Page 4 - Indian Judiciary

Allahabad HC lawyers on indefinite strike over Justice Varma's transfer

The Allahabad High Court Bar Association on Tuesday began an indefinite strike to protest against the proposed transfer of Delhi High Court Justice Yashwant Varma to the high court here. Leading the protesting lawyers gathered at gate number 3 of the high court, Bar Association President Anil Tiwari told reporters, "This protest is not against any court or judge but against those who have betrayed the judicial system." He added, "Our fight is against those involved in corruption and against a system that lacks transparency. For now, our demand is a reconsideration and withdrawal of the transfer order." The Bar Association had reiterated its opposition to Justice Varma's transfer on Monday and decided to go on an indefinite strike from Tuesday. Tiwari asserted the association was prepared for an all-out battle on this issue. "From the very beginning, there has been an attempt to cover up this matter. Today, lawyers across India are fighting this battle. Until a resolution is reache

Judicial work withdrawn from Justice Yashwant Varma, says Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court on Monday announced that judicial work from Justice Yashwant Varma, from whose official residence a large stash of cash was allegedly discovered after a fire, has been withdrawn with "immediate effect", till further orders. The announcement was made in a note issued by the high court. Another note attached to the cause list of the day on the high court's website stated that the court master of division bench-III, which was headed by Justice Varma, will give dates in matters listed before today. "In view of the recent events, the judicial work from hon'ble Mr. Justice Yashwant Varma is withdrawn with immediate effect, till further orders," the note released on the court's website under the name of registrar (listing) said. In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court on March 22 uploaded on its website the inquiry report of Delhi High Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya -- complete with photos and videos -- regarding the alleged discovery of a substantial amount of cash

Sambhal violence: Mosque chief arrested ahead of judicial panel hearing

Shahi Jama Masjid management committee president Zafar Ali was arrested on Sunday after being questioned in connection with the November 24 violence during a protest against a court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era mosque. Superintendent of Police Krishan Kumar Bishnoi told reporters, "Today, Jama Masjid's Zafar Ali has been arrested and sent to jail. He was also detained and questioned late last night before being released." "He was called again for questioning today. He was arrested after questioning," he added. A case has been registered against Ali under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including 191(2) and 191(3) (rioting), 190 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 221 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), 132 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty), 196 (promoting enmity between different

People's confidence in judicial system on decline, says Kapil Sibal

Asserting that the confidence in the judicial system seems to be on the decline in people's perception, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal has said alternatives can only be found when both the government and the judiciary accept that the systems in place, including for judges' appointments, are not working. In an interview with PTI, Sibal talked about what ails the judicial system, citing examples of how bail is not being granted in most cases by district and sessions courts, and highlighted the issue of the controversial speech made by Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court last year. Sibal, speaking as a lawyer and not as the president of the Supreme Court Bar association, refrained from commenting on the matter of alleged discovery of a huge stash of cash at the residence of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma. "There is an in-house procedure to deal with the matter. Now, in the absence of facts I don't think as a responsible citizen of this country I should be ...

Watch: Supreme Court probe report shows burnt cash at Delhi judge's home

The report states that four to five semi-burnt stacks of Indian currency were found at Justice Yashwant Varma's residence during a firefighting operation on the night of March 14

Media must vie for independence, many being controlled: Justice Muralidhar

Former Orissa High Court chief justice S Muralidhar on Friday said the media in India has had to fight for its independence as many mainstream media are either owned by "large corporate houses or by political parties". Justice (retired) Muralidhar was speaking at BG Verghese Memorial Lecture on the topic 'Media, Courts, and Freedom of Expression' here. "The media's role is to hold power accountable, and it cannot do so effectively if it is beholden to corporate and political interests," he said. Highlighting the "increasing constraints on independent journalism" and the challenges posed by corporate and political influences on the media, he said major print and electronic media houses are largely controlled by corporate entities or political parties. "The media in India has had to fight for its independence and for its freedom. It is a fact though that much of the mainstream print and electronic media are either owned by large corporate houses or by political parties. Both print an

