This article is written by Sarabdeep, co-founder of Sipacoin.com. He also co-founded Bodhik.com and before that was Head of Digital Marketing and CRM for eBay India. He writes on Personal Finance, Cryptocurrencies and is published on top blogs and publications in India.

Bitcoin as a legal Currency. Will it ever be a reality?

In 2008 when Satoshi Nakamoto published his paper on bitcoin and announced the arrival of a new digital cryptocurrency no one would have imagined in less than 10 years, the revolution would catch the imagination of the world as no one before. In last few years bitcoin has not just grown in value (valued at more than 100 billion dollars now). But has also sent shock waves across various governments as they scurry to understand and react how will it potentially impact government monopoly over money movement.

You can check live Bitcoin prices here.

Typically there have been 3 kinds of responses from Government.

Go ahead and explicitly ban Bitcoin.

• Few governments like Bangladesh, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Kyrgyzstan, have gone ahead and in a knee-jerk reaction of sorts declared bitcoin illegal.

Be Ambivalent and say Bitcoin is not regulated but stop short of making it legal.

• Majority of the governments fall into this category. They have not banned bitcoin but essentially take a position which varies from we do not regulate Bitcoin to we do not care or we do not recognize bitcoins for payments and transactions or as a currency.
• Some of the big countries that have an ambivalent stand includes Russia, India, and China.
• Russian central bank declared in 2017 that they are against declaring regulating cryptocurrencies as money and as such they cannot be used for paying goods and services.
• China led a big crackdown on bitcoin exchanges in February of 2017. China still does not have any clear regulatory stand but 3rd Party payment processors are not allowed to process bitcoin payments.
• Indian central bank RBI has also recently announced Bitcoins is not acceptable as a payment or settlement mechanism.

Countries which embraced Bitcoins and are working with community to build regulations

• Many countries have taken a forward-looking policy approach to bitcoin and are working towards working with Bitcoin foundation and other Cryptocurrency founders to design regulations.
• In 2017 Japanese government has recognized Bitcoin as the payment method.
• In United States Bitcoin has been recognized as a convertible decentralized virtual currency in 2013. Some of the US states have gone further ahead. New York state has come up with Bitlicense which is first virtual currency specific licensing regime.
• Similarly, Canada has defined taxation norms for bitcoin. Canada is planning to regulate dealers in digital currency as money service businesses.
• In Switzerland Bitcoin is subject to Anti Money Laundering regulations and in some instance may need to obtain a banking license. Zug which is a city in Switzerland has adopted Bitcoin as a payment method for paying city fees since 2016. Also, Switzerland railways sell bitcoins at its ticket machines.

What is the legal status of Bitcoin in India

As of today, Bitcoin is not illegal in India but that does not automatically mean everything related to bitcoin is legal. In its latest message RBI Executive Director categorically stated that Bitcoin cannot be used for payment and settlement mechanism. RBI has consistently maintained an antagonistic stand towards bitcoins and it continues.

In fact, there has been chatter in some quarters that India may launch its own cryptocurrency. This is eerily similar to what policymakers are trying to do in Russia and China.

Having said that it does not mean Bitcoins have been declared illegal in India, it just means they cannot be used for payments and settlement. There are multiple exchanges that have propped up where you can buy and sell bitcoins or other Cryptocurrencies in India. Some of the notable include.

1. Zebpay
2. Coinsecure
3. Koinex

Apart from that, there are multiple global exchanges which are open to Indian users.

How should India Look at Bitcoins and wider Crypto ecosystem

Bitcoins and Cryptocurrency in general as a technology and concept have arrived and are here to stay. While Bitcoin might not be the ultimate winner in this new Cryptoecosytem being developed there is no doubt in my mind they are the future. In this regard, all banking and payment regulators across the world and India should desist shunning Cryptocurrencies as it will be counterproductive.

In fact here are my key suggestions to regulators in India on how to think about regulations on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general.

1. Engage with communities

Many of the cryptocurrencies around the world are being developed by a community of developers or entrepreneurs. Indian Regulators and RBI should start engaging with them. The core technology behind Cryptocurrencies are revolutionary and engaging with folks at the forefront of building this will only help us understand better which in turn can help more sensible regulations.

2. Don’t stop if you cannot promote

Sometimes it is best for regulators to stay away and let market forces evolve on their own while this is not the best solution but knee-jerk bans can be catastrophic.

3. Take a lead it can be a differentiator

Ideally, we should be at forefront of enabling Crypto businesses this can attract a lot of talent and investments and place us a leader in some of the emerging technologies like blockchain. We have already missed the product wave and IT services are losing its steam it is absolutely essential that we do not miss the Crypto wave and one way to do it is be forward-looking in regulations providing an enabling environment for Crypto companies to grow and flourish.

Conclusion

Will Bitcoin bring a new revolution? Well, no one knows for sure, But one thing is sure, Decentralized, anonymous and more secure systems are here to stay and there is no one stopping them. It is imperative for our existing centralized Institutions and bureaucracy to start understanding and interacting with architects of this new order. We need forward looking regulations and framework it might be just the leap we are looking to bring about new growth avenues to India.

In this article, Ruchika Daga discusses the penalties for non-compliance with different provisions of RERA.

What is RERA?

The Real Estate Regulation and Development (RERA) Act, 2016 is regarded as one of the landmark legislation passed by the Government of India. The aim of this act is a reformation of the real estate sector in India, encouraging transparency, accountability, and financial discipline. As India has a vast and growing economy this act would be very beneficial as in future many people will be investing in real estate sector. By Implementation of RERA act, it is expected to boost the demand in the real estate sector.

The Government of India passed the Real Estate Regulatory Bill in March 2016. The Act came into force from 1 may, 2016 (with 69 sections notified). Remaining provisions came into force on 1 may, 2017. As per the rating agency ICRA, though the RERA came into effect on 1st May 2016 the delay in issuing notification may dilute the proper implementation of this Act.

RERA is a regulatory body with the sole motive of protecting the interests of consumers. As there has been increasing number of complaints against the builders/ developers, mostly related to delay in possession to homebuyers, faults in the society, and irresponsible behaviour of promoters after the signing of the agreement.

The Act makes it mandatory for the promoters to disclosure information which include details of the promoter, project, layout plan, land status, approvals, agreements along with details of real estate agents, contractors, architect, structural engineer etc. to the consumer.

Penalties for non-compliance with provisions of RERA

The Real Estate (Regulatory and Development) Act, 2016 is the first in Real Estate Sector that provides for rules and regulations. This Act specifies the details rules and regulation for the proper process of registration and maintaining transparency, the Act also prescribes the penalty for different kind of offences. Under penalties for non-compliance with the Act, RERA 2016 recommends imprisonment for a term which can be extended up to three years or a fine which may extend up to 10% of the cost estimated of the real estate project, or both. However, most states have added a clause of compounding of offence to avoid imprisonment.

A. Offence-wise Penalties for Promoters

B. Offence-wise Penalties for Real Estate Agents

C. Offence-wise Penalties for Allottees

State wise RERA implementations

Will ongoing projects be covered under RERA?

Yes, ongoing projects are covered under RERA which started before RERA was enacted.

Ongoing projects are the projects which are under construction. The RERA Act, 2016 usurps promises for the existing buyers of real estate properties, both residential as well as commercial, who have still not got possession of their properties. Now “According to the RERA Act passed by Parliament in 2016, every ongoing and under-construction project is supposed to come under the ambit of the regulator.

The developers who still has under construction projects will have to face lots of hardships due to RERA. As per the Act, all the ongoing projects will have to now get registered in the first place with the regulatory authority before moving further in the process of completing the project. They are forbidden from advertising or promoting the property before registration of the same.

These steps are beneficial for the purchaser of the property as this will protect their interest. However, this will also delay construction and sale of existing property greatly. RERA also makes it mandatory for builders or constructor to issue occupation or completion certificate before granting over possession to the respective buyer. As of today, there are lakhs of flats in all metropolitan cities of India like Mumbai and Bangalore who have failed to do so. The steps further to regularise such properties remains vague. One more concern for these developers or builders is whether they will get the certificates on time or not? And Lastly, in cases where developers seek an extension, the amount of time granted for project completion would depend upon the concerned authority.

Real Estate Appellate Tribunal

The Real estate Appellate Tribunal is a quasi-judicial body, which has been established under section 43 of the RERA act. (was required to be established within one year of commencement of section) and the Tribunal is empowered the appropriate government to assign an existing appellate tribunal (under any law in force) to function as an appellate tribunal under this act and to hear appeals from the Judgements/orders/decisions/directions of the Regulatory Authority or the Adjudicating Officer, in the case accordingly. The application form, procedure, and the fees which are payable on the filing of the appeal and the manner for hearing and disposing of the appeal are to be in the Rules which is to be made by the appropriate Government.

How Chairman and the Members of the Appellate Tribunal are appointed?

The Tribunal must comprise of minimum two Members one of whom should be a Judicial Member and the other shall be a Technical or Administrative Member. According to section 46, the Chairman of the Appellate Tribunal must be a sitting or retired Judge of the High Court. And the Members of the Tribunal on the recommendation of a standing committee which comprise of Chief Justice of HC (or else his nominee), the Law Secretary and the Housing secretary are required to be appointed by the appropriate Government. This section also provides for the qualification that is required as major criteria for the appointment of the Judicial / Administrative Members.

