Page 2 - Courts

SC cites 'justice at doorstep', declines plea on court relocation in AP

Highlighting the need for "justice at the doorsteps", the Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea against shifting of a sessions court from Machilipatnam to Avanigadda in Andhra Pradesh's Krishna district. Whenever a new court is established, the lawyers always oppose. Courts are not only for lawyers, they are basically for litigants. We are talking about justice at doorsteps, gram nyayalayas etc., a bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran said. Sensing the mood of the bench, the petitioner, Buragadda Ashok Kumar, withdrew the plea. The petition challenged the decision of the Andhra Pradesh High Court to transfer the VI Additional District and Sessions Court from Machilipatnam to Avanigadda. The high court had earlier dismissed the Machilipatnam Bar Association's challenge to the court's relocation, noting that although the move might cause some inconvenience to the local lawyers, it would ultimately serve the broader interest of the

Anthropic wins key US ruling on AI training in authors' copyright lawsuit

US copyright law says that willful copyright infringement can justify statutory damages of up to $150,000 per work

Honeymoon murder: New details deepen mystery; court extends police custody

Mystery deepens in the Raja Raghuvanshi honeymoon murder case as police uncover new details, recreate the crime scene, and extend custody of accused Sonam Raghuvanshi and her alleged lover

HDFC Bank-LKMM Trust row escalates amid claims over loan irregularities

As LKMM Trust questions the existence of a loan and cites missing documentation, HDFC Bank calls the allegations false and prepares for legal action to protect its interests

Salvador court convicts 3 ex-army officers in 1982 killing of 4 journalists

Three former Salvadoran officers were convicted by a five-person jury late Tuesday for the 1982 killings of four Dutch journalists during the Central American nation's civil war. A jury made up of five women convicted the three men of murder in a lightning trial that began Tuesday morning in the northern city of Chalatenango, said Oscar Perez, lawyer for the Foundation Comunicandonos that represented the victims. Perez said prosecutors requested 15-year prison sentences for all three. Convicted were former Defence Minister Gen. Jose Guillermo Garcia, 91, former treasury police director Col. Francisco Moran, 93, and Col. Mario Adalberto Reyes Mena, 85, who was the former army commander of the Fourth Infantry Brigade in Chalatenango. Garcia and Moran are under police guard at a private hospital in San Salvador, while Reyes Mena lives in the United States. In March, El Salvador's Supreme Court ordered that the extradition process be started to bring him back. The Dutch TV journalists

Court's power to modify arbitral awards: A cure worse than the disease

Arbitration users worry over poor-quality awards and prolonged litigation; some propose allowing courts to modify awards, but this raises concerns over finality and judicial overreach

Over 1,700 money laundering cases under trial: ED chief Rahul Navin

He attributed the delay in prosecution to the broader issue of slow judicial processes in the country

Man uses AI avatar in court, raising fresh concerns over ethical boundaries

The use of an AI-generated avatar in a New York courtroom has sparked a debate over the ethical boundaries of artificial intelligence, raising questions about its role in legal proceedings and beyond

Savarkar remarks case: Court allows Rahul Gandhi's plea for summons trial

A Pune court on Monday allowed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea to convert the defamation case over his alleged remarks on V D Savarkar from a summary to a summons trial so that historical references and evidence can be discussed. Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Amol Shinde of the Special Court for MPs/MLAs allowed the application filed by Gandhi's lawyer Milind Pawar. The case, prima facie, falls in the category of a summons case, the court order said. "In the present case the accused is claiming and raising questions of facts as well as law which are complex in nature. The accused also raised certain issues which will be determined on historical facts. Therefore, in my view it is undesirable to try this case as a summary. Because in summary trial detail evidence, cross examination is not taken," it said. "In (summons) case, the accused has to lead detailed evidence and has to cross examine the witnesses of the complainant thoroughly. It shall be incumbent in the interest of

South Korean court reinstates impeached PM Han as Yoon awaits ruling

Han was suspended from duties in late December while serving as acting president for resisting pressure from the opposition to appoint new judges

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.

Phase-3 of ambitious e-Courts project gets Rs 1,500 crore in Budget 2025

The ambitious phase three of the e-Courts project, which seeks to establish digital, online and paperless lower courts in the country, has been allocated Rs 1,500 crore in the Union Budget. The funds for the project have been allocated under the National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms. As part of the National e-Governance Plan, the e-Courts project is under implementation since 2007 for ICT enablement of the Indian judiciary. The second phase of the project concluded in 2023. The third phase of the e-Courts project, beginning 2023, is aimed at ushering in a regime of maximum ease of justice by moving towards digital, online and paperless courts through digitisation of the entire court records, including legacy records. It will put in place intelligent smart systems, enabling data-based decision-making for judges and registries while scheduling or prioritising cases. The main objective of the third phase is to create a unified technology platform for the judiciary t

