Page 6 - Courts

Boeing blowout occurred hours before key US deal on 737 Max crashes expired

That deal resolved a probe into Boeing following the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March of 2019, which together killed 346 passengers and crew

Sheena Bora case: Court disposes of plea for re-issuance of OCI certificate

A special CBI court here has disposed of a plea of Indrani Mukerjea, prime accused in the murder case of her daughter Sheena Bora, seeking direction to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office in Mumbai for re-issuance of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) certificate. Special CBI judge SP Naik-Nimbalkar, in an order passed on Friday, held no rule or legal provision is brought to the court's notice which would empower it to give directions to FRRO for re-issuance of OCI. Mukerjea, in her plea, submitted she is a British national holding a passport of that country. As per her plea, she requires a valid OCI registration certificate as it is her residency permit and her lifelong visa to reside in India. Mukerjea had said her present OCI card is in damaged/mutilated condition and, hence, she had applied for its re-issuance. The court said the tenability of Mukerjea's application was not satisfactorily explained. "So also, it is brought to the notice of the accused that no inherent pow

Court to rule Friday on making ASI survey report on Gyanvapi mosque public

A Varanasi court would decide Friday whether to open the sealed ASI survey report on the Gyanvapi mosque complex and provide copies to the Hindu and Muslim sides. The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) had on Wednesday urged the court not to make its report public for at least four more weeks, according to the lawyer for the Hindu side, Madan Mohan Yadav. Varanasi district court judge A K Vishvesh then adjourned the matter till Thursday. However, on Thursday, he could not take up the matter as he was engaged at an event, his office said and added that the matter was then posted for Friday.

Court extends Senthil Balaji's remand till Jan 11 in money laundering case

A sessions court here on Thursday extended Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji's remand till January 11. The DMK leader, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on June 14, 2023 in a money laundering case, is presently lodged at the Puzhal prison here. Principal Sessions Judge S Alli, before whom Balaji was produced by the prosecution through video-conferencing from the prison, extended his judicial custody. Balaji was arrested by the ED in connection with a money laundering case linked to a cash-for-jobs scam when he was the Transport Minister during an earlier AIADMK regime. Soon after his arrest, he underwent a bypass surgery at a private hospital. Later, the ED took him into custody for interrogation and following that he was remanded in judicial custody. His remand was periodically extended by the court.

Courts must refrain from summoning govt officials as first resort: SC

Courts must refrain from summoning government officials as "first resort" as asking them frequently to appear without a just cause is not permissible, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday and framed standard operating procedure for courts across the country to follow while seeking their presence. Constantly summoning officials of the government instead of relying on the law officers representing the government runs contrary to the scheme envisaged by the Constitution, it said. "The appearance of government officials before courts must not be reduced to a routine measure in cases where the government is a party and can only be resorted to in limited circumstances. The use of the power to summon the presence of government officials must not be used as a tool to pressurize the government, particularly, under the threat of contempt," a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said. The verdict came on an appeal of the Uttar Pradesh ...

Israel says it will counter genocide allegations at international court

Israel says it will defend itself against genocide accusations filed by South Africa with the world court. Eylon Levy, an official in the Israeli prime minister's office, on Tuesday accused South Africa of giving political and legal cover to Hamas' October 7 attack that triggered Israel's war against the militant group. The state of Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice at the Hague to dispel South Africa's absurd blood libel, Levy said. South Africa launched the case Friday at the U.N.'s top court, accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and asking the court to order Israel to halt its attacks. Israel dismisses international cases against it as unfair and biased and rarely cooperates. The Israeli response signals the government is taking the case seriously.