Can an appeal be filed against the orders of the Appellate Tribunal?

Any person aggrieved or distressed by the order of the Appellate Tribunal can file an appeal to the High Court.

What is the time period within which the appeal is required to be disposed of by Appellate Tribunal?

As per Section 44 of the act the Appellate Tribunal should venture or attempt to dispose of the appeal as efficiently as possible but it cannot take more than sixty days from the filing of the appeal. However, if the tribunal did not dispose of the case during the said period the Appellate Tribunal is required to give and record its reasons for the same.

Main concerns of the aggrieved home buyers

The aggrieved buyers have resorted to all types of measures to express their anger and frustration starting from conducting a demonstration to the filing of FIRs/consumer complaints against the Builder. Even after a lot of positive and favourable judgments by the Courts in favour of the home buyers, still, not even 10% of the distressed home buyers have approached the Court or authorities for redressal of their grievances. One of the major reason for not approaching the Court is the anticipation or expectation of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) and its effect on dispute resolution.

Before RERA Act there were a lot of problems faced by the home buyers that are as follows:

• Delay for Possession
• For some of the projects, construction not even started and money of the buyers are already invested.
• Increasing demands by the Builders at the time of giving possession like charging for an increase in the super area etc.
• Change in the layout plan or building plan by the Builder, leading to frustration to the purchaser of the home buyer.
• Builder defaulting on payment of EMIs to the bank.

How can buyers approach RERA against dishonest builders?

Jurisdiction (Where to file the case) – A buyer can file the complaint with the Authority of the State where ever the property is situated.

Appeal (After the verdict, where will the appeal lie) – After adjudicating the dispute by the concerned Authority under RERA, an appeal will lie to the Appellate Authority, after Appellate Authority to the HC (High court) of the State where the property is situated or constructed and then finally to the SC (Supreme Court).

Projects which have been delivered and the Ongoing project – Projects where the completion and occupation certificates have been granted are outside the scope of RERA. Since RERA has been diluted under the Rules by many of the states, home buyers for the on-going projects where the builder has already obtained part completion certificate will be outside the scope of RERA.

Another Legal remedy during pendency – The Rules for most states, an undertaking is taken from the Complainant at the time of filing a complaint to the Authority under RERA, that the buyer has not made any other complaint. But this clearly restricts the right of the buyer to claim relief.

Procedure to file a complaint under RERA

Step 1: A consumer or any association of distressed buyer can approach the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) or the adjudicating or determining officer in charge to file a complaint.

Step 2: The authority decides the fees.

Step 3: It is the discretion of the authority whether to direct the grievances to be heard and adjudged by a single bench of either the chairperson or any member of the authority.

Step 4: After the appointment of an adjudicating officer, the Appellate Tribunal holds an inquiry in an authorized manner, after giving any person a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

Step 5: The case is to be settled within 60 days from the date of receipt of application. Redressal for claiming compensation would be dealt by the adjudicating officer in charge as efficiently and speedily as possible.

Is there any time restriction for filing a complaint under RERA?

If any kind of rules and provision laid out in RERA is found in dealing. It is advisable to act fast in filing a complaint without delays and within a reasonable time. Though there is no time limit to file a complaint under Real estate regulatory authority (RERA). Still, the provisions of Limitations Act, 1963 is to be adhered to make sure that RERA proves its efficiency when approached in a reasonable time being. Also, this Limitation Act will prevent the misuse of RERA act.

What are the Benefits for home buyers under RERA?

Buyers can get the following benefits stated below based on the nature of their complaints

• Buyers can get temporary or permanent relief depending upon the nature of the case.
• They may question the promoters or builders for late delivery or possession.
• Can expect a speedy settlement of the complaint.
• They can be assured of no ambiguity, vagueness and uncertainty in area measurements.
• Can uphold promoters or builders liable for delayed delivery or possession and claim compensation for the same.
• They enjoy security and protection from an adjudicating authority governing the real estate deals.

This bill is the best thing happened to the home buyers and buyers of properties of various kinds. With such bill in place, buyers can invest in properties fully protected and secured from all the aspects, and in case of any dispute, they are come out of it easily, in a short time span.

In this article, Debayan Gangopadhyay discusses the recent Aadhaar vs Right to Privacy debate. How Right to Privacy impacts Aadhaar.

Overview

With much appreciation and fame over the past month coming to the ‘Right to Privacy is a fundamental right’ judgement[1] by the Supreme Court, there still exists the issue of Aadhaar being valid or not which is still pending. Much controversy has lit upon the conflict of Aadhaar, specifically, The Aadhaar Act, 2016 and the Right to Privacy of every citizen of the country being violated through it. The problems with the Aadhaar Act, 2016 in concern to privacy are mainly comprised of two parts: firstly, Aadhaar Act making Aadhaar compulsory for every citizen and also making its compulsory linkage to other services, including PAN and phone numbers. It further makes an amendment to the Income Tax Act wherein for tax returns to be processed, one needs to link their Aadhaar number to their PAN.[2] A failure to do this could also lead to invalidity of the respective PAN. These legislations are a forced compulsion for the citizens to link their Aadhaar to these documents which is a problem as Aadhaar inherently requires a lot of personal and confidential information like biometrics, fingerprints, etc. which connects to the second issue of data security. The Aadhaar Act, 2016 allows sharing of data under the Aadhaar numbers for the purposes of “national security” which a vague and undefined term. Further, Aadhaar is applicable to commercial purposes as well and has the participation of private parties in its data access which leaves the citizens a huge risk of data leak given that there are no existing privacy laws in India. The active government wants the Aadhaar policy to continue and is gradually making Aadhaar mandatory for more documents, for eg., driving licence, which is in plan to also be mandatorily linked to Aadhaar.^[3]

This article highlights the two core issues of the Aadhaar Act, its contradictions to the right to privacy and also its further consequences and misuses which have already started coming to existence. It further mentions the unique identification program in the United States (i.e, the Social Security Number) and its comparison to Aadhaar. It reflects upon how there is a much better possible regard to privacy when it comes to legislation which the intent of providing unique identity and for national security purposes. This links to the unnecessary essentials and requirements that are constantly been brought in by the present government and how it causes fundamental problems in the society.

The Linkage Problem

The Supreme Court in March, 2017 declared that Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory for availing governments schemes and subsidies.[4] These include the PAN, Income Tax Filings, booking train tickets, etc., all of which now mandatorily require Aadhaar number for its processing. The BJP government, however, in its Financial Bill, 2017 added an amendment to the Income Tax Act, 1961. This amendment added a section[5] which makes it compulsory for citizens to link their Aadhaar numbers to their PAN for the purposes of Income Tax processes as well. The compulsory linkage further makes a PAN number invalid if not linked to the Aadhaar until a prescribed date by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (which presently is the 31^st of December, 2017).

The legislation, by making such compulsory legislation, violated the Judiciary’s decisions and observations. This was criticized by the Supreme Court as well[6] because the compulsory linking of Aadhaar to PAN and further for the purposes of Income Tax returns makes it practically mandatory for any citizen to have an Aadhaar. This is in direct contradiction with the Supreme Court’s intention to make Aadhaar voluntary. The dependence of Aadhaar on PAN and other services makes essential services and subsidies exclusive to only Aadhaar holders. A similar problem was identified by the Rajya Sabha before passing the Aadhaar Bill in 2016 where it opposed the Lok Sabha on several grounds one of them being the issue of Aadhaar being mandatory or not.[7]

This recommendation was given during the due process of the bill and was at a later stage accepted by the Lok Sabha before enactment of the bill.[8] As a result of it, there exists section 7 in the Aadhaar Act, 2016 which states that any citizen who is not assigned an Aadhaar number will be provided with alternate and viable means of identification for delivery of a service, benefit or subsidy. The mandatory linking of PAN with Aadhaar having a further validity of tax returns is a clear violation of this section as it is ultimately being made voluntarily mandatory.

The conflict was taken up in the parliament and the Minister of Information and Broadcasting replied that the citizens not having Aadhaar shall be enrolled for one and an alternative method will be provided till an Aadhaar number is assigned to her.[9] This statement directly negates the entire purpose of the optional clause in the Act. However, the Supreme Court in its judgement on the validity of Section 139AA, gave a partial satisfaction to both sides of the debate as it made the linkage compulsory only for existing Aadhaar holders.[10]

Data Security and Infringements

An Aadhaar number includes biometric information such as fingerprint and iris scan of the eyes. The identification is authenticated by matching the biometrics with the database. As Aadhaar is now made mandatory by the government for almost all services including basic services such as phone number, railway tickets, etc., this leaves out a scope for the data to be leaked and misused by state as well as non-state actors which is a clear and direct violation of the right to privacy.

The Aadhaar Act provides for a section[11] which allows the personal information stored under Aadhaar to be shared for the purposes of “national security”. This section was also opposed by the Rajya Sabha recommending an amendment which uses the term “public emergency” or “in the interest of public safety” as it makes the exception more justifiable. The term “national security” is an arbitrary term which can be misinterpreted and misused by government officials.[12] The recommendation was however rejected and as a result, the original term is still in use.

