Page 1586 - Law Crime
Pb Cab: Pass percentage in criminal law tests reduced to 50% for officers
The Punjab Cabinet today gave its nod to reduce the pass percentage from 66.66 to 50 per cent in criminal and revenue law tests that vest powers of executive magistrate, assistant collector or a collector to IAS and PCS officers. The Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh approved an amendment in Rule-12 of the Civil Services (Departmental Examination) Punjab Rules, 2014, for the posts of assistant commissioner and extra assistant commissioner, an official release said. Since Rule-10 is not being amended, officers still need to pass in higher standard that is 66.66 per cent in order to clear their probation or promotion, it said. Besides this, in order to rationalise the existing Rules, some minor changes are also proposed to be made in rules 4 (3), 4 (6), 10(1) that pertain to exemption and language etc, according to the release. The changes have been approved in view of the fact that a large number of officers do not score the prescribed 66.66 per cent marks in criminal ...
'Piquant' & 'unprecedent' situation where CJI party, 4-judges may have role: SC
The Supreme Court today dubbed as "piquant and unprecedented" the situation in the matter of impeachment of the Chief Justice of India, saying while the CJI was a party, four other judges "may also have some role". Responding to the argument of the two Congress MPs that the court should tell them where to mention the matter seeking a copy of administrative order to set up a larger bench to deal with their petition, a five-judge bench headed by Justice A K Sikri said, "It is a piquant and unprecedented situation where CJI is a party and other four judges may also have some role. We don't know". The 5-judge bench, was referring to four senior most judges of apex court--Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph--who had held January 12 press conference against CJI Dipak Misra raising litany of questions on allocation of cases. The lawmakers, who later withdrew their plea challenging the decision of Rajya Sabha Chairman to reject the impeachment notice against the .
Man wanted in 2 yr old gold smuggling case arrested
A 30-year-old man,wanted in connection with a two-year old gold smuggling case, was nabbed from Kasargod by sleuths of the Customs Preventive unit today, a top official said. Munavar Bangarakunnu of Kasaragod was nabbed from Kasaragod Railway Station while he was waiting to board a train to Panvel, Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar said. He was wanted in connection with a case of smuggling 1.05 kg of gold through Mangalore International Airport in 2016. He had been absonding after securing bail from the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court, Mangalore. The Customs team came to know about his presence in Kasaragod when he paid a short visit to his home, following which a surveillance was kept for him at all exit points, Kumar said. He was arrested from Kasaragod Railway station this morning just before the train to Pune arrived He was produced before the CJM Court, Mangalore, which remanded him to judicial custody till May 16.
Impeachment row: F S Nariman finds no fault in setting up of Constitution bench by CJI
Eminent jurist F S Nariman today did not find any fault in the setting up of a five-judge constitution bench in the Supreme Court to deal with the pleas of Congress MPs against rejection of the impeachment notice against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. He said he was "extraordinarily" sad that the issue of setting up of the Constitution bench was raised as till a person is the CJI, he or she becomes entitled to fix the bench. Speaking to a TV channel, Nariman said that it was the end of the controversy over the impeachment motion against the CJI as the challenge to the dismissal of the notice of impeachment by the Rajya Sabha Chairman has been withdrawn. "From what I hear I am equally sad. The problem is that the impeachment motion having been disallowed by the RS chairman was challenged and ultimately withdrawn. So that is an end to the controversy but I am extraordinarily sad that in a matter where bench fixation has to be by the chief justice because in a series of cases right .
HC declines to interfere with arrest of suspected 'pro-Pak' Kashmiri hacker
The Delhi High Court has refused to interfere with the arrest of a suspected "pro-Pakistan" Kashmiri hacker, who is alleged to have hacked over 500 Indian websites and was in touch with several Pak-based anti-Indian hackers. A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and I S Mehta said it was of the prima facie view that his detention was not illegal, while dismissing the habeas corpus plea of Adil Hussain Teli, challenging his arrest from Jalandhar in Punjab on April 27 and his subsequent detention here. "At this stage, the court is not inclined to interfere as it is prima facie satisfied that the detention of the petitioner (Teli) is not illegal as is sought to be made out. However, it is clarified that this is only a prima facie view. "It will be open to the petitioner to agitate the validity of his arrest at the appropriate stage," the court said. The observation came after the standing counsel for Delhi Police, Rahul Mehra, told the court that Teli, a final-year BCA student, was arrested ..
