Page 5 - Courts

Can courts modify/junk arbitral awards? Here's what experts have to say

Experts say the SC verdict regarding the modification of the arbitral award could be a double-edged sword

Fali S Nariman: A fearless advocate with unmatched eloquence and tenacity

The illustrious career if Nariram, a stalwart in the field of law, spanned several decades, leaving an indelible mark on India's legal landscape

Court issues summons to brewery, its MD, 8 others in money laundering case

A special court here has issued summons to Jogeshwari Breweries Private Limited (JBPL), its managing director and eight others in a money laundering case related to allegedly obtaining a loan of more than Rs 83 crore from United Bank of India through forgery. Special judge M G Deshpande hearing cases filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on February 17 took cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's chargesheet against 10 accused in the case, including JBPL's managing director Umesh Shinde. The prosecution's complaint also demonstrates such trail of money, its siphoning off by way of placing, layering and integration, the court said. Hence, prima facie there is ample material and evidence to hold accused for proceedings against them for offence punishable under relevant provisions of the PMLA, the court said while issuing summons to the accused. The accused have been asked to remain present before the court on March 1. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) ...

Delhi court denies statutory bail to Sharjeel Imam in sedition case

A court here on Saturday dismissed the plea of student activist Sharjeel Imam seeking bail on the grounds that he had been in custody for the last four years, which was more than half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence. The court directed to continue Imam's custody, saying the present case was "different" from other cases because of the nature of allegations against Imam and his "disruptive activities which finally resulted in the riots". Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai was hearing Imam's plea seeking bail under 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), saying he was in custody since January 28, 2020, while the maximum sentence for the offence under section 13 (punishment for unlawful activities) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is seven years, if convicted. According to Section 436-A CrPC, a person can be released from custody if he has spent more than half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence. "Keeping in view the alleged acts

2020 Delhi riots: Court convicts son of rioting charges, acquits father

A court here has convicted a man of unlawful assembly and arson charges in a case related to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, while acquitting his father of all alleged offences. Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala was hearing a case against Jony Kumar and his father Mitthan Singh, who were accused of being part of a riotous mob that torched two houses in the Khajuri Khas area here on February 25, 2020 during the communal riots. "Accused Jony Kumar is held guilty and convicted for the offences under sections 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon) and 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with the intent to destroy house etc.) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), read with section 149 (unlawful assembly) of the IPC, and under IPC section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant)," the judge said. In an order passed on Wednesday, the judge acquitted Singh of "all the charges levelled against him". The court rejected the defence counsel's argument ..

Jailed ex-Pak PM Imran Khan gets bail in military installation attack cases

The court said there was no justification to keep Khan, 71, under arrest as all accused in May 9 cases were on bail

PMLA court extends ED custody of former CM Hemant Soren by 5 days

A special PMLA court on Wednesday extended the Enforcement Directorate (ED) remand of former chief minister Hemant Soren by five days in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam, lawyers said. Soren, JMM executive president, on February 2 was remanded to five days' ED custody by the special PMLA (The Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court which ended on Wednesday. "The ED had prayed for seven days of remand which we objected saying no further remand is required because he has already been interrogated for eight hours on January 20 and another eight hours on January 31," Advocate General Rajeev Ranjan, who appeared for Soren, told reporters. Apart from that, he has already been interrogated for 120 hours in five days. "So, there is no need for any further remand. But they have tried to expand this scope of investigation beyond the predicate offence matter. We have been saying that they (ED) have no power and jurisdiction to investigate anything beyond the predicate

Delhi cops on alert after court allows Hindus to offer prayers at Gyanvapi

The advisory stated that some elements might try to dissipate the atmosphere. The advisory also warned all the police stations to watch the activities of those involved in major protests

Donald Trump's sweeping immunity claim rejected by US appeals court

"We cannot accept that the office of the Presidency places its former occupants above the law for all time thereafter," the unanimous panel wrote

Delhi court extends Sisodia's custody, allows him to visit ailing wife

A court here on Monday allowed senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, arrested in a Delhi excise policy case, to visit his ailing wife once a week while in custody. Special judge M K Nagpal also extended the judicial custody of Sisodia till February 22 after he was produced before the court on the expiry of his remand granted earlier. The judge passed the order while adjourning his bail application in excise policy-related cases filed by the CBI and the ED. Sisodia had sought custody parole to visit his ailing wife twice a week. The judge, meanwhile, directed the CBI to file a detailed status report about its further investigation in connection with the alleged excise policy case by February 22, the next date of hearing. The judge passed the direction to the CBI after the defence counsel objected to "non-full disclosure" about the status of the investigation. During the proceedings, the CBI filed a report stating that the investigation is ongoing and at a crucial stage, adding that th

Court allows Hemant Soren to participate in trust vote in J'khand assembly

A special court in Ranchi on Saturday allowed former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren to participate in the trust vote in the state assembly on February 5. Soren, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday in a money laundering case, filed a petition before the special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court, seeking permission to participate in the trust vote sought by the new Champai Soren government. Soren was remanded to ED custody for five days by the court on Friday.

