Judges

SC refuses to quash Pocso charges against judge, cites shocking allegations

The Supreme Court refused to drop Pocso charges against a suspended judge accused of incest, calling the case shocking and ordering the masking of the victim's identity

Hearing held for judge accused of allowing immigrant to escape ICE custody

A hearing began Monday for a Massachusetts judge facing civil charges over allegations that she allowed an immigrant in her court to evade an immigration enforcement agent. The case stems from a 2018 incident in which Shelley Joseph, a district court judge, is accused of colluding with the immigrant's attorney and a court officer to allow him escape out a back door of the courthouse after a hearing on charges that included drug possession. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer had been waiting outside the courtroom to detain the defendant, Jose Medina-Perez. "This case is about the integrity, impartiality and independence of the Massachusetts judiciary and the appearance of the integrity, impartiality and independence every judge must uphold," Judith Fabricant, special counsel for the commission, told the hearing. A lawyer for Joseph, Elizabeth Mulvey, said the case had been distorted over time and that everyone had come to believe that her client "let an illegal immigrant

Judges and civil servants: A post-retirement job remains a grey area

For government posts, there is no cooling-off period. Yet, the Union government under different political regimes has either waived or altered the rules to suit the occasion

Justice Bela Trivedi, 11th woman SC judge, retires after 3.5 years on bench

Justice Bela M Trivedi, who was the eleventh woman judge to be elevated to the Supreme Court in its 75-year-old history on Friday demitted office after spending three-and-a-half years on the bench. Justice Trivedi, who had the rare distinction of being elevated to the top court after starting out as a trial court judge in Gujarat in July 1995, was part of the top court's several landmark judgements. "It was a happy coincidence that her father was already working as the judge, city civil and sessions court when she was appointed. The Limca Book of Indian records has recorded the entry in their 1996 edition that 'Father - daughter judges in the same court'," Justice Trivedi's profile on the apex court website said. She was elevated as a judge of the apex court on August 31, 2021 when a record nine new judges, including three women, were administered oath of office. On Friday, Justice Trivedi sat in the ceremonial bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai as a tradition marking the exit

Of 221 HC judge recommendations since Nov 2022, 29 await Centre's nod

In a first of its kind move towards enhancing transparency, the Supreme Court has declared the names of judges recommended by the collegium, their relations to sitting or retired judges of high courts or the apex court and the number of resolutions confirmed by the government. According to the data released by the Supreme Court from November 9, 2022 to November 10, 2024 -- a time when former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud was at the helm of affairs -- of the 303 candidates approved by the Supreme Court collegium for appointment as high court judges, 170 have been cleared by the central government. The data shows 17 names are still pending with the government for approval. Out of the 303 names recommended, 12 were related to former or retired judges of the high court or the Supreme Court and one name who had relations with the retired or serving member of the high court or the apex court, was not cleared by the Centre. Seven of the 303 names belonged to the Scheduled Caste ..

Flawed justice: Poor training weakens an already under-resourced system

To be sure, ticking boxes on pre-determined metrics does not fully reflect the reality of the justice-delivery system as experienced by its people

Google broke law by dominating online ad tech market, rules US judge

US court rules Google broke antitrust laws in ad tech market, paving way for possible breakup of its ad business. DOJ pushes for sale of key units like Google Ad Manager

UP cop raids judge's house after mistaking her for accused in her own order

A UP sub-inspector, instead of serving a CrPC Section 82 proclamation to the accused, mistakenly named the Chief Judicial Magistrate who had issued the notice

Man uses AI avatar in court, raising fresh concerns over ethical boundaries

The use of an AI-generated avatar in a New York courtroom has sparked a debate over the ethical boundaries of artificial intelligence, raising questions about its role in legal proceedings and beyond

Cash-at-home row: Justice Yashwant Varma takes oath as Allahabad HC judge

This development comes amidst an ongoing investigation into allegations of semi-burnt sacks of cash being recovered from his residence just weeks ago

Govt notifies transfer of Yashwant Varma to Allahabad HC amid cash scandal

The controversy erupted days after a fire at Justice Varma's residence led to the discovery of large sums of cash

Fire at Delhi HC judge's residence leads to discovery of large cash stash

Calling an emergency meeting, the Supreme Court collegium issued an immediate transfer of the judge from the Delhi High Court

Judge stops immediate shutdown of small US agency for African development

A judge barred the Trump administration on Thursday from immediately moving to shut down a small federal agency that supports investment in African countries on Thursday. US District Judge Richard J Leon in Washington issued the order hours after the filing of a lawsuit by the president and CEO of the US African Development Foundation. Ward Brehm said in a complaint that he directed his staff on Wednesday to deny building entry to staffers from billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency and Pete Marocco, the deputy administrator for the US Agency for International Development. DOGE and Trump do not have the authority to shut down the agency, which was created by Congress, Brehm said in the complaint. The order from Leon, who was appointed by Republican President George W. Bush, bars Brehm from being removed or DOGE from adding members to the board over the next few days. Brehm also said that days after President Donald Trump targeted the agency in a Feb. 19 execut