Corruption in judiciary: Sibal seeks 'transparency' in judges' appointment

Senior Supreme court advocate was also critical of the Allahabad High Court's observation that had said "Holding breast, breaking pyjama's string is not a crime of rape"

SC Collegium recommends Calcutta HC judge Joymalya Bagchi for top court

The Supreme Court on Thursday recommended the appointment of Calcutta High Court judge Justice Joymalya Bagchi as a judge of the Supreme Court. The five-member Collegium, headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, noted that no Calcutta High Court judge rose to become the Chief Justice of India since the retirement of Justice Altamas Kabir on July 18, 2013. The Collegium also took into consideration the fact that the Calcutta High Court has only one representation in the Supreme Court bench at present. If the Collegium's recommendation is cleared by the Centre, Justice Bagchi would have a tenure of more than six years in the top court, during which he will also serve as the Chief Justice of India. The Collegium, also comprising justices B R Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath, noted that Justice Bagchi stands at serial number 11 in the combined all-India seniority of high court judges, including chief justices. "The Collegium has, therefore, unanimously resolved to recommen

Centre spent over Rs 400 crore to contest court cases in last 10 years

The government has spent more than Rs 400 crore to contest court cases during the past 10 years, official data showed. The central government's Rs 66 crore expenditure on litigations in the 2023-24 financial year was over Rs 9 crore higher than the previous fiscal. The amount incurred on litigations has gone up since 2014-15, barring two fiscals when the Covid pandemic was at its peak, according to data shared by the government with the Lok Sabha in response to a question in the ongoing Budget session. In 2014-15, the cost incurred on litigations stood at Rs 26.64 crore while the expenditure for 2015-16 was Rs 37.43 crore. Between the 2014-15 and the 2023-24 financial years, the government spent more than Rs 409 crore on litigations. The government is working on a national litigation policy that seeks to expedite the resolution of pending cases. A draft of the proposed policy will go before the Union Cabinet for a final call. The policy has been drafted and redrafted for several

VP Dhankhar questions CJI's involvement with executive appointment

How can in a country like ours or in any democracy, by statutory prescription, Chief Justice of India participate in the selection of the CBI director, VP Jagdeep Dhankhar questioned

Ex-CJI Chandrachud defends SC ruling on Article 370, PM Modi's puja visit

In an interview, Justice (Retd) DY Chandrachud addressed criticism of the court's decision to uphold the Centre's move to abrogate Jammu and Kashmir's special status

PIL filed in Delhi HC against construction sealing practices of NDMC, MCD

Practice of sealing premises without serving sealing order and depriving the affected person of their statutory rights is an arbitrary exercise of power and is both unlawful and unconstitutional

SC dismisses plea challenging women-centric laws on allegation of misuse

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea challenging certain provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act and alleging misuse of women-centric laws. "You can go and raise all these grounds in Parliament," a bench of Justices B R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran told the counsel appearing for the petitioner. The petitioner's counsel said they were seeking to challenge certain provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, including sections 2 and 3. While section 2 of the Act deals with definition of dowry, section 3 pertains to penalty for giving or taking dowry. The counsel said the petitioner was concerned about these laws which adversely impacts men. The public interest litigation (PIL) names laws like the Dowry Prohibition Act, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, and the provision on cruelty to women in the erstwhile Indian Penal Code to question their validity. The plea filed by petitioner Rupshi Singh highlighted the alleged malice in law, the unreasonableness cont

OpenAI cites US roots to avoid Indian courts, but lawyers say case holds

Six other lawyers, and submissions of two court-appointed experts in the OpenAI lawsuit, Arul George Scaria and Adarsh Ramanujan, said Indian judges can hear the matter

Access to judiciary weaponised, Institutions not working within domain: V-P

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday said access to judiciary has been "weaponised" and it poses a great challenge to India's governance and democratic values. He also said institutions are not working within their domain. In an apparent attack on the judiciary, he said every day one finds advisories being issued and executive functions being performed by bodies that have no jurisdiction or jurisprudential authority or competence to perform those actions. "To put it in a layman's language, a tehsildar can never record an FIR. How so very strongly he may feel because our Constitution ordains institutions have to work within their own domain. Are they working? I'll answer for you, no," he said. He said "day in and day out you will find advisories emanating (and) executive functions being performed by bodies that have no jurisdictional or jurisprudential authority or competence to perform those actions". The vice president made these remarks while addressing students of the ..

