Page 1675 - Law Crime
Impeachment move against CJI bid to denigrate judiciary: BJP
The BJP on Friday hit out at the Congress and other opposition parties for submitting an impeachment notice for removal of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, saying it aims to cover up their repeated failures in judicial battles.
Kathua rape: Lawyers claim jail officials stopped them from meeting accused
Lawyers representing the accused in the Kathua rape-murder case today claimed that they were restricted from meeting their clients by the district jail authorities. The Crime Branch had arrested eight persons, including two Special Police Officers (SPOs) and a head constable, over the rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl belonging to the nomadic Muslim Bakerwal community here. We had come to the district jail Kathua to meet our clients this morning. We wanted to meet our clients and prepare the line of defence. It is a legal right to meet one's clients, but we have not been allowed to meet them," advocate Aseem Sawhney told reporters here. Sawhney, pleading the case for policeman Tilak Raj and others, said he was restricted from meeting the accused personally. The lawyers also alleged physical torture of their clients at the hands of the police. We suspect that our clients were subjected to third degree treatment," they said. A K Sawhney, another lawyer representing the arrested ...
BJP, Togadia welcome Naroda verdict, victims disappointed
The ruling BJP today welcomed the Gujarat High Court's verdict acquitting former minister Maya Kodnani and some others in the Naroda-Patiya massacre case, while the victims' lawyer said they were disappointed, and would move the Apex court. Former VHP leader Pravin Togadia said he was delighted, and the state must not challenge the acquittals. The high court, hearing various appeals, acquitted 18 persons including Kodnani today. It upheld conviction of 13 persons including former Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi, and convicted another three accused, earlier acquitted by the trial court. Advocate Shamshad Pathan, who represented riot victims, said their kin were disappointed by the acquittals, and planned to file appeal in the Supreme Court. "The judgement is saddening for all those who had faith in judiciary and in Constitution for delivering justice. "The Special Investigation Team did not probe the case properly. As far as Maya Kodnani is concerned, statements and ...
Female genital mutilation a crime: Centre to SC
The Central government on Friday told the Supreme Court that the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) is a "crime under existing laws".
Alabama executes 83-year-old serial bomber
Authorities in the US state of Alabama have executed an 83-year-old man found guilty of murdering a judge and a lawyer with bomb attacks in 1989.
Malegaon blast: SC asks Purohit to challenge prosecution sanction in trial court
The Supreme Court on Monday asked 2008 Malegaon bomb blast accused Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit to agitate his contention against the sanction given to prosecute him under an anti-terror law before the trial court hearing the case.
Cong's role reversal: Defender of first impeachment, now spearheads move to remove CJI
The Congress, which spearheaded an unprecedented move to impeach the Chief Justice of India today, had in fact opposed such proceedings initiated 25 years when it was in power. The party today joined hands with six other opposition parties in moving notice for the impeachment of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra but history shows that no motion has reached its logical conclusion. If the motion after the inquiry by a three-member panel headed by a sitting apex court judge reaches Parliament, it would be the first instance of any CJI facing his removal and fourth judge from the higher judiciary. It is also interesting to note that all the previous three impeachment motions have been moved when Congress was in power at the Centre. The higher judiciary was in for the shock in 1993 for the first time in independent India when impeachment proceedings were initiated in Parliament against Supreme Court judge V Ramaswami on charges of corruption following the report of the inquiry ...
Kathua rape: Jammu Bar Association refutes allegation in meeting with BCI team
A Bar Council of India (BCI) team today met the representatives of the Bar Association of Jammu (BAJ) who refuted allegations that the lawyer of the Kathua rape and murder victim was prevented from appearing in court by fellow advocates. The Supreme Court had directed the BCI team to visit Jammu and submit its report over the conduct of lawyers after taking serious note of advocates obstructing the judicial process in the Kathua gangrape and murder case. Initiating a case on its own accord, the apex court had said such impeding of the process of law "affects the delivery of justice". The BCI team, headed by former chief Justice Tarun Agarwal, today met the lawyers of BAJ who strongly batted for a CBI probe to ensure justice for the minor victim and categorically stated they have no faith in the Crime Branch probe. "A full house meeting took place in presence of the Bar council. We have put forth our point of view. They wanted some clarifications, which we clarified," BAJ President B .
