Page 3 - Court Orders

Judge orders June trial for US government's felony case against Boeing

A federal judge in Texas has set a June trial date for the US government's years-old conspiracy case against Boeing for misleading regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed, killing 346 people. US district judge Reed O'Connor did not explain in the scheduling order he issued on Tuesday why he decided to set the case for trial. Lawyers for the aerospace company and the justice department have spent months trying to renegotiate a July 2024 plea agreement that called for Boeing to plead guilty to a single felony charge. The judge rejected that deal in December, saying that diversity, inclusion and equity policies the justice department had in place at the time might influence the selection of a monitor to oversee the company's compliance with the terms of its proposed sentence. Since then, O'Connor had three times extended the deadline for the two sides to report how they planned to proceed. His most recent extension, granted earlier this month, gave them

Brazil SC to rule on ex-Prez Bolsonaro's trial over coup attempt accusation

A panel of Brazil's Supreme Court justices will gather on Tuesday to determine whether former President Jair Bolsonaro and close allies will stand trial on five counts, including attempting to stage a coup. Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet charged Bolsonaro last month with plotting a coup after he lost the 2022 election to his opponent and current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Part of that plan allegedly included poisoning Lula and killing Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a foe of Bolsonaro. Five Supreme Court justices including de Moraes, the rapporteur will meet from 9:30 am local time in Brasilia to rule on the charges levelled by Gonet. If a majority votes in favour, the accused will become defendants in a criminal case. Bolsonaro and his alleged accomplices also stand accused of participating in an armed criminal organisation, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, damage qualified by violence and a serious threat against the state's assets

US court rules to keep 25,000 fired federal workers in jobs for now

The order by the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals represents the latest setback for the Trump administration in its push to remove federal workers

Court issues notice to Rahul over his 'Fight against Indian state' remark

On January 15, Rahul Gandhi, during the inauguration of Congress' 'Indira Bhawan,' criticized the BJP, claiming that Congress and opposition parties were not just fighting the BJP but the Indian state

Direct insurance firms to pay motor claims in bank accounts: SC to courts

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked courts and tribunals to direct insurance companies to transfer claim amounts directly to the claimants' bank accounts to avoid unnecessary delays. A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Rajesh Bindal gave the directions in a motor accident claim matter. "The general practice followed by the insurance companies, where the compensation is not disputed, is to deposit the same before the tribunal. Instead of following that process, a direction can always be issued to transfer the amount into the bank account(s) of the claimant(s) with intimation to the tribunal," it said. According to the practice extant, insurance companies, when they are supposed to pay a claim, either deposit the sum with the tribunal, or in some small percentage of cases, transfer it to the accounts of the claimants if directed by the tribunal in the award. Once the amount is deposited before the tribunal, the claimant(s) must move an application for withdrawal. It is usually not .

US aviation agency reinstating 132 fired employees after court order: Union

The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union announced that fired probationary employees due to Elon Musk-led federal cuts will receive back pay and return to duty on March 20

Court denies bail to Kannada actress Ranya Rao in gold smuggling case

A Special Court of Economic Offences here on Friday rejected the bail plea of gold smuggling accused Kannada actress Harshavardhini Ranya alias Ranya Rao.The second accused in the case, Tarun Raju, has been remanded to judicial custody for 15 days as probe continues. Ranya, stepdaughter of DGP rank officer K Ramachandra Rao, is presently lodged in the Parappana Agrahara Jail here. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore from Ranya at Kempegowda International Airport when she arrived here from Dubai on March 3. Subsequent searches conducted by DRI at her residence led to the recovery of gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs 2.67 crore. During interrogation, authorities discovered that Tarun Raju was involved in facilitating the smuggling operation, allegedly coordinating the gold's transport and distribution within India. Both were taken into custody and booked under relevant sections of the Customs Act ..

