Page 1273 - Law Crime
HC junks film financier's suit against Rajinikanth
The Madras High Court today dismissed a suit filed by a film financier against top actor Rajinikanth with a cost of Rs 25,000, saying it was nothing but an abuse of the process of law to gain cheap publicity and keep a famous person on the tenterhooks. "If such plaints are not thrown out at the initial stage, it will give a licence to people like the plaintiff to approach the court often even to get cheap publicity," Justice N Sathish Kumar said in his order. He directed the plaintiff, Mukunchand Bothra, to pay the cost of Rs 25,000 to the actor. The financier had alleged that Kasturi Raja, the father-in-law of Rajinikanth's daughter, had borrowed Rs 65 lakh from him with an assurance that if the money was not repaid by him, the actor would repay it. The financier had already filed a petition in a lower court against Raja for dishonouring the cheques issued by him. "It is common knowledge that any litigation filed against any person who is in the limelight and a public personality ...
Five policemen in Kerala found guilty in custodial death case
A special CBI court today held five policemen guilty in connection with the custodial death of a man in 2005. The prosecution case was that Udayakumar (26), who was taken into custody for questioning in a theft case, died in custody after being tortured by police. Two policemen, who took Udayakumar into custody, were found guilty of murder while three others were found guilty of conspiracy and destroying evidence. The court would pronounce the sentence tomorrow. A total of six policemen were accused in the case and one died during the course of trial. The case triggered widespread protests across the state as it was alleged that police had used third degree methods on Udayakumar. The CBI took over the investigation following a high court order on a plea filed by Udayakumar's mother Prabhavathi. "No mother should suffer such a trauma like this," Prabhavathi said on hearing the verdict that came after 13 years.
Dogs maul woman to death in UP's Kushinagar district
A 50-year-old woman was allegedly mauled to death by more than half a dozen dogs while she was working at a farm near her house in Gaunria village of Kushinagar district this evening, the police said. The deceased has been identified as Sursatai Devi. "Around 10 dogs mauled the woman to death when she was working in the farm. Her body will be sent for post-mortem," SHO of Kaptanganj Police Station Shyam Lal Yadav said. The latest incident has brought back memories of the death of 13 children in such attacks in Sitapur district since last November.
Nepal arrests two suspected French paedophiles
Two French nationals have been arrested in Nepal on suspicion of sexually abusing children, police said today. Weak law enforcement appears to have made Nepal a favoured destination for paedophiles, with several arrests and convictions in recent years. Police arrested the two men, aged 42 and 38, in Kathmandu on Sunday following a tip-off that they were luring children with chocolates, money and food. "They were arrested after we followed them for a few days. So far eight of their victims have come forward," police spokesman Krishna Hari Sharma told AFP. The alleged victims are aged between 10 to 14. Police said one of the suspects had been previously convicted in France for sexual assault on minors and possession of images of child abuse. "They have both been remanded in police custody on paedophilia charges as we investigate further," Sharma said. Records showed that both were in Nepal on a second visit and had been staying in the capital for several months. Last week a Swiss man ..
UK seeks to reinstate Barclays fraud charges over Qatar loan
Britain's Serious Fraud Office is seeking to reinstate fraud charges against Barclays over its emergency fundraising from Qatar in the financial crisis, the bank said today. The SFO has lodged an application in London's High Court to seek the reinstatement of all charges against Barclays Bank and its parent company Barclays plc linked to the Qatar fundraising. Barclays added in a brief statement that it planned to defend itself against the move. Tuesday's news comes more than two months after London's Southwark Crown Court had dismissed criminal charges against Barclays over the Qatar fundraising. In late afternoon deals, Barclays shares rose 1.47 percent to 189.32 pence on London's FTSE 100 index, which was 0.87 percent higher at 7,722.26 points.
NCPCR team visits Mother Teresa's charity home in Ranchi
An NCPCR team today visited Nirmal Hriday, the shelter home run by Mother Teresa-founded Missionaries of Charity, after four babies who were allegedly sold from there were rescued. The team comprised of the commission's technical expert Dushyant Meher and member Priyanka Kanungo, said Rupa Verma, the chairperson of Ranchi Child Welfare Committee (CWC). The members of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said they are probing all shelter homes in the country following the scam to find centres not following rules, she said. "It was a shameful incident," Verma said quoting them. The team discussed the incident with Aarti Kujur, the chairperson of Jharkhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (JSCPCR) and the CWC. Sister Konsalia, a nun of Nirmal Hriday, was arrested and during interrogation, she confessed to selling three children for money and giving away the fourth child. Another staffer of Nirmal Hriday, Anima Indwar was also arrested in connection ...
