Insights into the authenticity of All India Reports
The very inception of AIR was a boon to the Indian Law of precedents, where a Pvt. Law reporting system was given emphasis over the prevailing Govt. Law reporting.!!
BACKGROUND
Reports of judicial decisions are among the most important sources of legal authority in the common law system. Over the course of time, judges shape legal doctrines to address the complex issues of changing society.(1) To use Court decisions and orders effectively, it is important to circulate it widely and such that it arouses public opinion and awareness. Thus, the Law reports have an eminent position in the functioning of the judiciary and its subsidiaries.
There are many law reports and law journals published in India. Some of them are official publications like the Supreme Court Reports of India (SCR) and the India Law Report Series (ILRs) such as ILR Delhi, ILR Kerala, and ILR Karnataka. Previously, all the states published in the Indian Law Reports; currently only a few publish there. This is why today there is a real need to cite cases from private publications. The citations of these law reports published by private companies are accepted by the Indian Courts and are also cited in the judgments of the Courts. All the States in India privately publish the judgments of their respective high courts. Some of these law reports are available in electronic format.(2) Thus, law reports on wide circulation make the parties aware of the present legal position existing in a country.
Among the private Law Reports, the most commonly used and relied upon, even by the courts, is the A.I. R. Apart from the Supreme Court and the High Courts cases, it contains several useful features such as the table of cases cited and cases reversed or affirmed.(3) In the list of most referred to and familiar Indian Law Reports comes the – All India Law Reports (AIR), which has the Supreme Court and All High Court Judgments, the latest legislative changes, legal articles and profiles of newly appointed Judges’ in Various High Courts and the Supreme Court. This is published monthly.(4) It is also to be noted that the AIR Supreme Court Millennium Digest has the case laws from 1950 to date, published by All India Reporter is a very good and authentic source.(5)
ALL INDIA REPORTER: TRUSTWORTHY SOURCE
The enormous quantity and the uncertain quality of Indian Law Reports was the subject matter of comment by Sir Frederick Pollock as far back as 1931. Sir Maurice Gwyer, the first Chief Justice of India expressed his “cordial agreement” with the critics of the multiplying law reports in 1944.(6) The then-Chief Justice of India in 1956 also quoted with approval Sir Frederick Pollock’s observation and said:-
“A period of 25 years has elapsed since then, but every lawyer in India will have to admit that no improvement has occurred in law reporting in India, but on the other hand one is near wilderness, if not actually in it.” (7)
The importance of the issue raised and the almost unanimous view expressed against the multiplicity of law reports and their prejudicial effect on the administration of justice necessitate a detailed examination of the whole question. It is a basic principle that the directions issued by the Supreme Court in a decision constitute binding law.(8) This principle was reiterated by Supreme Court of India in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan(9) and Khedat Mazdoor Chetna Sangath v. State of M.P.(10) Uncertainty and divergence of approach and views in the Supreme Court need to end, and the Supreme Court must give its decision one way or the other, clarifying the legal position so that the High Courts can follow necessarily the law thus laid down. Consistency is a virtue. Passing orders not consistent with its own decision on law, is found to send out confusing signals and usher in judicial chaos.(11) Madras Bar Council regarding this ambiguity stated as follows:-
“The Council strongly feels that the Law Reports are too many (official and non- official), that it makes the task of the legal practitioners difficult and confusing. There must be only one authorized law report from which only citations may be made and it may be made the statutory report.”(12)
Thus, the importance of law reporting is set out on this front such as the judiciary lays more emphasis on authentic and trustworthy sources for the same. All India Reporter, although being a non-official reporter was trusted on by the Judges of Supreme Court as well the High Courts. Its authenticity can be made out from the instance of the case of Keshavnanda Bharti v. State of Kerala(13), where the largest constitutional bench ever cited the cases from the All India Reporter.
CONCLUSION
The very idea as of how an independent publisher became dominant over the official government reports is still unknown.(14) The very question arose in the Apex Court that All India Reporters and all its Reports come under the meaning of News reports or not in the landmark case of All India Reporters Karmachari Sangh and Others v. All India Reporter Limited(15), and it was laid down that the definition of newspapers includes Law reports as it states the present legal position of the country. Thus, the AIR has its deep roots in the Indian legal scene since 1914, when it was firmly established. The paucity of time and efforts by the official reporters lead AIR to come to forefront as the leading authentic source of precedents in India.
References:-
- Cohen & Olson, LEGAL RESEARCH IN A NUTSHELL, (9th Edition, Thomson West Publishers) p. 68.
- Uma Narayan, Basic Indian Legal Literature for Foreign Legal Professionals, International Journal of Legal Information, Vol. 37 Issue 3 (2009), at 342.
- S. K. Verma, Basic Information for Legal Research: India, Indian Law Institute; Sourced from – http://d-arch.ide.go.jp/idedp/IAL/IAL002300_004.pdf (last visited on 15th December, 2013 at 15:30 hrs.)
- Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS), University of London Library Research Guide: India; Sourced from – http://ials.sas.ac.uk/library/guides/docs/IndiaguideMar2010.pdf (last visited on 24th December, 2013 at 19:00 hrs.)
- Ibid.
- Preface to Pollock & Mulla, Indian Contract Act, 7th Edition.
- Preface to Mulla’s Transfer of Property Act, 4th Edition.
- See Art. 141 of the Indian Constitution – Law declared by Supreme Court to be binding on all courts The law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India.
- (1997) 6 SCC 241: 1997 SCC (Cri) 932.
- (1994) 6 SCC 260: 1994 SCC (Cri) 1643.
- A. Lakshminath , JUDICIAL PROCESS: PRECEDENT IN INDIAN LAW (3rd Edition, 2009; Eastern Book Company, Lucknow) p. 43
- First Law Commission, Report 12 – Reform of Judicial Administration: Vol. 1; LAW REPORTS, Sourced from – http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/1-50/Report14Vol1.pdf (last visited on 22nd December, 2013 at 20:00 hrs.)
- AIR 1973 SC 1461
- The author of this article feels that the present situation is due to multiplicity of reports (which were slowly discontinued) and shortage of time to regulate the same by the Govt. or any instrumentality of the Govt, but All India Reporters with its many publishing reports became authentic and trustworthy in the due course of time. AIR, a private publishing house with Supreme Court and High Court Judges as its Editors, numerous publishing reports, digests and manuals, they were given priority over any other law reports.
- AIR 1988 SC 1325
By:- Sherin Babu
Wonderwall : What Urban Dictionary has to say!
So you all might be thinking what is Wonderwall all about? Is it that famous pop group or the great emo song which Oasis sang?
Borrowed from:- Urban Dictionary: Wonderwall.
Need for an amendment!
Me always settled down for something,
Which was far less than ever expected;
Thus, my worthy desire breathes its last.
And I know expectation hurts, but experience counts!
An important lesson which Life teaches,
To never bring about a change in yourself,
For something which gained less importance..
With the passing time.. A sweet lie!
Foremost question is – “Do I need someone to help me out?”
And from deep within there’s a loud cry:
“Yes. I just need the old ME.”
Which was lost in the backdrop of numbness…
Tired of running in circles…And reality followed.
Time is a great teacher u see,
Thus, now is the time for an amendment.
Or else there will be a breakdown of my machinery.
Enough of colorable exercise of power by my Heart,
Clear violation of its given functions,
for Feelings which were void –ab-initio,
So, my fundamental right of existence is at stake,
Coz “Sui Generis” is what I am… And will always be!
By :- Sherin Babu
It all started with Kangal Irandal! Hope Subramaniapuram has a cult following.
Still from the movie Subramaniapuram.
Subramaniapuram (2008) is a classic movie set in the 1980’s in the backdrop of Madurai. Hence, the costume designer has also done well to render the cast the flick of 80’s. The five unemployed friends coming from low-income class families get together and portray that life is easy-going, care free and proves the essence of friendship. The camera movement in the beginning is a bit disturbing but then the rest of the movie overshadows such petty errors. The movie is well – paced with the love quotient on one side and the friendship on the other. The moment when I actually smiled was when the girl in the movie for the very first time called the boy for a brief personal talk; He hesitated first even when he was crazy about that her since childhood. The girl said nothing much but opened her heart for him. And I could just come up with awwwww. Then Kadha Irandal happens…The much awaited song which actually led me to watch this movie. What a beauty of a song with its lyrics and the mesmerizing flute adds to it! 🙂
But only power and money can make things happen, and love creates weaknesses. This simple notion is well depicted in the movie. The friends are led astray to the world of crime and hatred in search of their true fate. And thus, the movie runs in this viscous circle. I guess the “survival of the fittest” was used to culminate the viewers with the essential idea of this movie. The climax arose a much tragic scenario. The race for power and fame puts an end to their friendship. Granted that there is not much of a thriller story here but it is the slick way the film unfolds that keeps you riveted to your seats. This movie is an exceptional one in terms of its direction and lyrics. It sometimes lifts you up with love and friends worth lifetime and takes you down to realize the stark realities of one’s life. This maybe an above-average movie but you’ll like this youth flick for sure. The music deserves a special mention for sure. Thanks Sahiba! 😀
Let her learn today, she’ll teach you tomorrow
God created Adam and Eve. One was a man and the other was a woman sharing equal responsibility for bringing up a whole new world of humanity. Thence forward man and woman can be thought of as the two wheels of a bicycle , if one gets speculative , the other one just can’t keep moving on to make progress. But the society has never thought of the two genders as equals and has a notion that females are inferior to the dominating males. Because of this forged thinking females have been deprived of education since ancient times.
India has always been conservative in nature and because of that age old superstitions and blind faith against female education, girls have been made to drop out school early and bear children instead. What these people are missing actually is that women are actually the first “teachers” to their children. They actually…
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Degrading standard of research and technology : Prez in IIT Indore
By Sherin Babu.
