CURRENT LEGAL

KNOWLEDGE FOR
DELHI JUDICIAL SERVICES
PRELIMINARY
EXAMINATIONS

(Part - 3)
“Law is a jealous mistress and it
requires a long and constant
courtship. It is not to be won by
trifling favors but by lavish
homage”

- Joseph Story
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Material and PDFs
 Dynamics Covered in the Series

1.Static Legal General Knowledge – India

2.Static Legal General Knowledge – Delhi
3.Recent Judgments – Supreme Court
and Delhi High Court
4.Statutes and Legislations in News
5.Amendments and Appointments
6.National and International Legal
Current Affairs
 Current Legal Knowledge
A. The Mediation Act of 2023

1. Received the assent of the President on September 14, 2023

- Section 3(h) of the Act defines mediation as the process whereby parties attempt to
reach an amicable settlement of their dispute with the assistance of a third person referred
to as a mediator, who does not have the authority to impose a settlement upon the parties
to the dispute. The said section includes and refers to pre-litigation mediation, online
mediation, community mediation, conciliation, or an expression of similar import while
defining
“mediation”

2. Applicable to – (Sec.2)
i. All parties habitually reside or are incorporated in or have their place of business in India,
or
ii. The mediation agreement provides for dispute resolution in accordance with the Act, or
iii. There is an international mediation, or
iv. One of the parties to the dispute is the Central government or a State government
or agencies
v. The dispute is deemed appropriate and notified by the Central government or a State
government from time to time, for resolution through mediation under this Act
 Current Legal Knowledge
A. The Mediation Act of 2023

3. Not Applicable to- (Sec.6)

a) Disputes against minors, deities, and persons with intellectual disabilities,

b) Prosecution of criminal offenses,
c) Any dispute relating to the levy, collection, penalties, direct or indirect tax refunds,
d) Complaints or proceedings initiated before any statutory authority or body in relation to
the registration, discipline, misconduct of any practitioner, or other registered professionals,
e) Disputes which have an effect on the rights of a third party who is not a party to
the mediation proceedings, except in matrimonial disputes where the interest of a
child is involved.
f) Any investigation, inquiry, or proceeding before the Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India, Telecom Disputes Settlement Commissions, Securities and Exchange Board of India,
Securities Appellate Tribunal, Appellate Tribunal, and under the Competition Act of 2002,
etc.
g) Land acquisition and determination of compensation under land acquisition laws or
any provision of law providing for land acquisition.

4. Time period – (Sec.18)

120 days from the date of the first appearance or for an extended time frame of 180
days if agreed upon by the parties.
 Current Legal Knowledge
A. The Mediation Act of 2023

5. The Regulator: Mediation Council of India

The central government will establish the Mediation Council of India (“Council”) as
per the constitution prescribed under the Act. The Council has been constituted to
register, recognize and regulate mediation institutions and mediators in India. The
Council is also tasked to promote international and domestic mediation in India,
facilitate and conduct continuous training, education and certifications in mediation,
and also maintain a depository of mediation settlement agreements made in India.

6. Loopholes:

The most significant and glaring lacuna is that the Act does not provide for
enforcement of mediated settlement agreements from international mediations
conducted outside India. The other aspects which leave too much room for
interpretation are the provisions for interim reliefs and appointment of mediators
(especially when compared to the provisions under the Arbitration and Conciliation
Act, 1996).
 Current Legal Knowledge
B.- The New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Bill,
2022

- A bill to rename the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre as

the India International Arbitration Centre.

- Because - "Even in Delhi, another body Delhi Arbitration Centre [DAC] is

functioning".

