India: You Need To Comply With Indian Laws, India Tells WhatsApp Boss

The Indian government on Tuesday told the WhatsApp CEO, Chris Daniels, who was in the country to meet with government officials that WhatsApp needed to open a local entity — a local office with corporate Indian entity — on priority and comply with local laws. The Minister of Information Technology handed down the instruction to Daniels during a meeting in New Delhi. The visit by the WhatsApp CEO comes weeks after the Indian government told WhatsApp to curb the spread of misinformation on the chat app after several incidents of lynching in the country.

India: Law Commission Recommends Rehabilitation Of Wrongfully Prosecuted  Victim

The India Law Commission has recommended a comprehensive scheme for rehabilitation of victims of wrongful prosecution. This was made known by the Commission’s spokesperson on Tuesday during their final meeting. However, the 21st Law Commission may not be able to submit a report on the review of the sedition law due to lack of time as the tenure of the panel is ending on August 31. According to the media report, the two issues listed for discussion in the commission’s final meeting are Possibility of holding simultaneous elections in the country and wrongful prosecutions.

India: Promoters-Investors Disputes Can Be Resolved Timely Once Referred For Mediation

Over the years, there has been a rise in the number of disputes between investors and business owners. These disputes are finding their way to arbitration or a court of competent Jurisdiction. Although most transaction documents recommend arbitration as the preferred mode of dispute resolution, disputing parties sometimes approach the National Company Law Tribunal or Courts for resolution. The dispute resolution process could linger for years. But, according to recent statistics, most disputes that have been referred for Mediation are settled within the shortest possible time.

India: Prevention Of Corruption (Amendment) Bill: Amendments Extend Reach Of India’s Anti-Bribery Law

The Indian parliament in July passed the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill. The passage of the bill promises deep-seated reforms in the anti-bribery regime in the country. Under the bill, the act of obtaining, accepting or attempting to obtain an undue advantage, with or without the improper performance of a public duty by a public servant, was made an offense punishable with up to seven years imprisonment.

India: Petition In Supreme Court Challenges Restoration Of Immediate Arrest Under SC/ST Law

Two petitioners lawyers Prathvi Raj Chauhan and Priya Sharma have challenged the amendment to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act restoring the provision mandating immediate arrest in the event of a complaint under the statute. Comparing the recent amendment with the one brought by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi government to overturn the top court verdict in Shah Bano case, the petitioner described the amendment as “arbitrary” as it urges the Supreme Court to protect the innocent people from the abuse of the stringent provisions of the Act.

India: NOTA Option Cannot Be Allowed In Rajya Sabha Polls, Supreme Court Tells Election Commission

The Supreme Court on Tuesday overruled an Election Commission notification, saying that NOTA (None Of The Above) option cannot be allowed in Rajya Sabha elections. The court’s ruling was handed down to the Election Commission by a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, saying “It is impermissible for the Commission to have prescribed NOTA option in the elections, it being an indirect means for proportional representation of States in Rajya Sabha” the top court observed.

India: Issue Circulars To Municipal Corporations To Adopt NEERI’s Recommendations, High Court Directs Bombay State Government

A High Court sitting in Bombay on Tuesday directed the state government to issue a circular to all municipal corporations to implement National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI)’s recommendations to curb noise. The court made the pronouncement by a bench headed by justice Abhay Oka after Maharashtra Pollution Control Board brought the motion before it. The bench also sought an “exhaustive” report from NEERI with suggestions for further research studies on noise pollution in urban cities.

UK: Appoint Magistrates With Criminal Records To Increase Diversity, Law Chief Advices The UK Government

The Chairman of the Magistrates Association, John Bache, on Tuesday, adviced the UK government to appoint more magistrates with criminal records, saying it would help increase diversity among the judiciary. Bache said that a more representative set of magistrates was needed in order to make those accused of crimes feel less alienated by the justice system. Bache added that “we all make mistakes, we all do things we shouldn’t have done. But we want to increase diversity, and if we did say anyone who’s done anything wrong ever isn’t going to be appointed, that’s no way at all to increase diversity.”

UK: Immigration Status: Court Says Seriously Sick Nigerian Woman Can Work While Fighting UK Deportation

A court in the United Kingdom on Tuesday told the Home Office that a seriously sick woman can work while she reconciles her Immigration status. The case was brought by Kehinde, a seriously ill Nigerian woman, who couldn’t afford the medication she requires to stay alive after the Home Office triggered a terrorism-related paragraph of immigration law to try to get her to leave the country. Unable to afford legal representation, Kehinde fought her own battle through the courts to persuade the Home Office to reinstate her right to work while her immigration status was being decided.

Australia: Queensland Government Introduces Laws To Decriminalise Abortion

The Queensland government on Tuesday introduced laws to decriminalize abortion to state parliament. Under the new laws, women would be able to ask to terminate pregnancies up to 22 weeks, and “safe zones” of 150 meters would also be put in place around clinics to stop women, their loved ones, and staff from being harassed. Queensland and NSW are the only two Australian states that still outlaw abortion.

Canada: Appeal Court Orders New Trial For Polygamous Leader In Child-Bride Case

An Appeal Court in the British Columbia has ordered a new trial for the former leader of a religious sect who was acquitted of taking a 15-year-old girl across the U.S. border for a sexual purpose. The Appeal Court ruling followed the verdict in the case of James Oler, the former leader of a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints community in Bountiful, B.C., which practices polygamy. Last year, the Supreme Court had acquitted Mr. Oler because the court was not convinced Mr. Oler did anything within Canada’s borders to arrange the girl’s transfer to the United States to marry a member of the sect.

USA: Judge Urges The US President Or Congress To Take A Decision On 3D-Printed Guns

A United States federal judge, Robert Lasnik, on Tuesday said at a Seattle hearing that the controversial issue of 3D-printed guns should be decided by the president or Congress. The judge took this decision during a court session arguing over a settlement reached by the State Department and Texas-based Defense Distributed, allowing the company to post online blueprints for 3D-printing weapons. The settlement prompted a lawsuit from 19 states and the District of Columbia, and Lasnik issued a temporary restraining order blocking the online release of the blueprints.