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Newsclick row: Portal's HR head moves Delhi court seeking to turn approver

NewsClick's human resources department head Amit Chakravarty has moved a Delhi court seeking its permission to turn an approver in the case lodged under anti-terror law UAPA over allegations that the news portal received money to spread pro-China propaganda, court sources said. Chakravarty moved the application before Special Judge Hardeep Kaur last week, seeking pardon in the case and claiming he had material information that he was willing to disclose to the Delhi Police, which is investigating the matter. The judge has posted the matter before a magisterial court for recording Chakravarty's statement. According to police sources, the agency will take a decision on whether to support his application before the court after going through his statement. The Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested Chakravarty and news portal's founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha on October 3. They are currently in judicial custody. According to the FIR, a large amount of funds to the

Can't allow inadequate prison healthcare system to violate right: HC

Courts cannot allow an inadequate prison healthcare system to violate an inmate's right to timely medical care, the Delhi High Court held while directing the city government to ensure that proper medical infrastructure is maintained in jails here. Observing that the Delhi government is responsible for the management and maintenance of prison premises here, the high court directed authorities to ensure that healthcare requirements of jail inmates are met. The court also directed the secretary of the Delhi government's health and family welfare department to constitute a committee, which, apart from him, will include the director general (prisons), chief medical officer (CMO) of Delhi Prisons, two senior jail visiting judges of district courts to be nominated by the principal district and sessions judge (central district), secretary of the DSLSA and two advocates. The committee, the high court said, will give suggestions to it within one month regarding improving healthcare facilities

Morbi bridge collapse: HC rejects bail plea of Oreva Group CMD Patel

The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday rejected the regular bail plea of Oreva Group CMD Jaysukh Patel, the main accused in the October 2022 Morbi suspension bridge collapse which claimed 135 lives. "The application is dismissed," Justice Divyesh Joshi said while denying bail to Patel, who has been behind bars since his surrender in January this year after being named as the main accused in the case. His regular bail pleas were earlier rejected by lower courts. Patel's firm was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Gujarat's Morbi town which collapsed on October 30 last year, killing 135 people, including children, and injuring 56 others. Patel and nine others have been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 336 (act which endangers human life), 337 (causing hurt to any person by doing any rash or negligent act) and 338 (caus

Rahul Gandhi summoned to appear in UP court on Jan 6 in Amit Shah case

The MP-MLA Court here on Saturday summoned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on January 6 in a case in which has been accused of making certain remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah, a counsel said. The court had earlier directed Gandhi to appear on Saturday but he did not appear. The case stems from a lawsuit filed on August 4, 2018 by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Mishra in which he accused Rahul Gandhi of making objectionable remarks against Amit Shah. Mishra's advocate Santosh Pandey said that the MP-MLA court of Sultanpur had summoned Gandhi on December 16 in the case, but he did not appear. Pandey said that on November 18, Judge Yogesh Yadav after arguments reserved the verdict and posted the next hearing for November 27 and summoned Gandhi to appear on December 16. Mishra is a former chairman of a cooperative bank and a resident of Hanumanganj.

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479 rural courts notified across India but 284 operational: Govt to LS

As many as 284 gram nyayalayas (rural courts) are functional across the country out of 479 notified by different states, according to data shared by the government in the Lok Sabha on Friday. The Gram Nyayalayas Act was enacted in 2008 to provide access to justice to citizen at their doorstep. According to the law, it is not mandatory for states to set up such court, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said in a written reply to a question. Citing the law, he said the state governments are responsible for establishing gram nyayalayas in consultation with the respective high courts. "The state governments, after consultation with the respective HCs may, by notification establish one or more Gram Nyayalayas for every panchayat at intermediate level or a group of contiguous panchayats at intermediate level in a district or where there is no panchayat at intermediate level in any state, for a group of contiguous gram panchayats," he said. The minister said it is up to the states to set up

