Top Legal Headlines - 23rd March, 2021 | Delhi government lowers legal drinking age to 21 years

Delhi government lowers legal drinking age to 21 years, decides not to open new liquor shops

• On Monday, the Delhi Cabinet, approved a new excise policy lowering the minimum age for consumption of liquor to 21 years from 25 years which was announced by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
• According to this new excise policy, no new liquor shops will be opened in Delhi and the government will not run any liquor shops.
• This new policy was recommended by the Group of Ministers which was approved by the Cabinet.
• Lastly, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia at a press conference stated that, “Government will ensure equitable distribution of liquor shops so that liquor mafia are thrown out of the trade. A revenue growth of 20 per cent is estimated after the reforms in excise department”

Calcutta High Court Seeks State's Response: Compensation For Man In Prison For Over 41 Years

• Calcutta High Court, on Monday (22nd March), Dealing with the case of a Nepali man who was arrested about 41 years ago and since then he had been under detention and was released recently.
• The High Court has asked the State Government to submit its response on providing him compensation/damages.
• The Bench comprising of Chief Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice Aniruddha Roy further directed the West Bengal Police to collect details from all the correctional homes in the State of West Bengal regarding the undertrials, who are unfit to stand trial as of now, under of Chapter XXV of Cr.P.C
• In addition, the Court directed the Additional Director General and Inspector-General of Police, Correctional Services, West Bengal Police to file (by 25th March 2021) Status report of UTPs who are eligible for release under Sections 436 and 436A of the Cr.P.C. shall also be separately available.

Kerala High Court Dismisses NDA Candidates' Petitions Challenging Rejection Of Election Nominations

• On Monday, Kerala High Court dismissed the petitions which were filed by three candidates of the National Democratic Alliance(NDA) in which they were challenging the rejection of their election nominations for the upcoming elections in State assembly.
• The Bench which was headed by Justice N Nagersh dismissed the writ petitions filed by BJP candidates N Haridas and Nivedida Subramaniam, and AIADMK candidate RM Dhanalakshmi, whose nominations to contest from Thalassery, Guravayoor and Devikulam constituencies.
• They were rejected on the ground that the forms submitted by them did not have the signature of party president.
• The bench held that the Court cannot intervene with the decisions taken by the Returning Officers of the respective constituencies to reject the nominations papers for not fulfilling the mandatory requirements.
• Furthermore the bench observed that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has plenary powers under Article 324 of the Constitution to make corrections to any error or deficiency in the electoral process.
• Consequently, it was held that it will be open to the ECI to look into the allegations made by the petitioners and take remedial measures, as found necessary.
• In this judgment it was noticed by the bench as they expressed concerns regarding the non-uniform parameters adopted by Returning Officers of different constituencies.

Supreme Court: "Digitally Sign Judgments/Orders to Show Authenticity; Watermarks Make Navigation A Nightmare"

• The Supreme Court of India on Monday, expressed that High Courts and Tribunals must abstain from placing water-marks on their orders and judgments as it significantly hampers easy access to the document.
• This decision came in the course of the hearing of a matter when the bench consisting of Justices Chandrachud and MR Shah was perusing a decision of the NGT, which follows the practice of water marking its orders.
• In response to this, Senior advocate V Giri, who was appearing in the matter, also pointed out that a lot of High Courts also tend to use water marks on their orders

Plea In Supreme Court Seeks Compounding Of POCSO Offences In Cases Of Teenage Relationships

• A special leave petition has been field before the Supreme Court raising the issue that whether an adolescent boy, who enters into a relationship with a girl who is less than 18 years of age, can be punished for the offence of sexual assault under the POCSO Act.
• The petition is against an order of the Madras High Court in Maruthupandi v. State, holding that even if a minor girl falls in love and develops a consensual relationship with her partner, the provisions of POCSO Act will be attracted against the latter.
• This order was headed by the Bench of Justice P. Velmurugan who refused to allow an application moved by the accused seeking compounding of the offence, on the ground that any offence committed under the POCSO Act is not compoundable offence.
• Furthermore, an application was moved for taking of additional evidence of the victim to the effect that both of them had been living together for the past four years and that their relationship was consensual.
• The application of Plea was ultimately dismissed.

International news

Uber Drivers Are 'Workers'; Not Independent Contractors : United Kingdom Supreme Court

• On Friday, The United Kingdom Supreme Court held the group of Uber drivers that brought the case to an employment tribunal were not independent contractors because their activities were "very tightly defined and controlled by Uber.
• Consequently, Uber is reviewing how it treats thousands of drivers in the United Kingdom after the Supreme Court upheld a ruling that they should be classified as workers and not independent contractors.
• This decision could change how Uber (UBER) does business in the United Kingdom. The next step is for an employment tribunal to decide how to compensate dozens of claimants.
• This case may set a precedent for other workers and companies in the broader gig economy, which has thrived during the pandemic due to a sharp increase in demand for food deliveries and other services.

China orders Husband to pay his Wife for Household work

• In a landmark to judgement, a divorce court in China ordered that the man should pay his wife for the household work she had done during the time they were married.
• The court observed that the woman's work done to keep the house running as unpaid labour and consequently directed the man to give $7,700 to his wife for the five years she had toiled in his house.
• The case although sparked a positive ripple effect but it has also sparked an online debate and many people believe that though the court decision is a step in the right direction, the compensation given to the woman might be lesser than she deserves.