As per Wikipedia Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence demonstrated by machines, unlike the natural intelligence displayed by humans and animals, which involves consciousness and emotionality. Artificial intelligence is the act of allowing a machine to behave in such a way that if any human being behaves in such a way, it will be called intelligent.

In 1956, John McCarthy, Invented the word "Artificial Intelligence" or A.I. Some people are of the view that mathematician AlanTuring's paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" (1950), along with Turing Test, were instrumentalities whichenvisaged the goal of artificial intelligence long ago.   As per Russel and Norvig artificial intelligence means the study of agents that receive percept from the environment and perform actions andthinking and acting humanly and rationally are the approaches of Artificial Intelligence. 

What does artificial intelligence need to work?

Artificial intelligence needs a lot of information or data to work. According to Luc Julia, one of the creators of the digital assistant Siri, which applies to the I-phone, if a machine could recognize a cat with 95% certainty, it would be necessary to have the images of about 100,000 cats. In this age big data or data science and computers with supercomputing powers imitating human brain is becoming reality. Generally, two sets of data, one is for building the model and another is for testing the same require huge amount of data. 

Applications and effects of Artificial Intelligence around the world:

Artificial intelligence continues to influence every aspect of human civilization and society on a daily basis and will hopefully influence you more and more.Starting from machine learning, Artificial Intelligence has now entered into the field of Deep Learning where Artificial Intelligence is showing the courage to touch human power and intelligence. As per Venture capitalist Frank Chen,"Artificial intelligence is a set of algorithms and intelligence to try to mimic human intelligence. Machine learning is one of them, and deep learning is one of those machine learning techniques."Artificial intelligence continues to influence every aspect of human civilization and society on a daily basis and will hopefully influence you more and more.The use of artificial intelligence, especially in developed countries around the world, has long since begun in the field of justice, as in other fields. 

And in this context, the American Artificial Intelligence System, COMPASS or [Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions] has received a worldwide attention for many reasons.This COMPASS has caused a great deal of controversy around the world as to whether racial discrimination is at all effective in committing crimes, and we are getting a forecast of what terrible social conditions might arise in the future if the judiciary were left in the hands of robots.Let's see how artificial intelligence, especially machine learning, can be used to administer justice.

Courts and information technology:

The judiciary has a great deal of effectiveness in administering justice in individual cases and presenting standards to society at large.However, regardless of the subject, the work of the courts and judges is to process information which the plaintiff/defendant brings to the court, the information that is converted during the process and the result that is also information or data. The word “Information” or “data” are clearly defined in our Information Technology Act, 2000. But here all of this data processing is not complex customization. Now we can see that in dealing with judicial cases, there is a huge need for processing information or with the help of information technology and here lies the application of complex algorithms which pave the way for a robust Artificial Intelligence system. Online dispute resolution can take the advantage of AI. 

Here, the court primarily adopts digital documents so that the filing party provides the data digitally, so that they do not have to re-enter manually. Again, the cases when the results are predictable, it can be conducted partially or even largely a using artificial intelligence depending on the certainty of the verdict or result.A smart and efficiently designed filing portal can help partiesto bring with the vital data of their cases before the LearnedCourt in the best possible way which provides the opportunity of application of Artificial intelligence in various ways.

What can artificial intelligence do for the court?

With a marvellous development of Artificial Intelligence or A.I. technology, legal questions are raised about on lack of human rights regulation compliances, surveillance and accountability within the judiciary. The potential for artificial intelligence has already been explored by many jurisdictions, including the judiciary, prosecution services and other specialized judicial agencies across the world for criminal trials as well as civil matters including online dispute resolution or Alternative Dispute Resolution venturing for automation process in decision-making.

Now the question is how can artificial intelligence be effective for courts and judges and what is needed to make artificial intelligence useful. Let us scan the same:

Artificial intelligence can work in different ways to meet different needs -

To Organize/Deal with data –AI will organize or deal with data in a more effective way than manual one.

• To work for Counselling - Artificial intelligence can counsel effectively for parties in litigation and a new term has been coined in this sphere, called “Consultant artificial intelligence” for legal professionals.
• To Predicting decisions - Artificial intelligence can provide predictive justice, which though very much controversial and challenging one.
• Data Protection andTransparency - AI can help in protecting data security and transparency which are the need of hour in the present judicial system interacting with huge amount of data. 

       That is why the application of information technology, including artificial intelligence, is not the same in all cases.Before the European Union, the following questions are important in the judiciary at this moment:

• Whether any form of artificial intelligence has proven fruitful?
• How can courts and judges work with artificial intelligence in light of or in consonance withvarious European Union Conventions, especially conventions relating to human rights.

In finding a solution to the above glaring issues, the Council of European Union has come up with policy guidelines for application of AI in justice dispensation system.

What is needed to make artificial intelligence useful in court?

In some cases AI has proved its efficiency in practice but there is no evidence yet that robots can judge or capable to conscionable verdict to solve complex human problem with legal prodigy, acceptable to the society. Again, AI has been able to help organize, collect and process huge information for the use of individuals, litigation and judges. Thus in the era of ever increasing reservoir of big legal data AI can efficiently help, if algorithmed in the best way possible by the expert.

