Patna Law Notes

  What is ‘Delegated Authority’? As per the principle of separation of powers, state authority is divided among three organs- the legislature, executive and judiciary. The task of the legislature is to frame laws. The executive has been entrusted with the task of implementing the laws framed by the legislature and the task of the judiciary is to uphold them. Though the doctrine of separation of powers is considered the cornerstone of modern constitutional forms of government, in practice this principle is rarely followed strictly. Practical contingencies make some overlap of functions inevitable. One such instance of one organ performing the task of another is the prevalence of delegation of legislation. Delegation of legislation entails the transfer of part of the legislature’s authority to frame laws to the administration/executive. Legally speaking, delegated legislation may be defined as that which proceeds from any authority other than the sovereign power and is therefor

  The concept of the rule of law is an integral component of the modern constitutional form of government. It is impossible to conceive of democracy and constitutionalism without it. Rule of law is a natural corollary and animation of the natural rights of humans. The rule of law has generally been understood as encompassing the following three aspects: 1.      Paramountcy of the law 2.      Equality before the law 3.      The predominance of a legal spirit. Within Indian Constitution, the spirit of the rule of law is represented by Article 14 which has been given the status of a fundamental right. Rule of law is neither a ‘rule’ nor a ‘law’, but rather a doctrine of ‘state political morality’ that strives to find the right balance between the ‘powers’ of the state, and the ‘rights’ of individuals. It expresses the aspiration common to all free societies to be ruled by laws, rather than powerful men. The term rule of law is derived from the French phrase, la principe de l

Intellectual Property Rights have been put in place to protect original works in the fields of art, literature, photography, writing, paintings etc from being copied and reproduced for profit. Even choreography stored in written format falls under the ambit of intellectual property rights. Intellectual property, by dint of its nature, demands protection in both tangible and intangible forms. Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks, Trade Secrets, Industrial and Layout Designs, and Geographical Indication are some of the forms in which protection has been secured for intellectual property. In this essay, we will examine the legal options available to remedy cyber/online infringement of intellectual property rights. The massive growth of online production and consumption of intellectual property in recent years has created new challenges for the intellectual property right regime. Newer innovative and subtler forms of theft of intellectual property now exist. Instances of such newer methods as h

Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v Union, 2022 Judgment: ADM Jabalpur Redux?  PMLA full form (Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002) The legacy of ADM Jabalpur, 1976 still looms large on Indian jurisprudence. Famously, advocate Ram Jethmalani said in an interview that the day this judgment came he packed his bags and left India. This was a moment in the history of the Indian legal system when significant sections of the bar and bench, as also the public at large, felt that the Supreme Court of India, the custodian of the law and self-described sentinel on the qui vive of citizens' fundamental rights had finally capitulated to the executive and lost the desire to retain its autonomy of will and action. The message that was sent out to the citizenry was that they could no longer rely on the Supreme Court to be a bulwark against arbitrary and vengeful state action. It was feared that the rule of law was on its way to being replaced by the rule of persons; in particular, the rule of a pers

DOCTRINE OF SEVERABILITY The Doctrine of Severability is a corollary of article 13 of the constitution. Article 13 , along with article 32 enshrines the power of judicial review vested in the Supreme Court of India and empowers it to strike down laws that violate the fundamental rights of citizens.    Article 13 bars the state from making laws that take away or abridge the fundamental rights of citizens. Further, it states that any laws which are inconsistent or in contravention of the fundamental rights shall be void ab initio to the extent they are in violation of it. The phrase to the extent is significant here; this means that the impugned law need not be struck down in its entirety. It would be enough for the court to strike it down to the extent it is impugned, and the rest of the provisions may be allowed to remain in force. However, this may become possible only if the guilty portion is capable of being severed from the rest of the law. In case the violative portion of the la