Further, the Aadhaar also risks and compromises privacy of the citizens in terms of non-state actors as well. For starters, the enrolment agencies of Aadhaar number are handled and controlled by private operators. The private operators, therefore, get the data of the citizens for the purpose of uploading it in the government database. There can be a possible misuse of such data and as now, as the Aadhaar is linked to use several government subsidies and services, there increases the chance of misusing the information in order to avail those services. Also, there is another concern in respect to the involvement of private actors in the Aadhaar process. Former Justice K.S. Puttaswamy, who is also the petitioner in the case against Aadhaar in the Supreme Court, during an earlier interview, talked about how it is easy for anyone to get an Aadhaar card as “the enrolment centres are run by private operators so anyone can walk in and get one. This means that [undocumented] immigrants can get one too and that’s a clear security threat. Part of the political will for this project stems from this motivation because obviously they [undocumented] immigrants are also a vote bank for some.”[13]

The issue of data security also applies to the private companies which require Aadhaar as a mandatory part of the procedure for their services. This includes service provider companies, banks, and other private players who have access to the citizen’s biometric information. Such case has in fact occurred after the enactment of the Aadhaar Act. A recent incident happened where it was reported that a website called “magicapk” leaked data of existing Reliance Jio Customers (a service which has over 100 million users and requires Aadhaar number as a part of their procedure).[14] This was confirmed by the Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. as it filed a complaint alleging “unlawful access to its systems”.[15]

Another incident occurred, where the digital identities of more than a million citizens got compromised due to a security gitch in the Jharkhand’s old age pension scheme which revealed information like Name, Aadhaar Number, bank account details, etc.[16] These kind of glitches and errors show the lack of data security in the country and the risk of the existence of a database which contains citizens’ highly confidential and private information.

Comparison to Social Security Number

The United States of America runs a similar unique identification programme like that of Aadhaar called the Social Security Number (SSN). However, its specifications are internally different from that of Aadhaar. The SSN provides every citizen of the US with a unique number which requires only an ID proof. The unique number is stored independently and is matched to the name only in case of security purposes. Further, the SSN is restricted only to the federal agencies of the US and is prohibited from usage in the commercial and private areas.[17] The SSN is a much better format of a unique identification process in terms of data security. The United States have over the years, tried to restrict the use of SSN only to federal agencies[18] as it is only for the purpose of identification which is in contrast to the Indian government’s constant efforts for increasing its usage.

Conclusion

The Aadhaar Act has deep-rooted issues attached to it when it comes to breach of security and ultimately privacy. There are other alternatives to implement Aadhaar which might make it a justified, clean and a clear programme. Digital India is now being more and more promoted and implemented in the country than ever before, which is also a given of the government. Lack of stringent privacy laws like that in the US provides a leeway for misuse and inefficiency in implementation of data security. The government’s stance and defence in the matter is always focussed towards the objective of evasion of corruption by implementing linkage of unique identification to PAN, Income Tax matters, banks, etc. to avoid crimes such as tax frauds. Howsoever, the objective is of crucial importance, the privacy of citizens is of supreme importance as privacy is now a fundamental right in India.

Further, the motive of the government to eradicate corruption becomes an irony when corruption occurs in the Aadhaar procedure itself as due to the urgent necessity of having an Aadhaar number (result of the measures of the government) and slow pace of enrolment, citizens are forced to bribe operators in the enrolment centres.[19] Well-structured programmes like the SSN with the only purpose of identification provides a better framework for privacy implementation in the country. There needs to be an efficient and unbiased model of the unique identification programme for it to serve both the purposes of identification as well as privacy because the latter is not liable to be traded as fundamental rights directly link to the status of democracy in a country.

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References

[1] Justice KS Puttaswamy (Retd.) and Anr. vs Union of India and Ors., Writ Petition (civil) no. 494 of 2012, Supreme Court of India.

[2] Section 139 AA, Income Tax Act, 1961.

[3] Kiran Rathee , Govt plans to link driving licence with Aadhaar, Business Standard (Sept 16 2017, 01:31 IST ), http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-plans-to-link-driving-licence-with-aadhaar-117091600042_1.html

[4] Legal Correspondent, Supreme Court counters push for Aadhaar, The Hindu (Apr 7 2017, 13:57 IST), http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/aadhaar-cannot-be-mandatory-for-welfare-schemes-supreme-court/article17671381.ece.

[5] See 2.

[6] First Post Staff, SC blasts centre over making Aadhaar mandatory, First Post (Apr 21 2017, 12:34 IST), http://www.firstpost.com/india/supreme-court-blasts-centre-over-making-aadhaar-mandatory-says-it-was-supposed-to-be-optional-3396326.html.

[7] IANS, Rajya Sabha returns Aadhaar bill to Lok Sabha with amendments, The Hindustan Times (Mar 16 2016, 18:38 IST), http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/rajya-sabha-returns-aadhaar-bill-to-lok-sabha-with-amendments/story-uCVCaTLOVVyOVwrHqEuOSI.html.

[8] Express News Service, Aadhaar bill is through after Opposition scores a few brownie points, The Indian Express (Mar 17 2016, 04:47 IST), http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/rajya-sabha-returns-Aadhaar-bill-to-lok-sabha-with-oppn-amendments.

[9] Aman Sharma, “Is Aadhaar voluntarily mandatory now?”, The Economic Times (Aug 4 2016, 01:37 IST), https://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/et-commentary/is-aadhaar-voluntarily-mandatory-now/

[10] V. Shivshankar, Supreme Court Upholds Law to Link Aadhaar with PAN, Grants partial stay on Penal consequences, The Wire, (Jun 10 2017). https://thewire.in/145800/sc-upholds-law-link-aadhaar-pan-grants-partial-stay/

[11] Section 33, The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016

[12] See 7.

[13] Deepa Kurup, ‘Aadhaar infringes on our fundamental right to privacy’, The Hindu (Sept 30 2013, 00:08 IST), http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/interview/aadhaar-infringes-on-our-fundamental-right-to-privacy/article5182765.ece

[14] S. Aadeetya, This Website Has Leaked Details of Reliance Jio Users in India, The Quint (May 10 2017, 11:41 IST), https://www.thequint.com/tech-and-auto/tech-news/reliance-jio-user-data-leak-india

[15] Reuters, Reliance Jio does a U-turn, admits to data leak in police complaint, Business Standard (Jul 23 2017, 09:27 IST), http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/reliance-jio-does-a-u-turn-admits-to-data-leak-in-police-complaint-117071300193_1.html

[16] Aman Sethi, Samarth Bansal, and Sourav Roy, Details of over a million Aadhaar numbers published on Jharkhand govt website, The Hindustan Times (Jul 19 2017, 11:04 IST), http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/in-massive-data-breach-over-a-million-aadhaar-numbers-published-on-jharkhand-govt-website/story-EeFlScg5Dn5neLyBzrkw1I.html

[17] Your Social Security Number and Card, Social Security Administration, Govt. of the USA, https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10002.pdf

[18] Gail Hillebrand, State laws restricting private use of Social Security numbers, Consumers’ Union (June 2008), http://consumersunion.org/news/state-laws-restricting-private-use-of-social-security-numbers/

[19] Rabiya Bashir, Aadhaar Enrollment: How Necessity becomes Mother of Corruption, The Kashmir Monitor (Sep 30 2017), https://www.kashmirmonitor.in/Details/133261/Aadhaar-enrollmenthow-necessity-becomes-mother-of-corruption

This article is written by Sanjeev Sirohi, an advocate in Meerut.

In a first, the Supreme Court which is the highest court of our country has very clearly directed the Centre to constitute special courts to exclusively try criminal cases involving politicians. A Bench of Supreme Court comprising of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Navin Sinha have in their considered opinion held that, “In so far as setting up of Special Courts are concerned, setting up of Special Courts and infrastructure would be dependent on the availability of finances with the States…the problem can be resolved by having a central scheme for setting up of courts exclusively to deal with criminal cases involving political persons on the lines of the Fast Track Courts which were set up by the Central Government for a period of five years and extended further, which scheme has now been discontinued. Scheme to give effect to the above may be laid before the Court on the next date fixed, indicating the amount of funds that can be earmarked for setting up of Special Courts.” Centre must comply with what Supreme Court has said as soon as possible so that politicians with criminal background are shunted out permanently from politics at the earliest.

While craving for the exclusive indulgence of my esteemed readers, let me inform them that the Bench which was hearing a petition filed by BJP leader Ashwani Upadhyay seeking life time bans on convicted politicians from contesting elections, accepted Additional Solicitor General Atmaram Nadkarni’s request to give the Centre six weeks to submit details of the scheme. The matter will now come up for hearing on December 13. There is lot of merit and force in what Ashwani is seeking from Supreme Court and there is no valid reason why life time ban should not be imposed on convicted politicians.

It cannot be lightly dismissed nor would it be out of context to mention here that the Election Commission too on November 1 has proposed life ban for MPs/MLAs convicted in criminal cases in view of the rising trend of criminalization in politics. Presently we see how just a six-year ban is imposed on convicted politicians under the Representation of People’s Act. Politics has become a den for criminals and to purge this den from criminals, it is imperative that they are punished with life ban if they are convicted.

What is most perplexing is that on such a contentious and all important issue which can throw out all convicted politicians permanently from politics we see the unpalatable truth before us that Centre has chosen to remain non-committal. Additional Solicitor General Atmaram Nadkarni told the court that the recommendations of both the Election Commission and the Law Commission of India were pending with the Centre. However, it is a matter of some consolation that on the other key issue of fast-tracking trial against tainted politicians we saw a unanimity between the Election Commission and the Centre with both in favour of setting up of Special Courts.

