Page 3 - Criminal Cases

Pending cases can't disqualify person from seeking opportunities abroad: HC

Mere pendency of a criminal case does not automatically disqualify a person from exercising his right to seek long-term opportunities abroad, the Delhi High Court has noted. The court also directed the passport authorities to issue within two weeks a police clearance certificate (PCC) to a man, who has pending criminal cases and needs to submit a document to Canadian authorities to set up a business there. Noting that the rights and interests of the petitioner must be balanced with the authorities' obligation as a sovereign entity, the high court directed that a PCC be issued to the man explicitly mentioning the pending criminal cases against him as well as the fact that he has complied with the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner's (RPFC) order by making the required deposit. This would provide complete transparency to the Canadian authorities for their assessment of his visa application. The PCC shall be issued in two weeks' time from today, Justice Sanjeev Narula said in an orde

Haryana polls: 13% 'criminal' candidates, 52% crorepatis in fray; details

A total of 1,031 candidates are vying for seats in the Haryana Assembly, comprising representatives from national parties, state parties, registered unrecognised parties, and independents

J&K polls Phase II: 21% candidates face criminal cases, over 50% crorepatis

A notable 21 per cent of the candidates are facing criminal cases, with 16 per cent involved in serious charges like attempted murder and crimes against women

Accused in custody in one case can seek anticipatory bail in another: SC

The Supreme Court on Monday held that an accused, who is lodged in custody in a case, is entitled to seek anticipatory bail in another matter as long as he is not arrested in relation to that alleged offence. The apex court said there was no express or implied restriction in the statute that prohibits the sessions court or high courts from deciding an anticipatory bail application in a case, while the applicant was in custody in connection with a different offence. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said the purpose behind incorporating section 438 in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which deals with direction for grant of bail to a person apprehending arrest, was to recognise the importance of "personal liberty and freedom in a free and democratic country". "An accused is entitled to seek anticipatory bail in connection with an offence so long as he is not arrested in relation to that offence. Once he is arrested, the only remedy available to him is to apply for

Special counsel urges court to reinstate documents case against Trump

Special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal appeals court Monday to reinstate the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump after it was dismissed by a judge last month. US District Judge Aileen Cannon threw out the case, one of four prosecutions of Trump, after concluding that Smith's appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional. Smith's team then appealed to the Atlanta-based 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals, with prosecutors saying in their appeal brief that Cannon's decision is at odds with widespread and longstanding appointment practices in the Department of Justice and across the government. The appeal is the latest development in a prosecution that many legal experts consider a straightforward criminal case but has been derailed by delays, months of hearings before Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge, and ultimately a dismissal order that brought the proceedings to at least a temporary halt. It's unclear how long it will take for the appeals court to

Houston prosecutors say 2022 elections uninfluenced, county worker charged

An investigation found no evidence of intent to influence 2022 election outcomes in Texas' largest county, prosecutors have said, but they will pursue criminal charges against a county employee who was allegedly working a second job while polls ran out of paper ballots. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg's review is one of several to scrutinise Houston's last midterm elections, when problems at polling places prompted Republican candidates to contest defeats in local races and Republican Gov Greg Abbott to sign a law removing the elections administrator in the county of more than 5 million residents. Ogg, an elected Democrat, on Tuesday said during a news conference that her office and investigators with the Texas Rangers found no evidence that elections employees intentionally tried to sway the results. But she said the investigation found that the failures of one elections employee -- whose job was to make sure polling locations had enough paper ballots -- resulted in some ...

