Page 3 - Delhi Court

Court dismisses plea to prosecute AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj for defamation

A Delhi court on Saturday dismissed a plea filed by a BJP leader seeking prosecution of Aam Aadmi Party's Saurabh Bhardwaj for alleged defamatory remarks against him in September 2018. Special Judge Vishal Gogne rejected the petition filed by BJP's Suraj Bhan Chauhan against a trial court order which had earlier dismissed his complaint against Bhardwaj. Chauhan had alleged Bhardwaj defamed him in 2018 by falsely claiming at a press conference that an FIR had been lodged against him. "The criminal revision petition is dismissed," the judge said on Saturday. The complaint was filed before the Rouse Avenue court in December 2024. A magisterial court had on February 19 dismissed Chauhan's plea, saying the alleged offence of defamation took place in September 2018 and observed the limitation period for filing the present complaint was three years. None of the grounds, the magistrate said, pleaded by Chauhan to seek the condonation of delay were found justifiable. "The complainant is

Delhi Police files FIR against Arvind Kejriwal in 2019 hoardings case

The complaint accuses Kejriwal and other AAP leaders of violating the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 2007 by putting up oversized hoardings in public spaces

Delhi court dismisses BJP MP's defamation complaint against party MLA

A Delhi court on Wednesday dismissed a criminal defamation complaint filed by a Derjeeling BJP MP against a party MLA saying the latter had expressed his grievance which wasn't defamation else the right to freedom of speech and expression would be meaningless. Additional chief judicial (ACJM) Neha Mittal dismissed the complaint filed by Raju Bista while refusing to take cognisance of the matter against Bishnu Prasad Sharma. "The proposed accused has expressed his grievance that no actions were taken by the complainant on the issues raised by him. Such an expression also cannot amount to the offence of defamation, else the right of freedom of speech and expression would become meaningless. The statements made by the proposed accused were pertaining to the conduct of the complainant relevant to the discharge of official functions, he being a public figure and hence, the same cannot amount to defamation," the judge said. Sharma, the complainant alleged, harmed his reputation by making

Court to decide Engineer Rashid's bail plea in UAPA case on March 21

A Delhi court would on March 21 pass its order on the bail plea of jailed J&K MP Engineer Rashid in a terror funding case. Additional sessions judge Chander Jit Singh, who was scheduled to pass order on Wednesday, deferred the pronouncement. The judge on September 10 granted interim bail to Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popular as Engineer Rashid, to enable him to campaign for the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The judge also previously extended Rashid's interim bail till October 28 on the ground of his father's health, after the NIA said it had verified the documents and on sole ground of health of accused's father it was not opposing the application. Rashid has been lodged in Tihar jail since 2019 after he was arrested by the National Investigation Agency under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a 2017 terror funding case. Elections to the 90-member J&K Assembly were held in three phases from September 18 to October 1. The results were declared on October 8 in ...

Delhi court seeks response from Police over 'obscene' content on Netflix, X

The plea, filed by former Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar through Advocate Vineet Jindal, alleges that X and Netflix are distributing pornographic material without restrictions

Delhi court to decide on Engineer Rashid's plea to attend Parliament

A Delhi court on Wednesday reserved for March 7 its decision on the plea of jailed Jammu and Kashmir MP Engineer Rashid seeking custody parole to attend the upcoming Parliament session. Additional sessions judge Chander Jit Singh reserved the verdict after hearing the arguments on the plea. On March 3, the court had asked the NIA to respond to Rashid's plea. The application, filed by advocate Vikhyat Oberoi for Rashid on February 27, sought the relief on the grounds that Rashid was a parliamentarian and needed to attend the upcoming session to fulfil his public duty. Sheikh Abdul Rashid, known as Engineer Rashid, defeated Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Baramulla. Rashid's regular bail application is currently pending before the court. The second part of Parliament's budget session would begin on March 10 and end on April 4. The judge on September 10 granted interim bail to Rashid to enable him to campaign for the assembly elections in Jammu and ...

