Court Orders

SC rejects review plea in Safari Retreats case, upholds ITC for leasing

Supreme Court dismisses Finance Ministry's review petition in Safari Retreats ruling, reaffirming ITC eligibility for real estate used in leasing businesses

Supreme Court seeks Centre's reply on special courts for swift trials

Saying it was imperative on the Centre and states to establish courts for the speedy trial of cases under special laws, the Supreme Court has sought their stand in two weeks. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh was acting on the bail plea of a Naxal sympathiser from Gadchiroli in Maharashtra. He was booked after 15 policemen of a quick response team were killed in a blast in the state. "Additional solicitor general of India has referred to the affidavit filed by respondent 2 - National Investigation Agency. We are, however, of the view that when trials are to take place under special laws, it is imperative on the Union or States to establish specialised courts with adequate infrastructure for ensuring speedy trial, for achieving the legislative object of the statute," the bench said in its order of May 9. ASG Rajkumar Bhaskar Thakre was, therefore, granted two weeks to obtain instructions on the matter as the bench posted the hearing on May 23. The top court asked t

Court dismisses graft plea against CM Siddaramaiah, minister on ads

A Special Court in Bengaluru has dismissed a complaint alleging a conspiracy involving Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Minister K J George, and three senior officials to cause significant advertisement revenue losses to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) between 2015 and 2017. The court ruled that the accusations lacked substance and were based on conjecture rather than concrete evidence. The complaint, filed by N R Ramesh, a former corporator and BJP leader, claimed that the BBMP suffered losses of Rs 68.14 crore during Siddaramaiah's earlier tenure as Chief Minister (20132018). Ramesh alleged that the state government used BBMP-owned bus shelters to advertise its achievements without paying the mandatory advertisement fee. He further claimed that Congress leaders may have bribed BBMP and Information Department officials to avoid raising dues. However, in its April 28 order, the Special Court, presided over by Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, found the allegations .

Ex-Karnataka minister Janardhan Reddy jailed for 7 years in mining case

A special CBI court here on Tuesday convicted former Karnataka minister and MLA Gali Janardhan Reddy and three others in the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) illegal mining case. The court sentenced them to seven years' imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on each. Reddy was named accused number two. The court imposed a Rs 1 lakh fine on the company. Soon after the judgment the CBI took Reddy and others into custody. The CBI court delivered the judgement nearly 14 years after the CBI had filed a charge sheet against Reddy and others accusing them of tampering with mining lease boundary markings and carrying out mining illegally in Bellary Reserve Forest area on the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border. The Principal Special Judge for CBI cases Judge T Raghu Ram acquitted ex-minister Sabitha Indra Reddy and former bureaucrat B Krupanandam in the case. The court convicted Janardhan Reddy's brother-in-law and Managing Director of OMC, Srinivas Reddy (A1) and VD Rajagopal (A3), t

SC ruling on BPSL likely to have adverse bearing on JSW Steel's financials

The Supreme Court ruling against JSW Steel's resolution plan for BPSL take over is likely to have an adverse bearing on the financials of the Sajjan Jindal-led steel major which may witness a 13 per drop in revenues, ratings firm CreditSights said on Tuesday. JSW Steel may also lose its competitiveness along India's mineral-rich east coast, where BPSL's steel plant is located, the FitchSolutions company said in a report. CreditSights said it views that the loss of BPSL as modestly credit negative for JSW (Steel). Last week on Friday, the Supreme Court set aside a resolution plan submitted by JSW Steel for BSPL, holding it illegal and in violation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). A bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma criticised the conduct of all key stakeholders in the resolution process -- the resolution professional, the Committee of Creditors (CoC) and the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) -- for enabling what it termed a "flagrant .

Delhi HC seeks urgent legal aid for Indians on death row in Indonesia

Court urges swift legal and diplomatic action to aid three Indians sentenced to death in Indonesia over drug trafficking charges

US court upholds restrictions on DOGE access to Social Security information

A federal appeals court says it won't lift restrictions on the access that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has to Social Security systems containing personal data on millions of Americans. The full panel of judges on the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals voted 9-6 to keep the ruling from US District Judge Ellen Hollander in place while DOGE pushes forward with an appeal. The appellate decision was released Wednesday. Earlier this month Hollander issued a preliminary injunction in the case, which was brought by a group of labour unions and retirees who allege DOGE's recent actions violate privacy laws and present massive information security risks. Hollander said DOGE staffers could access data that has been redacted or stripped of anything personally identifiable, but only if they undergo training and background checks. She also said DOGE and its staffers must purge any of the non-anonymised Social Security data they have already obtained, and barred them from making a

