Page 2 - Criminal Cases

Ex-Philippines President Duterte in ICC custody for crimes against humanity

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was turned over Wednesday to the custody of the International Criminal Court, following his arrest on a warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity over deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he oversaw while in office. The court said in a statement that as a precautionary measure" medical assistance was made available at the airport for Duterte, in line with standard procedures when a suspect arrives. The 79-year-old former president arrived at Rotterdam The Hague Airport earlier Wednesday on a flight from Manila following his arrest there on an ICC warrant on Tuesday, as announced by current Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Rights groups and families of victims hailed Duterte's arrest. Within days, he will face an initial appearance where the court will confirm his identity, check that he understands the charges against him and set a date for a hearing to assess if prosecutors have sufficient evidence to send him to a full trial. If his

Former Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte arrested in drug war case

Duterte's anti-narcotics campaign during his 2016-2022 presidency killed more than 6,000 people

ICC is flawed but worth fighting for in a world turning away from justice

The belief that the ICC can act as a deterrent against future atrocities is an unproven hypothesis

Yoon appears in 2 S Korean courts while defending his martial law decree

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in court on Thursday for a hearing where his lawyers contested his arrest on a criminal charge alleging he was orchestrating a rebellion when he briefly imposed martial law in December. Security was heightened as the motorcade transporting Yoon arrived at the Seoul Central District Court and dozens of his supporters rallied nearby. The preliminary hearing will involve discussions of witnesses and other preparations for his criminal trial, and the court was also to review the request by Yoon's lawyers to cancel his arrest and release him from custody. Such challenges are rarely successful. Yoon was indicted January 26 on the rebellion charge carrying a potential punishment of death or life in prison. In South Korea, presidents have immunity from most criminal prosecutions but not on charges of rebellion or treason. The indictment alleges his imposition of martial law was an illegal attempt to shut down the National Assembly and arrest ..

Trump signs order imposing sanctions on ICC over investigations of Israel

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court over investigations of Israel, a close U.S. ally. Neither the U.S. nor Israel is a member of or recognizes the court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes over his military response in Gaza after the Hamas attack against Israel in October 2023. Tens of thousands of Palestinians, including children, have been killed during the Israeli military's response. The order Trump signed accuses the ICC of engaging in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel" and of abusing its power by issuing baseless arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant. The ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel, the order states, adding that the court had set a dangerous precedent with its actions against both countries. Trump's action came as .

Disapproval of marriage does not amount to abetment of suicide: SC

The Supreme Court has said expressing disapproval for marriage does not amount to abetment of suicide under section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma made the observation while quashing a chargesheet against a woman who was accused of abetting the suicide of another woman who was allegedly in love with her son. The allegations were based on disputes between the deceased and the appellant's son, who had refused to marry her. The appellant was accused of opposing the marriage and making disparaging remarks against the deceased. The court said even if all evidence on record, including the chargesheet and witness statements, are taken to be correct, there is not an iota of evidence against the appellant. "We find that the acts of the appellant are too remote and indirect to constitute the offence under section 306, IPC. There is no allegation against the appellant of a nature that the deceased was left with no alternative b

Mumbai police suspects more than one person in Saif Ali Khan stabbing case

Mumbai police suspect more than one person may be involved in the Saif Ali Khan stabbing case, in which a 30-year-old Bangladeshi national has been arrested, an official said on Saturday. The police had cited suspicion about the involvement of more persons in the crime as one of the grounds for seeking the arrested accused's custody in the remand application, the official said without elaborating further on the matter. He said the police collected blood samples and clothes of Khan and his staff present during the stabbing at the actor's residence in Bandra on January 16, and have sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory for examination. On January 19, the police arrested Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir alias Vijay Das, a Bangladeshi national, for the attack from neighbouring Thane city. A court on Friday extended the police custody of Shariful till January 29. The official said the accused was not cooperating with the investigation team and is yet to reveal

Don't allow foreigners to leave India, if required in a criminal case: SC

The Supreme Court on Monday said a foreigner should not be allowed to leave India if required to answer a criminal charge. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhyuan said while granting bail to a foreign national, the court should issue a direction to the state or the prosecuting agency, to immediately inform about its order to the registration officer concerned under the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992. "When a foreigner's presence is required in India to answer a criminal charge, permission to leave India must be refused. Under the Order (1948 order), the civil authority can impose restrictions on the movements of a foreigner," the bench said. The bench said the registration officer should then communicate the bail order to all relevant agencies, including the civil authority. The apex court's order came in a case where it had decided two main issues concerning bail conditions imposed on a Nigerian national in a drugs case in July, 2024. The top court had held the b

Non-appearance in response to proclamation a 'stand-alone offence': SC

The Supreme Court has held that non-appearance in response to a proclamation is a "stand-alone offence" and can continue even if the proclamation is extinguished. The apex court delivered its verdict on January 2 on an appeal challenging a June 2023 judgement of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The bench dealt with legal questions, including whether the proclaimed offender status of an accused under the provisions of the CrPC can subsist if he stands acquitted during trial in connection to the very same offence. "In conclusion, we hold that section 174A IPC is an independent, substantive offence, that can continue even if the proclamation under section 82 CrPC is extinguished. It is a stand-alone offence," a bench of justices CT Ravikumar and Sanjay Karol said. Section 82 of the erstwhile Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) deals with proclamation for person absconding. Section 174A of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC) pertains to non-appearance in response to a proclamation u