Retd judges keeping country's arbitral system in tight-fist grip: Dhankhar

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar lamented on Saturday that retired judges have kept the country's arbitral system in a "tight-fist grip", denying a chance to other qualified minds, and echoed the remarks of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud that it resembles an "old boys' club". Dhankhar suggested that the time has come when people need to introspect and move forward by bringing about necessary changes, including, if required, by legislation. "Nowhere on the planet, in no other country, in no other system there is such a tight-fist grip on the arbitral system by retired judges. In our country, this is at large," he said. The vice president lauded the "bold" remarks of Justice Chandrachud -- a person, he said, is changing the landscape of the judiciary in the country -- on the arbitral system in India. Dhankhar said the CJI reflected on the lack of diversity in appointing arbitrators. Justice Chandrachud had said retired judges dominate the field, he pointed out. "He goes on to

Zuckerberg vetoed ban on certain filters despite concerns for kids: Lawsuit

The suit, initially filed in federal court in Oakland last month, added to growing scrutiny of social media giants over how they serve their youngest users

Citizens should not be afraid of approaching courts: CJI Chandrachud

The Supreme Court has acted as a "people's court" and citizens should not be afraid of going to courts or view it as the last resort, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud said on Sunday. Justice Chandrachud said just as the Constitution allows us to resolve political differences through established democratic institutions and processes, the courts system helps in resolving many disagreements through established principles and processes. "In this way, every case in every court in the country is an extension of constitutional governance," the CJI said while speaking at the inauguration of the Constitution Day celebrations at the apex court. President Droupadi Murmu delivered the inaugural address at the programme, which was also attended by apex court judges Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and others. In his address, the CJI said, "In the last seven decades, the Supreme Court of India has acted as a people's court. Thousand

Judge lifts gag order that barred Donald Trump from maligning court staff

A New York appeals court judge has paused a gag order that barred Donald Trump from commenting on court staffers in his civil fraud trial. The trial judge had imposed the gag order last month and later fined Trump USD 15,000 for violations after the former president made a disparaging social media post about a court clerk. In his decision, Judge David Friedman of the state's intermediate appeals court cited constitutional concerns about restricting Trump's free speech. He issued a stay of the gag order, allowing Trump to comment freely about court staff while a longer appeals process plays out. Trump's lawyers filed a lawsuit against the trial judge, Arthur Engoron, late Wednesday challenging the gag order as an abuse of power. Friedman scheduled an emergency hearing Thursday afternoon around a conference table in a state appellate courthouse a couple of miles from where the trial is unfolding. Trump's lawyers had asked the appeals judge to scrap the gag order and fines imposed by

Constitutional Court should avoid fixing time-bound schedule cases: SC

Constitutional Court should avoid fixing a time-bound schedule for disposal of any case before any court unless the situation is extraordinary, the Supreme Court said while refusing to entertain a plea seeking a direction for disposal of a criminal matter within a fixed time. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal said that in every high court and especially the bigger ones, there are filed a large number of bail petitions and therefore, some delay in the disposal of such petitions is inevitable. "We are of the view that since every high court and every court in the country has a huge pendency, the Constitutional Court should avoid the temptation of fixing a time-bound schedule for disposal of any case before any court unless the situation is extraordinary," the bench said. The top court was hearing a plea filed by Shaikh Uzma Feroz Hussain seeking a direction to the Maharashtra High Court to decide his bail plea in a time-bound manner. The apex court said if there is an

Apple to pay $25 million to settle discriminatory hiring practices case

Apple has agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations that it engaged in a pattern of discriminatory hiring practices when filling some of its jobs during 2018 and 2019. The deal announced Thursday resolved a lengthy investigation by the Department of Justice into alleged violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Federal regulators said an inquiry that began in 2019 determined that Apple's hiring practices discriminated against U.S. candidates for jobs that were awarded to some immigrant workers seeking to be granted permanent resident status in the country. In some instances, Apple also discriminated against non-U.S. residents, according to the settlement. Apple vehemently denied any wrongdoing in the formal seven-page settlement defended its hiring record in a statement to The Associated Press. Apple proudly employs more than 90,000 people in the United States and continues to invest nationwide, creating millions of jobs," the Cupertino, California, company said. Whe