HC grants conditional bail to arrested city corporator
The Orissa High Court today granted conditional bail to Ranjita Biswal, a suspended BJD corporator of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC). She was arrested by the Cuttack Commissionerate police in March this year for her alleged links with gangster siblings Sushant and Sushil Dhalasamanta. Justice J P Dash allowed her to go on a bail bond of Rs 20,000 each by two sureties. Biswal, a journalist-turned-corporator, was questioned several times by the police soon after the gangster brothers were arrested in 2016. She was arrested in March this year by the Cuttack police on charges of supplying illegal weapon.
25-year-old man held for sexuallly abusing minor girl
A teenage girl was allegedly sexually abused by a 25-year-old man here recently, police said today. The 16-year-old girl had complained to her parents who lodged a complaint with the child welfare committee which in turn informed police. Mukesh, son of a security guard at a central government institution here, was arrested today under the Protection of Children from Sexual offences Act, police added.
AG Venugopal declines consent for contempt action against Sibal
Attorney General K K Venugopal has refused his consent to a lawyer seeking contempt action against senior advocate Kapil Sibal for alleged "professional misconduct" while arguing in the Supreme Court on a plea regarding the CJI impeachment issue. The lawyer, in his petition, also said that Sibal had allegedly committed "willful and deliberate contempt of court" by threatening to boycott the court proceedings after his plea for adjourning the Ayodhya case hearing till July 2019 was declined. The Attorney General, whose nod is pre-requisite for initiation of the contempt proceedings against an individual, in his opinion said, "The issues mentioned in your (lawyer Ashok Pande) request for consent for filing a criminal contempt against Kapil Sibal have been in public domain for a considerable period of time and had finally resulted in impeachment proceedings being rejected by the Chairman of Rajya Sabha." Vengugopal said, "What is more, the filing of a motion for impeachment was pursuant .
Sheena Bora murder case: Mikhail requests speedy testimony
Sheena Bora murder case accused Indrani Mukerjea's son Mikhail Bora today requested the special court here for speedy recording of his testimony and said he might lose his job in Guwahati if he stayed here for too long. Mikhail, a prosecution witness in the 2012 murder case, told special court judge J C Jagdale that he was unemployed for the last two years and landed a job at a restaurant in Guwahati only recently. "If I stay here for too long, I might lose that job. I won't get a job just because I am the son of Indrani Mukerjea," he pleaded. Before her arrest, Indrani was a promoter of INX Group along with her current husband Peter Mukerjea, also an accused in the murder case. Sheena was the biological daughter of Indrani, born from a previous relationship. Sheena's brother Mikhail recorded his statement on the second consecutive day today. As the defence and prosecution counsels were arguing for the next date of hearing, Mikhail stood in the witness box and said, "Will you provide .
Rajasthan govt orders judicial probe into Rakbar Khan's death
: The Rajasthan government today ordered a judicial inquiry into the alleged lynching of Rakbar Khan on suspicion of cow smuggling, with the state's home minister saying that the evidence suggested custodial death. Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria , who met the victim's family today, told reporters that Rakbar Khan (28) may have lived had the police taken him to hospital immediately, instead of taking the cows to a shelter first. A post-mortem report has suggested that Khan died of died of shock caused by his injuries. The minister, along with Chief Secretary D B Gupta and Director General of Police O P Galhotra, visited Ramgarh in Alwar district to inspect the spot where Khan was allegedly lynched. He also enquired about the lapses on part of the police. Kataria said he met Khan's family members, who are now in Alwar district, and assured them that they could come and see him anytime in connection with the case. Whoever took the law in their hands, I will take the strictest possible
Woman arrested for stealing phone at RML hospital
A woman was arrested for allegedly stealing a mobile phone of a patient's attendant at the RML hospital here, the police said today. The 45-year-old accused, a resident of Paharganj in Delhi, was caught red-handed, they said, adding the stolen mobile phone of make Redmi Note-4 was recovered from her possession. On July 23, an unidentified woman came inside a ward at the hospital and allegedly stole the phone of Subham, an attendant of a patient, police said. Subham alerted RML chowki staff, who came to the spot and detained the accused woman, police said. During interrogation, the accused confessed to her involvement in four more cases with similar modus operandi, they added.
Delhi HC's new building to be inaugurated tomorrow
The new state-of-the-art and environment-friendly building of the Delhi High Court will be inaugurated by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra tomorrow. The construction of the New Court Block of the high court, located in Lutyens' Delhi near India Gate, began in 2013. The building was ready for occupation in January after an amount of around Rs 145 crore was spent on the project. Besides Justice Misra, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Supreme Court judges justices Madan B Lokur, A K Sikri, N V Ramana, Sanjay Kishan Kaul will be the guests of honour at tomorrow's function to be held at the Vigyan Bhawan. Delhi High Court's Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal, other judges of the high court, judicial officers of the subordinate judiciary and lawyers will also be present at the programme. The four-storey New Courts Block will accommodate 15 courtrooms, besides nine courts for the registrars on the ground floor. This ...