What should efficient or reliable Artificial Intelligence Guidelines: According Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence by European Union, artificial intelligence should be –

1. Legal - one that respects all applicable laws and regulations.
   
2. Ethical - One who respects moral principles and values.
   
3. Hardworking - one that adheres to the social environment or policy from a technical point of view.
   

As per the above guideline, key requirements for atrustworthy AI systemare:

• Technical robustness and protection,
• Privacy and information management,
• Transparency,
• Diversity, inequality and fairness,
• Social and environmental welfare,
• Responsibility;

European Ethical Charter on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Judicial Systems and their environment provides a framework of principles on the use of AIwhich can guide policymakers, legislatures and judicial professionals in their judicial work or related fields.

What is Predictive Justice?

Predictive justice is the analysis of huge data on previous judicial findings which subsequently analysed and processed by AI as designed by its algorithm in predicting the decisions, of course in some special types of cases.

Involvement of artificial intelligence can be very helpfulin:

• Providing advanced case-law search engines;
• In Online Dispute Resolution (ODR);
• Providing assistance in drafting tasks;
• In different types of analysis;
• "Chatbots" to provide legal assistance to litigants.
• Collecting various relevant data and making the same available for judges or legal professional.

Predictive trial software has been used experimentally in two courts conducted in 2017 at the initiative of the French Ministry of Justice in France.

Failure to "predict" criminal offenses:

In an application of artificial intelligence in the United States, blacks were often classified as high-risk, although they did not commit such crimes within two years of being convicted.

Contrary to the prediction by the AI, white people, on the other hand [who were classified as low-risk] committed crimes within the next two years. Thus, the algorithm of Artificial Intelligence proved to be failure and racially discriminative. 

Use of Artificial Intelligence by theIndian Judiciary:

In the above international situation, a landmark event took place in India a few days ago when the outgoing Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, Hon’ble S A Bobde launched the Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court's Efficiency (SUPACE) for the Indian judiciary. SUPACE is the Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court's Efficiency. As per the report in the media, its duty is to collect relevant information including ofcourse legal information and making the same available to judges to quick justice dispensation, saving huge valuable time for the learned judges in a more efficient, cost-effective and time-bound way, but cautious enough, it is not meant to make a decision.If proven right, this AI system in our judicial system will definitely helps solving the huge pendency of litigation in various cases in various courts in India.

The following are some of the concerns we need to consider in the coming days:

1. Concerns about unemployment or redundancy in certain positions
2. Unemployment will increase if this system is adopted.
3. iArtificial intelligence can never get in the way of a valuable judge's verdict.

The growing use of artificial intelligence in the justice system around the world is raising more ethical questions directly connecting with the fundamental rights still artificial intelligence if put in a right way, can probably evaluate huge data and cases and process the data and afford justice in a better, faster and more efficient way. Artificial intelligence can have a profound effect on the decision-making of lawyers and administrative public bodies, ranging from the legal profession and the judiciary. In dealing with AI, we certainly have various challenges to tackle in the days to come, for example lack of transparency, apprehension of biasness, pointless, discriminatory or lack of confidentiality and lack of value to human dignity.

Finally, a very important question remained in the mind of each of us and that is whether one day the precious judgments of our esteemed court will be delivered or driven by artificial intelligence or deep learning or robots. Only the framer of algorithms, policy makers and above all, time will tell!

Written by Adv Bivas Chatterjee, Public Prosecutor for Cyber Law and Electronics Evidence for entire West Bengal.

Source: https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/ethics-guidelines-trustworthy-ai.

Part - III, Article 19 of Constitution of India says,

19. Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.—(1) All citizens shall have the right—

(a) to freedom of speech and expression;

Freedom of speech is one of the most important and cherished right of a democratic country, and India being the world's largest democracy and having world's largest written constitution, our highest court that is Hon'ble Supreme Court of India is always guarding this precious constitutional right. In one of landmark judgement in The Chief Election Commissioner of India Versus M.R Vijayabhaskar & Ors., in Civil Appeal No. 1767 of 2021 decided on May 6, 2021, uphold the sanctity and holiness of this constitutional right. In this celebrated judgement Hon'ble Supreme Court of India even discussed on the freedom of expression in the present day media including Social Media.

Challenging the order of Hon'ble High Court and large scale social media coverage of verbal observation of the Hon'ble High Court the present application was filed. 

Some important part of this judgement is discussed below:

For details please read the entire judgement : 

The Chief Election Commissioner of India Versus M.R Vijayabhaskar & Ors.

Recently we saw a landmark development in Telecom Industry in India As per news release by PIB, Telecom Department gives permission to Telecom companies for 5G Technology and Spectrum Trials The said  trial will be in different rural, semi-urban and urban areas in India ..

5G technology is expected to have 10 times higher download rate than that of existing 4G. Even the this new 5G technology is Expected to have up to three times greater spectrum efficiency than its forefather 4G. 

This 5G technology is expected to be beneficial to various core and crucial sectors including  Agriculture, Education, Health, Transport, Traffic management. This cutting-age technology is expected to even revolutionize the growth of building smart cities, smart homes, and applications of Internet of Things in India. 

The duration of the trials is for a period of 6 months. In the Press Release by Press Information Bureau also advocated the use of India's own designed 5Gi technology. 