Various organisations dub Gadchiroli encounters 'fake', seek probe by SC judge
Representatives of various organisations, including members of the CPI, today dubbed as "fake" last month's encounters that led to the killing of 40 Naxals by the police in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district. As many as 40 Naxals were killed in encounters with C-60 commandos and CRPF personnel in Gadchiroli district in east Maharashtra on April 22. Addressing a press conference here this afternoon, the committee members demanded an inquiry into the encounters, which took place on April 22 and 23, by a Supreme Court judge. The 40-member team, consisting of representatives from outfits such as the Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisations, the Civil Liberties Committee, the Women Against State Repression and Sexual Violence, the Indian Association of Peoples Lawyers and the CPI, earlier visited the encounter sites and also met the Gadchiroli SP. The committee members alleged that commandos of C-60, an anti-Naxal unit of the Maharashtra Police, encircled the Maoists and killed ...
Framed ISRO ex-scientist may get more compensation, hints SC
The Supreme Court on Tuesday indicated that it may increase the compensation to former senior scientist of ISRO, S. Nambi Narayanan, who was falsely implicated in an espionage case by the Intelligence Bureau and Kerala Police.
HC exempts CBI director from personal appearance in Kotkhai rape-murder case
The Himachal Pradesh High Court today exempted the CBI Director from personal appearance in the Kotkhai rape and murder case after accepting an affidavit filed by him. Expressing dismay over the slow pace of the probe, the high court had earlier directed the CBI Director to file an affidavit by today and had stated that the officer will personally appear court on May 9, if the court is not satisfied by his response. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Sandeep Sharma today accepted the affidavit filed by the CBI Director and expressed satisfaction over the CBI report. The court directed the CBI to file the final status report by May 29, the next day of hearing. During the last hearing on April 25, the high court had expressed dismay over "leaking" of status reports filed in sealed cover in the case and had asked the CBI as to how these reports are being published in the media. The CBI had told the court that it was the last report and the charge ...
Bhima Koregaon: Youths accused of murder file bail pleas in HC
A 20-year-old man and two teenagers have approached the Bombay High Court seeking bail in a murder case linked to the violence that erupted on January 1 in Pune during the bicentenary celebrations of the battle of Bhima-Koregaon. The trio are lodged in a jail since their arrest on January 10. According to police, when the violence erupted on January 1, a local resident Rahul Phatangade was allegedly accosted by the mob and beaten to death. Justice Bharati Dangre has posted the bail pleas for hearing tomorrow. According to their pleas, they were arrested only because of the T-shirts they had worn depicting the picture of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Several persons had worn similar T-shirts at the event and the police picked up the trio based on a CCTV footage because of their alleged presence near the spot, where Phatangade's body was found, the bail pleas said. The petitions add that there was no evidence whatsoever against the three and none of the witness statements ...
BJP leaders attack Cong as it withdraws plea challenging rejection of CJI impeachment notice
BJP leaders today attacked the Congress for withdrawing its plea in the Supreme Court challenging the rejection of the impeachment motion notice against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra by the Rajya Sabha chairman, saying the party did so to save itself from "embarrassment" as it had "little confidence" in its case. While BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said the Congress knew there was no merit in their case and the apex court would reject their plea so they withdrew it as a "face saving" tactic, senior advocate and BJP spokesperson Aman Sinha said the Congress wanted to "sensationalise" it knowing well there was little merit in their case. "They (petitioners) knew there would be detailed dismissal order and (they) could not have played any more so they withdrew. Better late than never. From day one, they knew they are losing it but they were using this litigation as a ploy to play the game in media. They knew the court is going to dismiss it so instead of getting strict order against ...
Thieves loot Rs 9 lakh from ATM
Thieves cut an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) of a private bank near Wazirabad here early on Tuesday and escaped with Rs 9 lakh in cash.
2 JMB militants get death penalty for killing Bangladesh professor
A court in Bangladesh on Tuesday handed out death sentence to two militants of the banned Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and life imprisonment to another three for the murder of a university professor in 2016.
Congress MPs withdraw CJI impeachment petition in protest (Roundup)
In a tactical retreat, two Congress MPs withdrew their petition challenging Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu's rejection of an impeachment motion against Supreme Court Chief Justice Dipak Misra on Tuesday after the court refused to give details of the administrative order that led to setting up of a constitutional bench to hear the matter.
May ask Kerala to reinvestigate role of SIT officers in ISRO spy case: SC
The Supreme Court today said it may ask the Kerala government to re-investigate the role of the then SIT officers who had framed former scientist S Nambi Narayanan in the ISRO espionage case, but ruled out the possibility of any departmental action against them due to the passage of time. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was hearing the plea of the former ISRO scientist seeking action against former DGP Siby Mathews and others who were part of the Special Investigation Team in Kerala in 1994 which had probed the case in which he was framed. The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, asked the counsel for Kerala whether any probe had been conducted to ascertain the role of these police officers. "We have investigated and found no role of the police officers," the counsel for the state government replied. "Then why was he (scientist) arrested," the bench asked. Senior advocate V Giri, appearing for Narayanan, told the court that the entire probe ..
