within Jurisprudence

Restriction of some rights can be permissible in the context of major public health hazards and public emergencies endangering the nation’s survival, according to international human rights law. The size and severity of the Covid-19 epidemic have elevated it to the status of public health danger, justifying limits on freedom of expression and speech. Such limits, however, must adhere to the standards of international human rights law. The same has been enshrined under Article 19(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)⁵ which requires the limitations to have a legal basis, to be solely significant, to be subject to review, and to be proportionate to acquire the aim. While it is vital to take steps to prevent the spread of disinformation, there is an unintended consequence. Efforts to combat false news might result in the imposition of censorship laws or the suppression of critical thinking that is essential to make educated judgments. To combat the spread of disinformation, Thailand’s government recently enacted restrictions that included a blanket prohibition on communications that are either “false” or “misleading”. The Thai government used this method to detain an artist who challenged the government’s reaction to the current public health crisis.

Concluding Observations

During this situation, it is critical to combat bogus news. It should not, however, come at the price of free expression. Temporary measures that take away some liberties in the near term but do not turn out to be a political weapon for any ruling administration are the way ahead in suppressing free expression. Temporary measures will allow the government to make necessary modifications to the current system to safeguard us. We should allow the government to protect us in our weak state, but this should not result in the government abusing our frailty. To combat the rapid spread of fake news, the government must collaborate with the public and intermediaries. We must do so; else, fake news may prove to be as deadly as the epidemic. Without a question, the problem of fake news and fake is growing like wildfire around the globe, necessitating the passage of legislation to regulate and restrict the transmission of fake news on social media and other platforms. The bill was constructed and prepared with the goal of prohibiting the transmission and distribution of false news, and thus “The Fake News (Prohibition) Bill, 2019” was created and presented to the Lok Sabha.

References:

1. Critical analysis of the Fake News (Prohibition) Bill, 2019, by Yogesh V Nayyar, Advocate in Supreme court. https://blog.ipleaders.in/critical-analysis-fake-news-prohibition-bill-2019/
2. ALAKH ALOK SRIVASTAVA v. UNION OF INDIA, Supreme Court Of India, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 76 Of 2018 | 01-05-2018 https://indiankanoon.org/doc/129422211/
3. THE INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860 ACT NO. 45 OF 1860 1* [6th October 1860.]
4. Disaster Management Act (DMA), Power to remove difficulties. [23rd December 2005.] https://www.ndmindia.nic.in/images/The%20Disaster%20Management%20Act,%202005.pdf
5. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 999, p. 171 https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3aa0.html

Written by Hemant Bohra student at School of Law, Lovely Professional University, Punjab.

INTRODUCTION

One of the main changes in India’s overall set of laws is the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. This is on the grounds that the IBC does not just make India more grounded as far as the lawful structure, yet it additionally gives it another financial character and acknowledgment on an overall scale. If a disagreement emerges concerning bankruptcy, the debtor and the creditor have the authority to commence insolvency procedures against each other under the IBC, which is a combined study of numerous legal committees. With the President of India’s consent, the Insolvency, and bankruptcy Code 2016 became effective on May 28, 2016. Before that, there were long cycles that didn’t impressively offer a financially functional arrangement anyway as of now, this code is a one-stop reply for settling liquidations. To give a single guideline to Insolvency and Bankruptcy related issues, the Indian Insolvency framework went through a complete upgrade blending a couple of past guidelines (merging of 13 existing laws).

INSOLVENCY & BANKRUPTCY CODE, 2013

Meaning – Insolvency generally occurs when a person is unable to pay their debts to the creditor at the expected time frame. Bankruptcy, on the other hand, occurs when a court of competent jurisdiction declares a person or a business insolvent and issues necessary instructions to rectify the situation and safeguard creditors’ interests. Bankruptcy is a legal process by which an insolvent borrower seeks relief from his or her creditors.

Evolution – A statute was passed in 1828 that marked the commencement of insolvency-related law in India. In 1848, the Indian Insolvency Act established a division between traders and non-traders. There was no legislation dealing with insolvencies in non-presidency districts until 1907. The new Companies Act was approved in 2013, making several modifications to the corporate insolvency procedure.¹ Chapter XIX of the Firms Act of 2013 dealt with the resurrection and rehabilitation of ill companies. This chapter has been removed since the IB Code now covers the full revival/rehabilitation method or mechanism. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 consists of 255 sections (divided into 5 parts) and 11 schedules. At this point, the IBC is the main regulation that oversees indebtedness, insolvency, and the recreation of failed organizations, reducing the job of earlier regulations.

FUNCTIONS & PROVISIONS OF IBC, 2016

The 2016 Code lays out a period-restricted strategy for settling indebtedness. At the point when a debt holder defaults on an installment, loan bosses hold onto responsibility for the debt holder’s resources and have 180 days to settle the indebtedness. To guarantee that the goal cycle chugs along as expected, the Code awards debt holders’ resistance from banks’ goal claims during this time. The Code likewise unites components from existing regulation to give a solitary scene to borrowers and lenders, all things considered, to address bankruptcy.

