Page 14 - High Court

Money laundering case: SC rejects ED's plea challenging Jharkhand CM's bail

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate challenging a Jharkhand High Court order granting bail to Chief Minister Hemant Soren in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan said the high court's June 28 order was "very well reasoned". "We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned order," the bench said. Soren, the executive president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), had resigned as chief minister shortly before the ED arrested him on January 31 in the case. After coming out of jail on bail in the case, he returned as the chief minister of Jharkhand on July 4. Opposing Soren's bail plea in the high court, the ED had alleged that he misused his position as the chief minister to "unlawfully" acquire 8.86 acres of land in the Bargain area in the state capital Ranchi. Soren's lawyer had contended that he was falsely implicated in the criminal case by the central agency. Th

SC case backlog soars 35% in 5 yrs, high and subordinate courts hit hardest

mIn the 23 high courts across the nation, pending cases have risen from 4.68 million in 2019 to over 6.2 million in 2023, a jump of more than 1.5 million cases, reflecting a 33% increase

Relief to SpiceJet, SC sends back its dispute with Kalanithi Maran to HC

SpiceJet and Singh had specifically sought to annul the portion of the arbitral award which instructed them to refund Rs 270 crore to Kal Airways and Maran

BCCI accuses Byju's CEO of misleading Karnataka HC in insolvency hearing

Byju's is currently dealing with claims exceeding Rs 200 crore from multiple creditors, including Rs 158 crore owed to BCCI

SC raps Assam govt over 'sorry state' of detention centre for foreigners

A Supreme Court bench asked the Assam Legal Services Authority to visit the detention centre to establish sub-par facilities and assess the quantity and quality of food and kitchen hygiene

Over 50 mn cases pending in courts; max 11.8 mn in UP's lower courts

More than five crore cases are pending in various courts across India, with a maximum of over 1.18 core in the subordinate courts of Uttar Pradesh, according to the government's written reply in the Lok Sabha. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said while 84,045 cases are pending in the Supreme Court, 60,11,678 were pending in the various high courts. District and subordinate courts are the biggest contributors, with 4,53,51,913 cases pending with them, according to the minister. Meghwal said several reasons lead to the pendency of cases, including the availability of physical infrastructure and supporting court staff, the complexity of facts involved, the nature of evidence, and the cooperation of stakeholders, including the bar, investigation agencies, witnesses and litigants. Proper application of rules and procedures also plays a key role, he said. Other factors that lead to delays in the disposal of cases include lack of prescribed time frame by courts for disposal of various kin

HC appointments: Over 200 proposals sent by collegiums in various stages

Over 200 proposals sent by various high court collegiums for high court judgeship are at various stages of processing, the Lok Sabha was told on Friday. In a written reply, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also cited an opinion of the Supreme Court Collegium that expression of views by a candidate does not disentitle him or her to hold a constitutional office so long as the person proposed for judgeship is a person of competence, merit and integrity. There have been instances in the past where the government had either held back or returned to the collegium for consideration names of persons who had expressed their views on various issues as advocates. Meghwal told the House that the government, as an important stakeholder in the process of appointment of Judges in the high courts and as laid down in the Memorandum of Procedure, provides inputs which mainly contain information on the suitability, competence and integrity of the candidates under consideration for appointment to high ..

High Court issues notice to Kangana Ranaut. Why is Kangana in news again?

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has issued a notice to Kangana Ranaut, the BJP MP from Mandi. Watch the video to know why.

Delhi HC quashes summons to Hero Group Chairman Pawan Munjal in DRI case

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday quashed a summons issued to Hero Motocorp chairman Pawan Kant Munjal in a case registered by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) relating to foreign currency. The high court passed the order on Munjal's plea seeking quashing and setting aside of a trial court's July 1, 2023 order by which the summons was issued against him for alleged offences under the Customs Act. "The petition is allowed. Summoning order is quashed," Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri said while pronouncing the order. In November last year, the high court had stayed the proceedings relating to foreign currency lodged against Munjal by the DRI. The high court, in its interim order, had noted that Munjal was exonerated by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on the same set of facts and this was not disclosed before the trial court and that the petitioner had successfully made out a case for interim protection. It had stayed the operation of the July 1,

No unauthorized structures, including religious, permitted near Yamuna: HC

Yamuna floodplain, an eco-sensitive zone, has to be zealously protected from encroachment and no structure, religious or otherwise, can be permitted to stand there and has to be necessarily removed, the Delhi High Court has said. A division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan refused to interfere with an order of a single judge allowing demolition of 'Prachin Shiv Mandir' -- which was built near the river in Geeta Colony area, noting that the appellant, 'Prachin Shiv Mandir Avam Akhada Samiti', did not have even a "single scrap of a document" to show any legitimacy. "(The appellant) does not dispute that the said temple was on a site which is located within the Restoration and Rejuvenation of Yamuna River Floodplain Asita, East U.P. land (86 Hectares) from ITO Barrage to old Iron Railway Bridge.. It is apparent that the temple has been constructed unauthorizedly on encroached land in an eco-sensitive zone area. If that is so, no structure, religious or otherwise, can be ..

