Page 2 - Law Ministry

Govt notifies constitution of 23rd Law Commission for three-year period

The government on Monday notified the constitution of the 23rd Law Commission for a period of three years, with serving Supreme Court and high court judges as its chairperson and members. The term of the 22nd law panel ended on August 31. According to a law ministry order issued late Monday through a gazette notification, the panel will have a full-time chairperson and four full-time members including member-secretary. The secretary of the Department of Legal Affairs and the secretary of the Legislative Department will be its ex-officio members. There cannot be more than five part-time members, according to the order. It said the chairperson/members of the Law Commission "who are serving judges of the Supreme Court/High Court shall perform their functions on a whole-time basis up to the date of retirement from the Supreme Court/High Court or expiry of the term of the Commission, whichever be earlier". The time spent by them in the performance of such functions as chairperson/ Memb

Meghwal calls for breaking 'taarikh pe taarikh' perception about judiciary

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Sunday called for collective efforts to break the common perception that justice delivery system in India suffers from "taarikh pe taarikh culture" and asserted such efforts will strengthen the trust factor among citizens. He also proposed a critical analysis of 'aging of pending litigation'. The minister said aging analyses and clubbing of similar cases can help reduce pendency in the courts and lauded some of the high courts for putting such a system in place. Addressing the valedictory session of national conference of district judiciary here in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu, Meghwal said his ministry has proposed a target of "justice for all". The programme proposes affordable, speedy and technology-enabled citizen-centric justice at doorstep for the people. "It is the collective responsibility of all those present at the programme to break the common perception that the justice delivery system has a taarikh pe taarikh culture," he

Improve skills to avoid mistakes in bill drafting: LM Meghwal to officials

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Wednesday stressed the need to have strong communication skills, especially in his ministry as he cited mistakes in the draft women's reservation bill which resulted in officials sitting past midnight to rectify the flaws. He said communication skills have a major role in the legislative department which helps ministries draft bills, ordinances and key policy documents. Small mistakes in the application of commas and full stops can create problems, he said. "We saw this in Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Women's reservation bill). There were so many mistakes. We had to make officials sit late in the night... perhaps till 2 am... this is not what was said, how did you reach such a conclusion (such issues were pointed out)... you have to understand and learn the communication part more," he told a gathering of legislative department officials. He was addressing officials after a motivational speech delivered by an expert. Responding to certain ...

Law ministry invites proposals to 'comprehensively evaluate' MP-MLA courts

The Union law ministry has invited proposals from top institutes, including IIMs, IITs, law universities and judicial academies, to carry out a "comprehensive evaluation" of special courts set up to hold expeditious trial of criminal cases involving MPs and MLAs to assess their functionality, efficacy and overall impact. The proposals have been invited under 'Scheme for Action Research and Studies on Judicial Reforms' of the Department of Justice which functions under the law ministry. Following the directions of the Supreme Court in 2017, the central government had facilitated setting up of 12 special courts in states for expeditious trial of criminal cases involving MPs and MLAs. Accordingly, 12 special courts -- two in Delhi and one each in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala -- were constituted. Ten such courts are currently functional in nine states. The special courts of Bihar and Kerala

No plan for law on electoral bonds for political funding: Law minister

There are no plans to bring a law on electoral bonds for funding of political parties, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday. The Lower House was also told that no proposal for funding of political parties through the Election Commission was under consideration of the government. In a written reply, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal replied in the negative on whether the government had any plan to bring a law regarding electoral bonds for political party funding. He was also asked whether an alternative or a substitute was being considered for funding of political parties to contest Lok Sabha and assembly elections. He said no such proposal was under consideration of the government. Responding to a separate question, Meghwal said no proposal was under consideration of the government to fund political parties through the Election Commission. In February, the Supreme Court annulled the electoral bonds scheme for political funding, saying it violated the constitutional right to freedom

Bihar govt mandates detailed registration of temples, mutts, and trusts

The Bihar government has directed all DMs to ensure that unregistered temples, mutts, and trusts in their respective areas are registered and details of their immovable assets are submitted to the Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts (BSBRT) for uploading on its website. The BSBRT operates under the state's law department. State Law Minister Nitin Nabin on Thursday told PTI, "All district magistrates (DMs) have been directed to ensure that unregistered temples, mutts, and trusts are registered on a priority basis." He also instructed the DMs to ensure that details of immovable assets of all registered temples and mutts are promptly provided to the BSBRT for uploading on its website. "I recently sent a letter to all DMs in this regard. So far, only 18 districts have submitted data to the BSBRT," he added. The minister added, "According to the Bihar Hindu Religious Trusts Act of 1950, all public temples, mutts, trusts, and dharamshalas must be registered with the BSBRT. The state .

Over 50 mn cases pending in courts; max 11.8 mn in UP's lower courts

More than five crore cases are pending in various courts across India, with a maximum of over 1.18 core in the subordinate courts of Uttar Pradesh, according to the government's written reply in the Lok Sabha. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said while 84,045 cases are pending in the Supreme Court, 60,11,678 were pending in the various high courts. District and subordinate courts are the biggest contributors, with 4,53,51,913 cases pending with them, according to the minister. Meghwal said several reasons lead to the pendency of cases, including the availability of physical infrastructure and supporting court staff, the complexity of facts involved, the nature of evidence, and the cooperation of stakeholders, including the bar, investigation agencies, witnesses and litigants. Proper application of rules and procedures also plays a key role, he said. Other factors that lead to delays in the disposal of cases include lack of prescribed time frame by courts for disposal of various kin

CBI geared to help states implement new criminal laws, says agency chief

CBI Director Praveen Sood on Thursday said the central agency is geared to help states and other stakeholders implement the three new criminal laws which came into force earlier this week. He also said that the CBI is working with the Law Ministry to successfully implement the three new laws. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) replaced the Indian Penal Code(IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act respectively from July 1. Addressing an event at the CBI academy, Ghaziabad where Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal presented the President's Police Medal (PPM) for Distinguished Service and Indian Police Medal (IPM) for Meritorious Service to 39 CBI personnel, Sood said the agency and the Law Ministry are working in synergy to prioritise more efficient prosecution along with investigation. According to a ministry statement, he noted that CBI's role has been evolving with the ..