The IBC, 2016, specifies a Rs 1 crore least boundary for starting the pre-packaged bankruptcy goal strategy. It considers the excusal of simultaneous bankruptcy goal process and pre-packaged indebtedness goal process petitions documented against a similar corporate borrower. Punishment for starting a pre-packaged liquidation goal strategy deceitfully or malignantly to misdirect others, as well concerning the fake organization of the corporate indebted person during the cycle. Offenses including the pre-staging insolvency goal strategy are culpable.

RELATION OF NCLT WITH IBC

In contrast to concerns expressed during the IBC’s creation and later talks regarding the difficulty of quickly installing adjudicating capability, the NCLT is capable of fulfilling the job of adjudication under the IBC. While the NCLT’s present operation has defied expectations from previous insolvency cases, there are clear gaps between how the NCLT operates under the IBC and what is intended by the statute.² The empirical investigation on whether the NCLT is able to provide judgments within the timeframes required by law, as well as if the judgments are consistent with the function envisioned by the legislation, reveals that there exist gaps. From an adjudicating authority for the Insolvency redressal process of companies and individuals to the power prescribed to NCLT, it can be said that NCLT plays the most important role under IBC. It provides simplicity for financial creditors, operational creditors, and corporations to collect money from debtors.

PROCESS OF INSOLVENCY RESOLUTION

Corporate Insolvency Resolution: During the resolution of Corporate Insolvency, the creditor should record an application with the NCLT for starting bankruptcy redressal procedures. The NCLT will be expected to either acknowledge or dismiss the application within 14 days of documenting the application. When the application has been acknowledged by the NCLT, the administration of the indebted person is suspended and the transitional power, selected by the NCLT and alluded to as the ‘break indebtedness goal proficient’ assumes control over the administration of the corporate debt holder. Further, as soon the application for CIRP is conceded by the NCLT, a ban produces results on the corporate indebted person, which forbids the continuation or commencement of any legal actions against the debt holder, the exchange of its resources, or the requirement of any security interest. Within 30 days of the NCLT admitting the application for CIRP, the interim resolution expert reviews the creditors’ claims and forms the creditors’ committee. The panel of loan bosses then, at that point, names a free individual as the goal proficient, alluded to as the Insolvency Resolution Professional (‘IRP’) to assume control over the administration of the corporate borrower for the rest of the CIRP. Within 180 days of the commencement of the CIRP, the IRP is expected to draw up a goal plan for the restoration of the corporate borrower. Such an arrangement should be supported by lenders holding no less than 75% of the obligation of the corporate account holder.³

CASE LAWS – IBC

In Aditya Enterprises vs Rajratan Exim Pvt. Ltd.⁴, due to the non-payment of a debt owed to them by a corporate debtor, Aditya Enterprises applied. The adjudicating body stated that just receiving a loan cannot be considered an operational/financial obligation; nevertheless, the purpose of the loan is equally significant. Because the receipt makes no indication of the corporate debtor taking the loan for commercial purposes. The presence of a disagreement does not preclude the occurrence of a default; there is no indication that a due date exists.

In Sree Metaliks Limited and another V. UOI and Anr.⁵, The petitioner had challenged Section 7 of the 2016 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, as well as the provisions governing it, in the 2016 Law of Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Application to the Adjudicating Authority). In a petition lodged under section 7 of the IBC, the petitioner contended that IBC 2016 did not provide any chances to hear from a corporate debtor. The Calcutta High Court stated that the necessity for NCLT and NCLAT to follow natural justice principles may be found in Section 7(4) of the Code and Rule 4 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Application to Adjudicating Authority) Rules, 2016. It was decided that the NCLT must provide the financial debtor a reasonable chance to present his or her case before admitting the petition filed under Section 7 of the Code.

In Bank of Baroda V.Rotomac Global Pvt. Ltd and Rotomac Exports Pvt Ltd⁶ The COC was suggested by the resolution professional for a 90-day extension of the CIRP. The COC, on the other hand, voted against it. As a result, the RP filed for the corporate debtor’s liquidation. The Competent authority held that the resolution to extend CIRP failed because no resolution plan was submitted within 180 days of the program’s start. As a result, the liquidation of a corporate debtor was acknowledged.

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS

Since the inception of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in 2016, the issues relating to creditors and debtors have vastly improved. It has recognized the competent authority for the implementation of more efficient laws since the existing insolvency legislation does not demonstrate reliability due to issues such as delays in appointment and permissions, stock of non-performing assets, and so on. It needs to strengthen the process by attracting a broader variety of strategic purchasers who are prepared to bid on assets and present resolution plans following the code. It can also improve by putting in place more and more effective Asset Reconstruction Companies to help with dispute settlement.