Law ministry urges timely response to court orders to prevent contempt

With nearly 1.50 lakh contempt cases involving the central government pending across courts, the law ministry has pushed for "timely and adequate" response to court orders by Union ministries to prevent such proceedings. The ministry also pointed out that many officials managing litigation in ministries or their departments do not possess qualification in the field of law which results in a lack of understanding of legal implications and delayed response to judicial directives. This leads to contempt cases against head of the organisations, it said. In its 'Directive for the efficient and effective management of litigation by the Government of India', the Department of Legal Affairs in the law ministry said the capacity of ministries to manage litigation is limited due to resource constraints. Most ministries and departments do not have a dedicated legal cell, and cases are generally being handled by the administrative or technical divisions overseeing the relevant subject matter.

Judge voices 'suspicion' after two-year-old US citizen deported to Honduras

Judge Terry Doughty set a May 16 hearing, citing concern that the US government may have deported a US citizen toddler without due process, calling for clarification of the incident

Judge blocks Trump admin from nixing federal staff's collective bargaining

A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from implementing an executive order that a labour union says would cancel collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees. US District Judge Paul Friedman ruled that a key part of President Donald Trump's March 27 order can't be enforced at roughly three dozen agencies and departments where employees are represented by the National Treasury Employees Union. The union, which represents nearly 1,60,000 federal government workers, sued to challenge Trump's order. The union said it would lose more than half of its revenue and over two-thirds of its membership if the judge denied its request for a preliminary injunction. Friedman said he would issue an opinion in several days to explain his two-page order. The ruling isn't the final word in the case. He gave the attorneys until May 2 to submit of a proposal for how the case should proceed. Some agencies, including the FBI, are exempt from

Rulings coming fast in lawsuits over Trump's immigration, DEI policies

The Trump administration was handed a rapid-fire series of court losses Wednesday night and Thursday in lawsuits filed over its policies on immigration, elections and its crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion programmes in schools. But the legal disputes playing out across the country are far from over, and administration attorneys pushed back, asking the federal appellate courts and the US Supreme Court to overturn some of the unfavourable decisions. Here's a look at the latest developments in some of the more than 170 lawsuits filed over President Donald Trump's executive orders. DEI Judges blocked the administration from enforcing its diversity, equity and inclusion crackdown in education in at least two lawsuits Thursday. The decisions came ahead of a Friday deadline that the Education Department set for states to sign a form certifying they would not use illegal DEI practices. A federal judge in New Hampshire blocked a series of directives from the Education Department

2008 Malegaon blast case: Trial ends, NIA court to deliver verdict on May 8

The special NIA court on Saturday reserved the Malegaon blast case for verdict following completion of trial almost 17 years after it shook the communally sensitive town in Maharashtra's Nashik district. Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008. The prosecution on Saturday filed its final written arguments, with some citation marking the end of hearing in the case, after which special judge A K Lahoti adjourned the case to May 8 for judgement. During the course of trial the prosecution had examined 323 prosecution witnesses, of which 34 had turned hostile. Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, BJP leader Pragya Thakur- Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retired), Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni are facing trial under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The case was initially

US lawyer refuses to disclose fate of wrongly deported Maryland man

Immigration officials arrested Abrego Garcia on March 12 and accused him of playing a "prominent role" in MS-13, though he hasn't been convicted of a crime or charged with one

Chevron told to pay $740 mn to restore Louisiana coast in landmark case

Oil company Chevron must pay more than $740 million to restore damage it caused to southeast Louisiana's coastal wetlands, a jury ruled on Friday following a landmark trial more than a decade in the making. The case was the first of dozens of pending lawsuits to reach trial in Louisiana against the world's leading oil companies for their role in accelerating land loss along the state's rapidly disappearing coast. The verdict - which Chevron says it will appeal - could set a precedent leaving other oil and gas firms on the hook for billions of dollars in damages tied to land loss and environmental degradation. What did Chevron do wrong? Jurors found that energy giant Texaco, acquired by Chevron in 2001, had for decades violated Louisiana regulations governing coastal resources by failing to restore wetlands impacted by dredging canals, drilling wells and billions of gallons of wastewater dumped into the marsh. No company is big enough to ignore the law, no company is big enough to w