Judge temporarily blocks Trump's exec order ending birthright citizenship

A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's executive order ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship regardless of the parents' immigration status. US District Judge John C. Coughenour ruled in the case brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, which argue the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court case law have cemented birthright citizenship. The case is one of five lawsuits being brought by 22 states and a number of immigrants rights groups across the country. The suits include personal testimonies from attorneys general who are US citizens by birthright, and names pregnant women who are afraid their children won't become US citizens. Signed by Trump on Inauguration Day, the order is slated to take effect on February 19. It could impact hundreds of thousands of people born in the country, according to one of the lawsuits. In 2022, there were about 255,000 births of citizen children to mothers living in the coun

SC asks HCs to form panel over judges pay commission recommendations

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked all high courts to expedite setting up a two-judge panel to address grievances of district judicial officers on the implementation of the Second National Judges Pay Commission recommendations. A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai, Augustine George Masih and K Vinod Chandran passed the order after senior advocate K Paremeshwar, who is assisting it as an amicus curiae, said many high courts were yet to form the Committees for Service Conditions of the District Judiciary (CSCDJ) as directed by it earlier. The top court, on January 4 last year, said it recommended setting up the two-judge panel in all high courts to ensure that the orders on pay, pension and other retiral benefits for judicial officers as per the Second National Judicial Pay Commission (SNJPC) were implemented. On Tuesday, the amicus said while some high courts had set up the panels, they did not meet regularly to deal with the grievances, prompting several judicial officers to move t

Bangladesh cancels scheduled judges' training in India amid strained ties

Bangladesh's interim government on Sunday cancelled a planned training programme for 50 judges and judicial officers in India, scrapping a previous notification. The notification has been cancelled, a law ministry spokesman said without elaborating. The Daily Star newspaper, however, reported the cancellation came in compliance with a directive from Bangladesh's Supreme Court. The cancellation order came a day after the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported that 50 lower judiciary judges would undergo a one-day training programme from February 10 at the National Judicial Academy and the State Judicial Academy in Madhya Pradesh. The trainee judges selected under the programme were district and sessions judge or its equivalent officers, additional district and sessions judge, joint district judge, senior assistant judge and assistant judge. The Indian government was supposed to bear all the expenses for the training programmes. India and Bangladesh have witnessed strained

Ex-SC judge Madan Lokur named chairperson of UN Internal Justice Council

Former Supreme Court judge Madan B Lokur has been appointed as chairperson of the United Nations Internal Justice Council for a term ending on November 12, 2028. In a communication to Justice Lokur, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the retired top court judge would head the council which also comprises other distinguished jurists. "I have the pleasure to appoint you, with immediate effect, as a member of the Internal Justice Council, in the capacity of chairperson, for a term ending on 12 November 2028," the communication dated December 19 said. "The other members of the Council (in alphabetical order) are: Ms. Carmen Artigas (Uruguay), distinguished external jurist nominated by staff; Ms. Rosalie Balkin (Australia), distinguished external jurist nominated by management; Mr. Stefan Brezina (Austria), staff representative; and Mr. Jay Pozenel (United States of America), management representative," it added. Born in 1953, Justice Lokur was appointed a judge of the Supreme .

Florida charges suspect in Trump assassination bid for crash after arrest

Florida authorities announced Wednesday that they're pursuing a criminal case against a man accused of trying to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump for a car crash that occurred after law enforcement stopped traffic to catch him. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said she obtained an arrest warrant for Ryan Wesley Routh, who already is being held on federal charges in the assassination attempt. Moody said she is pursuing a charge of attempted felony murder for a crash that seriously injured a 6-year-old girl after officials shut down traffic on Interstate 95 as they tried to apprehend the suspect. The multivehicle crash happened about 30 minutes after Routh's arrest on I-95, according to the state's investigation, but Moody said it was a result of his actions. The girl, who was travelling with her family, had serious injuries, Moody said. When you couple those terrible injuries, together with his other criminal conduct, which we believe rises to the level of domestic ...

Why Supreme Court wants judges to live like hermits and work like horses

The Supreme Court has urged judges to refrain from using social media, stressing the importance of impartiality and discipline in their roles

SC quashes Telangana's preferential land allotment to 'privileged' class

In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court on Monday quashed the government orders facilitating preferential land allotments to MPs, MLAs, bureaucrats, judges and journalists within the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits, saying the distribution of state largesse was "capricious" and "irrational". A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta held the policy to be "unreasonable, arbitrary, discriminatory", and violative of Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution. "The allocation of land at basic rates to select privileged groups reflects a 'capricious' and 'irrational' approach. This is a classic case of executive action steeped in arbitrariness, but clothed in the guise of legitimacy, by stating that the ostensible purpose of the policy was to allot land to 'deserving sections of society'," the verdict said. Shorn of pretence, this policy of the state government, is an abuse of power meant to cater exclusively to the affluent ...