World Day for International Justice 2024: History, significance and more

The ICC came into effect in 1998 to prosecute individuals for grave crimes and World Day for International Justice is an initiative to support the rule of law, justice and accountability

Criminal law in concurrent list, states can make amendments: Chidambaram

Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday welcomed the Tamil Nadu government's decision to appoint a committee to suggest state-specific amendments to the three new criminal laws and asserted that criminal law is a concurrent list subject which makes the state legislature competent to make amendments. He also stressed that criminal laws that are in consonance with modern principles of criminal jurisprudence must be enacted. "I welcome the decision of the government of Tamil Nadu to appoint a Committee to suggest state amendments to the three criminal laws that came into force on 1 July 2024," the former home minister said in a post on X. Criminal Law is a subject in the concurrent list of the Constitution and the state legislature is competent to make amendments, Chidambaram said. "I also welcome the appointment of Justice (retd) Mr K.Sathyanarayanan as the one-person Committee. I request the Committee to hold consultations with all stakeholders including judges, lawyers, police, la

'Can't allow Police to peep into private life of accused on bail,' says SC

The Supreme Court on Monday said there cannot be a bail condition which allows the police to peep into the private life of an accused in a criminal case. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan set aside a bail condition imposed by the Delhi High Court requiring a Nigerian national to share the Google Maps pin in his mobile device with the investigating officer in a drugs case. Justice Oka, pronouncing the verdict said, "There cannot be a bail condition defeating the very objective of bail itself. We have said Google pin cannot be a bail condition. There can't be a bail condition enabling the police to constantly track the movement of the accused. Police cannot be allowed to peep into the private life of the accused on bail." The court pronounced the verdict on a plea of Frank Vitus, a Nigerian national challenging the bail condition in a drugs case. On April 29, the top court had reserved its verdict said it would examine whether one of the conditions imposed by the Delhi

Invoke protective provision in case of medical negligence: IMA to PM

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighting that an investigating officer should invoke the protective provision under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in cases of alleged criminal medical negligence. The IMA pointed out that there is no criminal intent (mens rhea) on the part of a doctor while treating a patient and there is no negligence to attract criminal prosecution. "Union Home Minister Amit Shah ji acknowledged on the floor of the Parliament that death during treatment is not murder. The new BNS legislation brought up by your Government reflects on this aspect in section 26. IMA kindly request the Government that the investigating officer invoke this provision in cases of alleged medical negligence. In the rarest of rare cases which might be considered as recklessness the investigating officer may prefer the case to an expert committee for opinion," the IMA said in the letter sent recently. When contacted, IMA President Dr R V Asok

Criminals not born but made, no criminal beyond redemption: Supreme Court

A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan made these remarks on July 3 when it was hearing the bail plea of an accused whose trial has been on pause for the last four years

Day 2 of new criminal laws: Arrests, police training, criticism & more

The three new criminal laws aim to modernise the criminal justice system. With states organising awareness programs and FIRs already filed under the new laws, here are the latest updates

All measures in place to implement new criminal laws in T'gana: Official

Telangana has put in place all necessary measures to implement the three new criminal laws -- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam --, which are to come into force from July 1, a senior official said. The official also said the translation process of these new legislations is also at the advanced stage and is expected to be completed before July 1. Notification drafts are ready, and they will be notified in the next couple of days for smooth implementation of the new laws, he said. Teams have been constituted at various levels to see that these new laws are implemented as per the plan given by the Central government which has fixed July 1 as the date for implementation of the new laws and the state is ready (for the implementation of these new legislations), he said. "Notification drafts have been prepared and in the next few days it will be notified so that the new laws are in operation from July 1. We are going ahead as per

People protest over firing incident in Dehradun, CM Dhami warns criminals

People held a protest in the Raipur area here on Tuesday against the firing incident in Dobhal Chowk in which one person was killed and two more were injured, while police arrested the main suspect and another man in connection with the case. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami warned that no one would be allowed to disrupt Uttarakhand's peace and said the criminals should leave the state or face strict action. Police officials said main suspect Ramveer of Muzaffarnagar was arrested from Rajasthan's Kotputli district, and another suspect, Ankush alias Golu, was nabbed from Raipur. So far, five people have been apprehended. The firing followed a dispute between two sides late Sunday night involving a vehicle. During the altercation, one group fired gunshots, killing vehicle owner Deepak Badola and injuring his friends Manoj Negi and Sanjay Chhetri. On Monday, police arrested Sonu Bhardwaj, his brother Monu Bhardwaj and Shambhu Yadav. Authorities are searching for two more people, th

