Page 2 - Justice

PM Modi brought Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita to ensure justice: Meghwal

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Sunday said that while the Britishers introduced the Indian Penal Code to "punish" Indians, Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita with the aim of delivering justice to the people. Speaking at the inauguration of the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) at Delhi Assembly, Meghwal said, "I am told that the three new criminal laws have been fully implemented in Delhi. "The Britishers brought the Indian Penal Code to punish Indians. Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita to give justice to Indians." NeVA is a flagship project of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs designed to create a paperless legislative environment across India. Talking about the implementation of NeVA, the minister said there were talks about it being implemented earlier also. "I don't know what the previous government thought but it was not implemented," he said. Speaking on the occasion, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gup

Justice Desai submits report to Karnataka govt in MUDA scam probe

Retired High Court judge Justice Desai, who investigated the alleged irregularities in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority, submitted a report to the Karnataka Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh on Thursday. The Karnataka government has constituted a one-man Commission headed by retired High Court judge Justice P N Desai on July 14 to inquire into the alleged MUDA site allocation scam. The details of the report have not yet been made public. Allegations of a scam gathered steam after the BJP alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi was one of the beneficiaries of alternative sites (plots) allotted in lieu of land given to Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). Siddaramaiah categorically rejected the allegation and claimed that MUDA illegally took over the four-acres of land belonging to his wife and formed a layout without her permission. The CM said MUDA compensated them by providing them with 14 alternative plots in Mysuru upmarket.

Balasore student death: Failed system can take life, says Patnaik

Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday said the death of the college student who set herself ablaze following alleged sexual harassment by a professor was due to "failure of the system". Expressing his grief over the death of the college student, Patnaik in a long social media post said: "It is even more disturbing to think how a failed system can take someone's life. The most painful part is that this was not an accident, but rather the result of a system that remained silent instead of helping. Struggling for justice, the girl ultimately closed her eyes." With great courage, Patnaik said the student had written to the college principal, informing them about the sexual harassment she had faced. "Even after being ignored by the college authorities, she did not give up. To seek justice, she reached out to the Higher Education minister, the Chief Minister's office, and even a Union minister," Patnaik said. The former chief minister said the brave student als

BCI missteps on new rules for opening the market to foreign lawyers

BCI's new rules take immediate effect, with no prior notice, consultation, or transition-raising urgent concerns amid India-US trade talks

SC urges Centre to set up permanent bodies for timely consumer redressal

The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to consider setting up a permanent forum for consumer disputes and file a report within three months, stressing the need for permanent staff

Bar Council of India urges SCBA to organise farewell for Justice Trivedi

Although Justice Trivedi is retiring on June 9, she had her last day on May 16, as she is going to the US to attend a family function

Trump's sanctions on ICC prosecutor disrupt tribunal's functioning

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor has lost access to his email, and his bank accounts have been frozen. The Hague-based court's American staffers have been told that if they travel to the US they risk arrest. Some non-governmental organisations have stopped working with the ICC and the leaders of one won't even reply to emails from court officials. Those are just some of the hurdles facing court staff since US President Donald Trump in February slapped sanctions on its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, according to interviews with current and former ICC officials, international lawyers and human rights advocates. The sanctions will prevent victims from getting access to justice, said Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch. Trump sanctioned the court after a panel of International Criminal Court (ICC) judges in November issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant. Judges

Constitution is supreme, not Parliament or judiciary: CJI-designate Gavai

Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, who is set to become the first Buddhist Chief Justice of India on May 14, on Sunday said no to any post-retirement assignment and put to rest the debate on whether Parliament or judiciary is superior by asserting the Constitution is supreme. In an informal chat with journalists at his residence here, Justice Gavai said that the top court judges were shocked to hear about the Pahalgam terror attack and referred to the full court meeting convened by him as CJI Sanjiv Khanna was away. When the country is in crisis, the Supreme Court cannot remain aloof. We are also part of the nation, he said while touching upon issues ranging from pendency of cases to vacancies in courts, judges meeting commoners including politicians and the statements against the judiciary. Responding to queries about statements of politicians and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar that Parliament is supreme, he said, The Constitution is supreme. This has been held in the 13-judge benc

Court's power to modify arbitral awards: A cure worse than the disease

Arbitration users worry over poor-quality awards and prolonged litigation; some propose allowing courts to modify awards, but this raises concerns over finality and judicial overreach

Best of BS Opinion: Why India needs wide-ranging regulatory reforms

Today's opinions track regulatory practices and reforms that are required across key sectors of the Indian policy-scape.

