Page 9 - Indian Judiciary

If INDIA bloc comes to power, will free judiciary of 'pressure': Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday that if the INDIA bloc comes to power, it will free the judiciary from "tremendous pressure" at present, and added that this will lead to his release from jail on June 5 as all cases against him are bogus. After being freed from Tihar jail on interim bail, Kejriwal had said in his election rallies that he will be free the day after the results of the Lok Sabha elections are announced on June 4 if the opposition INDIA bloc wins. In an interview to PTI Videos, Kejriwal was asked how he could make such a statement, which implies that the INDIA bloc will twist the court's arm to get him freed despite serious corruption charges against him. "Judiciary is under tremendous pressure currently. Everyone knows how much pressure they are working under now," Kejriwal said in his first interview to a media house after being freed on bail. Asked if he meant that a possible future government of the INDIA bloc will also put pressure on the cou

SC Collegium recommends two judges as permanent judges of Gauhati HC

The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud has recommended to the Centre the names of two additional judges for appointment as permanent judges of the Gauhati High Court. The Collegium, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai, recommended that Justice Rajesh Sekhri be appointed as an additional judge of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court for a fresh term of one year with effect from July 29, 2024. "... the Collegium resolves to recommend that Justice Susmita Phukan Khaund and Justice Mitali Thakuria, additional judges, be appointed as permanent judges of the Gauhati High Court against the existing vacancies," said one of the Collegium resolutions uploaded on the apex court website. It noted that the Collegium of the Gauhati High Court had unanimously recommended on April 1 the names of these two judges for appointment as permanent judges. "The chief ministers of the States of Assam, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh and the ..

Handover the land for Bombay High Court building by September, says SC

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Maharashtra government to strive to handover by the end of September the first tranche of land for construction of a new Bombay High Court building. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud asserted that the state authorities need not wait till the end of the year to handover the entire land and smaller areas can be given as they become available. "We direct the Maharashtra government to make all endeavour to hand over the first tranche of land of 9.64 acre by the end of September 2024. The government of Maharashtra need not wait till December to handover the entire 9.64 acre and smaller areas could be handed over. All endeavour be made for 9.64 acre to be handed over by September 30, 2024," the court said. The top court was hearing a case under its suo motu (on its own) jurisdiction, initiated after taking note of an April 29 letter petition of Bombay Bar Association president Nitin Thakker and other bar leaders with respect to

Battle over butter chicken's legacy heats up with new court evidence

Two Indian restaurant chains have been sparring since January at the Delhi High Court

Verdict of Constitution bench binding on benches of lesser strength: SC

A judgement of a Constitution bench would be "binding" on benches of lesser strength, the Supreme Court has said while recalling an April 2022 verdict delivered by it. In its order dated April 7, 2022, the apex court had held that a panchayat cannot claim ownership of the land which has been taken from the real owners from their permissible ceiling limits under the land law in Haryana. The apex court had consequently said panchayats can only manage and control the land which has been taken from the owners and cannot claim title. "It is pertinent to note here that for the land taken from the proprietors by applying pro-rata cut from the permissible ceiling limits of the proprietors, management and control alone vests with the panchayat but such vesting of management and control is irreversible and the land would not revert to the proprietors for redistribution as the common purposes for which land has been carved out not only include the present requirements but the future requiremen

Indian courts have come to be reimagined as democratic spaces, says CJI

CJI Chandrachud also pointed crucial areas in which digitisation and technology can help us create better justice delivery mechanisms

Advocates can't be held liable under Consumer Protection Act, says SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that advocates are not liable for deficiency of services under the Consumer Protection Act 1986 and cannot be sued for poor service before consumer courts. A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal said the legal profession is sui generis (unique) and the nature of work is specialised and cannot be compared with other professions. "Advocates have to respect client's autonomy, not entitled to make concessions without express instructions from client and transgress authority. Considerable amount of direct control is with client of advocate. This strengthens our opinion that contract is of personal service and excluded from definition of service under Consumer Protection Act," the bench said. The judgement came on plea filed by bar bodies, such as Bar Council of India, Delhi High Court Bar Association and Bar of Indian Lawyers, and other individuals challenging a 2007 verdict of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), ..