251 of newly elected Lok Sabha MPs face criminal cases, 27 convicted: ADR

As many as 251 (46 per cent) of the 543 newly elected Lok Sabha members have criminal cases registered against them and 27 of them have been convicted, according to an analysis by poll rights body Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR). This is the highest number of candidates facing criminal charges to be elected to the Lower House. A total of 233 MPs (43 per cent) had declared criminal cases against themselves, 185 (34 per cent) in 2014, 162 (30 per cent) in 2009 and 125 (23 per cent) in 2004. According to the analysis, there has been a 55 per cent increase in the number of MPs with declared criminal cases since 2009. Of the 251 winning candidates this year, 170 (31 per cent) face serious criminal cases, including rape, murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, and crimes against women. This is also an increase from 159 (29 per cent) MPs in 2019, 112 (21 per cent) MPs in 2014, and 76 (14 per cent) MPs in 2009, the analysis showed. There has been a 124 per cent increase in the num

Percentage of 'crorepati' candidates has nearly doubled since 2009: Report

One in every five candidates in Lok Sabha elections 2024 has declared criminal cases against them

SC refuses plea on new criminal laws, allows withdrawal of petition

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition which challenged the enactment of three new laws that seek to overhaul India's penal codes. A vacation bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal allowed petitioner advocate Vishal Tiwari to withdraw the plea. The Lok Sabha, on December 21 last year, passed three key legislations -- the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill. President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the bills on December 25. These new laws -- the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act -- will replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act respectively. At the outset, the bench told Tiwari, "We are dismissing it (petition)". The bench said these laws have not come into force so far. As the court showed its disinclination to entertain the plea, Tiwari ur

Over 20% candidates in 4th phase polls declare criminal cases: ADR report

Out of the 1,710 candidates contesting in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha polls, 21 per cent have declared criminal cases against themselves and 24 candidates have declared zero assets, as per the Association for Democratic Reforms report. The ADR and The National Election Watch analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 1710 out of 1717 candidates, who are contesting in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Phase IV on May 13. A total of 360 candidates have declared criminal cases against them. Emphasising the disparities amongst the financial backgrounds of the candidates with the richest candidate in the fray is Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani of Telugu Desam Party with assets over Rs. 5,700 crore. Among the 360 candidates (21 per cent) with criminal cases, 17 candidates were convicted, 11 declared cases related to murder, 30 face charges of attempted murder and 50 candidates have criminal cases related to crimes against women, with 5 candidates facing charges of rape, the data showed. The ADR

Over 2,000 criminal cases against MPs, MLAs decided in 2023: SC told

Special courts for trial of criminal cases related to Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly decided more than 2,000 cases in 2023, the Supreme Court has been informed. In an affidavit filed by senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, who has been appointed amicus curiae in a PIL seeking expeditious disposal of criminal cases against MPs/MLAs, said that more directions are needed for speedy adjudication of pending trials and their investigation under strict monitoring by the respective high courts, as there are around 501 candidates with criminal cases who are contesting the Lok Sabha elections in the first two phases. Referring to a report of NGO 'Association of Democratic Reforms for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase I and Phase II,' Hansaria, assisted by advocate Sneha Kalita, said that out of 2,810 candidates (Phase I - 1618 candidates and Phase II - 1192 candidates), 501 (18 per cent) candidates have criminal cases against them, out of which, 327 (12 per cent) are ...

Jury selection in Donald Trump's hush money trial faces pivotal stretch

Jury selection in the hush money trial of Donald Trump enters a pivotal and potentially final stretch Thursday as lawyers look to round out the panel of New Yorkers that will decide the first-ever criminal case against a former president. Seven jurors have been picked so far, including an oncology nurse, a software engineer, an information technology professional, a sales professional, an English teacher and two lawyers. Eleven more people must still be sworn in, with the judge saying he anticipated opening statements in the landmark case to be given as early as next week. The seating of the Manhattan jury - whenever it comes - will be a seminal moment in the case, setting the stage for a trial that will place the former president's legal jeopardy at the heart of the campaign against Democrat Joe Biden and feature potentially unflattering testimony about Trump's private life in the years before he became president. The process of picking a jury is a critical phase of any criminal ..