It is noteworthy that by a rough estimate, the Centre said about 1,000 courts would have to be set up. The Bench told the Centre to first frame the scheme and allocate funds following which States could follow suit by setting up the infrastructure required to try criminal cases against MPs and MLAs. The Additional Solicitor General Atmaram Nadkarni agreed to frame the scheme before December 13 which is the next date of hearing.

Be it noted, senior advocate Meenakshi Arora while appearing for Election Commission, informed the Bench that the Election Commission was in “support” of a life ban on convicted MPs/MLAs who stand disqualified for 6 years on their conviction in a criminal case punishable with a sentence of two or more years as stipulated under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People’s Act, 1951. She said that the Election Commission had recommended so to the Centre with a view to curb the growing criminalization of politics. It is because of criminalization of politics that we see that criminals are able to manipulate everything in their own favour as they wield the keys to the corridors of power which is most dangerous and concerning!

Truth be told, during the hearing, the Centre drew the Apex Court’s ire for saying that though it was in favour of special courts trying cases against politicians and their speedy disposal, the constitution of such courts was primarily the responsibility of the states. Justice Ranjan Gogoi spared no punches in hitting out at Centre by saying that, “You say you have no opposition to fast track courts. Same time you say states have to set up… On one hand, you are making a commitment and at the same time, you are washing your hands off.” The Apex Court also referred to a report submitted to it by an NGO associated with electoral reforms named Association of Democratic Rights which disclosed names of 1581 MPs/MLAs facing 13,500 criminal cases in the present Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.

Be it noted, the Apex Court also asked Centre to inform it about the status of these 1581 criminal cases pending against lawmakers at the time of filing nominations to the 2014 elections. It also must be recalled here that in an order dated March 10, 2014, the Supreme Court had directed that the cases against legislators be expedited and disposed within a year. The Apex Court minced absolutely no words in asking this most categorically that, “How many of 1581 cases involving Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and Members of Parliament (MPs) (as declared at the time of filing of the nomination papers to the 2014 elections) have been disposed of within the time frame of one year as envisaged by this Court by order dated 10^th March, 2014 passed in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 536 of 2011. How many of these cases which have been finally decided have ended in acquittal/conviction of MPs and MLAs, as may be?”

As it turned out, the Bench also wanted to know if any new criminal case had been lodged against any present or former MP or MLA between 2014 and 2017 and its status. Underlining the dire need for Special Courts, Justice Ranjan Gogoi referred to the workload of trial courts across the country. At any point of time, each court was handling as many as 4200 cases, Gogoi said. He also added that, “But 4200 is much above optimal. Even if the Supreme Court says that the courts should dispose of cases in one year, that will be possible only if these courts were handling cases involving lawmakers and nothing else.”

Truly speaking, the Judges did not favour the suggestion that the proposed Special Courts be clubbed with other designated courts like CBI courts. It must be made mandatory for all candidates contesting elections that they should declare their assets and list criminal cases against them, if any and the latest position of those criminal cases whether they have been declared guilty or is still just pending. No doubt, it is a matter of grave concern that criminalisation of politics is increasing very rapidly and still they are not barred permanently from contesting elections.

It would be pertinent to note here that the Supreme Court on October 31 sought to know the rate of conviction of politicians in criminal cases and asked whether its direction to complete trial against them within a year was being effectively implemented. The Apex Court said that data about the conviction rate of politicians in criminal cases would open up a “new dimension” and sought to know whether it would act as a “deterrent” if the trial against lawmakers is completed in a year. Very rightly so!

As things stand, a Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Navin Sinha said that, “We would also like to know what is the rate of conviction. That will throw open a new dimension. We will see that criminal cases against politicians, if it does not end in conviction, then why? What are the reasons for it?” The top court made these observations while hearing petitions seeking to declare the provisions of the Representation of People (RP) Act, which bar convicted politician from contesting elections for six years after serving a jail term, as ultra vires to the Constitution. Referring to data, the counsel claimed that an estimated 34 percent of Parliamentarians had a criminal record.

Interestingly enough, the Bench observed that a direction was earlier passed by the top court that trial against politicians should be completed within a year and wanted to know how effectively was that order being implemented. The court also asked what would happen to a Judge when charges were framed against him or an FIR lodged. To this, the counsel replied that, “The court has laid down such a high and rigorous standards for Judges. If this is the position in the case of Judges, why can’t the same be there in case of politicians.”

While there can be no denying that the setting up of Special Courts to try criminal cases is a good step but it must be also ensured that adequate Judges are appointed for deciding such cases and they are fast tracked and all necessary infrastructure is provided to achieve the aforesaid purpose. Only then will the setting up of Special Courts will serve the desired purpose. Even Supreme Court itself had said that, “It takes years, probably decades, to complete a trial against a politician. By which time, he would have served as a minister or legislator several times over.” This is what needs to be checked and this is what that is most concerning.

Needless to say, Justice Ranjan Gogoi in his preliminary remarks, observed that all these issues of life-time ban on convicted politicians, implementation of earlier court orders that mandated time bound disposal of such cases and automatic disqualification of convicted lawmakers can be addressed if cases against politicians are dealt by Special Courts exclusively set up for the purpose. He said that, “There are only 17,000 courts in India. Once the Special Courts finish their work, they can continue functioning as normal courts. A thousand courts more are welcome….You have to appoint public prosecutors, provide infrastructure.” Very rightly said! No denying or disputing it!

According to the Department of Justice, more than 6.5 lakh cases are pending in fast track courts in the country. This is quite a whooping figure. It should be reduced to a bare minimum. Out of these cases, there are about 1500 in Delhi alone. Without adequate infrastructure and qualified Judges, these fast track courts are ill equipped to deal with such a huge volume of cases. Therefore, what must be first and foremost addressed is proper infrastructure and adequate qualified Judges. Only then will the fast track courts serve their true purpose and ensure that politicians don’t exploit our snail paced judicial system in their own favour.

Why so much of leniency is shown towards politicians alone? Why when a person is disqualified from becoming a Judge or IAS or IPS or joining Army or any other government service even if someone registers a false case then why are politicians alone exempted from it and are given the long rope to label it as “politically motivated”? Why is it not appreciated that considering the palpable truth that politicians are the basic pillars of governance who exercise control over police, bureaucrats and all other services and people also look on them as their ideal then why should criminals be allowed entry in politics at the first place?

 This is the root cause of rapid criminalization of politics and politics becoming the den of criminals. This has a pervasive effect on all other services and on our society as a whole which is always sought to be ignored. We have seen how even dacoits and mafias are easily able to enter politics by power of their money and muscle and then make a complete mockery of our entire democratic system. Should this be allowed to happen at the first place? The unpalatable truth is that we have allowed this right under our nose since the last 70 years! How can those charged with rioting, murder, attempt to murder, rape, gang rape, corruption, forgery and cheating etc be ever loyal in discharging his duties as MP or MLA? But what a pity that they have always been exempted instead of setting the highest bar for them. This under no circumstances can ever be justified. All said and done, there has to be zero tolerance for criminalization of politics. There can be no compromise on this under any circumstances. On a concluding note, it must be said that the Supreme Court has rightly directed Centre to set up Special Courts to try politicians in criminal cases and Centre must do it on a war footing!

s/o Col BPS Sirohi,

A 82, Defence Enclave,

Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

In this article, Leepakshi Rajpal discusses How to Claim Compensation under Third Party Motor Insurance.

Introduction

You bought a new vehicle, right? You need to know that your vehicle needs a personal insurance for itself to be secure and protected from the unwanted risks of the inevitable accidents. In India, it is mandatory for every vehicle to have a valid insurance for the car to be on the road. This mandatory provision is under the Motor vehicles Act, 1988 and this provision also provides that the vehicle can be on the road for social, domestic and pleasure purpose and business purposes.

Now, that we are talking more about the insurance and the vehicle to be insured, we must also know what is insurance and what is the nature of such insurance. Insurance is a contract whereby one party who is the insurer, undertakes in return for a consideration which is the premium, to pay to the other i.e. the insured or the assured, a sum of money in the event of happening of a, or one of the various specified uncertain events, the happening of which is a vested interest.

Insurance can be of many kinds, for instance, it can be life insurance, fire insurance, other personal insurances, marine insurance, accident or property insurance, liability insurance i.e. when the sum becomes payable when the legal liability is incurred as for personal injuries or professional negligence to another.

So, what this blog is going to talk about is the procedure for claiming the third party motor vehicle insurance. Now, the third party insurance is also referred to as the act only cover since the beneficiary of the policy is someone other than the two parties involved in the contract i.e. the assured or the insured and the insurance company. The policy does not provide the benefit to be insured however it covers the insured’s legal liability for death/disability of third party loss or damage to third party property. Now, that we know what a third party motor vehicle insurance is, let us get into this procedure for claiming a third party motor vehicle insurance.

8 Procedural Steps – Claim Compensation under Third Party Motor Insurance

There are certain steps to follow when you want a claim for your motor vehicle for a third party. So, you do not go directly to the court, the appended steps have to be followed in order to get the claim set right and done.

File an FIR

When you want a claim of a motor vehicle for a third party, the first thing you do is, go to the nearest police station and file an FIR. FIR stands for first information report which means that you go to the police station and tell the police of whatever happened in the accident and then the police record it in an FIR or the first information report. Therefore, the information that is given for the first time after the happening of a specified uncertain event is the First Information report.