RP allows representation of Binani's operational creditors
The Resolution Professional of the Binani Committee of Creditors (CoC) has allowed representation of the operational creditors of Binani Cement, despite no provision of the same under existing norms. Operational creditors are allowed if their exposure is at least 10 per cent of the debt, which is not the case for Binani Cement. "Giving regard to the spirit of the May 2 direction of the Kolkata bench of the NCLT, the operational creditors who have filed applications before the NCLT are invited to appoint a representative who will attend the 16th CoC meeting," the RP's notice for the meeting said. The meeting of the CoC has now been rescheduled to May 10 from May 9, in order to accommodate all parties. The operational creditors had claimed that dues are over Rs 700 crore. The RP had erroneously verified dues as Rs 460 crore, of which Dalmia Bharat had offered to pay only Rs 151 crore in their resolution plan, one of the operational creditors said. Agenda matters for ...
Sacked NFDC chief moves HC challenging 'stigmatic' termination letter
Nina Lath Gupta, the sacked managing director of National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), today approached the Delhi High Court challenging its single judge's order disposing of her plea against the letter of termination of her services. A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Deepa Sharma sought responses from the Centre and the NFDC on Gupta's appeal seeking to set aside the April 23 order of the single judge. The order had said that once the paragraph in the termination letter containing the allegations was withdrawn, no orders were required to be passed in this regard. The bench today refused to grant interim relief of staying the single judge order and said it would examine the issue whether the termination letter was stigmatic. "We are issuing notice on the plea because the fulcrum of the challenge is that the allegations are stigmatic," it said. The court also refused to pass an order on the plea by Gupta's counsel that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry shall not .
Indian among 2 arrested for illegal call bypassing in Nepal
An Indian national was among two persons arrested in Nepal today for illegally operating a call bypass centre from their rented room here, police said. Vivek Shukla, 24, a resident of Madhya Pradesh and Nepali local Lal Bahadur Magarati, 25, were arrested from a guest house in Kathmandu, they said. The police have also seized various communication equipment from the arrested duo. They were operating illegally BOIP service from their rented room in Kathmandu, causing a huge loss to state-run Nepal Telecom, police said. The police have initiated an investigation into the matter.
Shahkot bypoll: SAD urges EC for arrest of Cong candidate
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today urged the Election Commission (EC) to order the immediate arrest of Hardev Singh Laddi, the Congress candidate in the upcoming Shahkot bypoll, to "ensure a free-and-fair investigation" into a case lodged against him. In a statement issued here, Badal said since the Model Code of Conduct was in force in Shahkot, the EC should direct the immediate arrest and custodial interrogation of the Congress candidate to "uncover his role in the mining mafia" being run in the state. He added that this was necessary as the ruling Congress in Punjab was not only trying to "prevent action" against Laddi, but had also launched a "vilification" campaign against Mehatpur Station House Officer (SHO) Parminder Singh, who had registered the case against him. Arresting an accused after a criminal case was registered against him was necessary to get to the bottom of sensitive cases like "theft of natural resources" as was the case with regard to ..
Harvey Weinstein fights insurer Chubb for payment of legal defense
(Reuters) - Film producer Harvey Weinstein is fighting back against personal indemnity insurer Chubb Ltd, saying Chubb must pay for his legal defense against 11 lawsuits that accuse him of sexually harassing or assaulting women over the past three decades, according to a court document filed on Monday.
Cauvery: TN counsel makes veiled attack on PM in SC
The bitter legal battle over Cauvery water sharing among four southern riparian states in the Supreme Court today saw the Tamil Nadu counsel making a veiled attack on the Narendra Modi government. "Someone boasts that he works 24x7 for the citizens. We believe that the Government of India works on Sundays and Saturdays also," senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, appearing for the Tamil Nadu government, said in the court without taking any names. He took a dig at the Centre over the delay in finalising the Cauvery scheme while opposing the plea of Attorney General K K Venugopal that the Centre be granted time till May 14 as the Prime Minister and his colleagues cannot hold a cabinet meeting to approve the Cauvery management scheme due to ongoing poll campaign in Karnataka. In a retort, the Attorney General asked "Who says that?" "Do you (AG) want me to quote? Ask any reporter here, they will tell you," the Tamil Nadu counsel responded. The bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and ...