Ex-Judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay moves Cal HC, alleges police overaction

Former Judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, a BJP candidate from Tamluk Lok Sabha seat, on Monday moved the Calcutta High Court alleging police overaction by registering an attempt to murder case against him. Justice Jay Sengupta, before whose court the matter was mentioned, directed that the petition will be taken up for hearing on Tuesday. Alleging malafide and overaction on the part of police, Gangopadhyay's lawyer Rajdeep Majumder submitted before the court that the FIR was lodged to prevent him from campaigning for the election. Majumder stated that section 307 (attempt to murder) was registered against Gangopadhyay. Gangopadhyay, who resigned as a judge of the Calcutta High Court in March, is a BJP candidate from Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency. An alleged incident of protest against him by some persons claiming to belong to a teachers' organisation is stated to have taken place when Gangopadhyay went to file his nomination papers for the polls.

Muslims can't claim rights in live-in relationship when having spouse: HC

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday said that Muslims cannot claim rights in a live-in relationship when they have a living spouse, as such a relationship is not permitted under the tenets of Islam. A bench of justices AR Masoodi and AK Srivastava-I made the observations while hearing a writ petition by Sneha Devi and Mohd Shadab Khan, who were seeking protection from police action after the woman's parents filed a kidnapping case against Khan, and directed that Sneha Devi be sent to her parents under security. The petitioners claimed that they were in a live-in relationship but the woman's parents lodged a police complaint accusing Khan of kidnapping and inducing her to marry him. They also sought protection of their lives and liberty, saying they were adults and as per the apex court, they were free to reside together in a live-in relationship. "Islamic tenets do not permit live-in relationships during the subsisting marriage. The position may be different

Lawsuit asks if Facebook users can control their feeds using external tools

Do social media users have the right to control what they see or don't see on their feeds? A lawsuit filed against Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. is arguing that a federal law often used to shield internet companies from liability also allows people to use external tools to take control of their feed even if that means shutting it off entirely. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Meta Platforms on behalf of an Amherst professor who wants to release a tool that enables users to unfollow all the content fed to them by Facebook's algorithm. The tool, called Unfollow Everything 2.0, is a browser extension that would let Facebook users unfollow friends, groups and pages and empty their newsfeed the stream of posts, photos and videos that can keep them scrolling endlessly. The idea is that without this constant, addicting stream of content, people might use it less. If the past is any indication, Meta will not be keen on t

As SC highlights climate change, lawyers draw attention towards attribution

Amid the likelihood of a rise in litigations following the Supreme Court's observation that climate change impacts the constitutional guarantee of the right to equality, scientists have urged for fixing inadequacies in data and modelling for attribution in such lawsuits. Attribution science determines the likelihood of an extreme weather event due to climate change. Environment lawyers and field experts agree that being evidence-based, attribution science will be crucial to climate litigation and play a key role in limiting baseless lawsuits. "Attribution data has been important in litigation as it is scientific and evidentiary in nature. It definitely will help support a case," said Prachi Pratap, a Supreme Court advocate. The Supreme Court on April 18 said that by impacting clean environment and health, climate change impacts the constitutional guarantee of the right to equality. "Without a clean environment which is stable and unimpacted by the vagaries of climate change, the r

India set for major overhaul of criminal justice system with new laws: CJI

Hailing the enactment of the new criminal justice laws as a watershed moment for society, Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said India is set for a significant overhaul of its criminal justice system. Speaking at a conference here on 'India's Progressive Path in the Administration of Criminal Justice System', he said the new laws would be successful if "we as citizens adopt them". The newly enacted laws have transitioned India's legal framework on criminal justice into a new age, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Chandrachud said. He also said that much-needed improvements have been introduced to protect the interests of victims and carry out investigation and prosecution of offences efficiently. "The enactment of these laws by Parliament is a clear indication that India is changing and on the move, and needs new legal instruments to deal with the current challenges," the CJI said. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tush