Now we have to see what will be health effects of the inception of 5G technology in India as people are long discussing about the apprehension of health hazards arising out it. We have long been witnessing various techno-legal-health issues arsing out of existing mobile infrastructure technology. 

For more details please read 

Press Release by PIB

1. Introduction 

Every human being is entitled to certain basic rights such as education, employment, health care and, most importantly, self-identification. But such rights are denied to the transgender people, i.e., the people who are having a gender identity or a gender expression that varies from the gender assigned to them at birth including hijras, eunuchs, kothis, aravanis, jogappas, shiv-shakthis, etc. who strongly identify with the gender opposite of their biological sex; male and female in India even after the enactment of Transgender Persons' (Rights Protection) Act on November 25, 2019.

Sometimes, our community ridicules and exploits the Transgender community and in public places such as railway stations, bus stands, schools, offices, malls, theatres, hospitals, they are ignored and viewed as untouchable, unaware that the moral deficiency lies in society's inability to accept or tolerate various gender identities and expressions, an attitude that the society must alter.

The research paper addresses the problem of transgender in the community where they were used as an instrument of harassment and physical abuse and explores different issue pertaining to the constitutional and other legal rights of the transgender community and their gender identity and sexual orientation in India.

1.1 Historical Background of Transgender in India

During the British rule, legislation was introduced to monitor the activities of the Hijras / transgender community, called the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871, which considered the entire Hijras community to be innately criminal and habituated to the systematic commission of non-bailable crimes. The law provided for the registration, supervision and control of certain criminal tribes and eunuchs, and penalised eunuchs who were enrolled and seemed to be dressed or ornamented like a woman, in a city street or in a public setting, as well as those who danced or expected to perform music in a public venue. Such persons could also be detained without a warrant and sentenced to imprisonment of up to two years or a fine or both.

Piror to the enactment of the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871, Section 377 of Indian Penal Code, 1860, criminalized all penile- non-vaginal sexual acts between persons, including at a time when transgender individuals were also typically associated with prescribed sexual practices.

The case Suresh Kumar Koushal and another v. Naz Foundation and others  found Section 377 of Indian Penal Code, 1860, and other legal prohibitions against private, adult, consensual, and non-commercial same-sex was in the violation of fundamental rights provided by the Indian Constitution. The Supreme Court had previously upheld Section 377 of the IPC on the grounds that only a tiny fraction of the country's population, according to the court, belonged to the LGBTQI community. The Court in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India, rejected this argument and finally the court ruled that Section 377 is unconstitutional as it infringed the fundamental rights of autonomy, intimacy, and identity, thus legalizing homosexuality in India. 

The Court relied upon its decision in National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India,  to emphasize that gender identity is fundamental to one's personality and to ignore the same will be a breach of one's integrity. 

Also relied upon the case K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, where it was held that ignoring the LGBT community the right to privacy on the basis that they constitute a minority of the population would be in violation of their fundamental rights.  It held that Section 377 constitutes an inappropriate restriction on the right to freedom of expression, because consensual carnal intercourse in private "does not in any way affect public dignity or morality". The Court held that "intimacy between consenting adults of the same sex is beyond the legitimate interests of the State" and sodomy laws violate the right to equality under Article.14 and Article 15 of the Constitution by excluding sections of the population for their sexual orientation.

Also the case  Shafin Jahan v. Asokan K.M. and Shakti Vahini v. Union of Indiaheld that Reaffirming that the right of an individual to "choose a life partner of his / her desire" is a facet of human liberty.

1.2 Constitutional Perspective

1. Article 14 of the Constitution provides equal protection and, therefore, a substantive duty on the State to ensure equal protection of laws by bringing about required social and economic reforms, so that all, including transgenders, will enjoy equal protection of laws and no one is denied such protection.

However there are some instances that portray such facts and figures backed by relevant materials that despite constitutional guarantee of equality, transgender people in all sectors of society have faced extreme discrimination. Furthermore, access to public toilets is also a serious issue which they often face. Since the transgender people do not have separate toilet facilities, they will have to use male toilets where they are vulnerable to sexual abuse and harassment. Therefore discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity impairs equality before law and equal protection of law and violates Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.

2. Article 15 and 16 of the Constitution prohibit discrimination on certain enumerated grounds against any citizen, including on grounds of gender. In fact, both Articles forbid all forms of gender bias and discrimination based on gender.

Consequently, discrimination on the basis of sex under Articles 15 and 16 covers discriminating on the basis of gender identity. The term sex used in Articles 15 and 16 is not limited to male or female biological sex alone, but intended to include individuals who consider themselves to be neither male nor female.

Transgenders have been denied basic rights under Article 15(2) to which no disability, liability, restriction or condition of access to public places is to be subjected. Special provisions for the advancement of the socially and educationally backward classes (SEBC) of citizens, which they are legally entitled and eligible to receive the benefits of SEBC, were also not granted to TGs pursuant to Article 15(4). They were also denied rights pursuant to Article 16(2) and discriminated against on basis of sex in respect of employment or office within the State. TGs are also entitled, as provided for in Article 16(4) of the Constitution, to make a reservation in the matter of appointment.

3.Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution states that “all citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, which includes ones right to expression of his self-identified gender. Self-identified gender can be expressed through dress, words, action or behavior or any other form. No restriction can be placed on one’s personal appearance or choice of dressing, subject to the restrictions contained in Article 19(2) of the Constitution.”

