Page 39 - Delhi High Court

Delhi HC asks DDA to give details of land for developing 50-acre forest

The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the DDA to give details of the land parcel the agency would earmark for developing a 50-acre forest in the national capital. Justice Jasmeet Singh asked the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to file the affidavit in 10 days and said the land selected for the project should be "sustainable". The court's order came while dealing with contempt proceedings against the DDA over cutting down of several trees in the Southern Ridge area without due permission for constructing an approach road near South Asian University in Maidan Garhi here. The DDA counsel tendered an apology and said although the trees were cut down, there was no "wilful disobedience" as the field staff "misconstrued" a Delhi government notification exempting around 4.9 hectares of the land from taking approval of the tree officer as the final permission for felling. Urging the court to not proceed further with contempt action, she said a 50-acre land parcel in the Madanpur Khadar are

Court rejects Tahir Hussain's bail plea, notes his role in 2020 Delhi riots

The court said that in the case in hand, after going through the record, it is of the view that the allegations against the accused are prima facie true

Delhi HC dismisses PIL to remove Kejriwal from Delhi CM post after arrest

The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed a PIL seeking the removal of AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal from the post of chief minister following his arrest in the excise policy-linked money laundering case. A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan refused to comment on the merits of the issue, saying the same fell outside the scope of judicial interference. "It is for the other wings of the government to examine in accordance with the law," the bench, also comprising Justice Manmeet PS Arora, said. During the hearing, the court asked petitioner Surjit Singh Yadav's counsel to show the legal bar on the continuation of Kejriwal as the chief minister. "There may be practical difficulties but that is something else. Where is the legal bar?" the court asked. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener, who was arrested on March 21 and subsequently remanded to the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) custody till March 28 by a Delhi court, faces allegations of direct involvement in a ...

Delhi HC dismisses Cong's plea against tax re-assessment by I-T authorities

The Delhi High Court on Thursday rejected petitions by the Congress challenging the initiation of tax reassessment proceedings against it for a period of four years by tax authorities. A bench of Justices Yashwant Varma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav said the pleas were dismissed in terms of its earlier decision refusing to interfere with the opening of re-assessment for another year. The present matter pertained to assessment years 2017 to 2021. In the earlier petition, which was dismissed last week, the Congress party had challenged initiation of re-assessment proceedings pertaining to assessment years 2014-15 to 2016-17.

ED seeks time from HC to reply to Kejriwal's plea in liquor policy case

The Enforcement Directorate says it got Delhi Chief Minister's petition just yesterday

Arvind Kejriwal's arrest: HC warns lawyers of severe consequences

Delhi High Court Acting Chief Justice Manmohan on Wednesday cautioned lawyers against staging protests on court premises against the arrest of Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, saying the consequences would be "severe". The Aam Aadmi Party's legal cell has called for a protest in district courts here on Wednesday following Kejriwal's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case. "Consequences would be severe for organising protest in court. Courts cannot be withheld. Courts cannot be stopped. We cannot take away someone's right to approach the court," Justice Manmohan said. "If someone does it, they would do it at their own peril," he asserted. The issue was mentioned before a bench of the acting chief justice and Justice Manmeet P S Arora by advocate Vaibhav Singh who said that court premises cannot be used for political purposes. Justice Manmohan said he would take up the issue tomorrow, hoping that "sen

PIL in HC seeks to restrain Kejriwal from issuing order while in custody

There is a likelihood that the order issued by Kejriwal in the capacity of Chief Minister of the NCT of Delhi may influence a fair and proper investigation

HC to hear Kejriwal's challenge to arrest in excise policy case on March 27

The Delhi High Court will on Wednesday hear a petition by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. Kejriwal's petition, which has sought his immediate release on account of the arrest and the subsequent remand to ED being "illegal", is listed for hearing before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma at 10.30 am. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener was arrested on March 21 and subsequently remanded to the ED's custody till March 28 by a Delhi court. Kejriwal had moved the high court last week with his petition but according to highly-placed sources, his request for an urgent hearing was turned down as the high court was closed for Holi. On Friday, the trial court had remanded Kejriwal in the ED's custody till March 28 "for his detailed and sustained interrogation". The ED arrested Kejriwal hours after the high court refused to grant him protection from coercive

HC seeks response of govt to plea against FCRA licence cancellation of CPR

Justice Chandra Dhari Singh issued a notice to the central government and asked them to file a short reply within two weeks

Delhi HC seeks Centre's stand on deploying forces for protection of forests

The Delhi High Court has sought the Centre's stand on a petition about whether any force can be deployed for the protection of forests in the national capital from illegal activities or encroachments by land grabbers and mafia. The court's direction came on a petition seeking a direction to the Central government to post an adequate number of Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers with the Delhi government's Department of Forests and Wildlife. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, in the reply, said forest officials were facing constant threats from land grabbers and mafia who make rampant encroachment on forest land, and a proposal has been made for engaging the CISF in forest areas. The counsel for the Centre, however, said CISF rules don't permit such deployment. "Counsel for Union of India is directed to take instructions as to whether any other force can be deployed for the protection of forest so as to ensure that no illegal activities or encroachments in the forest area

CM Arvind Kejriwal moves Delhi HC against arrest in excise policy case

The ED had arrested Kejriwal hours after the high court refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the central anti-money laundering agency