Approach a Motor Claims Lawyer

Now that you have filed an FIR, you must approach a lawyer that is specialized in filing claims of the motor vehicle. When you find such lawyer, go and talk to him and narrate the incident along with the copy of FIR if you have it. Assure him that you are not hiding anything from him or her and make sure that he is a specialist and has done filing of claims of the motor vehicle for the third party before so that it is more easy and convenient for you. Once, you are comfortable with him or her, share every detail of the accident or the specified uncertain event that happened because of which you had to file for an insurance claim of your motor vehicle for a third party.

Motor Accident Claims Tribunal

Now, that you have filed an FIR, given the information to the police and you have also contacted the motor vehicle claim lawyer, you should not file the case in the motor accident claims tribunal and not in any other court, because no other court will entertain such a query. This tribunal has been created for the purpose of solving disputes related to motor vehicle claims itself and therefore it is a specialized tribunal. Approach this tribunal along with your lawyer and follow the instructions given by the tribunal.

Jurisdiction

Now, when it comes to the tribunal, it may not be necessary that it may be only in one place. The jurisdiction issue will also arise in cases of circumstances when the FIR is to be filed. You can file an FIR near the place of accident, or the place of your residence or the place of the hospital you approached, and therefore that will determine the jurisdiction of the tribunal as well. So, once you file an FIR, hire a lawyer for the same purpose and also go to the tribunal, make sure that you approach the right tribunal because the defendant may claim the jurisdiction to be invalid and therefore, the process of claim will go a long way then. So, in order to save your time and other’s time as well, go in the right court, by which I mean the court that has the jurisdiction over the matter which will be decided by the police station you report to. Be careful with jurisdictions.

Right of Fair Hearing

When you approach the right court or the court which has the accurate jurisdiction over the matter, then the court procedures will begin and once the court procedures begin, know that the court gives a chance to both the parties to hear which the right to fair hearing. It means that when the parties arrive in the court both the parties are given a chance to be heard in the court which ensures that the court is following the principles of natural justice, which are a part of the basic structure of the constitution. These principles contained in them the principle of the right to fair hearing which ensures justice is delivered to them. This means that in order to make sure that justice is delivered, an adversary system is followed in our country which means that the judge acts as an empire, and both the parties are given a fair chance to be heard and to be presented before the court. Therefore, the right to present yourself is a part of the fair hearing and it can be enforced through your advocate if the chance is not provided.

Arguments

Now, that you have followed all the process mentioned above and the right of fair hearing is provided. The question that arises is what way you would use to represent yourself and the same goes for the other party as well. There are certain methods which need to be followed while taking into consideration the practices which are followed in the court. The procedures have to be strictly followed and abided by because otherwise, you could also be charged with contempt of court. The ways in which you represent yourself in the court is through the arguments that are put forth by the lawyer you hire in the court. Therefore, when you go to the court it is not that you start speaking in order to exercise your right of fair hearing, it is that your lawyer argues on your behalf in the manner prescribed and required by the courts. Once your lawyer has argued the case and put forth his arguments on your behalf the same will go through again from the side of the defendant, which means that once you are heard, the right of fair hearing will pass onto the defendant or we can also say that he will get a chance to exercise his own right of fair hearing and then his lawyer will represent him through his arguments.

Examination of Evidence

Once, the arguments have been put forth by both the sides, all you need to do is wait for the court to examine the evidence or the substantiality of your arguments and the arguments put forth by the defendant’s lawyer. The examination of the evidence is an important part in any judgement, but in this case where the petition is for the claim of a motor vehicle for the third party, the judge will examine the evidence as to what are the pieces of evidence or substantial arguments that help in deciphering to the truth or coming to a conclusion. The examination of evidence will be done by the bench or the judge for the case and based on this examination the judgment will be given for either providing the claim or not providing the claim.

Judgement

Once everything mentioned above has taken place, the point of judgment comes. In this stage what happens is that judgment is given as to whether the claim will be given or not given. The judgment will be based on the examination of the evidence and will accompany every reason supporting the judgment. This is the only stage where the relief in form of compensation or the claim will be given or not given. Therefore, this is one of the most important and crucial stages of the whole case, where it will be decided whether you approaching the court or the tribunal was successful or not.

Difficulties while Claiming Compensation under Third Party Motor Insurance

There are certain difficulties that a party who tries to claim motor vehicle insurance for a third party might face because living in a city like Delhi is tough.

Losing the No Claim Bonus

This means that if you live in a city like Delhi or Bombay, it is very difficult to escape an accident be it major or minor. When you meet an accident, then the difficulty arises in the fact that after the accident you pay but when you claim the insurance, and the company pays, you actually consume the bonus that was a part of the Insurance which you would not have used. So, this problem is a major problem because if you would not have utilized the No Claim Bonus then the money would have been in your pockets. so you are the one who ultimately loses.

Complicated Procedure

When you indulge into claiming a motor vehicle insurance for a third party, you actually end up losing a lot of time and the procedure is too complicated that after looking at it you might not want to get into it.

Complex Course

Once you want to indulge in getting a motor vehicle insurance for the third party, you have to go file an FIR and follow the complex procedures involved there is no shortcut to it. You will have to follow the long procedure which is complex in its very nature, and there are no short ways to it.

Time Consuming

Once you engage yourself in the process, the time that it will take to complete the claim and get the claim of the insurance will be much more than expected. the first step of filing an FIR may itself take two to three days or more if the inspector is rigid. Therefore the whole process is time-consuming and may take around one week at any time extension to complete the process.

Conclusion

Now that we have discussed the procedure for claiming the insurance of a motor vehicle for a third party, we hope that you will get your motor vehicle insured carefully and do it for the third party as well. It helps in the longer run. It is necessary because some uncertain events may also take place which we cannot foresee, therefore insurance is a must.

In this article, Raghav Ajmera of Shri Navalmal Firodia Law College, Pune discusses Oil leaks in the sea and environmental damage – Indian laws that are relevant.

Introduction

Oil leaks or oil spill is considered among the worst ecological disasters. The most transported commodity in the world is oil and because of its chemical nature, it is transported through the medium of the sea. These type of spills occurs when there is a collision of vessels carrying oil cargo. Oil spills not only pollute the sea but the whole environment. It is a nation and international concern regarding the marine pollution because when the spill occurs it is not a short-term pollution it is a long-term pollution. The spills last for decades and it cannot be cured until and unless the appropriate measures are taken to prevent, control and remove the risk.

Environmental Pollution and its types

Pollution refers to the addition of harmful or contaminants to the natural environment is known as pollution. Pollution is of many types which areas :

• Air pollution: The harmful particles or contaminants released by the industries or the vehicles into the natural environment causing the problem to respirate is known as air pollution.

• Noise pollution: The sound created by the industries, airplane, vehicles which can cause a hearing problem. It affects both health and body.

• Water pollution: The harmful intoxicants or the waste released into the water which may harm the groundwater is known as water pollution.
• Soil pollution: When the harmful chemicals are released by the spills or underground leakage into the soil is known as soil pollution.

Meaning of Oil Spill

In the basic terms, it refers to when the oil is released into the sea or oceans or coastal areas due to the collision of two vessels carrying oil cargo. It has a direct effect on marine ecosystem just because of the inhuman activity and it is also a kind of pollution. It is the release of liquid petroleum hydrocarbon. Oil spills have effects on society economically, environmentally and socially. The quantities in which the spills have taken place is between several thousand tons to several lakh tons. Oil spills result in the damage of the beaches, marshlands, marine mammals, fish, and birds. Spills may take from days to years of cleaning.

Environmental damages by oil spill

An oil slick is the floating of oil over the water after the oil spill and when an oil slick reaches the beach the oil grasp to every rock and grain of sand present there at the beach. If the oil spill reaches to the forest or other wetlands the grasses there absorbs the oil which can damage the plant and make the whole place an unsuitable habitat.

When the oil stops floating on the surface and sinks into the water it has the same effect to the marine ecosystem which leads to the killing of the fishes inside the water and thus resulting in the breaking of the food chain from which the world is connected.

According to the reports, despite the efforts of cleaning up after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 a study of 2007 conducted by the National Oceanic and atmospheric administration(NOAA) found that 26000 gallons of oil from the Exxon Valdez oil spill was still found in the sand along the Alaska shoreline that is why it is regarded as the most dangerous environmental disaster which cannot be removed even after years. The scientists also revealed that the oil was declining less than 4 percent rate annually.

• Oil spills kill birds

These are the kind of birds which swim and dive for their food and are most likely to be damaged by the oil spill. Even the small amount of oil can cause danger to the bird. By the coating of oil over the birds not make them able to fly and thus destroying their natural waterproofing.
As per the reports, Exxon Valdez oil spill killed approximately between 2,50,000 to 5,00,000 seabirds and also a number of shorebirds.

• Oil spills kill marine mammals

Whenever the oil stops floating and gets started to sink into the marine ecosystem it causes a problem for the dolphins and whales as the oil reaches down there it creates a problem for the animals to breathe. Even when the marine mammals sense danger during the time of oil spill and leaves the place makes them safe but it causes a problem of food as their whole habitat is dependent on the marine fishes which are exposed to the oil spills which may be poisoned by the oil.

• Oil spills kill fish

The oil spills cause a big danger to the marine fishes which causes their death as they are exposed to a large quantity of oil spill.