Gender identity, therefore, lies at the core of ones personal identity, gender expression and presentation and, therefore, it will have to be protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. A transgenders personality could be expressed by the transgenders behavior and presentation. State cannot prohibit, restrict or interfere with a transgenders expression of such personality, which reflects that inherent personality. Often the State and its authorities either due to ignorance or otherwise fail to digest the innate character and identity of such persons. We, therefore, hold that values of privacy, self-identity, autonomy and personal integrity are fundamental rights guaranteed to members of the transgender community under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India and the State is bound to protect and recognize those rights.

4.Article 21 of the constitution states that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.

At the heart of the fundamental right to dignity lies the recognition of one's gender identity. Gender, as already indicated, constitutes the core of ones sense of being as well as an integral part of a person’s identity. Consequently, legal recognition of gender identity forms part of the right to dignity and freedom guaranteed by our Constitution.

In Anuj Garg v. Hotel Association of India, the Supreme Court held that personal autonomy involves both the negative right of others not to be subjected to interference and the positive right of individuals to make decisions about their lives, to express themselves and to choose which activities to participate in. Gender self-determination is an essential part of personal autonomy and self-expression, and falls within the realm of personal liberty guaranteed by Article 21 of India's Constitution.

The case which is taken as a landmark case when we talk about the transgender community is National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India, where a writ petition was filed by the National Legal Services Authority, an Indian statutory body formed to provide legal representation to disadvantaged sections of society. The petition was supported by a non-governmental organisation representing the Transgender Kinnar community and a person who described himself as a Hijra.

The petition sought a legal recognition of their gender identity other than the one given at the time of birth and the non-recognition of their gender identity violated Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. The transgender community has called for their inability to express themselves on the basis of binary identity to deny them equal protection of the law and social welfare programmes. They also prayed for legal rights as a backward community, as well as the right to be able to express their self-identified gender in governmental ways.

Thus, the supreme court held that gender identity and sexual orientation include trans genders and that “each person’s self-defined sexual orientation and gender identity is integral to their personality and is one of the most basic aspects of self-determination, dignity and freedom and no one shall be forced to undergo medical procedures as a requirement for legal recognition of their gender identity.” Also stated that “apart from binary gender, be treated as ‘third gender’ for the purpose of safeguarding their rights under Part III of our Constitution and the laws made by the Parliament and the State Legislature.” It also instructed the state governments to offer legal recognition of their gender identity as male, female or third-gender.

1.3 Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019

Based to the 2011 Census, the number of people who do not identify as 'male' or 'female' but as 'other' is 4.87.803 (0.04 per cent of the total population). This 'other' group referred to individuals that were not classified as either male or female and included transgender individuals.

In 2013, the Government formed an expert committee to discuss issues related to transgender people. The Committee reported that transgender people were presented with problems of social stigma and discrimination impacting their access to education , health care, jobs and government records. In 2014, the Supreme Court acknowledged the right of a transgender person to self-identify as male, female or third-gender. The Court also directed central and state governments to give legal recognition to transgender people, to resolve issues of social stigma and prejudice and to provide them with social welfare schemes.

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019 was passed by Parliament on November 26, 2019. The Bill describes a transgender person as being partially female or male; or a mixture of female and male; or neither female nor male. In addition, the gender of the person shall not adhere to the gender assigned at birth and shall include trans-men, trans-women, individuals with intersex differences and gender-queers. 

It also criminalizes begging and Protects people from discrimination against a transgender person in fields such as education, jobs and health.

A transgender person is required to obtain a certificate of identity as evidence of identification as a transgender person and to invoke rights under the Bill. Such a certificate will be given by the District Magistrate on the recommendation of the Screening Committee. The committee will be composed of a medical officer, a psychologist or psychiatrist, a district welfare officer, a government official and a transgender person.

1.4 Conclusion

The decision made in the both the cases, i.e, Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India, and National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India, were historic in nature and has exceptionally high precedent significance, as determined by the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court of India. It sets a bidding precedent for all courts across India and for the smaller Supreme Court benches.

However, the bill essentially denies the majority of transgender people their right to self-identification by offering an unnecessarily complicated bureaucratic system requiring the applicant to apply for a transgender certificate to be accepted by two separate sets of authorities, despite earlier widespread criticism by the transgender community of this mechanism.

The Bill also included mandatory sex reassignment surgery for transgender individuals who want to define their gender within the binary (male / female) system. This provision would be contrary to the judgement of the Supreme Court in NALSA v. UOI, which guarantees the right to self-identification without the need for medical intervention.

Moreover, the recognition of beggary' as an offence under the Bill is troublesome, as it remains one of the few livelihood opportunities for many transgender people in the country.

Moreover, notwithstanding the clear directions of the Supreme Court in NALSA v. UOI, the Bill does not discuss the issue of employment and education reservations neither any separate public toilets and other facilities are established for them. They are still being discriminated in hospitals, employment, housing, healthcare and other services.

The Two Judge Bench of the Hon’ble #SupremeCourt of India comprising of Justices Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud and M.R. Shah passed a #Judgment dated 30-04-2021 in the case of Sukhbir v. Ajit Singh {CIVIL APPEAL NO. 1653 OF 2021} and held that that a #buyer is entitled to #compensation along with interest and solatium for land acquisition under the provisions of the #LandAcquisition Act 1894 (Act).