Delhi police puts up posters to raise awareness on new criminal laws

The posters have been placed at police stations of Connaught Place, Tughlak Road, Tughlaqabad, and many more

Law minister signs national litigation policy document after taking charge

Document to be sent to Cabinet for deliberation

Judges' appointment, vacancies, pendency key challenges before Law Minister

Addressing the issues of vacancies in the higher judiciary and pending cases, and finalising the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) are the key challenges before Arjun Ram Meghwal who was allocated the law portfolio on Monday. The MoP is a set of documents which guide the appointment, elevation and transfer of high court and Supreme Court judges. Meghwal was appointed as minister of state for law and justice with independent charge in May last year when he replaced Kiren Rijiju. After the Modi 3.0 government was sworn in on Sunday, Meghwal was appointed as a minister of state with independent charge. On Monday, he was allocated the law portfolio, an area he is already aware of. According to data shared by the government with Parliament, over five crore cases are pending across courts -- the lower courts, the 25 high courts and the Supreme Court. There are various reasons for the rising pendency but one of key reasons is vacancies in the judiciary. As on June 1, while there are two ..

Presidential nod to Lok Ayukta Bill indicates Kerala Guv stand wrong: Min

President Droupadi Murmu's assent to the Kerala Lok Ayukta Bill, passed by the assembly in August 2022, indicates that the Governor Arif Mohammed Khan's stand on the matter was wrong, state Law Minister P Rajeev said on Thursday. His reaction comes in the wake of media reports that the President approved the amended Bill. Rajeev said that when the Lokpal Bill was being discussed in the Parliament, a decision was taken that the states have the power to frame a similar law and therefore, there was nothing wrong in the manner in which the amendments were made to the Kerala Lok Ayukta Act. He said that when the Governor had sought a clarification regarding the bill, it was read out to him and therefore, he ought to have signed it back then. "There was no need to send it to the President for assent. Now the Presidential assent indicates that the Governor's stand was wrong," the minister said. Khan had in November last year reserved seven bills, including the controversial University ..

Panel headed by former law secretary submits report on arbitration reforms

An expert committee headed by former law secretary T K Vishwanathan has submitted its report on reforms in the arbitration sector to the law ministry, sources said on Wednesday. The panel, which also had representatives of the law ministry as well as domain experts, has recommended an amendment to the Arbitration law to confer on the court the power to set aside or vary the arbitration award, the sources said. Industry representatives have dubbed the proposed changes in the law as a setback for arbitration reforms in the country. They said that one of the major issues plaguing arbitrations especially in a jurisdiction such as India is with regard to the fees charged by arbitrators being on the higher side. The reforms propose deletion of the Fourth schedule dealing with fee schedule. The panel has also set no limits on number of arbitrations an arbitrator can take, leading to delay in award, they said. The also noted that no upper age limit has been prescribed for accepting ...

Rajiv Mani to be appointed secretary of Legislative dept under Law Ministry

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Rajiv Mani as the secretary of the Legislative Department under the Union Ministry of Law and Justice

Interim Budget: Rs 2,502 cr allocated to law ministry, Rs 385 cr to EC

The Election Commission has been granted Rs 385.67 crore for conducting elections this fiscal, according to documents provided after the presentation of the interim budget on Thursday. Lok Sabha elections are due this summer and could be announced sometime in March. The Law Ministry ministry has been provided Rs 2,502.30 crore this fiscal and Rs 34.84 crore in 2024-25 for procurement of electronic voting machines (EVMs) for the poll panel. The sum is meant for providing funds to the Election Commission for procurement of Ballot Units, Control Units and Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) Units by the Election Commission and ancillary expenditure on EVMs and destruction of obsolete EVMs. One control unit, at least one ballot unit and one VVPAT unit make up for one EVM. An expert committee oversees the destruction of old EVMs. An EVM has an average shelf life of 15 years. The poll authority has also been provided Rs 306.06 crore for elections under budget 2024-25. The legis

Over 5 cr cases pending in Indian courts, 80,000 of them in SC: Law Min

Over five crore cases are pending in various courts of the country, including 80,000 in the Supreme Court, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday. In a written reply, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said as of December 1, out of the 5,08,85,856 pending cases, over 61 lakh were at the level of the 25 high courts. The district and subordinate courts accounted for over 4.46 crore cases, he said. The minister also noted that the overall sanctioned strength of the Indian judiciary was 26,568 judges. While the sanctioned strength of the top court is 34 judges, 1,114 is the sanctioned strength of the high courts. The district and subordinate courts have a sanctioned strength of 25,420 judges.

SC says unstamped agreements enforceable, overrules its April judgment

Stamping means when a stamp duty is paid on the value of the agreement as per the Stamps Act

Election Commissioners to retain status at par with SC judges; bill in RS

The new bill seeks to nullify the Supreme Court judgement, which stated that a committee comprising the PM, LoP in Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India must pick the CEC and ECs

75.69% of judges appointed between 2018 and 2023 belong to general category

13.8% women sitting judges in higher judiciary: Law Ministry

Why can't India be an arbitration hub: Law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal

Meghwal said the BJP government has passed the Mediation Bill recently