Page 7 - Courts

Court grants Delhi cops time to reply to NewsClick HR head's bail plea

A Delhi court on Saturday granted the city police time till November 17 to respond to the bail application of NewsClick human resources department head Amit Chakravarty in a case lodged under anti-terror law UAPA over allegations that the news portal received money to spread pro-China propaganda. Special Judge Hardeep Kaur adjourned the matter following a request made by the police. The Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested Chakravarty along with NewsClick founder and editor in-chief Prabir Purkayastha on October 3. Both are currently in judicial custody. According to the FIR, a large amount of funds to the news portal came from China to "disrupt the sovereignty of India" and cause disaffection against the country. It also alleged Purkayastha conspired with a group -- People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) -- to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Raids were conducted at 88 locations in Delhi and seven in other states on October 3 on

Don't want Supreme Court to become 'tarikh-pe-tarikh' court: Chandrachud

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Friday urged lawyers not to seek adjournments in fresh matters, saying he does not want the Supreme Court to become a 'tarikh-pe-tarikh' court. At the outset of the day's proceedings, the CJI flagged the issue of lawyers seeking adjournments in fresh matters and said in the last two months adjournment slips were moved in 3,688 matters by advocates. "Unless it is very very necessary, please don't file the adjournment slips...I don't want this court to be a tarikh-pe-tarikh' court," the CJI, who was sharing the bench with justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said. "Tarikh-pe-Tarikh" (repeated adjournments) was a famous Sunny Deol dialogue in Bollywood film "Damini" where the actor rued the adjournment culture in courts. The CJI said that now with the help of lawyers' bodies, the time gap in the listing of fresh matters after their filing in the top court has been significantly reduced. He, however, rued the fact that after their listing

2020 Delhi riots: Court acquits man of arson, loot, vandalism charges

A court here has acquitted a man accused in a 2020 Delhi riots case of all charges, including arson, vandalism and loot, saying the prosecution failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a riotous mob was responsible for the incident and that the accused was its part. Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala was hearing a case against Sandeep Kumar, who was accused of being a part of an unlawful assembly that looted a house and set ablaze household items and a two-wheeler in the Shiv Vihar locality in Karwal Nagar here on February 25, 2020. The prosecution though established the incident of vandalism, loot and setting ablaze of some household articles and a motorcycle, but it failed to prove a mob being responsible for the same and the presence of accused in such a mob, beyond reasonable doubts, ASJ Pramachala said in a judgment dated October 27. The court said while the complainant had not witnessed the incident, there was a discrepancy in the testimonies of two police ...

Suspect in attack on Salman Rushdie scheduled for trial in January 2024

The accused, Hadi Matar is expected to stand trial on January 8, according to Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt

Court extends judicial custody of Purkayastha, Chakravarty till October 25

Purkayastha and Chakravarty were remanded for 10 days to judicial custody in the matter earlier by the court which ended on Friday

Vivo PMLA case: Court sends Lava MD, Chinese national to judicial custody

A court here on Wednesday sent Lava International MD Hari Om Rai and Chinese national Guangwen Kuang to judicial custody till October 30 in a money laundering case against Chinese smartphone maker Vivo. Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala, however, extended by two days the custodial interrogation of co-accused Nitin Garg. The court passed the order on an application moved by the Enforcement Directorate. The three accused were produced before the court on completion of their ED custody granted earlier. They were arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The smartphone company has denied the allegations. Vivo has constantly denied the allegations. We will pursue necessary and appropriate legal recourse, a company representative said in a statement. The ED had raided the Chinese company and individuals linked to it in July last year, claiming to have busted a major money laundering racket involving Chinese nationals and multiple Ind

Vivo PMLA case: Delhi court extends ED custody of accused by two days

A court here on Monday extended by two days the ED custody of three people, including Lava International MD Hari Om Rai, arrested in a money laundering case against Chinese smartphone maker Vivo. Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala extended the custody of Lava mobile company's managing director Rai, Nitin Garg and Chinese national Guangwen Kuang till October 18, saying the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was able to make out the case for grant of further custody remand. The accused were produced before the court on completion of their ED custody granted earlier. There appears to be continuity in the stand taken by Enforcement Directorate with regard to extraction of digital data and the accused persons to be confronted with the same. Therefore, considering the settled principles of law and Delhi High Court Rules, I am of the considered opinion that the Enforcement Directorate is able to make out the case for grant of further custody remand, the judge said. The court direc