New India Co-op Bank case: Police get nod to attach ₹168 crore assets

In the first such instance in the city after the new criminal laws came into force, a court has allowed the police to attach 21 properties worth Rs 167.85 crore of five accused in the alleged case of embezzlement at the New India Co-operative Bank. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police which is probing the case has started the process of attachment after receiving a magistrate court's nod on Wednesday, said an official. These properties include a Slum Rehabilitation Project worth Rs 150 crore at Charkop, being developed by builder Dharmesh Paun, one of the arrested accused. This would be the first such action under section 107 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in Mumbai city, the EOW official said. The section allows the police to attach any property "derived or obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of a criminal activity". In response to the EOW's application, the court allowed the attachment of 21 properties including seven flats, a shop and a

Nitish Katara murder: SC seeks UP govt's reply on Vikas Yadav's bail plea

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought the Uttar Pradesh government's response on the interim bail plea of Vikas Yadav, who is serving a 25-year jail term in the 2002 Nitish Katara murder case. According to the plea, Yadav sought the reprieve for attending to his ailing mother. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said it would be open for the Uttar Pradesh government to constitute a medical board to examine the condition of his mother admitted at Yashoda Hospital in Ghaziabad. "The medical board will also consult doctors of the said hospital and peruse the reords," the bench said while posting the hearing on April 15. Yadav's counsel said the mother's condition had deteriorated in February as he placed on record her medical documents. He said the mother was in the intensive care unit and had refused surgery. Additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati said Yadav's mother was in hospital and she could be examined there by the medical board. Senior advocate Aparajita

Court defers bail plea of Sambhal's Shahi Jama Masjid president to April 4

The hearing on the bail plea of Zafar Ali, the president of Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, was postponed to April 4 due to the unavailability of the case diary, a lawyer said on Wednesday. Ali was arrested on March 23, and his bail plea was initially set for hearing on March 27. However, ADJ-II court of judge Nirbhay Narayan Rai in Chandausi refused him interim bail and set April 2 as the date for hearing his regular bail application. Additional district government advocate Hariom Prakash Saini said, "During today's hearing, the defense counsel requested interim bail for Zafar Ali, citing the absence of the case diary. However, I argued that his interim bail had already been rejected earlier, and therefore, the plea should be dismissed again. The court accepted this argument and dismissed the interim bail application." The court then directed the prosecution to present the case diary on April 4. Ali was arrested on March 23 after being questioned over the November 24 Sambhal flare

US judge temporarily blocks deportations to third countries without appeal

A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration Friday from deporting people who have exhausted legal appeals to countries other than their own without first being allowed to argue that it would jeopardise their safety. US District Judge Brian E Murphy ruled that people with final orders of removal must have a meaningful opportunity to argue that being sent to a third country presents a level of danger deemed worthy of protection. His order remains in effect until the case advances to the next stage of arguments. The decision is a setback for an administration that has sent people to countries including Panama, Costa Rica and El Salvador when it is difficult to deport them to their homelands. In some cases a judge may determine that a person's homeland is too dangerous but authorities can send them to a third country. The Homeland Security Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but administration attorneys argued that a temporary halt would ...

US judge to order govt to preserve Signal chat about Houthi military strike

A US federal judge on Thursday said he will order the Donald Trump administration to preserve records of a text message chat in which senior national security officials discussed sensitive details of plans for a US military strike against Yemen's Houthis. US district judge James Boasberg said during a hearing that he'll issue a temporary restraining order barring administration officials from destroying messages sent over the encrypted messaging app Signal. A nonprofit watchdog, American Oversight, requested the order. A government attorney said the administration already was taking steps to collect and save the messages. The Atlantic published the entire Signal chat on Wednesday. Its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, had been added to the discussion that included Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice-President J D Vance and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. In the chat, Hegseth provided the ex

SC refuses urgent hearing on plea seeking FIR over cash at HC judge's home

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused an urgent mentioning of a plea seeking a direction to Delhi Police to lodge an FIR over the alleged discovery of semi-burnt stash of cash from the official residence of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma. A bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna was urged by lawyer Mathews J Nedumpara that the plea be listed for urgent hearing before a bench as it pertained to larger public interest. The CJI, who has stopped the practice of oral mentioning of cases for urgent listing, said that the plea would come up. The lawyer said that the apex court has done a "commendable job" but an FIR was needed. "Don't make public statements," the CJI said. A woman and co-petitioner in the matter said that if such a case was against a common citizen then several probe agencies, like CBI and ED, would have been after that person. "This is quite enough. The plea will come up accordingly," the CJI said. A plea was filed by Nedumpara and three others on Sunday