The academics in schools and colleges require less research techniques and methodology, simply because the authorities don’t implement one. When the varying standards of education in India is seen at a common pedestal, lethal defects can be seen which would hurt India’s ever growing economy. Asserting the same, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said technology can enable refinement in teaching methodology, it can also address the challenges of quantity, quality, accessibility and faculty shortage. He was attending the first convocation of Indian Institute of Technology, Indore on Saturday, June 8th 2013. He clearly emphasized that affordability, accessibility and availability are the key words in higher education. The stark reality is that only 0.6% of the total budget is used for the research techniques in the various fields of study, Prez confirmed.
It’s high time that centres of higher learning should have the expertise to impart research skills training. They should emphasize on research, innovation and development. Stating that alumni are active in the affairs of top universities in the US, including Harvard, President Mukherjee expressed the hope that the students leaving the portals of IIT Indore today would continue their association with their alma mater in a meaningful way. This emphasis by the Prez is based on the fact that almunis of Harvard or Oxford actually help their alma mater in a financial manner and form a part of the close-knit system. The falling standard of teaching in higher education in India in recent decades ought to be a great cause of concern. An education system actually gets gauged by ts PG and PhD programs than its UG course. The budding talents in India have to suffer a lot because there are less effective initiatives in the name of research. The fact remains that only quality research can save India. Period.
Serena wins French Open title : Now Beast has 16 Grand Slams
World number one Serena Williams won a second French Open title 11 years after her first with a convincing win over defending champion Maria Sharapova.
It was a must watch match in French Open today where the beauty met the beast. Serena with such raw power and talent, with no surprises on her part, proved that she could have won even against some top seeded men. The moment of proud for Americans to see one of their woman dominating the game. I don’t know if we will ever see american men ever reach the top ranking anytime soon. Serena Williams merely exhibited power game. She was ruthless and committing less errors compared to her opponent. Such is the hallmark of her style of play. It was also remarkable to see Sharapova, 26, play who has now lost to Williams 13 times in a row, including four matches this year. Her moral victory Saturday was to break Williams’ serve twice and to keep her on the court for 1 hour 46 minutes, more than half an hour longer on average than the American’s previous opponents managed.
Hearty Congratulations to the American Beast for winning her second French Open title 11 years after her first triumph, Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-4. Experience always counted and the win of Serena is absolutely result of experience. Well done Serena at the age of 32! You’re a true champion! Now comes the switch to grass, and she’ll be a heavy favorite to win Wimbledon for the sixth time. Looking forward to it! 🙂
My Religion – Love
The Sectarian World of today,
Possess qualities like Religions, Borders, Denominations;
It was never into such existence in my childhood,
But now it’s there in the mainstream, There is nothing above it.
You and me belong to different Religions, Darkness Prevails,
Separated by Borders, Distinguished by Denominations,
Like never before, I dislike such worldly matters.
The teachings of your’s and mine remains the same,
But we have divided God, It will always be in vain, I hope;
As the one above, will put a check on it.
This world might have given you only Distinctions, Rewards;
But remember everyone has their pitfalls.
My Love for You will be undivided, always the same.
Like never before, I dislike such worldly matters.
The very essence of Love and Affection,
Being highlighted by every so-called “Religion”; Though lost in the mid-way,
The point is that they differ somehow,
In terms of the Almighty, which in itself is the ultimate Love,
I pity on them, But first me,
Because Myself being a part of this undeserving system;
Like never before, i dislike such worldly matters.
IS THERE A DAY AFTER TOMORROW?
The Day after tomorrow movie speaks about the Global Warming hysteria. The agenda of the movie was very clear – Global warming is a damn serious matter and should be of top priority for the Government. Well its a potentially true story. Lately, There had been many concerns and many summits to discuss about this alarming issues. Remember UN Kyoto Protocol?
The film focuses on the desperate efforts of climatologist Jack Hall, played by Dennis Quaid, where he studies the climate change and prophesied that probably an Ice Age is at the door in a few centuries. But there’s no escape from the stark reality, the adverse effect of Global warming was such that the calamity was scheduled in a week. Nobody was prepared for such a wrath of God! People might have thought God should have served a short term notice for that calamity. 😦 Never mind, it was too late and then it was inevitable. That was fiction for you with some realistic effects and concerns!
Now talking about our Future, are we next to be hit by an Ice Age? Answer may be Yes or No! But, the ever-rising temperature worldwide tends towards YES YES YES! Rise in average global temperature, ice cap melting, changes in precipitation, and increase in ocean temperature leading to sea level rise are not just technical terms, it talks about Global Warming at its Best. Short notice have already been served. Environment is calling, and we surely have to respond. And before its too late!
**Indians would say “Arey Bhaiya! Kitni Garmi hai, Ice Age aajaye toh maza aajaye! Kashmir jaisa maza poore India mein!” 🙂 😀 HAHA!
By – Sherin Babu
WONDERWALL 