NewsClick Row: Court sends Purkayastha, Chakravarty to 10-day custody

They were arrested last week by Delhi Police in a case filed under the anti-terror law UAPA following allegations that News Portal NewsClick received huge money for pro-China propaganda

Court to pass order on Nov 25 on closure report on case against Bhushan

A Delhi court will pass its order on November 25 on whether to accept the Delhi Police's closure report in a sexual harassment complaint filed by a minor wrestler against former WFI chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The matter was adjourned since Additional Sessions Judge Chhavi Kapoor, who was scheduled to pass the order on Friday, was on leave. In in-chamber proceedings held on August 1, the minor wrestler had told the court she was satisfied with Delhi Police's investigation in the case and was not opposed to the closure report it has submitted, public prosecutor Atul Srivastava had said. The Delhi Police had on June 15 filed a report before the court seeking cancellation of the case involving the minor wrestler after her father made a startling claim midway through the probe that he made a false complaint of sexual harassment against Singh to get back at him for perceived injustice to the girl. Police had recommended dropping of Protection of Children from Sexual ...

Newsclick Row: Court sends notice to police on plea for copy of FIR

A city court on Wednesday issued notice to the Delhi police on a plea filed by NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakravarty, arrested in a case lodged under anti-terror law UAPA following allegations about the news portal having received money for pro-China propaganda, seeking a copy of the FIR. Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur directed police to file its response by tomorrow when the court will hear arguments on the application. The court, meanwhile, agreed to hand over a copy of the remand application, filed by police, to Advocate Arshdeep Singh Khurana, the counsel for the accused. Khurana requested the court for the copy of the FIR so he could move the Delhi High Court for legal remedies available to the accused. The court also allowed the counsel to meet the accused for one hour daily during the remand period. The judge posted the matter for tomorrow, after the city police submitted its Special Public Prosecutor was not present to argue the ...

1984 riots case: Court acquits Sajjan Kumar, 2 others of rioting, murder

Special CBI judge Geetanjali Goel on Wednesday acquitted Sajjan Kumar, Brahamanand Gupta and Ved Prakash

Himachal CM Sukhu introduces bill seeking to repeal 13 obsolete laws

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday introduced a bill seeking to repeal 13 laws that have outlived their utility. The enactments which have "lost their significance or have become obsolete and redundant" or whose retention as "separate, independent and distinct act" is unnecessary are proposed to be repealed, Sukhu said. The new legislation is called the Himachal Pradesh Repealing Bill-2023. The acts proposed to be repealed include the Presidency Small Cause Courts Act, 1882; Agriculturists Loans Act, 1884; Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887; Mandi Minor Forest Produce Exploitation and Export Act, 1997 and 1941. The Chamba Minor Forest Produce Exploitation and Export Act, 2003 and Punjab Tobacco Vend Fees (Repealing) Act, 1953 are also proposed to be repealed. The Himachal Pradesh Private Forest Act, 1954; the Punjab Labor Welfare Fund Act, 1965; Punjab Professions, Trades, Callings and Employment Taxation (Himachal Pradesh Repealing) Act, 1968

Difficult to deal with arrear of cases if Bar members don't cooperate: SC

The Supreme Court has said that fairness is a "hallmark of great advocacy" and if the members of the Bar do not cooperate with the trial courts, it would be very difficult for the courts to deal with huge arrears of cases. The apex court made the observations while hearing a petition arising out of an order of the Bombay High Court. It noted that as per data available on the National Judicial Data Grid, there is a huge pendency of suits in the trial courts in Maharashtra. "If the members of the Bar do not cooperate with the trial courts, it will be very difficult for our courts to deal with the huge arrears," a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Rajesh Bindal said in its verdict delivered on September 14. The top court said while a trial is being conducted, the members of the Bar are expected to act as officers of the court and conduct themselves in a reasonable and fair manner. "The members of the Bar must remember that fairness is a hallmark of great advocacy. If the advocates sta