NestAway co-founder accuses Tiger Global, Chiratae, Goldman Sachs of fraud

Sahu's complaint alleges that his signature as a company director was illegally used to finalise NestAway's Rs 90-crore sale to proptech firm Aurum on June 28, 2023

Bomb kills chief of Russian nuclear protection forces in Moscow; probe on

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who is chief of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, was killed outside an apartment building

Cash-for-job scam: SC grants future bail to former WB min Partha Chatterjee

The Supreme Court on Friday granted conditional future bail to former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee in a money laundering case related to the cash-for-job scam. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said that Chatterjee shall be released on February 1, 2025 subject to the trial court framing charges before the winter vacation and examination of vulnerable witnesses by the second and third week of January 2025. The top court said upon his release Chatterjee shall not hold any public office but can continue as MLA. The bench said that a suspect cannot be detained indefinitely and, therefore, it has to balance the rights of the accused and the victims. On December 4, the top court had reserved its verdict on his bail plea and told him that, "On the face of it you are a corrupt person. Crores of rupees were recovered from your premises." The top court in October issued a notice to the ED on the appeal filed by Chatterjee against an April 30 Calcutta High Court order

Trump's lawyers urge judge to drop his hush money criminal conviction

President-elect Donald Trump's lawyers formally asked a judge Monday to throw out his hush money criminal conviction, arguing continuing the case would present unconstitutional disruptions to the institution of the Presidency. In a filing made public Tuesday, Trump's lawyers told Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan that dismissal is warranted because of the extraordinary circumstances of his impending return to the White House. Wrongly continuing proceedings in this failed lawfare case disrupts President Trump's transition efforts, the attorneys continued, before citing the overwhelming national mandate granted to him by the American people on November 5, 2024. Prosecutors will have until Dec. 9 to respond. They have said they will fight any efforts to dismiss the case but have indicated openness to delaying sentencing until after Trump's second term ends in 2029. Following Trump's election victory last month, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed his sentencing, ...

SC criticises HC orders fixing time limits for trial while denying bail

Deprecating the orders passed by the high courts fixing a time-bound schedule for conclusion of trial while rejecting bail applications, the Supreme Court has said such directions were difficult to implement and give a false hope to the litigants. The apex court said such directions adversely affect the functioning of the trial courts as in many trial courts, there may be pending older cases of the same category. "Before we part with this order, every day we notice that in several orders passed by different high courts while rejecting the bail applications, in a routine manner, the high courts are fixing a time-bound schedule for the conclusion of the trials," said a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih. The top court passed the order while granting bail to a man, who has been incarcerated for two and a half years in a case of alleged counterfeit currency notes. While granting him the relief, the bench noted that trial was not likely to conclude in a reasonable

What is the International Criminal Court that issued Netanyahu's warrant?

International Criminal Court issued warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of crimes against humanity related to the 13-month war in Gaza

Anmol Bishnoi, brother of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, arrested in US

The arrest of Anmol Bishnoi comes amid ongoing investigations into his involvement in various criminal activities

Australian HC overturns law that forced migrants to wear tracking bracelets

Australia's highest court ruled Wednesday that migrants can't be forced by law to wear electronic tracking bracelets or to comply with curfews. The ruling is a blow to the government, whose lawyers have unsuccessfully argued that laws imposing curfews and tracking technology are justified to protect the community. Five of the seven High Court judges ruled that the tough restrictions placed on more than 100 migrants, usually because of their criminal records, were unconstitutional because the conditions amounted to punishment. The constitution states that punishment must be imposed by judges, not lawmakers. The restrictions were part of emergency laws hastily passed in December in response to another High Court ruling that non-citizens could no longer be detained indefinitely as an alternative to deportation. That ruling in the case of a stateless Rohingya man reversed a 28-year-old High Court precedent that allowed indefinite detention where there were security concerns. Wednesday'

Baba Siddique murder case: Another suspect held for funding shooters

The Mumbai police have arrested one more person in connection with the killing of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, officials said on Tuesday. The accused, identified as Harishkumar Balakram (23), hailing from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh, was involved in providing money and other logistical support to the shooters, an official said. Balakram worked as a scrap dealer in Warje area of Maharashtra's Pune, he said. A crime branch team apprehended him from Bahraich in UP on Monday and brought him to Mumbai on Tuesday morning, the official said. With this, four persons have so far been arrested in connection with Siddique's killing. Police had earlier arrested Haryana resident Gurmail Baljit Singh (23), Uttar Pradesh native Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19), both alleged shooters, and "co-conspirator" Pravin Lonkar from Pune. Another suspected shooter Shivkumar Gautam, who hails from Bahraich, is on the run. Balakram was part of the conspiracy to kill three-time MLA

Baba Siddique death: Accused were doing recce for some time; case filed

The two accused have been identified as Gurmail Singh, a native of Haryana and Dharamraj Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh

New Sri Lankan govt orders reinvestigation of several high-profile cases

Sri Lanka's new government has ordered the police to reinvestigate some high-profile cases, including the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks and the 2005 murder of a Tamil minority community journalist. The ruling National People's Power, which won the presidential election last month, pledged to reinvestigate past cases which had not been resolved. The Ministry of Public Security took action to identify any lapses in investigations. The ministry has asked the acting police chief that these cases should be reinvestigated," Police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said on Saturday. The cases to be reinvestigated include the alleged scam in the issue of Central Bank bonds in 2015 blamed on the then government of Ranil Wickremesinghe, the former president, and the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks that killed over 270 people, including 11 Indians. The catholic church has been demanding stringent action on what they alleged was a politically motivated cover-up by previous governments on the ...