• Wildlife habitat and breeding grounds – Oil spill

It has long-term effects on every kind of environment not only the marine environment. The oil spills destroy the natural habitat of the seaside animals like sea turtles who spend most of their time in the sea but comes ashore to nest. Sea turtles can be exposed to the oil spill as they stay ashore for the nest and when the oil floats over to beaches it destroys the eggs which cause a problem in their development.

The danger the oil spill has varied due to different factors including the amount of oil spilled, the time, the location, the type and weight of oil spill but at the end, every oil spill is a danger to the environment.

Oil spills in India

The following table describes the oil spills in India :

International conventions

There are international conventions which are made for the prevention of pollution from the ships and these are directed towards the following objectives :

1. The first objective is to provide the complete elimination of international pollution of the seas by the oil;
2. To provide for the minimization of the international and accidental pollution of the seas by oil and other elements by the help of offshore facilities;
3. To provide for the complete elimination of the pollution of the seas by activities such as tank washing and bilge discharge involving noxious and hazardous cargoes other than oil;
4. To deal with the minimization of the oil spill by the result of accident;
5. To deal with the dumping and the other disposal waste of ashore and sewage by the ships into the seas;
6. To deal with safe carriage of dangerous goods;
7. To deal with air pollution generated from ships.

In order to deal with the problem arising out of the sea oil pollution, there have been following three conventions :

1. International Convention relating to intervention on the high seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Damage, 1969;
2. International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution, 1969, and
3. International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Oil Pollution Damage, 1971.

Merchant shipping Act, 1958 – Where to complaint and how to complaint

The part XI of the Merchant shipping act, 1958 gives effects to international conventions regarding the prevention of pollution of the seas by oil. The problem of oil pollution is a very big concern to our country as oil is imported to our country in large quantity.
So accordingly the problem is divided into two stages :

1. Prevention of such pollution, and
2. Mitigation, control or removal of oil spillage whether accidental or otherwise.

The following points describe the meaning of the sections describe in the merchant shipping act, 1958.

• Section 356 A

The section 356A of the Merchant shipping act, 1958 defines the application of prevention and containment of pollution of the sea by the oil.

• Section 356 B

The section 356B describes the definition of the pollution of the sea by the oil. This section defines every term related to the cause of pollution of the sea by the vessels carrying oil cargo.

• Section 356 C

The section 356C describes the issue of pollution prevention certificate which is issued so that no tanker or ship proceeds to sea. It is issued by the central government to be called an international oil prevention certificate.

• Section 356 D

The section 356D describes the issue of certificates for foreign ships in India and Indian ships in foreign countries which means without a certificate a ship cannot enter any other country.

• Section 356 E

The section 356E describes the requirement for construction and equipment in ships to prevent pollution which means that proper steps should be taken towards the prevention of pollution by whatever necessary means of construction.

• Section 356 F

The section 356F describes recording the books which means that books should be maintained with respect to how much of oil is imported in India.

• Section 356 G

The section 356G describes inspection and control of oil tankers and other ships to which this Part applies which states that any person authorized may go on board and inquire about the ship is according to the proper rules and regulations.

• Section 356 H

The section 356H describes the information regarding contravention of provisions of Convention which means that the director general on finding out the ship is not according to the prescribed regulations may detain the ship and proceed against the oil tanker.

• Section 356 I

The section 356I describes the Oil reception facilities at ports in India which states that every port in India should provide reception facilities.

PROVISIONS FOR CONTAINMENT OF ACCIDENTAL POLLUTION

• Section 356 J

The section 356J describes the Power to give a notice to the owner, etc., of polluting ship when the central government is satisfied if the ship is not as per the prescribed rules then the shipowner may be served with a notice to correct the same mistake.

• Section 356 K

The section 356K describes the Powers to take measures for preventing or containing[oil or noxious liquid substance] pollution states that when one person after being served the notice under section 356J fails to comply the central government can convict the person of an offense.

• Section 356 L

The section 356L describes the Power of the Central Government to give directions to certain ships to render certain services states that the government may ask shipowner to render any service if it deemed necessary.

• Section 356 M

The section 356M describes the oil pollution cess.

• Section 356 N

The section 356N describes the refusal of port clearance.

• Section 356 O

The section 356O describes the Power to make rules.

References

• https://www.ssrn.com/en/
• https://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=345071025031102100101003085004066066105031089055030062103114122025002109106093025124126000024009054122012124113094121078112097018038048082088073091098017074002017019005053004116069112105065125091076016084119121103066068083110025108116125097099085096069&EXT=pdf

In this article, Raghav Ajmera of Shri Navalmal Firodia Law College, Pune discusses Career opportunities for law graduates in journalism.

Introduction

A pen is more dangerous than a sword or gun. Today everyone wants to be aware of the issue and incidents happening around the world related to the economy, science, politics, culture, religious, sports etc. The media and technology is the source of information to the people around the world and journalist is one who is responsible for all kind of information provided. It is a very responsible job because before providing the news the journalist needs to be very sure as whatever they say to influence the public to a large extent. A person looking for a career in journalism should be presentable and confident. To be a lawyer or to be a journalist is a similar thing as in both the cases you need be very precise about the details and facts. These both are intertwined. After a graduate from a law school practicing as a lawyer or be at a corporate office is not the only option you have. You have an enormous number of options with good monetary benefits. What both require is a good communication, researching skills. Better the skills better are your growth. Working as a journalist with a law degree is an excellent career choice. Everyone in their law school has heard the line that ‘you can do anything with a law degree’.

World of Journalism

Journalism refers to the distribution of reports that are being taken from events, facts, interaction with people from around the globe. It is the method of collecting the reports and organizing the literary style. Journalist media includes the newspaper, news channel, radio.

If we look deeper in journalism, the news media in some country is not an independent body it is controlled by government interventions. While the country’s where news media is an independent body works under the constitutional protection of freedom of the press. The world of journalism from the last two decades has undergone an enormous number of changes with the change in technology. As now the internet is providing news online with easy access which has made more readers throughout the world. Subsequently, this has made the increase in more news reporting sources. Journalism has various forms all with a diverse audience.

Why journalism

To know whether the career in journalism is good or not first of all count all the characteristics that are required to be a good journalist and then compared the same characteristics with your qualities. We may find out that the skills needed to have a good career in journalism are many of the same skills that a lawyer learns while attending the law school.

For instance, A lawyer at any point can be asked to do a quick study on a new business or industry, or a person all depending on the client’s need. Similarly, the same skill is applicable to the world of journalism where you may be asked or expected to write an article or report on a legal topic that you know a little about.

Like a journalist needs to have an exceptional writing and speaking skills same applies to the legal world where these skills are transferable.

Breaking in

Developing relationships is the most important thing you can do to break into the world of journalism. The field of journalism is very competitive. Even if you have the characteristics that are required to be a journalist on television or a newspaper reporter you can’t easily get a job or crack an interview. The first thing you should do is make your network strong. Try to interact with as many people as you can. The lifestyle is completely different from a journalist as compared to a lawyer.

• The schedule of a journalist is a flexible one but a lawyer has busy times when he has to cover a case he even doesn’t gets time for his/her personal life. The case takes priority over your personal life.
• Initially, all the journalist’s salary does not match the salary of a lawyer as in starting they are paid less.
• To overcome the challenges a journalist needs to be very quick and fast which may not be possible for a lawyer to do as it would result in not detail and accurate reading.
• A lawyer, in general, is trained to present one side of a case with great efforts and arguments but a journalist with all his efforts needs to present opinion from both the side.
• Journalists do not present an opinion not to win a case but a lawyer presents one side to win a case.

To be a good journalist you must have the following qualities :

1. Be informed: Read newspaper daily so that you would be aware of the issues happening around the world which will help you during your job as a journalist.
2. Be quick: The most important thing that you should have is to be quick because this field requires more attention and accuracy and quick answers as compared to other forms of a profession.
3. Excellent writing: The writing part should be the best attribute of yours in the field of journalism. Your writing reflects you.
4. Narrative skills: There are two most important attributes that a person must have is their skill of writing and narration. A journalist by his/her way of speaking can influence other. Narration and writing should be your first priority to get success in the field of journalism.
5. You get to meet a lot of people: As a journalist, you get to do interviews with a variable number of people with different types of background which makes your network strong.
6. You get to learn for a living: Journalism is the career where every day you get to learn something new. Every morning you get news to research for which you get paid. So more you learn more you get paid.

The role of law in journalism

Freedom of press

The law has played a major role in the world of journalism. The world of journalism works under the constitutional protection of freedom of the press which has helped the journalist to work freely without any interruption of an individual. Freedom of the press is the communication of expression and thoughts through the medium of newspaper or television but freedom only to that extent where it is not causing defamation.

Issue of privacy

There has always been a debate of privacy with regard to journalism. The digital world has been very helpful in regard to the invasion of privacy as today cameras can capture everything happening around. The legal issue of privacy currently focuses on private facts of an individual.

Libel

Libel is basically a false statement which is written or published about any other individual which damages their reputation. Libel causes a huge loss to an individual. But whenever a case is brought up against the news channel or newspaper the case gets easily dismissed as the defendants produce defenses which may help them to win the case because the plaintiff fails to prove that the facts published or written are defamatory.