Defamation case: Court asks Sandeep Dikshit to share info with AAP leaders

A Delhi court on Monday directed Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit to share documents related to his defamation suit with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Atishi and Sanjay Singh. Additional chief judicial magistrate Paras Dalal also directed the complainant to supply a copy of the pen drive containing the alleged defamatory statements to the respondents. The defamation suit claims that former chief minister Atishi and AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, during a press conference on December 26 last year, accused Dikshit of taking crores of rupees from the BJP, and the Congress of colluding with the saffron party to defeat the AAP. The lawsuit alleged that the two AAP leaders were "deliberately causing harm to Dikshit's goodwill." The court on January 16 issued a notice to Atishi and Singh based on the complaint. The case would come up on March 12.

Delhi court allows case withdrawal against Shehla Rashid for tweets on Army

A court here has allowed Delhi Police to withdraw a case against former JNUSU vice president Shehla Rashid Shora for her tweets on the Army, police sources said. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Anuj Kumar Singh passed the order on February 27 on an application moved by the prosecution, which claimed that Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has withdrawn his sanction to prosecute Shora. According to the application, the LG order came on the recommendation of a Screening Committee. "Lt. Governor, Delhi, has approved the recommendation of the Screening Committee...," the application said. The LG granted the approval on December 23, 2024. The former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) leader was accused of promoting enmity between different groups and indulging in acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony through her tweets, they said. Shora's tweets dated August 18, 2019 had allegedly accused the Army of entering houses and "torturing" locals in Kashmir. The allegat

Court directs ED to supply papers in excise policy case against Kejriwal

A Delhi court has directed the ED to hand over certain documents to the accused persons in a money laundering case against former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and others in relation to alleged excise scam. Special judge Kaveri Baweja passed the order on February 25 on applications moved by multiple accused persons, claiming that they had not received some documents relating to the chargesheet filed in the case. The court, which is currently conducting scrutiny of documents, posted the matter -- also involving AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh as accused -- on March 3. "Put up for further proceeding on the next date of hearing, i.e., March 3," the judge said. The money laundering case stems from a CBI case lodged after Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the excise policy. According to the CBI and the ED, irregularities were committed while modifying the policy and undue favours were ...

Land-for-jobs scam: Delhi court summons Lalu Prasad, his family members

A Delhi court on Tuesday summoned former Union rail minister Lalu Prasad in connection with the land-for-jobs "scam". Special Judge Vishal Gogne also summoned Prasad's son and former Bihar minister Tej Pratap Yadav, and daughter Hema Yadav. The judge issued fresh summonses to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo's younger son and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav. The accused have been directed to appear before the court on March 11. The case is related to Group D appointments made in the West Central Zone of the Indian Railways based in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, during Prasad's tenure as Union rail minister between 2004 and 2009 in return for land parcels gifted or transferred by the recruits in the name of the RJD supremo's family or associates, according to officials. A case was registered on May 18, 2022, against Prasad and others, including his wife, two daughters, unidentified public officials and private persons.

Delhi court grants bail to man accused in Rs 329 cr money laundering case

A Delhi court has granted bail to a man arrested in a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal transfer of funds worth Rs 329 crore outside India using "forged" import bills. Additional Sessions Judge Aparna Swami granted relief to Jatin Chopra, who was taken into custody on September 15, 2024, saying that "owing to further investigation which is pending, the trial of the applicant cannot commence". "If the applicant is left to languish in custody for the said further investigation to be completed, it would frustrate the objective of law which guarantees to the accused the right not to be detained beyond 90 days on account of pendency of investigation," the judge said in an order passed on February 20. Advocate Dhruv Gupta appeared for the applicant. The Enforcement Directorate had arrested Chopra, claiming that he "failed" to join the probe despite being summoned several times. The money laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police. The

'Land-for-jobs' case against Lalu: Delhi court to take cognisance on Feb 25

A Delhi court would on February 25 decide whether or not to take cognisance of a chargesheet filed in the land-for-jobs case involving former railway minister Lalu Prasad and others. Special judge Vishal Gogne, who was scheduled to decide the matter on Friday, adjourned the matter on February 25 after hearing CBI's clarifications on certain points. The judge on January 30 raised certain queries to the CBI with respect to elements of commonality and distinctiveness in the allegations recorded in the chargesheet. The judge's queries were prompted by the CBI's statement that it had received requisite sanctions from the authorities concerned to prosecute public servant R K Mahajan. On January 16, the judge said if the sanction against Mahajan was not processed by January 30, the "competent authority shall furnish" an explanation by the next date of hearing. The CBI on November 26, 2024 filed before the court requisite sanctions obtained from authorities concerned to prosecute 30 accus