To read more, please visit the link below:

https://theindianlawyer.in/supreme-court-holds-buyer-entitled-to-compensation-for-land-acquisition/

#supremecourt #landacquisition #compensation

A Two Judge Bench of the #SupremeCourt has in a recent case of Forum for People’s Collective Efforts (FPCE) & Anr. vs The State of West Bengal & Anr. Writ Petition (C) No. 116 of 2019 passed a #Judgment dated 04-05-2021 and #struck down the #constitutionalvalidity of the West Bengal Housing Industry Regulation Act, 2017 (#WBHIRA) for being inconsistent with the provisions of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (#RERA).

To read more, please visit the link below:

https://theindianlawyer.in/supreme-court-strikes-down-west-bengal-housing-industry-regulation-act-2017/

#supremecourt #westbengal #housing #rera 

The Hon’ble Bench of the #SupremeCourt on India in the case of Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) versus E.S. Solar Power Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. [CA No. 9273/2019], vide its Judgment dated 03.05.2021 reiterated that a liberal or a narrow approach cannot be adopted to construe a #contractual clause in an #agreement. A contract has to be read literally and the #court cannot interpret the contract.

To read more, please visit the link below:

https://theindianlawyer.in/supreme-court-reiterates-that-a-contract-has-to-be-interpreted-in-literal-terms/

#supremecourt #contract

When a person commits an act prohibited by law, he ought to be punished for such acts. In India, the Indian Penal Code, 1860 is one of the most exhaustive statute listing down the offences and the punishment for these offences. The legislature has passed various acts that also make certain commissions or omissions punishable by the criminal courts in the country. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) is a thorough and comprehensive code laying down the procedure to be adopted by different criminal courts in India. The procedures provided in CRPC can be broadly classified into two categories, namely, pre-trial procedures and trial procedure. The pre-trial procedure covers matters like a complaint, FIR, inquiry, investigation, arrest and bail. The CrPC lays down the detailed methods of collecting and recording evidence, investigation and arrest of accused persons, including the safeguards from arbitrary arrest, examination of witnesses, framing of charges, and even how judgment is delivered in a criminal trial.

The pre-trial stage commences with the commission of the offence and its reporting. In this regard, a distinction is made between cognizable and non-cognizable offences. If a cognizable offence is committed, any person may inform the police of the happening of offence by way of registering a first information report (FIR) under Section 154 of CrPC. Upon the filing of the FIR, the police can proceed to the crime scene and start investigating the matter, which may include identification of victims, suspects, evidence, weapons etc. However, in the case of a non-cognizable offence, the police are not authorized to investigate into the matter or make an arrest without a warrant from the Magistrate. A person can even make a complaint directly to the Magistrate in writing of the commission of an offence by any person, whether known or unknown, under CrPC. The Magistrate may take cognizance of the complaint upon examination of the complainant along with witnesses if any.

Thereafter, the police proceed with their investigation. Investigation procedures have been laid down in detail under the Code, which includes collecting evidence that may include a weapon or forensic evidence, discovery of suspects, arrest, and even interrogation of the accused. After the arrest, the issue of bail arises. There is a distinction between bailable and non-bailable offences. In a bailable offence, bail to the arrested person is a matter of right, whereas, in a non-bailable offence, bail to the accused is the Court's discretion. The provisions relating to bail have been given in Chapter XXXIII of the CrPC. Various safeguards and rights of the arrested persons have been laid down in the Code, including production of the accused before the Magistrate within twenty-four hours of such arrest. After the completion of the investigation process, the police submit a final report called the charge sheet to the Magistrate for the commencement of trial.

There are various types of criminal trials conducted by the Courts in India. The broad classification of these trials can be made into warrant, summons and summary trials. There is another category of trials known as the Sessions trial; such a case is taken up by the Sessions Court and has its own procedure. As per Section 2(x) of the CrPC, a warrant case refers to the trial of an offence punishable with imprisonment for two or more years or life imprisonment or with death. On the other hand, a summons case has been defined as one which is not a warrants case under Section 2(w). Thus, a summons case is the trial of offences punishable with imprisonment for a term less than two years. Summary trials are popularly known as abridged trials conducted for offences of trivial nature, i.e., offences punishable with less than six months. Summary trials have a shorter procedure to save time and do justice efficiently. While the procedures vary according to the type of trial held, the stages of a criminal trial can be broadly listed as mentioned below.

After considering the police report submitted by the police to the Magistrate, the Magistrate proceeds to examine its contents. The Magistrate is required to decide whether there is prima facie evidence of the commission of the offence by the accused person. The Magistrate will not determine the guilt of the accused at this moment but will merely decide whether there is enough material on record that points to the fact of committing the crime. According to Section 240 of the Code, framing of charges has to be done in the presence of the accused person where the Magistrate will read out the contents and explain the charges to the accused. This is an important responsibility of the Magistrate, and the accused has a right to know the charges against him to be able to arrange for a proper defence.

It is pertinent to note that framing of charges is mandatory in a warrants case, but in a summons and summary trial, charges are not framed in writing and are mentioned orally to the accused only to let the accused know of allegations against themselves in accordance with Section 251 for summons case.