Delhi riots: Shahrukh Pathan granted interim bail for father's ailment

He is accused of aiming a pistol at police constable Deepak Dahiya during the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots and has been in custody since March 3, 2020

Bengaluru court clears Goa tourism minister in illegal mining case

Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte has been acquitted by a Bengaluru court in a case related to illegal iron ore mining and transportation. The verdict brings closure to a high-profile case that has been under scrutiny for several years. The case traces back to the early 2010s when allegations of widespread illegal mining activities emerged in Goa. In 2012, a government-backed inquiry led by retired judge M B Shah reported that all 90 iron ore mines in Goa were operating illegally, lacking proper environmental permissions. The inquiry estimated that illegal mining had cost the state more than USD 6 billion over five years. Consequently, the authorities ordered all mines to suspend operations from September 2012. In 2015, the Goa government renewed 88 mining leases, a move that faced legal challenges. Activists argued that these renewals were arbitrary and bypassed mandatory auctioning processes. Subsequently, in February 2018, the Supreme Court quashed these lease renewals, citing t

Courts mustn't hesitate in refusing liberty for corruption-free society: SC

The Supreme Court has said courts should not hesitate in denying liberty to the accused for ensuring a corruption free society. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan accordingly upheld the dismissal of a public official's anticipatory bail in a corruption case. The court lamented corruption had in it "very dangerous potentialities". Further, it opined an "over solicitous homage to the accused's liberty can, sometimes, defeat the cause of public justice". The top court was hearing the plea of a public servant against an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court denying him the relief. The high court rejected his anticipatory bail in a case filed against him in Patiala under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The top court said the accused was alleged to have demanded illegal gratification over an audit in the development work in a gram panchayat. "If even a fraction of what was the vox pupuli about the magn

SC disapproves 'long dates' in matters of liberty, urges expedited hearing

The Supreme Court on Thursday said courts were not expected to keep the matters concerning liberty after a long gap. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih made the observation after being informed that the Punjab and Haryana High Court posted the hearing of a plea for temporary bail on medical grounds after two months. The petitioner's counsel said he had approached the high court for the grant of temporary bail on the ground that his client's two-year-old daughter needed urgent surgery. The lawyer argued the high court, in its order passed on February 21, posted the matter on April 22. "In the matters of liberty, the courts are not expected to keep the matter at such a long date," the bench said and permitted the petitioner to move the high court for an earlier hearing. The bench asked the high court to advance the date and hear the issue at least with regard to grant of temporary bail on the medical ground of operation of the petitioner's daughter. The ...

SC orders Yasin Malik to appear virtually before Jammu court from Tihar

The Supreme Court on Friday directed jailed JKLF chief Yasin Malik to appear in a Jammu court from Tihar Jail through video-conferencing on March 27. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan noted that the Jammu sessions court was "well-equipped" with the video-conferencing system enabling the virtual examination. The CBI sought the transfer of the trials in the 1989 case of the kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of former union minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, and the 1990 Srinagar shootout case, from Jammu to New Delhi. During the hearing, solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, informed the court that as per the report filed by the registrar general of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, the video-conferencing system was working properly in the Jammu court. Mehta said it appeared all the accused were working in tandem to delay the trial while pointing out that Malik refused to engage a lawyer and others were opposing the transfer of trial. The top court

Trump admin defying order to pause freeze on foreign aid, says judge

The Trump administration has kept withholding foreign aid despite a court order and must at least temporarily restore the funding to programmes worldwide, a federal judge has said. Judge Amir H. Ali on Thursday declined a request by nonprofit groups doing business with the US Agency for International Development to find Trump administration officials in contempt of his order, however. The Washington, D.C., district court judge said administration officials had used his February 13 order to temporarily lift the freeze on foreign aid to instead "come up with a new, post-hoc rationalisation for the en masse suspension" of funding. Despite the judge's order to the contrary, USAID Deputy Secretary Pete Marocco, a Trump appointee, and other top officials had "continued their blanket suspension of funds", Ali said. The ruling comes in a lawsuit by the nonprofit groups challenging the Trump administration's month-old cutoff of foreign assistance through USAID and the State Department, whic

Yoon appears in 2 S Korean courts while defending his martial law decree

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in court on Thursday for a hearing where his lawyers contested his arrest on a criminal charge alleging he was orchestrating a rebellion when he briefly imposed martial law in December. Security was heightened as the motorcade transporting Yoon arrived at the Seoul Central District Court and dozens of his supporters rallied nearby. The preliminary hearing will involve discussions of witnesses and other preparations for his criminal trial, and the court was also to review the request by Yoon's lawyers to cancel his arrest and release him from custody. Such challenges are rarely successful. Yoon was indicted January 26 on the rebellion charge carrying a potential punishment of death or life in prison. In South Korea, presidents have immunity from most criminal prosecutions but not on charges of rebellion or treason. The indictment alleges his imposition of martial law was an illegal attempt to shut down the National Assembly and arrest ..

