Page 34 - Delhi High Court

Delhi HC to rule on BRS leader Kavitha's bail plea in Excise case on Monday

The bench of Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma, after hearing submissions from all sides, decided to reserve the order in the matter on May 28, 2024

Excise scam: Kejriwal withdraws plea from SC against HC's stay on bail

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal withdrew from the Supreme Court on Wednesday his plea challenging the Delhi High Court order granting an interim stay on the operation of the trial court's bail order in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam. A vacation bench of Justices Manoj Misra and SVN Bhatti, which allowed Kejriwal to withdraw his plea, was told by the AAP leader's counsel senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi that since the high court has passed a detailed order on June 25, he would like to file a substantial appeal. Singhvi informed the bench that new developments were taking place every day and Kejriwal has now been arrested by the CBI. "We would like to file a substantial appeal to bring on record all relevant details and challenge the June 25 order of the high court in which bail order was finally stayed," he said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), said he has filed the reply to Kejriwal's plea which may be

CBI arrests CM Arvind Kejriwal in excise policy case; SC to hear bail plea

Delhi excise policy case: CBI arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal; Supreme Court granted Kejriwal permission to withdraw his petition and submit a new one challenging the Delhi HC decision

Trial court didn't consider material properly: HC on Kejriwal bail order

The vacation bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain, while passing the order, said that documents and arguments were not appreciated properly by the trial court properly

Money laundering case: AAP to move SC against stay on Kejriwal's bail order

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday said it disagrees with the Delhi High Court order staying the bail granted to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the trial court and will challenge it in the Supreme Court. The Delhi High Court earlier in the day stayed the trial court order granting bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case stemming from the alleged excise policy scam in Delhi. A vacation bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain said the trial court failed to appreciate the material placed before it by the Enforcement Directorate and did not apply its mind while deciding the AAP leader's bail plea. The judge also said the trial court ought to have given adequate opportunity to the agency to argue its case. Reacting to the development, the AAP said they will approach the apex court. "We disagree with the Delhi High Court order. We will challenge it in the Supreme Court," the party said. The trial court had granted bail to Kejriwal on June 20 and ordered his release on a personal

Unusual for HC to reserve verdict: SC during Kejriwal's bail hearing

The Supreme Court on Monday termed as "unusual" the Delhi High Court's decision of reserving the order while granting interim stay on the operation of the trial court's order granting bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam. A vacation bench of Justices Manoj Misra and SVN Bhatti, which fixed June 26 for hearing Kejriwal's plea against the interim stay granted by the high court at the time of reserving its verdict on ED's plea said, "Normally, on stay applications, orders are not reserved. They are passed at the hearing itself, on the spot. So, it is a bit unusual." The bench said it would like to wait for the pronouncement of the high court order before taking a call on the AAP national convenor's appeal. During the brief hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, sought vacation of the interim stay on the bail order, contending it was contrary to the well-established norm that a bail granted

HC refuses interim bail to businessman Arun Pillai in Delhi Excise scam

The Delhi High Court has refused to grant interim bail to Hyderabad businessman Arun Ramchandran Pillai, who is lodged in judicial custody in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi Excise scam, noting that he is receiving adequate medical treatment in jail. Pillai, who sought to be released on interim bail on medical grounds, submitted that his family has taken opinion from ayurvedic doctors who have opined that he needs to be admitted at an ayurvedic centre to undergo 21 days panchkarma therapy with further rest of 21 days. The high court said, Without commenting on the efficacy of Panchkarma treatment with regard to the back pain, suffice to say that the applicant needs to follow the treatment advice of the doctor and even thereafter if he does not get relief and then if so advised, he would be at liberty to file an application to explore the alternative remedies of ayurveda/ panchkarma treatment etc. A vacation bench of Justice Ravinder Dudeja noted that none of the

Timeline of Kejriwal's arrest and bail pleas in the Delhi excise case

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's release from Tihar jail was blocked by the Delhi high court on June 21 after the ED urged for an urgent hearing

Excise policy case: High drama unfolds as Delhi HC blocks Kejriwal's bail

The Rouse Avenue court had granted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal regular bail in Delhi excise case on June 20, requiring a bond of Rs 1,00,000

HC orders removal of posts by Cong leaders against journalist Rajat Sharma

The Delhi High Court has ordered removal of social media posts by Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera and Ragini Nayak alleging that veteran journalist Rajat Sharma used "abusive language" during his show on the Lok Sabha election result day. The court said an irreparable loss and injury would be caused to the plaintiff's reputation if the videos and posts on X were allowed to remain in the public domain. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna said it is prima facie evident from the footage of the TV debate played in the court that plaintiff Sharma had "barely intervened for a few seconds and no abusive language was used" against Nayak. The social media posts berating the journalist are an "over-sensationalisation", the court said. "It cannot be denied that the citizens have a right to freedom of speech and expression but there was also a corresponding duty to remain truthful to the incident. The X posts berating the plaintiff are nothing but an over-sensationalisation and depiction

Delhi HC orders Sunita Kejriwal to take down footage of court proceedings

The Delhi High Court on Saturday directed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal to take down a video recording of court proceedings related to the excise policy case from social media platforms. In the video, Arvind Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor, is seen addressing a trial court. A bench of justices Neena Bansal Krishna and Amit Sharma issued notices to six people, including Sunita Kejriwal, and social media intermediaries X, Meta and Youtube on a petition alleging violation of video conferencing rules of the Delhi High Court. The high court also directed the social media intermediaries to take down similar content if it is brought to their notice that it has been re-posted. The court passed an ex-parte interim order and listed the matter for further hearing on July 9. It was hearing the petition filed by lawyer Vaibhav Singh. In his petition, Singh claimed that when Arvind Kejriwal was produced before a trial court on March 28 after his ar

