Patna Law Notes

  Section 102 of the CrPC empowers a police officer to seize ‘any property’ that is either stolen or suspected to have been stolen, or which may be found under circumstances which create suspicion of the commission of an offence. This section also requires the seizing police officer to forthrightly report any such seizure to a Magistrate having appropriate jurisdiction over the matter involved. It is a well-settled position of the law that the bank accounts of the accused and his relatives fall under the purview of ‘any property’ as per section 102 CrPC. However, the Supreme Court has clarified that it would be too harsh and inappropriate to seize the immovable property of the accused based merely on suspicion. In general, the police have been evoking this section to freeze bank accounts linked to cases of online fraud, financial scams and money laundering. It is understood that freezing suspicious accounts prevents scamsters from transferring money to safer locations beyond th...

The doctrine of the separation of powers is enshrined within the constitution of India. Though article 50 of the constitution (being a Directive Principle of the State Policy) is not legally enforceable, it expresses the desire of our constitution framers to achieve the separation of the executive and judiciary. However, practical concerns necessitate the devolution of a wide variety of decision-making and adjudicatory functions on the administrative apparatus of the state. The most popular mode of administrative adjudication has been the institution of tribunals which we discuss in the following. Tribunalisation of justice in India goes as far back as 1941 when the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was set up to provide speedy and specialised administrative justice. This institution proved to be efficient and flexible. Its success gave impetus to the setting up of several similar tribunals in other areas. In 1969, the Administrative Reforms Commission recommended the setting up of ci...

  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...

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...

Anticipatory Bail (अग्रिम जमानत) क्या है? CrPC की धारा 438 क्या हो अगर आपका कोई दुश्मन आपको किसी फर्जी मुकदमे में फंसा दे? या पुलिस या कोई प्रशासनिक अधिकारी आपसे बदला लेने के लिए, और आपका career और सामाजिक प्रतिष्ठा खराब करने के लिए आप पर नकली मुकदमे डाल दे? ऐसी ही परिस्थितियों के समाधान के लिए हमारी न्याय व्यवस्था में अग्रिम जमानत  का प्रावधान डाला गया है। CrPC में इसका जिक्र धारा 438 में आता है।    अग्रिम जमानत  देने की शक्ति केवल सुप्रीम कोर्ट और सत्र अदालतें को मिली हुई है। शायद हम जानते होंगे की किसी अपराध में गिरफ़्तारी होने पर bail/जमानत लेने का प्रावधान है, जो CrPC की धारा 437 में मिलता है। लेकिन क्या कोई अभियुक्त गिरफ़्तारी होने से भी पहले bail की याचिका दायर कर सकता है? बिल्कुल कर सकता है; और इसी कानूनी प्रावधान को हम अग्रिम जमानत  कहते हैं।    अगर हाई कोर्ट या सत्र अदालत किसी मामले में अग्रिम जमानत  की याचिका मंजूर कर ले, तो उस मामले में सुनवाई खत्म होने और फैसला होने तक अभियुक्त को गिरफ़्तारी  से राहत मिल जाती है। अगर पुलिस  उस ...