Badlapur sexual assault case: 5 cops found responsible for custodial death

A magistrate's inquiry has held five policemen responsible for the custodial death of Akshay Shinde, accused in the Badlapur school sexual assault case. The magistrate on Monday tendered its inquiry report to the Bombay High Court, which was hearing a plea filed by Shinde's father, Anna Shinde, claiming his son was killed by the police in a fake encounter. Akshay Shinde (24) was arrested in August 2024 for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls inside the toilet of a school in Badlapur. He was an attendant at the school. In September, Shinde was killed in an alleged police shootout while being taken from the Taloja prison for questioning. The police claimed he snatched the gun of one of the police personnel in the police van, opened fire, and was killed in retaliatory firing. Under the law, a magistrate inquiry is initiated in cases where an accused dies in police custody. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale perused the report. The bench said

Delhi HC refuses to entertain PIL to ban sale of tobacco near temples

Petition was heard by the bench led by Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru, who observed that it did not find it appropriate to intervene in the matter

SC to hear pleas against invalidation of Bengal teacher positions on Jan 15

The Supreme Court will hear pleas challenging a Calcutta High Court order invalidating the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in government and aided schools in West Bengal on January 15. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan said at the outset on Tuesday that there are two options before it -- either a three-judge bench re-hears the case all over again or it be listed it before a two-judge bench that began hearing final arguments on December 19, the last date of hearing. Taking note of the submissions of lawyers, the CJI said the matter will be heard by a two-judge bench comprising him and Justice Kumar at 2 pm on January 15. There are 124 petitions, including the one filed by the state government, pending in the top court. The bench had earlier issued a slew of procedural directions and appointed four lawyers as nodal counsel while asking them to file a common compilation in electronic form after getting ..

Delhi HC says endless incarceration without trial violates Article 21

Endless incarceration without trial in near future falls foul of Article 21 of the Constitution, the Delhi High Court said recently and granted bail to a man held in a cheating case in 2022. Justice Amit Mahajan said if an accused was suffering a prolonged incarceration without a timely trial in the case, courts would ordinarily be obligated to release them on bail. Article 21 of the Indian Constitution deals with the right of life and personal liberty. In the case at hand, the judge said charges were yet to be framed, the prosecution had sought repeated adjournments to file a supplementary chargesheet and it had been a year since the accused's last bail plea was dismissed. "The applicant has spent more than two years in custody. There is no likelihood of the trial being completed in near future. In such circumstances, incarceration of the applicant for an endless period on account of non-examination of witnesses falls foul of Article 21 of the Constitution of India," the court sai

India must protect integrity of constitutional institutions, says SC Judge

India must protect the integrity of its constitutional institutions from outside interference, including those that are politically motivated, said Justice P S Narasimha, Judge, Supreme Court of India, on Sunday. Justice Narasimha was delivering the Justice E S Ventakaramiah Centennial Memorial Lecture, organised by the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru. Justice Venkataramiah served as the 19th Chief Justice of India. He previously served as a judge of the Karnataka High Court, as well as the Advocate General of Mysore. According to the Supreme Court Observer, he was a part of benches that pronounced 720 judgments. Of these, he authored 256 judgments during his term at the Supreme Court. In his lecture, Justice Narasimha said integrity of the institutions can be maintained only by putting in place safeguards in the appointment, decision making and removal process of individuals who helm these institutions. He also added that the topic of the memorial ...