After the framing of charges, the Magistrate offers an opportunity to the accused person to plead guilty on the charges levied against him/her. If the accused pleads guilty, the Magistrate proceeds to convict the accused and then impose adequate punishment. However, it is required that the Magistrate ensures that the plea of guilty is made voluntarily and after being fully aware of the charges and their implications. If the accused pleads not guilty, the case proceeds for trial before the appropriate Court.

Upon pleading notguilty by the accused, the Court directs the prosecution to present evidence in support of its averments. At this stage, the prosecution seeks to establish the guilt of the accused by producing documents and witnesses in this regard.

In the event the Magistrate does not convict the accused under section 252 or 253, the Magistrate shall proceed to hear the prosecution and take all such evidence as may be produced in support of the prosecution, and also to hear the accused and take all such evidence as he produces in his defence. (Sections 244 and 254)

According to Section 313, the accused is called upon and is examined on oath in a warrants trial. An opportunity is given to the accused to explain the circumstances of the commission and other relevant factors in the furtherance of his defence. Statement of accused may not be recorded in summons and summary trials.

At this stage, the defence produces evidence and witnesses to disprove the allegations made by the prosecution. The general rule of criminal jurisprudence is that the accused is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty; after the prosecution discharges its burden to prove the guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, onus shifts upon the accused to prove that he has not committed the offence. (Sections 243)

Both the prosecution and defence argue before the Court and try to bring out the fallacies in each other’s arguments and evidence.

After hearing both parties, the Court proceeds to analyze the evidence and facts brought on record to determine whether the accused is guilty of the offences alleged. This is a judicial process where the Judge applies his or her mind to the material on record. If the Judge concludes that the accused has not committed the offence, an order of acquittal is granted, whereas if it is sufficiently proved that the accused is guilty, an order of conviction is passed, and the Court proceeds to the sentencing of the accused.  

These are the general steps involved in a criminal trial. However, it is vital to consult with your lawyer in case of any actual criminal trial in order to follow through with the latest rules of law and procedures. 

• DATA AND THE MODERN ERA:
• • In the light of the above, we need to have legislation which will protect us from this gross attack on our cherished privacy and security. The corner stone of all the laws in the world is human dignity as we strongly believe the celebrated maxim “Salus populi suprema lex esto” [Let the good (or safety) of the people be the supreme (or highest) law]. But the innate difference between the progress of technology and law is due to the fact technologies are moved on rapid speed while law on the other hand moves slowly. Today with the more use of various algorithm the strain relationship of law and data analytics or Artificial Intelligence are becoming prominent. The intention of the privacy legislation is to put a tap on unauthorized collection, share management and use of one’s personal data. Online social media organisations are accessing one’s shared information and identifying a person and thus controls his autonomy. Any kind of algorithmic failure will jeopardise one’s identity and autonomy in the days to come.
  
  
  GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATIONS:
  
  In the above backdrop European Union has come with one of the world’s most comprehensive regulation which is known as GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATIONS or popularly known as GDPR. GDPR is the biggest revolution in the Data Protection Law of the World
  
  Europe has its PRIVACY LAW or DIRECTIVES since 1990 and 1994 long before the GDPR came into effect.
  
  HOWEVER –
  
  It was placed in April, 2016 by EU Parliament
  
  It came into effect on May 25th, 2018
  
  It has 99 articles and over 200 Pages of long and complex regulations
  
  Companies who have no physical existence but collecting and processing the personal data of Europe are governed by these regulations.
  
  GDPR concerns on transfer of personal data outside Europe.
  
  Data subject’s consent must be clear, freely given, informed and specific and can be withdrawn without any consequence.
  
  The main function of GDPR is to protect the personal data of an individual assuring its proper security, governance, management and help in preventing personal data of the individual not being misused.
  
  In GDPR compliance, companies have to implement solutions and processes that enable it to protect, discover, classify and monitor data.
  
  As the Europe has previously the exposure to privacy law which helped her to put such a painstaking and elaborate in drafting such a huge legislation. Now let us see some of the important Articles of GDPR.
  
  ARTICLE 1 : Subject-matter and objectives :
  
  1. This Regulation lays down rules relating to the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and rules relating to the free movement of personal data.
  
  2. This Regulation protects fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons and in particular their right to the protection of personal data.
  
  3. The free movement of personal data within the Union shall be neither restricted nor prohibited for reasons connected with the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data.
  
  ARTICLE 2 : Material scope
  
  2. This Regulation does not apply to the processing of personal data:
  
  (a) in the course of an activity which falls outside the scope of Union law
  
  (b) by the Member States when carrying out activities which fall within the scope of Chapter 2 of Title V of the TEU
  
  (c) by a natural person in the course of a purely personal or household activity
  
  (d) by competent authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, including the safeguarding against and the prevention of threats to public security.
  
  ARTICLE 3 : Territorial scope :
  
  1. This Regulation applies to the processing of personal data in the context of the activities of an establishment of a controller or a processor in the Union, regardless of whether the processing takes place in the Union or not.
  
  ARTICLE 4 : Definitions
  
  For the purposes of this Regulation :
  
  1) ‘personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.
  
  7) ‘controller’ means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by Union or Member State law, the controller or the specific criteria for its nomination may be provided for by Union or Member State law
  
  12) ‘personal data breach’ means a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed.
  