Career in journalism after law

A career in media after doing law would be an excellent career opportunity. Be and known for a legal expert in a particular area. Being a legal expert sets you apart from other journalists. Maybe you can get a job because of your particular expertise. Legal education helps you to improve your writing, narrating and researching skills which is a necessary attribute to enter into the world of journalism. A journalist with a law degree needs no additional training to report on the legal issues. A journalist with a law degree will help in spreading legal awareness among the citizens of a country.

In conclusion it is regarded that lawyers are needed in journalism not because of their work ethics or detailed working or accurate answering but because of the fact that the lawyers are aware of the laws as the public needs to be educated about our legal system and this will happen only with the help of a journalist with a law degree.

A law graduate possesses all kinds of qualities that a journalist requires. The work of a lawyer is to interpret the kind of crime and describe the rules stating that particular crime. While a journalist job is to report the crime committed that is why it is regarded as the sub-branch. To both the lawyers and journalists truth is necessary. Both lawyers and journalists are the most powerful source available to the world. Both lawyers and journalists need to influence the public according to their point of view. Legal education provides you attribute which is best suited for journalism.

Future holds in journalism

This is the world of technology. Needs for e-paper is necessary. Social media has taken over the internet and social media is the best form of communication available to the users worldwide. Whether it is a newspaper, media everything is accessible on one click. The digitisation has brought the world to our living rooms. Everyone knows that the internet holds a huge audience and the future is full of technology.

Diploma courses in journalism one can pursue with law

Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication program principally spins around ideas, for example, Fundamentals of Mass Communication, Writing and Communication aptitudes, Media Law and Ethics, News Reporting, Editorial Writing, Fundamentals of Documentary making and etc. Diploma courses duration differs from course to course.

Online course in journalism

Yes, there are many institutes who provide the online courses in journalism. These courses are very helpful as they help in learning at distance also.

AMITY’S ONLINE Journalism & Mass Communication Program

The London School of Journalism

School of Journalism and New Media Studies (SOJNMS) – IGNOU

A postgraduate degree in Masters in communication from IIMC – How helpful will it be

When it comes to Indian Institute of mass communication, you have the best college in the journalism and mass communication field. The exposure in this college is very high as the best teachers and faculties teach here. The college not only focuses on theory reading and learning but also it helps you in teaching the practical aspects of your field. You get a chance to participate daily in the activities as to improve yourself. Yes, a post graduation degree from this college will surely make a difference for your future in the world of journalism.

Internships to focus on

Interning with iPleaders

iPleaders have made the law more accessible to the people nowadays. iPleaders advocates that businessmen, including technology entrepreneurs, can manage the majority of legal issues by themselves efficiently if they are equipped with basic knowledge and resources. Interning with them would be very helpful to you if you are planning your future in the world of journalism. The best part of your interning here would be that at the end of the internship period your writing skills would be very improved as during the course of internship period you are going to write as many numbers of articles. Writing skills would be very helpful to you in the field of journalism.

Interning with Bar and Bench

The main task of the interns here would be research on Supreme Court judges and their profiles, Wikipedia editing, worked on the Bar and Bench report, publication on the website. This will help you in improving your general and social knowledge and it would be very helpful in the field of journalism as when you would be sitting in any debates in future you’ll have a little relevancy about every topic. This internship will help you in improving your research skills.

Interning with Live Law

Live Law is a comprehensive legal news portal and is set to redefine the standards of legal journalism in India. Their endeavor is to bring in more transparency in legal reporting without lowering the supremacy of law. This is a portal which will be very helpful to the students pursuing their career in journalism after law as interning here would not only improve your legal knowledge but also you’ll gain some attributes about journalism.

Interning with big media companies

The big media companies are Hindu, Indian Express, etc. interning with them will give you an outline of the world of journalism. The internship here will make your CV strong if you are going to have a future in journalism.

How much salary do Indian journalists make?

According to the sources, a journalist earns between the range of Rs 119,909 – Rs 751,559. But a job in journalism can be very helpful as it has many advantages.

Lawyer turned journalist

Rajdeep Sardesai is a good example of how a lawyer turned into a journalist. He is the only Indian journalist who replies to messages and emails of every common man. In one of his interview, he said, “It was that time I thought that this profession can provide me independence with which I can fight for the people’s rights. That’s how I observed my transition to law. But after a practice of six months, I realized that .. well I would say, I was always vacillating between law and journalism. I always liked journalism. I also did an internship in a newspaper during my college days. So eventually I went for journalism, but still, sometimes I reckon I should have continued with my practice.”

The interview was taken by Acadman

Conclusion

Doing journalism after a law degree is an excellent choice as a student in law school you gain all the attributes that are necessary for a good journalist. Journalism is a composition of reporting, analysing, and organising the world news. For journalism reading, researching, narrative, writing are the most important attribute required. Journalism and law go hand in hand having almost similar characteristics.

In this article, Deepshikha Sarkar discusses how to obtain international Patent protection.

Does and Indian Patent give international protection?

All Intellectual Property Rights including Patents have territorial jurisdiction. The rights granted are only effective within the territory of India. The inventor reserves the right to file a corresponding patent in convention countries where he wishes to get protection within or before 12 months from its date of filing in India. There is no ‘global protection’ as such, protection needs to be obtained in every country individually.

This also means that if a patent is rejected in any one country it does not make any difference to its protection in other countries, and vice versa, as they are governed purely by national laws.

How can an Indian Inventor get a Patent in a foreign country?

An Indian inventor can choose to get a patent in a foreign country either by filing for patent in India too or by only getting protection in foreign countries. Whatever he chooses he would in any way need to inform the Patent office in India as no patent application can be filed outside India without that.

If the Indian inventor does not want protection in India, the Inventor (applicant)should take permission from Indian patent office for filing patent application outside India. Generally, patent office replies within 21 days.

This is mandated by the As explained in Section 39 of the Indian Patent act:

“Residents not to apply for patents outside India without prior permission

(1) No person resident in India shall, except under the authority of a written permit sought in the manner prescribed and granted by or on behalf of the Controller, make or cause to be made any application outside India for the grant of a patent for an invention unless—

(a) an application for a patent for the same invention has been made in India, not less than six weeks before the application outside India; and

(b) Either no direction has been given under sub-section (1) of section 35 in relation to the application in India, or all such directions have been revoked.

(2) The Controller shall dispose of every such application within such period as may be prescribed:

Provided that if the invention is relevant for defense purpose or atomic energy, the Controller shall not grant permit without the prior consent of the Central Government.

(3) This section shall not apply in relation to an invention for which an application for protection has first been filed in a country outside India by a person resident outside India.

Routes to Multi Country Protection

Paris Convention

The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property was signed in Paris, France on 20th March 1883, making it one of the first treaties in Intellectual property. It was made with the objective of promoting trade and protecting industrial property among the member countries without any loss of priority date. India became a member in December 1998.

PROCEDURE UNDER THE PARIS CONVENTION

Inventor can directly file separate patent applications at the same time in all of the countries in which he would like to protect your invention (for some countries, regional patents may be available) or, having filed in a Paris Convention country (one of the Member States of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property), then file separate patent applications in other Paris Convention countries within 12 months from the filing date of that first patent application, giving him the benefit in all those countries of claiming the filing date of the first application.

Patent Cooperation Treaty

The Patent Cooperation Treaty is an international patent Law treaty, concluded in 1970 and entered into in 1978. It provides a platform where procedure for patent filing is unified and protects inventions of all signatories.

A Patent application filed under PCT is called an international/PCT application. An Indian inventor can file an application under the PCT, directly or within the 12-month period provided for by the Paris Convention from the filing date of a first application, which is valid in all Contracting States of the PCT and, therefore PCT filing is much simpler, easier and more cost-effective than both, Paris route filings.

By choosing this method of registration an Indian inventor is bound to save in terms of costs towards filing fees, translation, attorney charges etc.

Also the PCT system provides much longer time for filing patent application in member countries. Under PCT the time ranges from 20-31 months.

Additionally, an inventor gets help from the search report and the Preliminary Examination Report the inventor gets a clearer picture of the novelty and the possibility of patentability.

PROCEDURE INVOLVED IN PCT

Filing: The inventor can file an international application with a national or regional patent Office or WIPO, complying with the PCT formality requirements, in one language, and the inventor pays only one set of fees.

International Search: An “International Searching Authority” (ISA) identifies the published patent documents and prior art which defines the scope of an invention getting patented. It also furnishes a written opinion for the same.

International Publication: As soon as possible after the expiration of 18 months from the earliest filing date, the content of the inventors international application is disclosed to the world.

Supplementary International Search (optional): A second ISA identifies, at the inventors request, published documents which may not have been found by the first ISA which carried out the main search because of the diversity of prior art in different languages and different technical fields.

International Preliminary Examination (optional): One of the ISAs at the inventors request, carries out an additional patentability analysis, usually on an amended version of the inventors application.

National Phase: After the end of the PCT procedure, usually at 30 months from the earliest filing date of your initial application, from which the inventor claims priority, one can start to pursue the grant of patents directly before the national (or regional) patent Offices of the countries in which he wants to obtain them.

Comparison of the Routes

ADVANTAGEOUS FEATURES OF PCT

• It delays the need to make a firm decision about the countries where patent protection is to be pursued by up to 18 months.
• The PCT International Search Report helps applicants to determine how likely it is that the application will proceed to grant in individual countries after national phase entry.
• Even accounting for the additional cost of the PCT application, slightly lower costs for national phase entry as compared with direct filings means the PCT route for more than a couple of countries can actually be cheaper overall.