Court convicts ex-MLA Kishore Samrite for threatening to blow up Parliament

Kishore Samrite, a former MLA from Lanji in Balaghat District, had allegedly threatened to blow up the Parliament of India with dynamite

Court to pronounce judgement against Sajjan Kumar in 1984 riots case today

On January 31, the court reserved the order after hearing additional submissions by the Public Prosecutor Manish Rawat

Delhi riots: Court grants custody parole to Shafa ur Rehman to campaign

A Delhi court on Wednesday granted five days custody parole to February 2020 riots accused Shafa ur Rehman to contest and campaign for the upcoming state assembly elections. Additional sessions judge Sameer Bajpai who was hearing Rehman's interim bail plea for four weeks, directed his release from January 30 to February 3 for 12 hours each day upon a deposit of Rs 2.07 lakh as security expenses. "Although the present case and the case in which the co-accused Mohammad Tahir Hussain has been granted custody parole by the Supreme Court are altogether different, still when the Supreme Court has declined the interim bail of the co-accused and only granted custody parole to him, this court should also follow the same, the court said. Rehman, contesting on a AIMIM ticket, was further ordered not to comment on his pending cases in his campaign, speech or press conferences. The Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) announced Rehman as its candidate for the Okh

Delhi Court orders FIR against Rana Ayyub for 'insulting' Hindu deities

The posts shared by Rana Ayyub allegedly insulted Hindu God Ram, glorified Ravana, and showed Sita and Draupadi in a disrespectful light

Travelling abroad a constitutional right: Court suspends LOC in PMLA probe

A Delhi court has directed the ED to suspend a lookout circular (LOC) against the erstwhile promoter of Kwality Ltd., Siddhant Gupta in a money laundering case, saying travelling abroad was a constitutional right. Principal District and Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna allowed the application seeking directions to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for suspension of the LOC issued by it from January 25 to February 8 to enable him to visit Singapore to drop his daughter and make arrangements for her there for further studies. "The right to free movement includes travelling abroad and the same is the constitutional right of the applicant. The applicant has sought permission to travel abroad for a limited period and for a specific purpose. In my opinion, no prejudice would be caused to ED if for a limited period, LOC is suspended and the applicant is permitted to visit abroad," the judge said in an order passed on Friday. The judge noted that Gupta's anticipatory bail application was ..

Delhi excise case: Court exempts Kejriwal, Sisodia from appearing in person

A Delhi court on Friday exempted former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Durgesh Pathak from personally appearing in a excise case as they were campaigning for upcoming assembly elections. Special judge Kaveri Baweja allowed the reprieve after the three AAP leaders said they were unable to personally appear in court as they were "actively engaged" in campaigning for the elections. "In view of the above said submissions, personal appearance of the applicants are exempted for today only through counsel... The case is adjourned to February 3, 2025," the judge said. The money laundering case stems from a CBI case lodged after Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the excise policy. According to the CBI and the ED, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours were extended to the licence holders. The Delhi government implemented the policy on

Delhi police arrested 203 in immigration scams in 2024, cases surge by 107%

Delhi Police expose agents using fake visas, 'donkey routes', and identity theft schemes; warn the public against fraudulent promises of easy migration

'Coal-scam: Acquiring proceeds of crime can't be termed money laundering'

A Delhi court has refused to take cognisance of a chargesheet against Adhunik Corporation Limited and its two directors in a coal scam case lodged by the ED, saying an attempt to acquire proceeds of crime or anticipating undue benefits cannot be termed money laundering. In his December 23 order, Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj granted relief to Adhunik Corporation Ltd (ACL) and its then directors Mahesh Kumar Agarwal and Nirmal Kumar Agarwal in the case related to the New Patra Para coal block in Odisha. According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the family members and Group companies of the accused infused funds amounting to Rs 50.37 crore in the garb of share capital in ACL in anticipation of "undue benefit to be derived or obtained" by ACL as a result of, or consequence to, criminal activity relating to a scheduled offence (lodged by the CBI), resulting into allotment of coal block. The judge noted that according to the ED, the infusion of capital/ investment through the holding