  ARTICLE 5 : Principles relating to processing of personal data
  
  1. Personal data shall be :
  
  a) processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject (‘lawfulness, fairness and transparency’)
  
  c) adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed (‘data minimisation’)
  
  d) accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay (‘accuracy’)
  
  f) accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay (‘accuracy’)
  
  ARTICLE 6 : Lawfulness of processing :
  
  1. Processing shall be lawful only if and to the extent that at least one of the following applies:
  
  (a) the data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes.
  
  ARTICLE 7 : Conditions for consent
  
  1. Where processing is based on consent, the controller shall be able to demonstrate that the data subject has consented to processing of his or her personal data’
  
  ARTICLE 9 : Processing of special categories of personal data :
  
  1. Processing of personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation shall be prohibited.
  
  ARTICLE 21 : Right to object
  
  2. Where personal data are processed for direct marketing purposes, the data subject shall have the right to object at any time to processing of personal data concerning him or her for such marketing, which includes profiling to the extent that it is related to such direct marketing.
  
  ARTICLE 33 : Notification of a personal data breach to the supervisory authority
  
  1. In the case of a personal data breach, the controller shall without undue delay and, where feasible, not later than 72 hours after having become aware of it, notify the personal data breach to the supervisory authority competent in accordance with Article 55, unless the personal data breach is unlikely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons. Where the notification to the supervisory authority is not made within 72 hours, it shall be accompanied by reasons for the delay.
  
  2. The processor shall notify the controller without undue delay after becoming aware of a personal data breach.
  
  ARTICLE 34 : Communication of a personal data breach to the data subject :
  
  1. When the personal data breach is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, the controller shall communicate the personal data breach to the data subject without undue delay.
  
  ARTICLE 52 : Independence :
  
  1. Each supervisory authority shall act with complete independence in performing its tasks and exercising its powers in accordance with this Regulation.
  
  ARTICLE 82 : Right to compensation and liability :
  
  1. Any person who has suffered material or non-material damage as a result of an infringement of this Regulation shall have the right to receive compensation from the controller or processor for the damage suffered.
  
  ARTICLE 83 : General conditions for imposing administrative fines :
  
  6. Non-compliance with an order by the supervisory authority as referred to in Article 58(2) shall, in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article, be subject to administrative fines up to 20 000 000 EUR, or in the case of an undertaking, up to 4 % of the total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher.
  
  : IMPACT:
  
  GDPR is already have a global impact to consumer in case of Personally Identifiable Information.
  
  The GDPR has expanded the very definitions of personal data.
  
  The companies dealing with the personal data have to notify any breach of data or hacking of the data of the organization concerning the personal data of the citizen of all the countries within 72 hours.
  
  People also says that GDPR is a Defacto World Regulations.
  
  The penalty in GDPR is severe. Non-compliance of regulations will result in fine upto 20 Million Euro or 4percent of annual global turn over, whichever is higher.
  
  BRIGHTER side of the GDPR
  
  Companies will get chance to reorganise its digital infrastructure and may earn confidence of global citizen.
  
  The personal data of the citizens will be protected.
  
  GDPR is preparation ground for the legislature and of the entire world for drafting and getting their data privacy law
  
  : EFFECTS:
  
  GDPR is a journey and not destination. As in fact it requires ongoing continues compliance. After the full compliance of GDPR, organisations have to show reasons to hold data and keep it safe. The companies have to approve your consent if they want to keep your information.
  
  Every country other the European countries are closely watching and following the after effect or aftermath of GDPR came into effect.
  
  The GDPR compliance is very high for companies as well as it is not a one-time investment but a journey with ongoing process and hence continues expenditure to be incurred.
  
  
  • 
    
  • • In today’s ever-changing world where the age-old conventional technology has been defenestrated every day, data proved to be the most important thing and usually termed as “oil” or “air” of our society. The avalanche of data or should I say Big data are the only business interest for the big entities of our complex society. It is ex-facie clear that our data is the centre of attraction for those entities. Some invincible data brokers qua data-analytics without our knowledge are collecting, packaging and selling our personal private data online and offline. Even the different e-commerce and social site companies are collecting, storing and tracking our data. Our life is converted into data package where we are only products. Our every purchase, every journey, every likes and dislikes, hobbies, thinking and thus every part of our life are digitised, tracked and logged. Today all around we can find a data war where unknown and invisible data brokers are stealing our data and profiling us. This unfair business.
  • 
    
  • Given in the existing corporate structure of India the big question is whether the Companies are ready to handle GDPR compliance or being forced to stop their operations in outside countries and operate the processing of their personal data.
• What is GDPR | GDPR Checklist | GDPR Fines | GDPR Compliance (2019 India latest position) Part-I

A very reputed businessman, who had established various branches of his brand in different cities across India was accused of false cheque bounce case by a bank. The amount charged on him was huge as well. But he took the right decisions quickly without wasting time thinking about how his reputation is now harmed. He collected all the apposite documents and files and contacted a lawyer to file a legal notice within the timespan of 30 days. And since it was a false allegation on him, it was not much of a task for the bank to be proven guilty. 