Court cites several key fundamental lapses in arrest of ED official by CBI

A special court here has pointed out several critical fundamental lapses in the arrest of an ED official by the Central Bureau of Investigation over alleged bribery after ordering his immediate release. Rejecting the CBI's plea for transit remand of Vishal Deep, assistant director of Enforcement Directorate's Shimla unit, special judge B Y Phad has said that the allegations against him are not well founded. The CBI's Chandigarh unit arrested Deep from Mumbai on Tuesday on corruption charges stemming from the ED's probe against Himalayan group of professional institutions. The CBI claimed Deep demanded Rs 1.1 crore bribe from Himalayan group of professional institutions chairman Rajnish Bansal for not arresting him in a money laundering case being probed by the ED. The court gave the relief to Deep on Wednesday and a detailed copy of the order was made available subsequently. In his order, the special judge noted that the prosecution's failure to produce the case diary shakes its .

Gujarat first state to telecast live court proceedings on YouTube: CM Patel

The Chief Minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has prioritized digital infrastructure for transparent, efficient and good governance and that the Gujarat High Court has worked as an example

CJI backs advance letters for case withdrawals to streamline proceedings

Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Wednesday emphasised the importance of preemptive communication in court processes and suggested that lawyers submit advance letters for case withdrawals rather than relying on oral submissions during hearings. The CJI has been taking several procedural steps to streamline the judicial process in the top court. On November 12, he said no oral submissions for urgent listing and hearing of cases would be permitted and urged lawyers to either send emails or written letters for it. On Wednesday, the CJI suggested lawyers file advance letters for case withdrawals rather than making oral submissions while hearing a transfer petition in a family dispute case. The counsel in the case informed the bench that the parties had resolved their differences and wished to withdraw the transfer petition. Granting the withdrawal, the CJI remarked that advance notice would enhance court efficiency. "If you have any such requests, you can always give a letter to

What is the International Criminal Court that issued Netanyahu's warrant?

International Criminal Court issued warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of crimes against humanity related to the 13-month war in Gaza

Israel-Gaza war: Hungarian PM Orban defies ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu

International Criminal Court issued warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of crimes against humanity related to the 13-month war in Gaza

Ghaziabad lawyers' strike enters second day, thousands of cases delayed

Bar Associations in Ghaziabad held separate sit-ins over the recent police baton charge against them in the district judge's court as the strike by city advocates continued for the second day on Tuesday. All four entry gates of the court were locked by the protesting lawyers, allowing only one gate to remain open exclusively for judges, magistrates, and judicial staff. "Litigants arriving at the district court had to navigate a detour, with approximately 12,000 cases postponed due to the strike," according to a senior judicial officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity. On October 29, a clash erupted between police and lawyers at the Ghaziabad district court in Uttar Pradesh following a heated argument between a judge and a lawyer. On Tuesday, both the Bar Association of Ghaziabad and the District Bar Association were participating in the strike, holding separate sit-ins within the court compound to demand the suspension of District Judge Anil Kumar and disciplinary action ...

Thriving constitutional order based on institutional trust in courts: CJI

Institutional trust in courts and their credibility is the very basis of a thriving constitutional order, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandcrachud said on Wednesday. The CJI was speaking at the Bhutan Distinguished Speakers' Forum, a part of the Jigme Singye Wangchuck Lecture Series, on the subject of 'Judicial Legitimacy through accessibility, transparency and technology: the Indian experience'. Dealing with the issue of public trust, the CJI said that courts do not directly hold resources as trustees of people. But as public functionaries, the courts are vested with the responsibility to give effect to equity, and judicial bodies are not directly in charge of the manner in which resources are distributed, he said. "However, it does fall upon us to adjudicate the fairness of that distribution, should it be questioned," the CJI said. "Yet the courts of the country do require public trust and legitimacy. Institutional trust in the constitutional and other courts of the country

Muzaffarnagar riots: Court acquits seven men due to lack of evidence

A local court here has acquitted seven accused in the Muzaffarnagar riots case due to lack of evidence, a counsel said on Sunday. The Special Investigation Team has filed charge sheets in 175 of 510 riot cases, but only 21 people have been convicted in three cases so far. More than 60 people were killed and over 40,000 people displaced in the communal riots of 2013 in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts. Bittu, Praveen, Bablu, Pankaj, Pintu, Narender, and Anil were acquitted on Sunday. Additional District and Sessions Judge Kanishk Kumar said the prosecution failed to prove its story in the case. Defence counsel Rahul Chaudhry said the complainant and other witnesses did not support the prosecution's story and turned hostile. According to the FIR filed in the matter, rioters barged into the Bahawdi village house of one Shakir and robbed cash and jewellery. The incident occurred under the Phugana Police Station jurisdiction on September 8, 2013. The SIT had filed a charge sheet a