Page 6 - Courts

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

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.

From Article 370 to demonetisation, key judgements delivered in 2023

Year ender 2023: From Jammu and Kashmir's special status to same-sex marriage refusal, here are key rulings of 2023

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