If he would not have taken the said actions quickly and did not submit the notice on time ,i.e, within 30 days of receiving the notice from the bank, a warrant might have been issued against him and he would also have had to actually pay the amount for the false cheque bounce imputation. These accusations are generally to affect the reputation of a person and bring him down or go to jail. Although it might end up being a mistake on the banks side or the depositor of the cheque in some cases but mostly it is to bring down the prestige and position of the recipient of the cheque in the market.  

If you also are incriminated by a false cheque bounce case or just want to be aware about such happenings in the real world, this blog is for you. Everything starting from a basic definition of what is a cheque and cheque bounce to what you can do (other than panicking and stressing out )  if ever you are stuck in such a situation. To under false cheque bounce, first you must know what is a cheque, cheque bounce and the reasons for cheque bounce.

Cheque: A Cheque is an important part of the financial system in various countries across the world. A cheque is regarded as an important document which can be used by an individual, company or government for transactions of various amounts. A Cheque is also termed as a negotiable document to transport money in a physical form or even to perform inter-account transfer.

Cheque Bounce: The situation of cheque bounce means that the process of depositing cheque in the bank has been unsuccessful. It might be due to several reasons:

1.     When there are insufficient funds in the account of the issuer. It is therefore advised to be aware and careful while issuing a cheque to ensure that there is sufficient balance in the account of the issuer. 

2.     When the date mentioned on the cheque is disfigured or when the numbers are scribbled or even if the date on the cheque is 3 months old from the present date, then the bank can bounce the cheque.

3.     When the signature does not match with the bank’s records.

4.     When there is a difference in the amounts mentioned in numbers and words.

5.     When the cheque has too many stains or marks.

6.     When there is overwriting, scribbling or correction on a cheque.

False Cheque Bounce: Many people still prefer making their payments through cheques because of various reasons like cheques allow to make payment to people who do not have a bank account or few are not yet comfortable with net banking. But cheque bounce cases are rising in today’s time and the Indians courts are filled with these cases which are filed under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act,1881. 

These cases are usually to extract money from someone or to harm and spoil his/ her reputation. However, some cheque bounce cases amongst these cases are false cases and are not genuine cases which targets some innocent people who then end up facing legal issues because they lack the knowledge on what should be done.

How would you deal with a False Cheque Bounce Case?

The victim in such cases need not worry much about it as it is a false accusation and generally easily proved with the valid documents that there was enough balance or fund in the bank account of the issuer which would ensure there was no cheque bounce. 

Some important measures to take when a situation of false cheque bounce arises: 

1.     Collecting all the important documents – The most wise and smart thing to do when there is any false accusation to a person is to collect proof which will show him guilty of the charge put on him. Similarly, this case is no different and collecting the relevant documents which would prove me innocent and the bank guilty.

2.     Contact the bank and collect information regarding the dishonour of cheque- If your cheque bounces, the bank would send you notice informing you of the same. You have to then contact them and confirm if it has really happened and if it did what are the reasons.

3.     Hire a lawyer and reply to the legal notice of the bank – It is not easy to draft a legal notice and you should not take it lightly because once the notice is drafted and sent, you would not be able to change its content and have to stick to it. You would not be able to go against the statement written by you in your notice. So you must consult with a lawyer who deals with cheque bounce cases and reply to the notice about the cheque bounce case which you would have got from the check receiver. The reply should be sent within 30 days of receiving the notice. In many such cases of fraud and false accusation, the case is withdrawn once a legal notice is sent.

4.     File a counter case- You are legally allowed to file a counter civil case against the person who has filed a false cheque bounce against you. You can claim compensation for the false accusation. You can also claim the compensation for all the damages and expenses which you might have incurred for dealing with the fraud case with the bank. You can also file a defamation case against the false accuser.

Documents required for filing a counter case  

1.     Payment invoices 

2.     Bill generated when the payment was made

3.     The bank account statement

4.     Copy of the cheque issued

5.     Bank draft cheque

It is always a good idea to keep 2-3 copies of each document because sometimes you might have to submit the copies to the authorities dealing with the case. The process becomes quicker and hassle free when the documents are handy.

Section 138 in The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881: Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 provides the legal recourse to handle the situation of cheque bounce or dishonour of cheque.

This section has been very recently decriminalised. On 8 June, 2020 the Ministry of Finance proposed decriminalizing various minor offences “for improving business sentiment and unclogging court processes”, which also include Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. The main purpose for decriminalising this section is to promote foreign investment in our country. Due to the Coronavirus Disease, the economy of our India has been affected badly and these steps would also help in boosting India’s economy.

But every action has its reaction and this step will lead the creditors to lose their confidence in the credibility of the cheque system.

Punishment for cheque bounce case: Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act states the dishonour of cheque or cheque bounce is a criminal offence and the punishment includes imprisonment up to two years or monetary penalty or with both. 

If the court is convinced that you are guilty and the case of the bank has no merit then it will provide you all the charges.

Conclusion: False Cheque bounce cases along with other frauds cases are rising each passing day. It is very important to be aware about the different types of fraud and especially fraud related to monetary aspects like cheques because money is obviously involved in any job and work. Going by the saying ‘Precaution is better than cure’, it is always good to have knowledge about these frauds so that you can easily prevent that from happening or in some cases when it is not really in the hands of the person to prevent it, you at least know the cure to it. Having knowledge makes you capable of helping out someone stuck in that situation.

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