Page 9 - Courts

Excise policy case: Court asks CBI to provide documents' copies to Sisodia

A Delhi court on Friday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to provide copies of documents, including charge sheet and supplementary charge sheet, to AAP leader Manish Sisodia and three other accused in the excise policy case. The other three accused are Hyderabad-based chartered accountant Butchi Babu Gorantla, liquor trader Amandeep Singh Dhall and private person Arjun Pandey. Special Judge M K Nagpal gave the directions when Sisodia was produced before him via video conferencing as the court had issued summons to him after it took cognisance of a supplementary charge sheet filed by the CBI in the case on May 27. The court posted the matter for further proceedings on July 6. Sisodia, 51, was arrested by the CBI on February 26 in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. The CBI filed its first charge sheet in the case against seven accused on November 25 last year. The court took cognisan

Court must not act mechanically under CrPC sec 319 to summon accused: SC

The Supreme Court said on Friday a court must not act mechanically under section 319 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to summon an accused merely on the ground that some evidence has come on record. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Pankaj Mithal made the observation while dismissing an appeal filed by a man challenging a summoning order in a case lodged under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. "A court must not act mechanically merely on the ground that some evidence has come on record implicating the person sought to be summoned; its satisfaction preceding the order thereunder must be more than prima facie as formed at the stage of a charge being framed and short of satisfaction to an extent that the evidence, if unrebutted, would lead to conviction," the bench said. The top court said section 319 CrPC, which envisages discretionary power, empowers the court holding trial to proceed against any person not shown or mentioned as an

Credit Suisse owes millions to Georgia's billionaire ex-prime minister

Credit Suisse owes former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili hundreds of millions of dollars for failing to protect the billionaire's money held in a trust pilfered by a manager, a Singapore court ruled Friday, the latest scandal for the Swiss bank whose yearslong problems forced its takeover by a rival. Ivanishvili in 2004 put more than USD 1.1 billion into a trust overseen by the bank's Singapore subsidiary, Credit Suisse Trust Limited, and the employee managing the trust misappropriated many millions of dollars over nine years before being caught and sent to prison, the Singapore International Commercial Court said. Bidzina, who amassed a fortune in Russia as a businessman before serving as Georgia's prime minister from 2012 to 2013, sued the Swiss bank for about USD 1.2 billion, saying it failed to properly administer the trust and keep its assets safe. The judgment published today is wrong and poses very significant legal issues, Credit Suisse said in a written ...

2020 Delhi riots: Court tells Special Cell Commissioner to appear in person

A court here has issued notice and directed the Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) to appear in person before it after noting that the inspector concerned failed to answer the court's query about the status of investigation and filing of supplementary charge sheet in a case of the 2020 northeast Delhi riots. Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat was hearing the case against former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and others related to the larger conspiracy behind the 2020 communal riots . The case is being investigated by the Special Cell of Delhi Police. It has been asked from the inspector present about the status of the investigation and filing of supplementary charge sheet However, no answer is forthcoming, ASJ Rawat said in an order passed on Wednesday. In these circumstances, the court is constrained to issue notice to the Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) to appear in person on the next date, the judge added. The matter has been posted for further ...

CJI condemns 'forum shopping'; here's all you need to know about it

The court stated that a classic example of forum shopping is when a litigant approaches one court but does not get desired relief and then approaches another court to obtain relief in the matter

Kanjhawala hit-and-drag case: Court grants bail to accused Deepak Khanna

A Delhi court has granted bail to Deepak Khanna, an accused in the Kanjhawala case in which a 20-year-old woman was dragged to death under a car here on New Year's Day. The court said the allegations against Khanna did not reveal that he was "in conspiracy with" other accused persons for the offence of murder and that in case of bailable offences, the relief has to be granted mandatorily and not as a matter of concession. "...the application is allowed and the applicant or accused is admitted to bail on furnishing of a bond in the sum of Rs 25,000 with one surety in the like amount...," Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Neeraj Gaur said in an order passed on Friday. "The allegations against the accused do not reveal that he was in conspiracy with other accused persons for the graver offence under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code," he said. ASJ Gaur said the charge sheet against Khanna included Sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false ...