eCourts Ph-3 project gets Rs 825 cr this fiscal, Rs 1,500 cr for next FY

The phase-III of the ambitious eCourts project, which seeks to upgrade the lower judiciary's digital infrastructure, has been allocated Rs 825 crore this fiscal after the revised estimates, while an enhanced sum of Rs 1,500 crore has been allocated for the next financial year. The phase-III received a Cabinet nod in September last year with a financial outlay of Rs 7,210 crore. According to the revised estimates for 2023-24, the Law Ministry has been granted Rs 825 crore for the Phase III of the project. The project will get Rs 1500 crore, according to the budget estimates for 2024-25. This phase of the the project, which is to be implemented over four years, will see digitisation of entire court records, both legacy and pending cases, at an estimated cost of Rs 2,038.40 crore. A total of 3,108 crore documents will be digitised, official sources had said. The eCourts Mission Mode Project has been described by the government as the prime mover for improving access to justice using

Court sends Hemant Soren to one-day judicial custody after arrest by ED

The Directorate of Enforcement had sought 10-day remand of the former Jharkhand Chief Minister but the order has been reserved

Delhi HC upholds validity of anti-profiteering provisions under GST

The court held that anti profiteering provisions pertain to commensurate reduction of prices when gst rates are reduced or due to input tax credit and hence these provisions are in public interest

Railways land-for-job case: Court summons Rabri Devi, daughter Misa Bharti

A Delhi Court on Saturday summoned former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and her daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav along with others after taking cognisance of an Enforcement Directorate charge sheet against them in the railways land-for-jobs linked money laundering case. Special Judge Vishal directed the accused to appear before the court on February 9, saying there were sufficient grounds to proceed in the matter. The judge also issued a production warrant against businessman Amit Katyal, who is presently in judicial custody in the case. An alleged "close associate" of the Yadav family Katyal (49), railway employee and alleged beneficiary Hridayanand Chaudhary, two firms A K Infosystems Pvt. Ltd. and A B Exports Pvt. Ltd., through their common director Shariqul Bari, have also been named in the charge sheet. Katyal was arrested in this case by the ED in November last year while former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav was summoned by the agency but is yet to ...

Moitra says she's hospitalised, urges HC to direct authorities not to evict

Citing medical reasons, expelled Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra on Thursday urged the Delhi High Court to restrain the authorities from evicting her from the government bungalow on cancellation of allotment following her expulsion. The Trinamool Congress leader, who has challenged a notice by the Directorate of Estates (DoE) to vacate the government accommodation, pleaded not to throw her out of the premises for the time being as she is a single woman and is undergoing treatment at a hospital here. Justice Girish Kathpalia, who heard the counsel for Moitra and DoE at length, said he will dictate the order today. Senior advocate Brij Gupta, representing Moitra, submitted she has undergone a surgical procedure and is admitted to a private hospital. Doctors have advised her bed rest, the lawyer said and urged the court to give her some time to vacate the bungalow, preferably four months. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma and central government's standing counsel Anurag ...

Delhi Court sends suspected Hizbul Mujahideen operative Matoo to jail

A Delhi court on Wednesday sent suspected Hizbul Mujahideen operative Javaid Ahmad Matoo, allegedly involved in 11 terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, to 14-day judicial custody, while setting free another accused in the case for want of evidence. Duty Magistrate Isha Singh sent Matoo, 32, to jail till January 31 on an application moved by the Delhi Police, after he was produced before the court. Matoo, allegedly a highly indoctrinated terrorist carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh, was arrested from Delhi's Nizamuddin area. He was driving a stolen car when he was apprehend, police said. The magistrate, however, ordered the release of Mohd. Rafi Najar on a police application which said no incriminating evidence was found against him. "As on date, there is no admissible incriminating evidence against the accused Najar and so, there exists no ground for his detention in this case," the judge said. Najar was arrested in the case on the basis of the disclosure statement of Matoo, who ..

Parl security breach: Court sends accused to judicial custody till Jan 27

A Delhi court on Saturday sent the six accused arrested in connection with the Parliament security breach case to judicial custody till January 27. Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur remanded Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Lalit Jha, Amol Shinde, Mahesh Kumawat and Neelam Azad in judicial custody after they were produced before the court on expiry of their police remand. The judge passed the order on an application moved by Delhi police seeking judicial custody of all the accused as the investigation was ongoing. During the hearing, accused Neelam Azad alleged before the court that a woman officer forcibly made her sign over 50 blank papers on Friday. Special Public Prosecutor Akhand Pratap Singh objected to the allegations and submissions of the accused. The court recorded the submissions of both sides. In a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack, Sharma and Manoranjan jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero H

Trump in court for closing arguments after judge receives bomb threat

Donald Trump arrived for closing arguments on Thursday in his New York civil fraud trial after authorities responded to a bomb threat at the home of the judge who moved this week to prevent the former president from delivering his own closing statements. Authorities responded to the threat at Judge Arthur Engoron's home on Long Island, a court official said. The proceedings were not delayed. Trump, the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, has repeatedly disparaged the judge in the case, accusing him in a social media post Wednesday night of working closely with the New York attorney general to screw me. At this moment the judge is not letting me make the summation because I'll bring up things he doesn't want to hear," Trump said as he walked into the courtroom, characterising the decision as political interference. This is a case that never should have been brought," he said. Trump said he was still hoping he would be allowed to speak, but his lawyer did n

Google's $2.7 bn EU antitrust fine should be upheld, says court adviser

The European Commission handed down the fine to the company in 2017 for using its own price comparison shopping service to gain an unfair advantage over smaller European rivals