Excise scam: Delhi HC seeks ED stand on Chanpreet Singh's bail plea

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought the stand of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the bail plea by AAP volunteer Chanpreet Singh Rayat in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. A vacation bench of Justice Amit Sharma issued a notice to the ED on Rayat's plea seeking regular bail and asked the agency to file a status report. The matter would be heard next on July 2. The ED had arrested Rayat, who allegedly managed cash payments for the AAP's 2022 Goa election campaign, on April 12. It has alleged that the 'South Group' comprising BRS leader K Kavitha, TDP's Ongole MP Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy and his son Raghav Magunta, businessman Sarath Chandra Reddy and others paid Rs 100 crore bribe to the AAP for obtaining a prime position in the Delhi liquor market as part of the now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22. Out of these alleged kickbacks, the ED has claimed, Rs 45 crore was used by the AAP to fund its Goa election campaign. The excise polic

Swati Maliwal case: HC seeks police stand on Kejriwal aide's bail plea

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought the city police's stand on the bail plea of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar in the case pertaining to the alleged assault on AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal. A vacation bench of Justice Amit Sharma issued notice on the bail plea and asked the Delhi Police to file a status report. Kumar, presently in judicial custody, allegedly assaulted Maliwal on May 13 at Kejriwal's official residence. He was arrested on May 18. The Tis Hazari court had on June 7 refused to grant him bail, saying he was facing "grave and serious" charges and that there was an apprehension that he could influence witnesses. Kumar's first bail plea was dismissed on May 27 by another sessions court which said there appeared to be no "pre-meditation" by Maliwal in lodging the FIR and that her allegations could not be "swiped away". An FIR was registered against Kumar on May 16 under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including those related to crimi

Delhi HC restrains use of 'Baap Ki Adalat', rules in favour of Rajat Sharma

IndiaTV editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma filed a lawsuit against Ravindra Kumar Choudhary for creating and publishing audio-video content on social media platforms using marks similar to 'Aap Ki Adalat'

With the final extension, SC tells AAP to vacate its office by August 10

The Supreme Court emphasised to the Aam Aadmi Party that delays in handing over the land has hindered the expansion of the Delhi High Court

Delhi HC asks Centre to decide on AAP office space allotment in six weeks

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said the AAP is entitled to space for a party office here like other political parties and asked the Centre to take a decision on the issue within six weeks. Justice Subramonium Prasad said "pressure" or non-availability of a house in the general pool cannot be a reason for rejection of the request. "They are entitled to a house from the general pool. Mere pressure or non-availability is no reason to reject because pressure is always there and houses have always been allotted to political parties," the court stated. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is seeking allotment of space for its office by the Centre on account of it being recognised as a national party. Considering that the AAP needs to vacate its current office in Rouse Avenue by June 15, the party's counsel had argued that a unit on Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Marg, which is presently with one of its city ministers, ought to be temporarily allotted to it. Justice Prasad, however, said the party ca

Excise case: HC issues notice to ED on bizman Arun Pillai's bail plea

Arun Ramchandra Pillai is presently in judicial custody and was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi Excise Policy case

HC takes note of rising Delhi temp, says city could become 'barren desert'

Taking note of the recent temperature spike to 52.3 degrees Celsius in the city, the Delhi High Court has observed that the national capital could become a barren desert if the present generation continues an apathetic view on deforestation. Delhi's Mungeshpur area on Wednesday logged a maximum temperature of 52.3 degrees Celsius, the highest ever recorded in the city. "Judicial notice is taken of the fact that as recent as on May 30, the official temperature recorded in Delhi was 52.3 degrees Celsius. It is not far to see the day when this city may be only a barren desert, in case the present generation continues an apathetic view on deforestation," Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said. The high court, which had earlier appointed its former judge Najmi Waziri as the chairperson of an internal departmental committee of city officials dealing with the protection of forests in Delhi, was informed that Waziri was unable to perform his duties due to a lack of infrastructure. "This court cann

Court sends CM Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar to 14 days judicial custody

A court here on Friday remanded Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar, who has been accused of assaulting AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, in judicial custody for 14 days. Kumar, personal assistant to Kejriwal, allegedly assaulted Maliwal at the chief minister's official reidence on May 13. Metropolitan Magistrate Gaurav Goyal allowed the Delhi Police's plea seeking judicial custody for Kumar, who was produced before him on expiry of his three- day police custody. Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court has reserved its order on maintainability of Kumar's plea challenging his arrest. Earlier on Monday, Kumar's bail plea was dismissed by a sessions court which said there appeared to be no "pre-meditation" by Maliwal in lodging the FIR and that her allegations could not be "swiped away". Kumar was arrested on May 18. He was sent to police custody for five days the same day by a magisterial court which observed that his anticipatory bail plea had become infructuous because of

Swati Maliwal case: HC reserves order on Bibhav Kumar's plea against arrest

The Delhi High Court on Friday reserved order on the issue of maintainability of a plea by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's close aide Bibhav Kumar challenging his arrest in connection with the alleged assault on AAP MP Swati Maliwal at the CM's residence earlier this month. The senior counsel, appearing for the police, opposed issuance of notice on the petition on the grounds that it was not maintainable. "Order reserved on maintainability," Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said after hearing the senior lawyers appearing on both the sides. Kumar, in his plea, has sought a direction to declare his arrest as illegal and in gross violation of the provisions of Section 41A (notice of appearance before police officer) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and against the mandate of the law. The Delhi Police's senior lawyer contended that the objection regarding compliance with section 41A has already been rejected by the trial court and the petitioner should, therefore, file a revision against