Trial against Delhi L-G in abeyance to add to pendency of cases: Court

A court here has rejected Delhi L-G VK Saxena's plea to keep the trial against him in abeyance in an assault case till he is in office, saying it doesn't want to increase the pendency of cases in Gujarat courts. The court of additional chief judicial magistrate PN Goswami had on May 8 refused to grant relief to Saxena in the case registered against him for allegedly assaulting Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Medha Patkar when she was holding a peace meet at Gandhi Ashram against Gujarat riots in April 2002. A copy of the order was made available on Friday. This case has been going on since 2005, that is, 18 years, and will take more time ... If the trial against the accused is suspended, naturally this case will remain pending for many more years. This will only increase the pendency of old cases existing in Gujarat judiciary, the court said. It noted that the trial against Saxena was going on since last year, and during this period, he did not request the state government to put i

Defamation case filed against former CJI Ranjan Gogoi, Rupa Publications

A Rs one crore defamation case and a petition seeking an injunction to restrain his autobiography has been filed against Rajya Sabha MP and former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi by Assam Public Works (APW) president Aabhijeet Sharma at a local Court here. Sharma filed the defamation case against Gogoi and Rupa Publications, the publisher of his autobiography 'Justice for a Judge', for alleged misleading and defamatory statements against him in the book. He also filed a petition seeking an ad-interim injunction restraining Gogoi and his publisher from further publishing, distributing or selling any book which has defamatory statements and imputations against him. The defamation case and the petition for the injunction were filed at the Kamrup metros district court here. It was heard on Tuesday and the court in its ruling on Wednesday said that after going through the petition and documents it is found that there is 'substantial question both of law and facts to be ...

Possibility cannot become evidence: Court acquits 3 in Delhi riots case

A court here has acquitted three men for lack of proof in the 2020 North-East Delhi riots case, and observed that possibility cannot become evidence

Court sentences 9 persons to 7 years imprisonment in 2020 Delhi riot case

A court here has sentenced nine persons convicted in a case pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots to seven years of rigorous imprisonment, observing that communal riot is a menace that poses a serious threat to the sense of fraternity among the citizens. The court also said the acts of the convicts left a deep scar on the social fabric, economy and stability of the country, besides instilling a sense of insecurity among the people and jeopardizing the communal harmony in the society. Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala on Tuesday pronounced the order, sentencing Mohd Shahnawaz, Mohd Shoaib, Shahrukh, Rashid, Azad, Ashraf Ali Parvez, Mohd Faisal and Rashid. On March 13, the court had convicted the nine accused, saying the charges levelled by the prosecution were proved beyond a reasonable doubt. "All the convicts shall undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of seven years for the offence punishable under Section 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with

SC agrees to examine a plea against 'The Kerala Story' on May 15

The plea challenged the May 5 order passed by the high court declining any relief, saying there was nothing offensive against Islam or Muslims in the film

Lanka court puts restraining order on celebration of Gotabaya's fall

A Sri Lankan court on Tuesday accepted a request by the police to curb the commemoration of the events which led to the resignation of the bankrupt government of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa a year ago. On May 9 last year, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned, hours after his supporters attacked anti-government protesters outside embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office. Last year, thousands of demonstrators protested across Sri Lanka seeking the resignation of President Gotabaya and Prime Minister Mahinda, as the Sri Lankan government ran out of money for vital imports; prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed and there are acute shortages in fuel, medicines, and electricity supply. Police on Tuesday said the Colombo Fort magistrate has issued a restraining order on commemoration of the protest preventing them from entering key installations such as the president's house, presidential secretariat, finance ministry, and the prime minister's official ..

Lok Adalat in Maharashtra clears 24,073 cases with settlements of Rs 76 cr

A Lok Adalat in Maharashtra's Thane district resolved at least 24,073 pending cases involving settlements amounting to more than Rs 76 crore, a court official here on Tuesday. With these cases settled on April 29, Thane district has been ranked first in the state for the third time for its settlement rate, said Ishwar K Suryavanshi, secretary of Legal Aid Services Authority, Thane. Apart from 24,073 cases, another 6,625 pre-litigation cases involving Rs 12 crore were also settled, taking the total cases to 30,698 involving Rs 88 crore settlement amount, he said. Many cases, which were pending for 10-15 years, were also settled in the Lok Adalat for which several panels were constituted, the official said. As many as 235 cases under the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal were heard involving claims to the tune of Rs 18 crore and compensation was sanctioned, he said. A total of 167 cases of bank recoveries involving more than Rs 72 lakh were settled even before the filing stage, the ...