Delhi HC admits CBI's appeal challenging acquittals in 2G scam case

The Delhi High Court Friday admitted a CBI appeal against the acquittal of former telecom minister A Raja and 16 others in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, paving the way for hearing in the matter six years after the plea was filed by the agency. Admitting the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) appeal, the high court said there are "some contradictions" in the trial court's judgment which require "deeper examination". It granted the CBI "leave to appeal", saying the probe agency has made out arguable points. "Leave to appeal" is a formal permission granted by a court to a party to challenge a decision in a higher court. "The court on the basis of material on record, and after going through the sworn testimonies, material on record, impugned judgment and the submissions made at bar by both the parties has reached on an objective satisfaction that there is a prima facie case which requires deeper examination and re-appreciation/re-appraisal of entire evidence," Justice Dinesh

PIL in Delhi HC seeks removal of Arvind Kejriwal as CM following arrest

A PIL was filed in the Delhi High Court on Friday seeking AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal's removal from the post of chief minister following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in an excise policy-linked money laundering case. According to court sources, the petition has some defects and will be listed for hearing once these are cured. In his petition, Surjit Singh Yadav demanded that the Centre, Delhi government and the principal secretary to the lieutenant governor be asked to explain under what authority Kejriwal is holding the post of chief minister. The petitioner also sought Kejriwal's removal. The plea said Kejriwal has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in the money laundering case related to the alleged liquor policy scam and referred to the Delhi High Court's decision not to grant interim protection to him from coercive action in the case. The ED has produced Kejriwal in a court and sought his 10-day custody. The hearing is underway.

SC transfers batch of pending pleas against IT rules 2021 to Delhi HC

The Supreme Court on Friday transferred to the Delhi High Court a batch of pleas pending before different high courts across the country challenging the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Prashant Kumar Mishra noted that several petitions were pending on the issue before different high courts including Karnataka, Madras, Calcutta, Kerala and Bombay high courts. "In order to avoid contradictory judgments, the Union of India would wish to have all matters consolidated for analogous hearing. Since a large number of these cases are pending consideration before the Delhi High Court, we deem it appropriate to transfer the matters in various HCs to the Delhi HC," the bench said. The top court directed that all relevant paper books shall be transferred by the high courts to the Delhi High Court within four days. The apex court passed the order on a transfer petition moved by the Union of India f

HC set to pass order on Cong's pleas against tax re-assessment exercise

The Delhi High Court will pronounce its order on Friday on the Congress party challenging the reassessment proceedings against it by the Income Tax Department. A bench of Justices Yashwant Varma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav is scheduled to pass its verdict at 2:15 PM. The high court had reserved its order on March 20 on the pleas filed by the political party against the tax reassessment proceedings initiated against it by the authorities for three successive years, that is, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17. The party has contested the reassessment proceedings, claiming they were barred by limitation. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the Congress party, had submitted that tax reassessment proceedings are barred by limitation and the I-T department could have gone back to a maximum of six assessment years. The I-T department, however, asserted there was no violation of any statutory provision by the tax authority and that as per the material recovered, the "escaped" incom

HC admits CBI's appeal challenging acquittal of A Raja, others in 2G scam

The Delhi High Court on Friday admitted the CBI's appeal challenging acquittal of former telecom minister A Raja, firms and others in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma said on the basis of the material on record and the submissions made by the lawyers for the parties, a prima facie case is made out by the CBI which requires deeper examination and the appeal needs to be heard in detail. "Leave to appeal is granted. List the appeal for hearing in May," the judge said. The high court passed the judgement on CBI's "leave to appeal", paving the way for dealing with the appeal on merits against the trial court's verdict. The appeal was filed by the CBI in 2018. "Leave to appeal" is a formal permission granted by a court to a party to challenge a decision in a higher court. The judge had reserved his decision on this aspect on March 14. The special court had, on December 21, 2017, acquitted Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi and others in the CBI and ED cases relate

AAP leader Gopal Rai calls for nationwide protest against Kejriwal's arrest

The AAP's Delhi unit convenor Gopal Rai gave a call on Thursday for a nationwide protest against the BJP following Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Rai said Kejriwal's arrest is the "murder of democracy" and an "announcement of dictatorship". The ED arrested Kejriwal in an excise policy-linked money-laundering case on Thursday evening and took him to the agency's headquarters here, officials said. The arrest, the first of a sitting chief minister, came hours after the Delhi High Court refused to grant protection to the AAP national convenor from any coercive action by the federal agency. "I appeal to the countrymen to protest outside BJP offices across the country against this dictatorship. We will gather at the AAP office at 10 am on Friday and then protest outside the BJP headquarters," Rai, a minister in the Delhi government, said. "If Kejriwal can be arrested, anyone can be arrested and their voice can be suppressed. From today, the

Kejriwal arrested in excise policy-linked money laundering case: A timeline

CM Kejriwal will now appeal to SC on Friday seeking an urgent hearing of his petition for protection from any coercive action by the ED

Excise policy case: Enforcement Directorate arrests Delhi CM Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal is and will remain the Chief Minister of Delhi, says AAP's Atishi after his arrest

Excise scam: HC to hear Kejriwal's plea for protection from coercive action

The Delhi High Court will on Thursday hear Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's plea seeking protection from coercive action in an excise policy-linked money-laundering case. A bench headed by justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain passed over his plea after the AAP leader's counsel requested that the matter be taken up after some time. The application for interim relief forms part of Kejriwal's petition challenging the summonses issued to him for questioning by the Enforcement Directorate. Kejriwal has moved the court in the wake of the latest summons, the ninth issued by the ED, asking him to appear before it on Thursday. He has repeatedly refused to appear before the agency, calling the summonses illegal. On Wednesday, the court had asked him why he was not appearing before the agency. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the petitioner in the matter, had then said his client would appear before the ED but protection from coercive action was required because of the ..