Trademark Lawsuits, Probe Report Against HC Judge, And More

“The expectation of the general public from a member of the superior judiciary is extremely high. Probity is the most important and indispensable attribute of a person holding judicial office and is rather the basic eligibility criteria. Least that is expected of any judicial officer of district or higher judiciary is unimpeachable character and conduct in and outside the courtroom.”
— From a report by a panel investigating allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma

Corruption case shows that judiciary can be transparent if it wants to be
The corruption case against Justice Yashwant Varma has ushered in a welcome shift, showing that the higher judiciary can indeed operate with a measure of transparency. For an institution long criticised for opacity, especially in the appointment of judges, this marks a rare but important step.

The collegium system has often come under fire for its lack of openness. While there have been occasional tweaks in how resolutions are shared publicly, the approach has been inconsistent, with successive Chief Justices adopting their own practices. This lack of standardisation has eroded public trust.

Yet, when faced with allegations of corruption against a sitting judge, the judiciary responded decisively. Then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna was swift in releasing all available information through regular and timely press statements. At a time when confidence in the judiciary was under strain, such openness became a crucial confidence-building measure.

Though the remainder of his tenure was short, Chief Justice Khanna didn’t shy away from taking bold steps to address the crisis. It is striking to observe that the judiciary, if it so chooses, can engage the public transparently when the stakes are high. This begs the question: why not apply the same approach to judicial appointments, a process equally vital to public trust?

Whether Justice Varma is eventually impeached or cleared, the judiciary’s transparent handling of the case sets a valuable precedent. It demonstrates that openness need not be the exception. Going forward, this moment could serve as a compelling case for institutionalising greater transparency across all aspects of judicial functioning.

Courts

•  Punjab & Haryana High Court registers suo moto PIL against DLF over alleged tree felling of over 2,000 trees in Gurugram’s Aravalli region following news reports
• Delhi High Court grants interim relief to the popular international fast food chain Domino’s and restrains local entities from using deceptively similar marks in a trademark case
• Delhi high Court grants interim relief to Swedish automaker Volvo in a trademark lawsuit and bars Indian bus makers from using the company’s trademark
• Sashidhar Jagdishan, MD and CEO of HDFC Bank, moves the Bombay High Court requesting for the FIR against him by the trust that runs Lilavati hospital be quashed 
• In a dispute between BCCI and now defunct IPL team Kochi tuskers, the Bombay High Court upholds an arbitral award of about 5.38 billion rupees in favour of the team. 
• Bombay High Court restrains one Social Tribe from using the trademark Social in any form in a trademark lawsuit filed by the pub chain Social 
• A review petition challenging the Supreme Court verdict mandating minimum three years of litigation practice for judicial service filed in the top court
• The Supreme Court stays a tax demand of 3.17 billion rupees raised by the Karnataka authorities against Antrix Corporation Ltd., the commercial arm of ISRO.

Quasi Courts

• SEBI restrains former IIFL Director Sanjiv Bhasin from the equity market over allegations of stock tip manipulation
• The Competition Commission of India dismisses a complaint of abuse of dominant position in relevant market against Hindalco and Vedanta

Others

• Enforcement Directorate sends summons to Senior Advocates Arvind Datar and Pratap Venugopal over legal advice given to clients; bar bodies condemn ED’s move 

The Big Listings
Jun 24: Madras High Court to hear Turkish firm Celebi’s petition challenging revocation of its security in Chennai Airport
Jun 25: Bombay High Court to hear Celebi’s petition for interim protection as regards Mumbai Airport while arbitration proceedings are underway with the airport operator after revocation of security clearance
Jul 2: Delhi local court to hold daily hearings in National Herald Case against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi
Jul 7: Madras High Court to hear Celebi’s petition for protection as regards Chennai airport while arbitration proceedings are underway
Aug 1: NCLT’s principal bench is scheduled to hear BPSL’s former promoter’s plea for initiating liquidation in line with top court’s order
Aug 20: Supreme Court to hear Flipkart’s appeal against a high court which affirmed CCI probe into the company
* The dates of hearing can change and a concrete list is prepared just a day before

Legal Moves

• Rohan Saha joins Cravath, Swaine & Moore as partner
• Bhushan Satish joins Sidley Austin LLP