With land or property related litigation accounting for two-thirds of all civil cases pending in the Indian courts, evidence to establish legal title has taken a centre stage. Conflicting laws, administrative incompetence, and a lack of awareness among the population is clogging the judicial pipeline. Courts havetherefore been conferred with multiple opportunities to analysethe legal implicationsofthe various documents involved in property transaction and an unwavering opinion on thelack of standing of ‘Revenue Records’ in an ownership claim has emerged.>>

Land Acquisition in India – A Tough Balancing Act

Sovereigns across the globe have relied upon the doctrine of eminent domain to acquire land for public use. Consent of those who own the land takes a backseat when the greater good is at stake. Guided by this utilitarian principle and to usher a sense of equality among the economically weaker citizens of this nation, ‘right to property’ was removed as a fundamental right through the 44^th amendment. However, democracy demands people-pleasing and power mongers have to give in once in a while for a euphoric sense of justice to prevail. Consequently, the doctrine of eminent domain was balanced through the introduction of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlements Act, 2013 (RFCTLARR Act). The act empowered central and state governments to acquire lands for the development of public good with ‘consent’.>>

A clause for Alternate dispute resolution (ADR) is incorporated in a contract to ensure avoidance of lengthy and costly legal procedures. Undue delay in arbitration procedure tends to vitiate this essential objective that ADR seeks to achieve.  Further, the ADR process is designed to minimize the interference of courts, however, it is more of fiction as parties unhappy with the outcome of the process take the legal recourse as a dilatory tactic. Therefore, it is essential that arbitral awards are set aside only when there is a grave injustice or is unreasonable on the face of it^[i].>>

Squatter’s Right i.e. Adverse Possession has often faced criticism for rewarding wrong-doers and assigning rights to usurpers. However, this age-old practice, based on the belief that “ownership” must belong to the person who made the best or highest use of the land, has stood the test of time. Since the concept has not been clearly defined in the statute, its development depends heavily on the equity and justice meted out by the courts under Article 27, 64 and 65 of the Limitations Act, 1963. In that direction, the Supreme Court has further solidified the position of the individuals nurturing the spirit of the land i.e. the possessors. The Court has now afforded them a sword i.e. the right to sue for protection of the property acquired through adverse possession.>>

The Government of India, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) vide its notification dated September 17, 2019, has published the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2019[i] (hereinafter the “Rules”) amending the Patents Rules, 2003 (hereinafter the “Principal Rules”). The amendment came into force from the date of notification.>>

The Hon’ble Supreme Court, in a recent judgement, answered the question of whether “special allowances” would fall within the expression “basic wages” for Provident Fund (PF) contribution in the affirmative. Interpreting the provisions of Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (“PF Act”) as a beneficial social welfare legislation, the Court affirmed the PF authorities’ factual conclusion that the allowances in question were essentially a part of the basic wage camouflaged as part of an allowance so as to avoid deduction and contribution to the provident fund account of the employees. In essence, the Court reiterated the principle laid down in prior rulings that where the wage is universally, necessarily and ordinarily paid to all across the board, such emoluments are basic wages and employers had to expressly prove the special treatment in the special allowance for it to be kept out of the purview of calculations for PF purposes.>>

A conducive intellectual property (IP) environment and facilitation of innovation ecosystem have furthered India’s ranking in international indices. Similarly, in the domestic scenario, increased awareness, expanding business incentives and administrative reforms have shown marked progress in the Indian IP regime. The Annual Report 2017-2018 which was recently released by the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM)[i] establishes, through statistics, the improvement that the office has seen in the past year. Through this post, we look at the headway the office has made in its patent activity in the reported year.>>

The Start-up India initiative unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16^th January 2016 is being applauded globally. It’s being seen not only as an initiative to create a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country but also as a way to create job opportunities, a critical ingredient of sustained economic growth.  >>