WB courts gave 6 death sentences in last 6 months for crimes against girls

While the last judicial execution in West Bengal for the rape and murder of a minor in Kolkata took place over two decades ago, courts across the state have awarded death penalties to six convicts in the last six months for perpetrating sexual assaults on girls. Another convict was also awarded capital punishment for murdering his family members, taking the total number of death penalties in the state in the last half-year to seven. In six of the seven cases, death by hanging sentences were given for the savage nature of rapes and murders perpetrated on girls, qualifying them under the 'rarest of the rare' category, where convicts were booked under the POCSO Act, besides sections of the IPC and, later, of the BNS. The list excludes the sentence for the RG Kar Hospital rape and murder convict Sanjoy Roy who was spared the capital punishment by a Kolkata court, after the gruesome death of the on-duty trainee medic on August 9 last year, and was sentenced to life imprisonment till ...

Beed court orders seizure of collector's car in farmers' compensation case

A court in Majalgaon in Beed on Monday ordered seizure of the district collector's car to recover compensation to be paid to three farmers for giving their land for an irrigation project. Land was acquired in 1998 in Wadwani tehsil from farmers Shivaji Toge, Santosh Toge and Babu Moge for an irrigation project, their lawyer Baburao Tidke said. "They had approached Majalgaon court claiming the compensation given to them was inadequate. The court had enhanced the compensation in an order of October 29, 2015. The amount was only partially disbursed, with the administration yet to pay a cumulative sum of Rs 29.50 lakh," Tidke said. "The court today ordered seizure of the collector's car to recover this amount. Warrant has been issued for the auction of the car once it is seized. The collector handed the car keys to us when we went there with the warrant," he said. When contacted, Beed Resident Deputy Collector Shivkumar Swami said, "I cannot talk on the issue as it is not with me.

Federal judge orders US govt to restore funds for foreign aid programmes

The order blocks the Trump administration from canceling foreign aid contracts and awards that were in place before Trump took office on January 20

Judge extends stay of Trump order to pull many USAID staffers off their job

A court order halting Trump administration plans to pull all but a fraction of USAID staffers off the job worldwide will stay in place for at least another week. US District Judge Carl Nichols ordered the extension after a nearly three-hour hearing Thursday, much of it focused on how employees were affected by abrupt orders by the Trump administration and ally Elon Musk to put thousands of USAID workers on leave and freeze foreign aid funding. The judge said he plans to issue a written ruling in the coming days on whether the pause will continue. Nichols, a Trump appointee, closely questioned the government about keeping employees on leave safe in high-risk overseas areas. When a Justice Department attorney could not provide detailed plans, the judge asked him to file court documents after the hearing. USAID staffers who until recently were posted in Congo had filed affidavits for the lawsuit describing the aid agency all but abandoning them when looting and political violence ...

US judge keeps block on Trump employees' buyout plan in place for now

The decision by US District Judge George O'Toole in Boston prevents Trump's administration from implementing the buyout plan for now, giving a temporary victory to labour unions

Rushdie was too stunned to react when a man started to stab him: Prosecutor

Salman Rushdie was so stunned when a masked man started to stab him on a stage in western New York that the author didn't even try to fight back, a prosecutor said Monday during opening statements in the suspect's attempted murder trial. Rushdie, 77, is expected to testify during the trial of Hadi Matar, bringing the two face-to-face for the first time since the attack that left Rushdie seriously wounded and blind in one eye. On the day of the attack in August 2022, the Booker Prize-winning novelist was seated in an armchair on stage at the Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater, about to present a lecture on keeping writers safe. District Attorney Jason Schmidt told jurors Monday that the attack was swift and sudden. He said Matar bounded up a staircase to the stage and ran about 30 feet (9 meters) toward Rushdie. As the stabbing began, Rushdie and fellow speaker Henry Reese were so stunned that they initially remained seated. Without hesitation this man holding his knife forcefully