Page 3 - Court Cases

Trump admin, judge face off over flights to El Salvador in contempt probe

Two planes carrying Venezuelan migrants out of the US were midair on March 15 when a federal judge in Washington ordered the Trump administration to turn them around. Instead, the planes landed in El Salvador hours later, touching off an extraordinary power struggle between the judicial and executive branches of the US government over what happened and why the judge's order went unexecuted. That fight entered a critical phase on Friday when US District Judge James Boasberg relaunched an investigation to determine whether the Republican administration deliberately ignored his instruction, letting the planes continue onto El Salvador. The judge previously concluded it did and threatened to have the responsible official or officials prosecuted on a contempt charge. The administration has denied any violation. But an appeals court threw Boasberg's decision out. The contempt probe appeared dead until, in yet another twist, a larger panel of judges on the same appeals court ruled on ...

National Herald case: Court defers order on ED's chargesheet until Dec 16

A Delhi court on Saturday deferred its order on cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) chargesheet filed in the National Herald case. Special Judge Vishal Gogne deferred the pronouncement of the order to December 16. The ED has accused Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, as well as late party leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, along with Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and a private company, Young Indian, of conspiracy and money laundering. They allegedly acquired properties worth approximately Rs 2,000 crore belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which publishes the National Herald newspaper, the investigation agency had accused. It further alleged that the Gandhis held the majority 76 per cent shares in Young Indian, which fraudulently usurped the assets of AJL in exchange for a Rs 90 crore loan. The chargesheet names Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Pitroda, Dubey, Sunil Bhandari, Young Indian and Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd.

Bangladesh ex-PM Hasina gets 21 yrs prison sentence in corruption cases

A Bangladesh court on Thursday sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to 21 years of imprisonment in three corruption cases, local media reported. The three cases were lodged over alleged irregularities in allocating plots in the Rajuk New Town Project in Purbachol, state-run BSS news agency said. The judge pronounced the judgment in absence of the convict as she is yet to be arrested and was tried in absentia. Hasina was sentenced to seven years in each case, totalling 21 years in prison. "The plot was allotted to Sheikh Hasina without any application and in a manner that exceeded the legally authorised jurisdiction," the court observed in its judgment.

Court seeks CBI reply on Rabri Devi's plea to transfer IRCTC scam trial

A Delhi court on Wednesday sought a response from the CBI on a plea filed by former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi seeking transfer of the IRCTC hotel scam case to a different judge. Principal and Sessions Judge Dinesh Bhatt was hearing the plea of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and issued the notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court, however, refused to stay the ongoing trial proceedings in the CBI case. Earlier on Monday, she moved a plea seeking transfer of the CBI and ED cases registered against her to another court, saying she had a reasonable apprehension that fair and impartial justice would not be rendered. The former Bihar chief minister is named as an accused in four cases, including the land-for-jobs and IRCTC scam case, which are being heard by Special Judge Vishal Gogne. The plea, submitted by Rabri Devi before the Principal District and Sessions Judge submitted, The applicant (Devi) is having a bonafide and reasonable apprehension that f

Trump admin fights attempt to get Elon Musk's testimony in DOGE case

The Justice Department has asked a federal judge in Maryland to block depositions of Musk and two former senior USAID officials, according to a recent court filing

CJI Kant says no to oral mentioning of cases, hears 17 cases on first day

On the first day as the Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, Monday set a new procedural norm that mentioning cases for urgent listing must be made in writing, and oral requests will be entertained under "extraordinary circumstances" like in cases of death penalty and personal liberty. A bench led by Justice Kant heard as many as 17 cases in proceedings spanning around two hours on his first day as the CJI. Justice Kant formally assumed charge as the 53rd CJI shortly after taking oath in Hindi in the name of God at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Arriving at the Supreme Court for the first time as CJI in the forenoon, he paid floral tributes at the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr B R Ambedkar on the court premises. He then presided over a three-judge bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Atul S Chandurkar, in the heritage courtroom number one. As proceedings commenced around noon, the CJI pronounced a judgment on a plea filed by Himachal Pradesh against a private ...