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

Order in the (content) court: Legality of legal influencers in focus

Nearly all the experts unanimously agree that law students should not be allowed to dish out legal advice under any circumstances

Making judiciary scientific, people-centric under PM's vision: Amit Shah

Speaking at the All India Forensic Summit, Shah talked on the importance of timely justice, the rising role of forensic science to counter terrorism, and the significance of the three new crime laws

SC seeks Maharashtra body's reply on contempt plea over property razing

The Supreme Court on Monday directed a Maharashtra authority to respond to a man's plea for initiating contempt action against it after he and his family members were booked by police and his properties were rased for allegedly raising anti-India slogans during a cricket match. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih issued the notice and posted the hearing after four weeks. The petitioner, who hails from Sindhudurg district in the state, has claimed his house and shop were demolished on February 24 following an FIR against him, his wife and his 14-year-old son for allegedly raising anti-India slogans during the India-Pakistan Champions Trophy match, which India won the previous day. The plea, filed by Kitabulla Hamidulla Khan, sought directions for initiating contempt proceedings against the chief officer and administrator of the Malvan Municipal Council arguing the action was in violation of the apex court's November 13, 2024 verdict on demolition of properties.

Cash found at judge's house after fire: Who is Justice Yashwant Varma?

Supreme Court Collegium has ordered the immediate transfer of Delhi High Court Judge Justice Yashwant Varma after discover of cash hoard at his residence

Govt gets SC notice on plea asking better facilities for disabled prisoners

The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Centre on a plea seeking adequate facilities for disabled prisoners in jails, and implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, in prisons across the country. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the Union of India and others on a plea filed by activist Sathyan Naravoor. "Issue notice, returnable within four weeks," it said. Citing instances of professor G N Saibaba and activist Stan Swamy to highlight the "severe neglect" of disabled prisoners, the plea said necessary provisions should be incorporated in the existing Prisons Act to address the special needs of disabled inmates. Former Delhi University professor Saibaba died on October 12 last year at a state-run hospital in Hyderabad due to health-related complications, seven months after he was acquitted in a case of alleged links with Maoists after 10 years in prison. Swamy, arrested in the Bhima-Koregaon case, died at Mumbai's

ICC is flawed but worth fighting for in a world turning away from justice

The belief that the ICC can act as a deterrent against future atrocities is an unproven hypothesis

Newsmaker: Meet Justice Ranjana Desai, head of Gujarat panel on UCC

The retired Supreme Court judge, on the basis of whose report the Uniform Civil Code came into being in Uttarakhand, will draft a similar law for Gujarat

Personnel ministry thrust on prompt redressal of public grievances in 2024

Prompt redressal of public grievances, promotion of digital life certificates among pensioners and generation of wealth from disposal of scrap were some of the key initiatives undertaken by the personnel ministry this year. Besides these, the ministry was in the news due to a row on lateral recruitment drive which was eventually withdrawn over the lack of a reservation provision. It was also involved in dealing with the issue of misuse of power and privileges by now-sacked IAS officer Puja Khedkar. Speaking to PTI on the ministry's achievements in 2024, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said several initiatives were undertaken to further ensure ease of governance for people, especially those living in far flung areas. "The ministry is proactively following the mantra of 'maximum governance and minimum government' given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. For instance, the average time for disposal of public grievances has come down from 28 days in 2019 to 13 days in

Manual scavenging, accessibility reforms among Centre's agenda for 2025

Building on the groundwork laid in 2024, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment will be focussing on achieving nationwide manual scavenging-free status and improving accessibility for persons with disabilities next year. Even though the ministry has time and again said that manual scavenging no longer exists in the country, only 257 districts have uploaded their manual scavenging-free certificates on the central government portal. The ministry has urged the remaining districts to update their status promptly. Under the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem' (NAMASTE) scheme, 54,574 sewer and septic tank workers have been profiled, of whom 37,060 (67 per cent) belong to the Scheduled Castes category, a senior official said. The ministry aims to prioritise their rehabilitation next year. Also, the NAMASTE scheme will expand further in 2025, with plans to profile 2,50,000 waste pickers across the country, the official said. The programme will offer waste pickers