ADVANTAGEOUS FEATURES OF THE PARIS ROUTE

1. It is beneficial for people who are looking for a fast grant of patent as opposed to a cost effective method. Paris Convention filing can often proceed to grant significantly faster than those going by the PCT route. As in this route an application is filed in an individual country sooner, hence examination is expedited.
2. Notwithstanding the fact that PCT covers over 130 countries, countries like Taiwan and Argentina and a few others are not a part of it. If one wants protection in those countries, Paris route is required.
3. If an Applicant wants to file different content in, for example, Europe and the USA (as approaches to information technology and pharmaceutical patents) then the PCT route is not feasible. As in PCT one must draft a single patent specification that takes into account the different legal requirements of all countries.

It can be said safely that these two routes are not alternatives. Both have advantages and disadvantages exclusive to each of them. In fact, they are complementary methods available to the inventor to choose as per his needs.

In this article, Deepshikha Sarkar discusses the implications of the expiry of Amazon’s OneClick patent for e-commerce industry.

What is OneClick?

OneClick, also called 1-Click or one-click is an online buying method which was patented by the company Amazon. The patent was granted by The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as US 5960411 in 1999. But as it was applied for in 1997, it expired on 12th September 2017. The US patent can be found here

OneClick is a technique which allows customers to make online purchase with just one single hit subsequent to the first order. When a customer places his first order and entres payment method and shipping order with Amazon, OneClick is automatically enabled. With this technology customer’s order is be automatically charged to the payment method and shipped to the address associated with his OneClick settings.

Amazon claimed OneClick to be New as it allows an online shopper using an internet marketplace to purchase an item without having to use shopping cart software. Instead of manually inputting billing and shipping information for a purchase, a user can use OneClick buying to use a predefined address and credit card number to purchase one or more items.

What are the implications of expiry of a patent?

IN THE UNITED STATES

Amazon’s OneClick has been one of its major advantages on the road to market dominance in the US.

Amazon patented the then novel technology back in 1999. Barnes and Noble introduced their own system called Express Lane. Amazon sued Barnes & Noble for using their patent and won.

Some companies have licensed the 1-Click buy from Amazon, most notably Apple in 2000, as Steve Jobs believed it to be crucial for the growth of the iTunes Store.

With the expiring of the patent, the field is now the same for all, it will be soon once online retailers catch up with implementation. The big companies have long been anticipating this day and are already developing their own technology for 1-Click purchases. Giants like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook have been gearing up to take the 1-Click buy to just about any page on the web.

Facebook itself already has a Buy button, and other social media players like Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram may not be soon behind.

It is expected that in the future OneClick buying will be the norm. All leading retailers, social media sites, cookie enabled browsers and websites like PayPal will store information. Internet will act as megastore and browsing will be smooth, users will be seamlessly picking from the plethora of options.

The expiry of patent gives an opportunity to all e-commerce stores — the big and the small. As online experiences are automated, consumers’ lives are enriched with ever smoother and quicker interactions.

These innovations will further fuel the growth of e-commerce and fast-track the advance of machine learning, making lives simpler and easy to check out anytime, anywhere.

INDIA

The trademark was claimed under CPC class G06Q 10/087 which protects Data Processing systems or methods and more specifically Inventory or stock management.

This Data Processing System is in direct contravention of Indian law. As far as the patentability of process, workflow or method patents is concerned, the processes and products which are not patentable is mentioned in Section 3, Patents Act, 1970 (Those which are not inventions). Presentation of information or a business method falls is not considered an invention under section 3(n).

It is important to note that Amazon has not launched OneClick in India, keeping aside the fact that OneClick could not be patented in India Amazon made a conscious business decision as to not launch it in India. There were no regulatory setbacks, as OneClick functions as Mail Order Telephone Order transaction (MOTO) in the United States and MOTO transactions are allowed by the RBI to Credit card holders in India.

EUROPE

It can be safely said that the implications will not be huge outside the US as it was never successfully launched or patented anywhere else apart from the USA.

Amazon was never able obtain a patent for OneClick in Europe. In fact, they continued trying to get Patent rights in the European Union with continuous appeals for ten years starting from 2001. They were rejected last in 2011.

CONCLUSION

There were a lot of questions raised as to granting the patent of the nature of OneClick but it was groundbreaking in terms of online shopping.On the event of the patent expiring, consumers could see a lot more opportunities to shop impulsively—in case they have already provided their payment details to the merchant. It also creates situations in which consumers to end up with purchases they didn’t mean to buy.

But it remains a good news for retailers that are trying to find new ways to lure consumers their way and away from Amazon. Also, technology bigwigs like Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft will surely include this single click ordering technology on their own websites. This will facilitate the consumers shopping online to make purchases through merely a click of the mouse on any website via the details saved on their web browser.

Whether this system post the expiry of the Patent will be a huge impactful success or not is still a question. This is dependant upon American web shopper’s propensity to adopt a system which mandates entry of address and payment details into their browser.

In this article, Deepshikha Sarkar discusses First to File and First to Invent rules.

INTRODUCTION

The first to file (FTF) and the first to invent (FTI) rules are pretty much what their names suggest. As per this rule, it is decided as to who shall have the right to get his invention patented.

Under FTF system, the person who files first for the patent of an invention is eligible for the grant of patent. It completely disregards the date at which the invention was made.

As opposed to this under the FTI rule if multiple people file a patent application for the same invention, the patent is granted after determining who was first to invent. This can be determined by the help of proceedings, etc.

Mostly, nations subscribe to the FTF system and hence the priority date is the basis of grant of patent. With the America Invents Act of 2011, the United States switched its patent system from first to invent to first to file on March 16, 2013. This switch, was specifically to First Inventor To File (FITF). The FITF system is the FTF syste, in essence, the difference arises in the process of ascertaining the prior art; the disclosure of the same invention within the previous year is considered as prior art unless it comes from the same inventor. This is also known as the first to disclose system.

Position in India

The position in India can not be so easily ascertained. Although it is popular belief that the Indian patent regime grants the patent to the person who first filed an application. And the FTF regime is prevalent here.

Although the Indian Law is not completely in consonance with this belief. At Least the literal interpretation of the letter of the statute does not say so.

The relevant law in this matter is Section 6 Patents Act, 1970 where in the persons who can apply for patents are enlisted. Sub section (a) states “by any person claiming to be the true and first inventor of the invention;”.

The law says that a person needs to be a true and first inventor. Both these requirements are mandatorily to be fulfilled.

• First, “True” in the sense that the inventor (or inventors) should be the person who has actually made the product with his own efforts without copying from others. It should genuinely be his invention.
• Second, the true inventor must also be the first one to invent it. So we see that the system of First to File is nowhere reflected in the Section quoted above, contrary to popular belief. In fact it portrays the fact that India follows First to Invent rule.

What is important to note is that the applicant has to be both the true & the first inventor. Even if the applicants claim of being the true inventor is genuine, there is a possibility that he is not the first inventor. The applicant only claims based upon his belief that he is the first inventor. The fact that no one has published the invention in the public domain or filed for a patent is just his belief as per his best knowledge.

It is possible that his knowledge is not correct and another person may be able to prove that he was not only the true inventor, but also the first.

There are some very important questions which arise at this juncture

• How is it possible that both the FTF and FTI systems being contradictory seem to coexist?
• Are claims of first to file undeniable on the basis of mere priority date (Can a person who claims to be the true and first inventor be refuted)?
• Does the law provide for a remedy that can be invoked to prove/disprove true and first inventorship?

In attempt to answer these some Sections of the Patents Act, 1970 need to be looked into. Section 25 (1) (a), (2) (a), Patents Act, 1970

Section 25 of the Patents Act, 1970 – Opposition to the patent

(1) Where an application for a patent has been published but a patent has not been granted, any person may, in writing, represent by way of opposition to the Controller against the grant of patent on the ground-

(a) That the applicant for the patent or the person under or through whom he claims, wrongfully obtained the invention or any part thereof from him or from a person under or through whom he claims

(2) At any time after the grant of patent but before the expiry of a period of one year from the date of publication of grant of a patent, any person interested may give notice of opposition to the Controller in the prescribed manner on any of the following grounds, namely:-

(a) That the patentee or the person under or through whom he claims, wrongfully obtained the invention or any part thereof from him or from a person under or through whom he claims;”

Section 64 (1) (b) & (c) of the Patents Act, 1970

“64 Revocation of patents

(1) Subject to the provisions contained in this Act, a patent, whether granted before or after the commencement of this Act, may, 149 [be revoked on a petition of any person interested or of the Central Government by the Appellate Board or on a counter-claim in a suit for infringement of the patent by the High Court] on any of the following grounds that is to say-

(b) That the patent was granted on the application of a person not entitled under the provisions of this Act to apply therefore

(c) That the patent was obtained wrongfully in contravention of the rights of the petitioner or any person under or through whom he claims;”

What can be concluded from reading these sections together is that in the Stage of Opposition (Pre or Post grant) (Sec 25) opposed when it has been “wrongfully obtained” The element of ‘fraud’ is at play.

Whenever there is no fraud on the part of the Applicant, that is, when an Applicant has made an invention which is similar to another without having knowledge of that other invention then it is called parallel invention. In such a case the priority of the invention is not seen, what is considered is the priority of the application. The inventor who filed before gets the better right. This is direct implication that the Patents Act, 1970 follows the “First to file rule”