References:

1. https://housing.com/news/ibc-insolvency-and-bankruptcy-code/
2. https://journalsofindia.com/nclat-ibc-and-companies-act/#:~:text=Its%20role%20under%20IBC%3A%20NCLT%20is%20the%20adjudicating,or%20operation%20creditors%20or%20the%20corporate%20debtor%20itself.
3. https://gamechangerlaw.com/ibc-2016-overview-of-the-insolvency-and-bankruptcy-code-2016/
4. https://indiankanoon.org/doc/33528420/
5. https://indiankanoon.org/doc/164560992/
6. https://www.soolegal.com/rc/bank-of-baroda-vs-rotomac-global-pvt-ltd-and-roromac-exports-pvt-ltd-cp-no-ib-70-ald-2017-with-ca-no-74-2018-

Written by Hemant Bohra student at School of Law, Lovely Professional University, Punjab.

All individuals who have been a victim of crime have had themselves and their families affected, significantly making monetary misfortunes to the people in question. And the effect of these crimes and wrongdoings on the people in question and their families goes from genuine physical and mental wounds to perpetual aggravations. These consequences should immediately be changed and adhered to by giving care and attention to those affected through several measures and laws, giving them simple admittance to equity. Even if they have observed help and help from their family, clan, or the local area, they have, all things considered, stayed “failed to be a remembered individual” in the criminal justice administration system.

DEFINITION OF VICTIM

Within the Indian legal framework, the term victim is defined under Section 2(wa) of the CrPC, 1973 as ‘individual who has endured hurt, either physical or mental injury, torment, financial misfortune or infringement of their freedom, through acts or oversights viewed as violative of Indian criminal regulations including those regulations that endorse criminal maltreatment of influence’. The U.N Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, on 29 November 1985 gave an extensive definition to the victim ‘as a person who, individually or collectively, have suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss, or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that are in violations of criminal laws operative within member states, including those laws proscribing criminal abuse of power’.

INDIA’S CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM

The law enforcement framework which India has adopted stems from what the British called the ‘adversarial legal system’. The working of the Indian law enforcement framework relies upon the four support points and these four points of support are police, prosecution, judiciary, and the correctional institutions. For fair and speedy outcomes, these four points of support need to work actually by coordinating one another. The two primary criminal laws of India are the Indian Penal Code, 1860 which characterizes the offense and gives its discipline and the other is Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 which recommends the technique for examination, indictment, and a criminal preliminary. The middle has the ability to make regulations and change criminal regulations under the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution. However, it is mostly catered to the rights of the accused and altogether ignores that of the victim in the delivery of justice.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED AND THE VICTIM

There seems to be a mismatch when it comes to the protection of the accused and the victim. If anything, it appears that the Indian Criminal Justice System has more rights reserved for the accused. This includes different privileges, safeguards, and shields given by the Code of Criminal Procedural Law like the right against self-incrimination, the presumption of innocence, the right to legal assistance, and the others like the ‘right to fair trial’ such as the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, right of the accused to be informed of charges before the trial and the right to a lawyer and be defended, etc. Even the accused is heavily guarded under Articles 20, 21, and 22 of the Constitution.

Thus, it has been said many times that the victim’s role is merely reduced to being a ‘witness’ and has limited rights during criminal proceedings. A case example can be Parvinder Kansal vs State of NCT of Delhi (2020), where the father of the deceased son gave an appeal to enhance the imprisonment sentence of the accused but it was denied on the ground that the victim does not have such right to do so regarding the present provisions in the CRPC. Prior to this, there were recommendations given by the Malimath Committee and the Law Commission, where the legislature inserted a provision in section 372 of the Code through the Amendment Act of 2008 to provide victims their right of appeal and again the National Commission of Women to seek enhancement of appeals.

RIGHTS FOR THE VICTIMS

The definition of the victim provided under the CRPC proves to be insufficient and restricted comparatively to one given by the UN Declaration adopted by the General Assembly. The rights defined for the victim under this includes access to justice and fair treatment, Compensation, Victim’s assistance inter alia, for countries to have a guideline to trace. But India’s system has barely been touching these minimal standards and norms.

It was after many studies about whether victims who have been compensated were satisfied or not like in cases of gang robbers, motor accidents, etc. Issues regarding women victim issues led to mobilizations and protests in the past years resulting in amendments and numerous organizations being formed and introduced like protection of women against acid attacks (Sec. 326A20 and 326B21), voyeurism (Sec. 345C), stalking (Sec. 345D) and sexual harassment (Sec. 345A), and expanded the definition of rape (Sec. 375) under the Indian Penal Code as an addition to the existing
the victim’s right to compensation.

CONCLUSION

Considering the fact that India follows a Common Law system where it is subjected to transformations based on the context and case situations, it is not surprising to determine that the accused is sometimes labeled as a ‘victim’, therefore multiple rights are conferred to them. Keeping that aside, the scenario of the accused having more rights than the victim itself should not be ignored where the system should give importance, if not more to the victim.

However, it is important that the system comes up with different acts and comprehensive plans and programs to cater to the needs of the victim. This can be done through emotional and financial assistance. The support points of law enforcement which are the police, lawyers and prosecutors, NGOs, etc. should be effective in their field of work and correct the flaw of delay. Corresponding to commendable actions taken by the system sometimes, more distributions should be made to the study of ‘victimology’ for expansion so that further steps can be ventured into protecting
the victims.

Written by Tingjin Marak, a student at Ajeenkya DY Patil University, Pune.