US DOJ renews attempt to unseal Jeffrey Epstein grand jury materials

The Justice Department renewed its request Monday to unseal Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking grand jury materials, saying Congress made clear in approving the release of investigative materials related to the prosecution of the late financier that documents such as the court records should be released. US Attorney Jay Clayton signed the submission in Manhattan federal court asking that the judge issue an expedited ruling allowing the materials to be released now that President Donald Trump signed the action requiring the release of documents related to Epstein within 30 days. The Justice Department said the Congressional action overrode existing law in a way that permits the unsealing of the grand jury records. Judge Richard Berman previously denied a Trump administration request to make the Epstein grand jury transcripts public. Berman, who presided over Epstein's 2019 case, ruled in August that a "significant and compelling reason" to deny the request and keep the transcripts seal

US court orders Byju Raveendran to pay over $1 bn in Alpha-GLAS Trust case

Byju Raveendran plans to appeal US court's expedited default judgment, denies all allegations, and says GLAS Trust misled both Delaware court and public while blocking his ability to present a defence

US court orders Byju to pay over $1 bn on petition of Alpha, GLAS Trust

A US court has issued default judgement making Byju Raveendran liable to personally pay back over USD 1 billion based on the petition filed by BYJU's Alpha and US-based lender GLAS Trust Company LLC. According to the judgement dated November 20, 2025, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court found that Raveendran failed to comply with its discovery order and continued to be evasive on several occasion. "The court will enter default judgment against Defendant Raveendran...in the amount of USD 533,000,000, and on Counts II, V and VI in the amount of USD 540,647,109.29," the judgement said. The judgment directed Raveendran to provide a full and accurate accounting of the Alpha Funds and any proceeds thereof, such as the Camshaft LP Interest, including each and every subsequent transfer and any proceeds thereof. Email query sent to Raveendran's authorized agency did not elicit any immediate reply. BYJU's Alpha was incorporated when Raveendran was running the management of edtech firm Think and L

Delhi court allows further probe in rape case after Samir Modi's submission

The IO also sought time to file the supplementary record as per the directions of concerned court and the High Court of Delhi

Trump asks US Supreme Court to overturn $5 mn judgment in Jean Carroll case

Trump was found liable by a Manhattan jury in May 2023 for sexually assaulting Carroll in the 1990s and then defaming her by calling her a liar, following a trial in which he declined to testify

Somnath Bharti declared absconder by court in connection with 2021 case

An MP-MLA Court in Rae Bareli has declared former Delhi Law and Justice Minister Somnath Bharti an absconder for failing to appear before it in connection with a 2021 case. "Somnath Bharti failed to appear for hearing in a 2021 case on Tuesday, following which Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Dr Vivek Kumar on Thursday declared him an absconder. The court has issued a non-bailable warrant and a notice under Section 82 (proclamation for person absconding) of the Criminal Procedure Code," Special Public Prosecutor Sandeep Kumar Singh said on Friday. He added that the court has fixed November 13 as the next date of hearing. Singh said a case was filed against the former minister in 2021 for allegedly misbehaving with police at the Delhi Irrigation Department's guest house. However, Bharti later secured a bail and the case has been pending ever since in the MP-MLA Court. Despite the court's repeated orders for his in-person appearance, Bharti has not been appearing in court, Singh

Musk's lawyer vows continued legal battle to unwind OpenAI restructuring

Altman has denounced Musk's lawsuit challenging the OpenAI restructuring as a weaponisation of the legal system to slow down a competitor

Trial begins over Trump's plan to deploy National Guard in Portland

A federal trial over whether President Donald Trump can deploy the National Guard to Portland, Oregon, began Wednesday, with a police commander describing on the witness stand how federal agents at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement building repeatedly fired tear gas at nonviolent protesters. Attorneys for the city and state are attempting to block Trump from deploying troops by arguing that they aren't needed to enforce the laws and that the president should not be allowed to use the military to remedy a situation worsened by federal agents. Portland Police Bureau Cmdr. Franz Schoening called federal agents' actions at the building, which has been the site of mostly small protests since June, startling. State and federal law prohibit police agencies from using munitions, including tear gas, the way the federal officers have, Schoening said. City police officers themselves had been tear-gassed and forced to pull away from the scene, Schoening said. At one point during a large