- "It will not be good to have two arbitration centres having the same name of
Delhi,“ – Kiren Rijiju reasoned
 Current Legal Knowledge - Miscellaneous
1. Corruption Perception Index – Transperancy Internationals – India Rank
85th – 1st Denmark – Last 180th Somalia
2. Current Sitting Strength of Supreme Court –
34 Newly added Judges –

A. Justice Satish Chandra Sharma

B. Justice Augustine George Masih
C. Justice Sandeep Mehta

3. Newly introduced Criminal Laws

i. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (356) - New Penal Bill – IPC (511)
ii. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (533) - New Procedure Bill – CrPC
(484)
iii. Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 (170)- New Evidence Bill – IEA (167)

**Comparative Study PDF is available at the Telegram handle -

https://t.me/theshubhamsir
 Static Legal General Knowledge – Books & Authors

1. Before Memory Fades: An Autobiography by Fali S Nariman

2. Tomorrow’s Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future by Richard Susskind
3. Nani Palkhivala: The Courtroom Genius by Soli J Sorabjee and Arvind P Datar
4. Letters to a Law Student by Nicholas J. McBride
5. Roses in December: An Auto-Biography by MC Chagla
6. Legal Eagles: Stories of the Top Seven Indian Lawyers by Indu Bhan
7. 10 Judgements That Changed India by Zia Mody
8. We, the People by Nani A. Palkhivala
9. We, the Nation: the Lost Decades by Nani A. Palkhivala
10. One L : Scott Turow
11. The Trial by Franz Kafka
12. The Firm by John Grisham
13. The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of A Nation by Granville Austin
14. Working in a Democratic Constitution: A History of the Indian Experience by
Granville Austin
15. Landmark Judgments that Changed India - Justice AK Ganguly
16. Cases That India Forgot - Chintan Chandrachud
17. The Case that Shook India: The Verdict That Led to the Emergency - Prashant Bhushan
18. The Supreme Court and Politics - Upendra Baxi
19. Courting the People: Public Interest Litigation in Post-Emergency India – Anuj Bhuwania
20. The Idea of Justice - Amartya Sen
Static Legal General Knowledge – Books & Authors
For the List of More Books – Go to the Link provided in the PDF

https://bitly.ws/32xNJ
Recent Landmark Judgments – 2022
1.Aishat Sifha v. State of Karnataka, 2022
2.Jacob Puliyel v. Union of India, 2022
3.Satendra Kumar v. CBI, 2022
4. Arunachala Gounder v. Ponnusamy, 2022
5.Neeraj Dutta v State (Govt of NCT
Delhi), 2022
 Aishat Sifha v. State of Karnataka, 2022
Bench - Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia

Justice Dhulia :-

“The High Court took a wrong path. It is ultimately a matter of

choice and Article 19(1)(a) and 25(1). It is a matter of choice,
nothing more and nothing less,”

Justice Gupta :- Confirmed the decision of the Karnataka High

Court
 Jacob Puliyel v. Union of India, 2022

Bench - Justices L Nageswara Rao and BR Gavai

Guidelines :-

- No individual can be forced to receive Covid Vaccinations

- “Bodily integrity is protected under Article 21 of the

Constitution of India, and no individual can be forced to be
vaccinated.”
 Satendra Kumar v. CBI, 2022

Bench Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, M.M. Sundresh

Guidelines :-

•The courts must satisfy themselves on the compliance of Sections 41 and 41A of
the Code. Any non-compliance would entitle the accused to grant bail.
•While considering the application under Sections 88, 170, 204, and 209 of the Code,
a bail application need not be compulsorily filed.
• The State and Central Governments must comply with the directions issued by SC
with respect to the constitution of special courts.
• The High Courts are directed to look for the undertrial prisoners who are unable
to comply with the bail conditions and take appropriate action in light of Section 440 of
the Code to facilitate their release.
• Bail applications ought to be disposed of within a period of two weeks except if the
provisions mandate otherwise, with the exception being an intervening application.
Applications for anticipatory bail are expected to be disposed of within six weeks, except
for any intervening application.
 Arunachala Gounder v. Ponnusamy, 2022
Bench- Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Krishna Murari