Nithari killings: SC to hear pleas by CBI, UP govt against HC verdict

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear separate pleas filed by the CBI and the Uttar Pradesh government challenging the Allahabad High Court's verdict acquitting Surendra Koli in the sensational 2006 Nithari serial killings case. A bench of Justices B R Gavai, K V Viswanathan, and N Kotiswar Singh issued a notice and sought a response from Koli on the petitions and tagged them with similar pleas which are already pending before the apex court. "Notice. Tag," the bench said. The top court on July 8 sought a response from Koli on separate pleas filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the high court's October 16 last year verdict. The apex court in May agreed to hear a plea filed by the father of one of the victims challenging the high court's order acquitting Koli in the case. In this case, Moninder Singh Pandher was acquitted by the sessions court while Koli was awarded the death penalty on September 28, 2010. The high court had acquitted domestic help Koli

HC reserves order on Kejriwal's pleas challenging arrest, seeking bail

The bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna after hearing the arguments at length, decided to reserve the order on Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest

Delhi HC allows sale of conman Sukesh's 26 cars, says 'subject to decay'

These cars were attached and in possession of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in a money laundering case linked to the Rs 200 crores extortion case

SC to regain full strength as Centre notifies appointments of two judges

The Supreme Court will function with its sanctioned strength of 34, including the Chief Justice of India, after the swearing-in of Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Justice R Mahadevan

Legitimate right of Rahul Gandhi for speedy decision on defamation case: HC

The Bombay High Court has said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has a legitimate right for an expeditious decision on merits over a 2014 defamation complaint for his alleged remarks against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. A single bench of Justice Prithviraj Chavan in the order of July 12 said Article 21 of the Constitution provides the right to a speedy trial for everyone and a free and fair trial is something that is absolutely necessary. The court made the remarks while allowing Gandhi's petition to quash a magistrate's order permitting an RSS worker to submit fresh and additional documents in the pending criminal defamation complaint. A detailed copy of the order was made available on Tuesday. In 2014, Sangh worker Rajesh Kunte lodged a defamation complaint before the Bhiwandi magistrate's court, claiming the Congress leader had made false and defamatory statements during a speech that the RSS was responsible for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. In 2023, the magistrate court

ASI submits scientific survey report of Bhojshala complex to MP HC

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Monday submitted its scientific survey report of the disputed Bhojshala-Kamal-Maula mosque complex to the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. ASI's counsel Himanshu Joshi handed over the more than 2,000-page report to the HC's registry. "I have submitted the report," Joshi told PTI over phone. The HC will hear the case on July 22, he said. On July 4, the HC ordered the ASI to present by July 15 the complete report of the nearly three-month-long survey on the premises of the disputed 11th-century monument, the subject of a wrangle between Hindus and Muslims. The Hindu community considers Bhojshala as a temple of Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati), while the Muslim side calls it Kamal Maula mosque. The HC on March 11 ordered the ASI, the country's premier agency for archaeological researches and protection of cultural heritage, to conduct a scientific survey of the complex on an application by 'Hindu Front for Justice'. It then gave

If parole can be granted to share grief, why not for happy occasions: HC

The Bombay High Court has granted parole to a man to bid farewell to his son, who is going to Australia for further studies, holding that if parole can be granted to share grief, it can also be for a happy occasion. The court said conditional release for a brief time is allowed to convicts to let them be in touch with the outside world and to arrange for their family affairs as though behind bars, the convict continues to be someone's son, husband, father or brother. A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande in its order of July 9 said the provisions of parole and furlough have been time and again looked towards as a humanistic approach towards the convicts. The court was hearing a petition filed by one Vivek Shrivastav seeking parole to arrange the tuition fees and other expenses for his son's education at an Australian university and to also bid farewell to him. The prosecution opposed the plea claiming that parole is normally given in emergency situation

Centre fails to form policy on online sale of drugs ahead of HC deadline

The Delhi HC had in March this year, given the government a final opportunity to frame a policy within four months, failing which, the court had stated it would hear the matter on merits

Surrogate mothers also have right to avail maternity leave, says Orissa HC

Orissa High Court has recently ruled that female employees who become mothers through surrogacy have the same right to maternity leave and other benefits as provided to natural and adoptive mothers. The single judge bench of Justice S K Panigrahi gave the ruling on June 25 while hearing a petition filed by Supriya Jena, a female Odisha Finance Service (OFS) officer, in 2020. Jena became a mother through surrogacy, but she was denied 180 days maternity leave by her higher authority in the Odisha government. So, she moved the high court against the government. The court observed that a leave of 180 days is granted to female government servants on the adoption of a child up to one year of age in line with maternity leave as admissible to natural mothers for proper care of the adopted child. However, there is no provision for maternity leave for the purpose of rearing a child blessed through surrogacy, it said. "If the government could provide maternity leave to an adoptive mother, it

SBI announces 11 new initiatives to mitigate risks in agri loan portfolio

The country's largest lender SBI on Thursday announced 11 new initiatives -- including enhancement of its digital banking features and opening of 35 new Agricultural Centralised Processing Cells -- to mitigate risks in its agricultural loan portfolio. On the occasion of the 69th Foundation Day, State Bank of India announced these initiatives to widen the bank's accessibility to address the banking needs of its potential customers, the lender said in a statement. SBI has enhanced its digital payment experience, with the introduction of two exciting features like tap-and-pay on the BHIM SBI PAY app and end-to-end digital loans against mutual funds on the YONO app, it added. The bank has also announced an initiative, which is a fully digital end-to-end journey for SBI Surya Ghar Loan, it said, adding that the users can opt for credit to install solar rooftops under the central government's PM Surya Ghar Scheme, offering loans for up to 10 KW capacity. The entire process will be manage