Pak court dismisses Imran Khan's petitions against anti-corruption agency

A top court here has dismissed the petitions filed by ousted prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi against the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) call-up notices in the Toshakhana corruption case. A two-member Islamabad High Court bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Babar Sattar on Thursday declared the petitions ineffective, The News International reported.

Indian courts to hear domestic violence cases if offence happens abroad: HC

A court in India can take cognizance of a case of domestic violence even if the alleged offence takes place in a foreign country, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has held. The court recently rejected a plea by an Indian man who claimed that a magistrate's court in Nagpur can not act on a complaint of domestic violence filed by his estranged wife because the alleged incidents had taken place in Germany. Justice G A Sanap noted in the ruling that the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (DV Act) was a "social beneficial legislation", and it does not matter where the offence has taken place. The copy of the judgement, passed on March 29, became available on Wednesday. "...though the Domestic Violence Act extends only to the whole of India as provided under section 1 of the DV Act, the domestic violence caused on the foreign soil could also be taken cognizance of," the high court said. In the present case, consequence of trauma, suffering and distress carried by th

Death row convicts taking advantage of inordinate delay in mercy petitions

Death row convicts are taking advantage of an inordinate delay in deciding mercy petitions, the Supreme Court has said while directing the state governments and authorities concerned to see such pleas are decided and disposed of at the earliest. A bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar said even after the final conclusion by the top court, there is an inordinate delay in not deciding the mercy petition, the object and purpose of the death sentence would be frustrated. "Therefore, as such, all efforts shall be made by the State Government and/or the concerned authorities to see that mercy petitions are decided and disposed of at the earliest, so that even the accused can also know his fate and even justice is also done to the victim," the bench said. The observations came on a petition filed by the Maharashtra government challenging an order of the Bombay High Court which commuted the death sentence awarded to a woman and her sister. The high court commuted the death sentence to

Courts to have liberal view towards Consumer Protection Act provisions: SC

The Supreme Court said on Thursday the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is a "social benefit-oriented" legislation and courts have to adopt a constructive, liberal approach while construing the provisions of this law. The apex court said the law meets long-felt necessity of protecting the common man from such wrong for which the remedy under ordinary law for various reasons has become "illusory" and the importance of the Act lies in promoting welfare of the society by enabling the consumer to participate directly in the market economy. A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and C T Ravikumar made these observations while delivering its judgement on a batch of appeals filed by an insurance firm against the December 2004 verdict of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) which had held that a person who takes insurance policy to cover the envisaged risk does not take the policy for the commercial purpose. Elaborating on the facts of the case, the top court noted a vehicle

Tech can help reduce case pendency in courts, says Law Minister Rijiju

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday highlighted that about five crore cases are pending in courts and said technology can play an important role in not only reducing pendency, but also making the process of delivery of justice easily accessible to people. He also highlighted that after the completion of the third phase of the e-Courts project, the time would not be far when all courts in the country will become totally paperless "It pains me to see about five crore cases still pending for their final disposal. We can use technology as a solution to reduce pendency of cases in our courts," the minister said at the release of the first edition of the Dogri version of the Constitution of India at the University of Jammu. Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court Chief Justice Kotishwar Singh, senior judges of the high court, Jammu University Vice Chancellor Umesh Rai, Law Secretary Achal Sethi and Jammu Deputy Commissioner Avny Lavasa were among those who attended the function. Regard

Court to hear Sisodia's bail plea in money laundering case on April 5

A court on Saturday adjourned till April 5 the hearing on the bail plea of AAP leader Manish Sisodia, who has been arrested by the ED in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in implementing the now-scrapped excise policy in Delhi. Special Judge MK Nagpal adjourned the hearing after Sisodia's counsel sought more time to prepare a detailed response to ED's submission on the bail plea. Sisodia moved the bail plea on Tuesday and the court sought the Enforcement Directorate's response by March 25. On Wednesday, after seven days of questioning by the ED, the court sent him to 14-day judicial custody. On Friday, the court reserved its order on a separate bail plea moved by Sisodia in the excise policy case lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Special Judge Nagapal said the court will pronounce its order on the bail plea in the CBI case on March 31. The ED arrested the former Delhi deputy chief minister on March 9 at Tihar jail, where he was lodged in connec

Live telecast attaches stricter responsibility on judges: SC to courts

The Supreme Court has said that though virtual hearings and live-telecast of court proceedings introduces transparency in the judicial system, it attaches with a stricter standard of responsibility