Guidelines :-

• After analyzing Hindu laws, customs, and judicial precedents,

the Court held that the right of a widow or daughter to inherit
the self-acquired property or share received in the partition of
a coparcenary property of a Hindu male dying intestate is
well recognized not only under the old customary Hindu Law
but also by various judicial pronouncements.
 Neeraj Dutta v State (Govt of NCT
Delhi), 2022
Bench- Justices S. Abdul Nazeer, B. R. Gavai, A. S. Bopanna, V.
Ramasubramanian, B. V. Nagarathna

Guidelines :-

• Bench unanimously held that public officials can be

convicted of bribery or ‘illegal gratification’ based on
circumstantial evidence. The passing away of the primary
witness would not affect the case, if circumstantial evidence
was strong.
 Recent Landmark Judgments - 2023

1.The Animal Welfare Board of India And Ors.

v. UoI And Anr. , 2023
2.Shilpa Sailesh v Varun Sreenivasan, 2023
3.M/s. N.N. Global Mercantile Pvt. Ltd. v.
M/s. Indo Unique Flame Ltd. And Ors, 2023
4.State through CBI v. T. Gangi Reddy
@ Yerra Gnagi Reddy , 2023
5.Jabir vs State of Uttarakhand, 2023
The Animal Welfare Board of India And Ors.
v. UOI and Ors, 2023
Bench - Justices K.M. Joseph, Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh
Roy, C.T. Ravikumar

Guidelines:

- As per the materials placed before the Court, Jallikattu is going in Tamil
Nadu for at least last one century and whether or not it as an integral part
of Tamil culture could not have been decided by the Court.

- "When legislature has declared that Jallikattu is part of cultural heritage

of TN state, judiciary cannot take a different view. Legislature is best suited
to decide that."
 Shilpa Sailesh v Varun Sreenivasan, 2023
Bench - SANJAY KISHAN KAUL; J., SANJIV KHANNA; J., ABHAY S.
OKA; J., VIKRAM NATH; J., J.K. MAHESHWARI; J

Guidelines:

• The Constitution Bench held that the Supreme Court had the power
to grant divorce to parties who directly approached it, by using the
SC's discretionary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of
India.
• Supreme Court clarified that a party cannot file a writ petition under
Article 32 of the Constitution of India and seek relief of dissolution of
marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage
directly from it.
 M/s. N.N. Global Mercantile Pvt. Ltd. v.
M/s. Indo Unique Flame Ltd. And Ors, 2023
Bench - Justice K.M. Joseph, Justice Ajay Rastogi, Justice Aniruddha Bose,
Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice C.T. Ravikumar

Guidelines:

• Constitution Bench, by a 3:2 split, ruled that unstamped arbitration

agreements are not enforceable until the stamp duty is paid.
• The majority ruled that per the Indian contract law and Garware Wall
Ropes (2019), Courts will be unable to recognise the validity of
arbitration agreements if the stamp duty is unpaid. The SC reasoned that
it can refer parties to arbitration only after it receives a ‘certified copy’
of the arbitration agreement, which requires stamp duty to be paid.
 State through CBI v. T. Gangi Reddy @ Yerra
Gangi Reddy
Bench - Justice M.R. Shah and Justice C.T. Ravikumar

Guidelines:

• The Supreme Court has held that there is no bar in cancelling default
bail on merits after the presentation of chargesheet. The question that
arose in the case was whether default bail can be cancelled after
presentation of chargesheet, when it was granted for not filing it
within 90 days as per the CrPC.
 Jabir vs State of Uttarakhand, 2023
Bench - Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and P S Narasimha

Guidelines:

• The court should not convict an accused only on the basis of the
“last seen” circumstance, the Supreme Court observed while setting
aside concurrent conviction of murder accused. The bench observed
that the “last seen” doctrine has limited application, where the time
lag between the time the deceased was seen last with the accused,
and the time of murder, is narrow.
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