Trial begins for man accused of killing former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe

The trial of the accused killer of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was to begin Tuesday. Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, goes to court as US President Donald Trump visits Japan for talks with new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Takaichi, a conservative protege of Abe, highlighted their close ties in talks Tuesday with Trump, who called Abe a "great friend." Yamagami allegedly shot Abe in 2022 with a homemade firearm during an election speech because of a grudge against the controversial Unification Church, which he believed had close ties to Abe and other Japanese politicians. He has told officials that massive donations his mother made to the church, which was founded in South Korea a year after the Korean War ended in 1953, caused his family's financial collapse. Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister since World War II, is regularly mentioned by both Trump and Takaichi. The trial in the western city of Nara is set to finish in mid-December, Kyodo news agency reported. The

US court releases Ashley Tellis on $1.5 mn bond in espionage case

A Virginia court ordered the release of India-US strategic affairs expert Ashley Tellis pending trial, with strict conditions including passport surrender and electronic monitoring

Trump can command Oregon troops, says US court, blocks deployment for now

An appeals court on Monday put on hold a lower court ruling that kept President Donald Trump from taking command of 200 Oregon National Guard troops. However, Trump is still barred from actually deploying those troops, at least for now. US District Judge Karin Immergut issued two temporary restraining orders early this month -- one that prohibited Trump from calling up the troops so he could send them to Portland, and another that prohibited him from sending any National Guard members to Oregon at all, after the president tried to evade the first order by deploying California troops instead. The Justice Department appealed the first order, and in a 2-1 ruling Monday, a panel from the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the administration. The majority said the president was likely to succeed on his claim that he had the authority to federalise the troops based on a determination he was unable to enforce the laws without them. However, Immergut's second order remains in effect

US judge lifts travel restrictions for Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil

A federal judge has lifted travel restrictions for Mahmoud Khalil, allowing the Palestinian activist to speak at rallies and other events across the US as he fights his deportation case brought by the Trump administration. Khalil, who was freed from a Louisiana immigration jail in June, had asked a federal magistrate judge to lift the restrictions that limited his travel to New York, New Jersey, Washington, DC, Louisiana and Michigan. "He wants to travel for the very significant First Amendment reasons that are at the bottom of this case," his lawyer, Alina Das, said during a virtual hearing on Thursday. "He wants to speak to issues of public concern." An attorney for the government, Aniello DeSimone, opposed the move, arguing that Khalil "has not provided enough of a reason why he could not attend these and other events telephonically". The magistrate judge, Michael Hammer, agreed on Thursday to allow Khalil to travel, noting he is not considered a flight risk and had not violated

Two jurors say they were bullied into convicting Weinstein, claim lawyers

Two jurors who voted in June to convict Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault said they regret the decision and only did so because others on the panel bullied them, the former movie mogul's lawyers said in a newly public court filing. Weinstein's lawyers are seeking to overturn his conviction for first-degree criminal sex act, arguing in papers unsealed Thursday that the guilty verdict was marred by threats, intimidation, and extraneous bias, and that the judge failed to properly deal with it at the time. In sworn affidavits included with the filing, two jurors said they felt overwhelmed and intimidated by jurors who wanted to convict Weinstein on the charge, which accused him of forcing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant and producer Miriam Haley in 2006. One juror said she was screamed at in the jury room and told, we have to get rid of you. The other juror said anyone who doubted Weinstein's guilt was grilled by other jurors and that if he could have voted by secret ...

Conversion victims can face action if they try to convert others: HC

The Gujarat High Court has said that persons claiming to be victims of religious conversion can also face legal action if they later attempt to convert others. On account of their act of "influencing, pressuring and alluring other persons to convert to Islam", a prima facie offence is made out against them, the court of Justice Nirzar Desai said on October 1, hearing a batch of petitions moved by several persons. The petitioners claimed they were originally Hindus and had been converted to Islam by other persons, and hence they were themselves victims of conversion and not accused. The court noted that they were involved in "pressuring and alluring other persons to convert to Islam," which would prima facie make out an offence against them. Several men accused of religious conversion had approached the HC, contending that they were themselves victims of religious conversion and the First Information Report (FIR) against them was misconceived. They sought the FIR lodged against the