India: Digital Companies Seek Clarity On Payment On Royalty

In a bid to avoid litigations with the Government and tax authorities, digital companies on Tuesday sought clarity on the payment of royalty. According to practitioners, recent court rulings and tax department decisions have created uncertainty on royalty payments that are taxable. The Companies further lamented that the inconsistency so created has increased the cost of doing business in the country.

India: Importation Of Crocodile Skin: Union Minister Calls For Probe Of Stefano and Niccolo Ricci

The Indian Union Minister on Tuesday urged the government to immediately commence the investigation of a renowned Italian luxury fashion and lifestyle company for the importation of crocodile skin Into the country. The call by the Union Minister is coming days after the operators of the Company asserted that they got approval from the Modi led government to import the animal skin. They further said that they plan to expand the Indian operations of their company.

Thailand: Do Not Deport The Asylum Seeker From Pakistan, Human Rights Watch Tells the Thai Government

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) on Tuesday called on the Thai government not to go ahead with the plan deportation of the Pakistani asylum seeker to his country home to face any form of persecution or other serious abuse. UNHCR made the call in a letter to the Prime Minister of Thailand, Gen. Prayut Chan-Ocha. According to the letter as seen by pressmen, UNHCR asserted that it is against the principle of non-refoulement in international customary law to deport an asylum seeker back to a place where his/her life is not safe.

India: Dirty Railway Station: Three Law Students Drag Management Of Pune Railway Station To Permanent Lok Adalat

Three law students had in August dragged the management of the Pune Railway Station to the Permanent Lok Adalat for negligence to clean up the Railway premises. According to news reports, the management of the Railway responded on Tuesday in a press release, stating that the students’ accusation was baseless and lacked merit. The management asserted that they are doing everything possible to clean up the station in order to give the station a facelift.

India: Rights Of Farmers In The Spotlight As Three States Head To Polls, Experts Say

Experts on Tuesday asserted that the rights of indigenous people and farmers would be the spotlight as the three states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh head to elections from this week. The election would be between the ruling party, BJP, and the main opposition party, Congress party. News reports making the rounds recently have it that the Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi had promised to look into the rights of farmers if his party is elected into government.

South Africa: RTMC’s Proposed Law On Drunk Driving Is Absurd, JPSA Says

The Justice Project South Africa (JPSA) on Tuesday asserted that the proposed plan of the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) against drunk driving is absurd. RTMC wants drunk driving to be reclassified as an offence which is at par with murder, rape, fraud, and theft. But the JPSA chairman, Howard Dembovsky in a statement labelled the proposal absurd. He added that offenders should be charged to court within 48 hours.

India: Kerala HC Bench Gets Four New Judges

In line with the Supreme Court collegium’s recommendation for the appointment of four judges to the bench of the Kerala High Court on October 11, the president notified the recommendations on Tuesday. The judges appointed are Justices VG Arun, N Nagaresh, TV Anilkumar and N Anilkumar. The four appointed judges have been found worthy in character and conduct. They would take the office of office soon.

India: Ease Of Doing Business; Train All Judicial Officers And Lawyers Of The Delhi And Mumbai HC Commercial Courts, Government Tells Registrars General

In a bid to improve its World Bank’s raking and ease of doing business, the Central government on Tuesday ordered the Registrars General of the Mumbai and Delhi HC to commence the training of judicial officers and lawyers who are engaged at its commercial courts. The Government gave a deadline of three months for the training to be completed. Recall that the World Bank ranked India 77 out of 190 economies in the ease of doing business.

Germany: We’ll Explore All Legal Options To End The Use Of Glyphosate, Environment Minister vows

The German Minister of Environment, Svenja Schulze on Tuesday asserted that the government is poised to leverage all existing laws to put an end to the use of glyphosate-based weed-killers. Schulze added that the government is considering a draft policy that would change the pesticide approval process. She called on stakeholders to be on alert, that relevant government agency would soon announce the change in the approval process.

India: Mala Ayara Spokesman Writes Open Letter To The Chief Justice Of Supreme

The spokesman of the Mala Ayara on Tuesday wrote an open letter to the Chief Justice of Supreme with a view to drawing the attention of the Chief Justice to the issue surrounding the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala since the apex court had delivered judgment to allow menstruating women to offer prayers at the temple. According to the letter, a violent and vicious campaign was launched after the court’s verdict by certain political parties, conservatives, and other vested interest to disallow women who had besieged the temple to offer prayers. The spokesman alleged that there were evidences that women who were still menstruating were allowed to offer prayer in the past. The spokesman ended the letter by appealing to the Chief Justice to enforce the court’s verdict.

India: Private Companies Bare Acts Publication Does Not Infringe On Government’s Copyright, Centre Tells Delhi HC

The Central government on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court Bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao that bare acts published by private companies in the country do not infringe on the government’s copyright. The government’s assertion to the Delhi High Court was made through the Law Ministry’s Legislative Department. The Department placed an affidavit before the bench of the court and said it has continually been updating several versions of accurate and authentic copies of all acts in electronic formats so that interested citizens can easily download it. The court was hearing a PIL which claimed that the bare act published by private companies were inaccurate and were priced high.

US: Selfies At The Ballot Post Is Legal In California, But Should Be Done With Care

As voters in California headed to polls on Tuesday, the state’s secretary, Alex Padilla sent a reminder to all eligible voters that taking selfies at the ballot post is actually legal, but caution should be applied in order not to violate laid down laws. Padilla made it known that such selfies have been made legal by the state government since the 1st of January, 2017. Padilla advised voters to be careful so as not to disrupt the operations of election officials.

Nigeria: President Buhari Signs N30,000 Minimum Wage For Workers

Workers in the Nigerian private and public sectors were joyful as the Nigerian President Muhammad Buhari on Tuesday signed a new minimum wage for the workers. The workers under the umbrella of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) had threatened to proceed on Indefinite strike if the government failed to sign the N30,000 minimum wage. President Buhari while appending his signature to the document asserted that he would forward an executive bill to the parliament with a view to becoming a law.

UK: Data Law Breach: Leave Campaigner Like To Face A Fine Of £15,000, Report Says

A report which was published on Tuesday suggested that Leave.EU and Eldon, who had been campaigning for the United Kingdom to exit the European Union may face a fine of £15,000 over data law breach. The law governs the UK’s electronic marketing. According to the report, a final decision is yet to be taken on the campaigner by security agencies due to the fact that the company handles personal data of a lot of people.