NCLAT shuns insolvency plea against Parsvnath Landmark Developers

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has dismissed the plea filed by four unit buyers of Parsvnath Landmark Developers to initiate insolvency proceedings against the subsidiary of Parsvnath Developer. The appellate tribunal upheld the orders of the Principal bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which on October 17, 2023, rejected their plea on technical grounds as the number of petitioners was only four, while the total number of allottees by Parsvnath Landmark is 488. The matter relates to La Tropicana Khyber Pass, a Delhi-based project of the realty firm. Section 7(1) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) mandates a petition on behalf of the homebuyers (as financial creditors) is maintainable only if either 100 in number or 10 per cent of the allottees join the petition. Moreover, the appellate tribunal also rejected the plea of flat buyers that they are of a different class, having an order from Delhi RERA directing the developer to refund the

Judicial activism in the air

No environmental solution can be perfect, but governments can balance the risks

Reforming judiciary

Reserving judgments adding to delays and backlogs

Lawyers commenting on pending cases, judgments disturbing trend: CJI

The judiciary has broad shoulders and can take praise as well as criticism in its stride, but the recent tendency of lawyers to comment on pending cases or judgments is very disturbing, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud has said. Office-bearers and members of the bar should not forget while reacting to judicial decisions that they are officers of the court and not laypersons, he said. The CJI was speaking at the centenary year celebration of the High Court Bar Association of Nagpur on Friday. The judiciary has time and again risen to the occasion to assert its independence and non-partisanship, Justice Chandrachud said. "We must not forget, however, that there is a close link between the independence of the judiciary and independence of the bar," he said. The bar as an institution is essential to preserve judicial independence, constitutional values and dignity of the court, the CJI added. In a vibrant and argumentative democracy like India, most individuals have political .

Priyanka Gandhi accuses govt of 'pressuring' judiciary after bonds verdict

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday accused the Centre of "pressuring" the judiciary after the Supreme Court struck down the electoral bonds scheme and wondered whether the Narendra Modi government does not approve of an independent and strong judiciary. The Congress general secretary's remarks come two days after Prime Minister Modi criticised the grand old party in reaction to more than 600 lawyers writing to the Chief Justice of India, alleging that a "vested interest group" is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame courts. Modi on Thursday said it was a "vintage Congress culture" to browbeat and bully others. In a post in Hindi on X, Priyanka Gandhi said, "The manner in which the judicial system is being pressured by getting letters written after seeing the layers of scams being exposed by a decision of the Supreme Court on electoral bonds (which the public is calling 'extortion racket'), and then the prime minister himself entering the arena and making

Who threatens the court?

Modi's reference to the 'committed judiciary' takes us back to the 1970s, when Indira Gandhi's government twice superseded senior judges while appointing the CJI

Lawyers write to CJI against groups trying to 'pressure' judiciary

A group of lawyers, including senior advocate Harish Salve and Bar Council of India chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, have written to the Chief Justice of India, alleging that a "vested interest group" is trying to pressure the judiciary and defame courts "on the basis of frivolous logic and stale political agendas". "Their pressure tactics are most obvious in political cases, particularly those involving political figures accused of corruption. These tactics are damaging to our courts and threaten our democratic fabric," their letter, dated March 26, addressed to CJI D Y Chandrachud said. The letter, shared by official sources, targeted a section of lawyers without naming them and alleged that they defend politicians by the day and then try to influence judges through the media at night. This interest group creates false narratives of a supposed better past and golden period of courts, contrasting it with the happenings in the present, the letter said, claiming that their comments ar

Preventive detention based on capricious exercise of powers must stop: SC

Observing that preventive detention is a draconian measure and any such move based on a capricious or routine exercise of powers must be nipped in the bud, the Supreme Court has set aside a Telangana High Court order rejecting a detenu's appeal. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Thursday said the essential concept of preventive detention is that the detention of a person is not to punish him for something he has done but to prevent him from doing it. "Inability on the part of the state's police machinery to tackle the law-and-order situation should not be an excuse to invoke the jurisdiction of preventive detention," the bench also comprising Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said. "Preventive detention being a draconian measure, any order of detention as a result of a capricious or routine exercise of powers must be nipped in the bud. It must be struck down at the first available threshold," the top court said. The appellant was arrested under