Ex-WFI chief Singh not exonerated in harassment case: Police tells court

Former WFI chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accused of sexual harassment of several women wrestlers, was not exonerated by the oversight committee constituted by the government to investigate the allegations against him, Delhi police told a city court on Saturday. The police made the submission before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal during the argument on whether to frame charges against Singh in the case. Singh was not exonerated by the oversight committee. The committee had given the recommendations, not the decision Nowhere has it stated that these allegations are not substantiated or are false, special public prosecutor Atul Srivastava told the court. He urged the court to frame the charges against Singh, saying even a mere gesture can constitute a crime under section 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code. The Delhi police had filed a charge sheet against the six-time MP on J

Court adjourns Naidu's bail plea to September 19 in corporation case

A local Court in Vijayawada on Friday adjourned the hearing of two bail petitions filed by TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu to September 19. Naidu, who has been remanded in judicial custody for 14 days for the alleged misappropriation of funds from the Skill Development Corporation, leading to a loss of over Rs 300 crore to the state government, had filed an interim bail petition as well as one seeking regular bail. "The court heard the matters in detail and directed the matter to be posted to Tuesday, September 19 to enable us (CID lawyers) to file a counter affidavit," Special Public Prosecutor Y N Vivekananda, representing the CID, told PTI. He said the CID team of lawyers have opposed both the bail petitions on the grounds of maintainability and made submissions on the merits of the matter. Considering that Naidu's legal team not filing a counter affidavit to CID custody seeking petition and also the High Court being seized of these matters, Vivekananda said they have requested th

Preserve evidence found during Gyanvapi survey: Varanasi court to ASI

The Varanasi District Court has ordered the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to preserve and document evidence found during the survey of the Gyanvapi mosque, and submit a list to it and the district magistrate. District Judge A K Vishwesh passed the order on Wednesday and a copy was served to the government counsel as well as to the lawyers of the Hindu and Muslim sides the next day, according to Madan Mohan Yadav, who represents the Hindu side in the case. He said the court had heard the matter on September 8 in the presence of lawyers from all parties -- Hindu and Muslim sides, and the government. Plaintiff Rakhi Singh of the Hindu side had urged the court to direct the district magistrate to stop the entry of Muslims in the Gyanvapi mosque complex for securing the complex and safeguarding the evidence found during the survey. Last Friday, the Varanasi court had granted four more weeks to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to complete the scientific survey of the Gyanva

Submit objects related to Hindu religion: Court's order on Gyanvapi case

The Hindu side had demanded an evidence room to preserve the 'proofs' collected during the ASI survey, in addition to reserving the Gyanvapi mosque premises

Govt clears eCourts Project phase-III, with financial outlay of Rs 7,210 cr

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the third phase of eCourts Project as a central sector scheme with a financial outlay of Rs 7,210 crore to be implemented over four years. Briefing media after a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the eCourts Mission Mode Project is the prime mover for improving access to justice using technology in line with the PM's vision of "Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas". As part of the National eGovernance Plan, the eCourts Project is under implementation since 2007 for ICT enablement of the Indian Judiciary. The Phase II of the project has concluded in 2023. Phase III of the e-Courts Project, beginning 2023, in India is rooted in the philosophy of "access and inclusion", the minister said. The third phase 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 reco

Courts must be on guard, test evidence meticulously when FIR is delayed: SC

Courts must be on guard and test evidence meticulously to rule out possibility of embellishments in the prosecution's story when an FIR is delayed and there is absence of proper explanation, the Supreme Court has said. The apex court acquitted two people whose conviction and life sentence for the offence of murder in a case lodged in 1989 was affirmed by the Chhattisgarh High Court. A bench of justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra noted that the accused were tried for allegedly murdering a man on August 25, 1989, while the FIR in the case was lodged the next day in Bilaspur district. "When an FIR is delayed, in absence of proper explanation, the courts must be on guard and test the evidence meticulously to rule out possibility of embellishments in the prosecution story, inasmuch as delay gives opportunity for deliberation and guess work," the bench said in its verdict delivered on September 5. "More so, in a case where probability of no one witnessing the incident is high, such as

ASI may seek more time from court on Gynavapi survey report, say lawyers

Sudhir Tripathi, an advocate representing the Hindu side, said they think "the survey is not completed yet"