BJP ally seeks NGT Chairman's ouster, its own MP raises issue in Lok Sabha
The appointment of a former Supreme Court judge as the National Green Tribunal Chairman took a political turn today with the BJP's ally Lok Janshakti Party demanding his removal and its own MP Udit Raj raising the issue in Lok Sabha of what he called an "anti-Dalit" verdict as an apex court judge. Attacking Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, who was made NGT Chairman on July 6, LJP leader Chirag Paswan said his appointment has sent a message to Dalits that a judge has been "rewarded" after he rendered a law protecting the weaker section of society "toothless". "The LJP demands his dismissal," Paswan said. Goel was a part of the Supreme Court bench which had introduced several safeguards in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, measures criticised by several Dalit outfits and later by all major political parties for what they alleged was diluting the law. Raising the issue in Lok Sabha, Udit Raj said Goel's appointment has caused anger and disappointment ...
Another woman files FIR against Goa temple priest
Goa Police has registered a case of outraging the modesty of a woman against a Mangueshi temple priest, earlier accused by a US medical student of a similar offence, following a complaint by another woman based in Mumbai.
Man booked for allegedly attempting to rape 5-yr-old: police
A 28-year-old man was today booked on the charges of attempting to rape a five-year-old daughter of an NRI, police said here today. Varinder Singh was booked under relevant sections of the IPC, they said. The case was registered on a complaint by the victim's mother, they said. The alleged incident took place on July 21, police said. Investigations were underway and no arrest had been made so far, they said.
SC restrains educational institute from using DPS trademark
The Supreme Court today restrained an educational institute from using the 'DPS' trademark of the Delhi Public School. A three-judge bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, R Banumathi and Navin Sinha said the division bench of the Delhi High Court was not correct in permitting the DPS World Foundation to use the words 'Delhi Public School'. "Having regard to the fact that the mark/name/words 'DPS' is registered in favour of the petitioner in Class 42 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, and the words 'Delhi Public School' has also been registered during the pendency of the proceedings before the single judge and the logo is also registered... "We are of the view that at this stage all that would be appropriate to be recorded in the present order is that the division bench of the high court was not correct in permitting the defendants to use the words 'Delhi Public School'. We accordingly restrain them from using the mark 'DPS' or 'Delhi Public School' or the logo," the bench said. The apex court, ..
Sealing in Delhi: SC asks chairman of wards committee to file affidavit
The Supreme Court today directed the chairman of wards committee of the Najafgarh zone here to respond to the allegation levelled against him by the Forum of MCD Engineers that he had allegedly threatened the officials for carrying out sealing of unauthorised constructions in Delhi. A bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta asked Mukesh Suryan, who is the chairman of wards committee of Najafgarh zone, to file an affidavit responding to the notice issued against him by the apex court in this regard. The lawyer representing Suryan, who was present in the court, said they would file an affidavit within two days. On July 18, a lawyer assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the sealing matter had informed the bench that Forum of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Engineers had informed him about the alleged threats given to them by Suryan. The bench had then issued notice to Suryan and directed him to personally appear before the apex court to explain about the ...
Media should have own guidelines for self-regulation: CJI
Freedom of press is the "mother of all liberties" in a democratic society and the media should have its own guidelines for self-regulation, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra said today. The CJI was delivering the presidential address at a function organised by the International Law Association (ILA), where eminent jurist N R Madhava Menon delivered a lecture on "Courts, Media and Fair Trial Guarantee". Justice Misra said freedom of speech played a pivotal role in generating public opinion in matters of national importance, adding that it created an "informed citizenry". "Freedom of press in a democratic society is the mother of all liberties. There is no doubt it is one of the most cherished and valuable rights guaranteed under the Constitution. It includes the right to know and the right to inform. "I am of the firm belief that there should be no guidelines (for the media). Let them frame their own guidelines and be guided by that. Nothing can serve better than individual or ..
Odisha Cong leader released on bail in murder case
Odisha Congress leader Ramesh Jena was today released from Ganjam district jail after being incarcerated of over two years in connection with a murder case. Jena, a former Congress MLA from Sanakhemundi, had been granted bail by Orissa High Court on July 20 in a murder case. He is accused as the conspirator in the murder which took place in this southern Odisha town on July 29, 2017. Jena was received at the gate by Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati and a large number of his supporters before being driven to his home at Gambhariguda village in a procession. Jena was in the jail since March 7, 2016 after he was arrested from an apartment in Bhubaneswar for possessing firearms illegally and giving shelter to some of the accused persons. As many as 51 cases, including murder, rape and threatening, garbing of lands and others had been registered against him by the police. Though he had obtained bail in 50 cases, the district and sessions court, Ganjam, had rejected his ...