Witnesses turning hostile, retraction of confession led to
The NIA prosecutor"in the Mecca Masjid blast case"said today witnesses turning hostile and retraction of confessional statement by Hindu preacher Swami Aseemanand may have led to the acquittal of the five accused. His comments come in the wake of an anti-terror court acquitting the accused belonging to right-wing organisations in the 2007 blast case. The court, while setting them free, held that the prosecution had failed to prove "even a single allegation" against them. The prosecutor, N Harinath, said he was yet to receive a copy of the order from the court and a clear picture would emerge only after he gets it. Harinath, who came attack from opposition parties following the judgement over his past association with the ABVP, the RSS' student outfit, said his former links to the Hindu right organisation had got nothing to do with his current profession and the duties he was supposed to discharge. "Out of 226 witnesses (in the case) more than 66 witnesses turned ...
If acquitted ones are innocent, did we kill our children, asks 2002 Naroda Patiya riot victim
After the Gujarat High Court acquitted 17 out of 32 convicts in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riot case, a victim on Friday said that eight members of her family were killed before her eyes during the clash.In the Naroda Patiya riot, atleast 97 Muslims were killed following the Godhra riots."Eight members of our family were killed before our eyes. If they are innocent, did we kill our children? Maya Kodnani has been declared innocent, two years later Babu Bajrangi will be acquitted," the victim told media here.The Gujarat High Court acquitted former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister Maya Kodnani in the case.However, the conviction of Babu Bajrangi who had also moved the court challenging the previous ruling was upheld. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.Besides Kodnani, 16 others were also acquitted, while the conviction of 12 was upheld. The verdict on two others is awaited and one other accused is dead.In 2012, a special court for Special Investigation Team (SIT) cases had sentenced
Minor girl raped in Assam
A minor girl was allegedly raped in Dhubri town of lower Assam, police said today. The 14-year old girl working as a domestic help in the house of a lawyer was raped on April 18. Local people captured the 28-year-old accused, stated to be a married man, and handed him over to the police Wednesday. The lawyer has filed an FIR in this connection, police said.
SC notice to J&K Accountability Commission on plea challenging its powers
The Supreme Court today issued notice to Jammu and Kashmir State Accountability Commission (SAC) on the state government's appeal challenging the anti-graft body's 'suo motu' powers to look into complaints against public functionaries, including ministers and legislators, in graft cases. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra sought the response from the anti-graft body on the plea filed by the Jammu and Kashmir government against a High Court verdict restoring the SAC's powers to take up such cases on its own. The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, considered the submission of advocate Shoeb Alam, counsel for the state government, while condoning the delay in filing of the appeal and listed it for hearing on April 27. The state government in its plea has said that the commission's power of suo motu initiation of proceedings against a public functionary was "bad in law". "The Accountability Commission in clear derogation of the provisions of the .
SC to hear Aadhaar-voter ID link PIL after verdict on pleas challenging Aadhaar
The Supreme Court today said that it will hear a petition seeking linking of Aadhaar cards with voter identity cards and property documents after it verdict on petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the 12-digit unique identification number. The plea, filed by advocate and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, has sought a direction to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take appropriate steps to implement an 'Aadhaar-based election-voting system' to ensure maximum participation in polls and curtail fake, bogus and duplicate voting in the spirit of section 17-18 of the Representation of People Act, 1950. "We will list the petition for hearing after the Aadhaar judgment," a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said while hearing the plea which also claimed that the linking of Aadhaar with voter ID cards and property documents will help to prevent 'benami' transactions. "The court will list it for hearing after it decides the constitutional validity of Aadhaar ...
Southern Railway engineer sentenced to 2-years RI for graft
A Southern Railway section engineer was today sentenced to two years Rigorous Imprisonment in a corruption case filed by the CBI. Special Judge for CBI cases here, A Thiruneela Prasad also slapped a fine of Rs 30,000 on the official, a CBI Anti-Corruption Branch release said. Senior Section Engineer, Southern Railway, Thotta Sivakumar had demanded Rs 15,000 as bribe way back in 2014 from a contractor, according to the prosecution. The engineer had made the demand to draw some measurement and record it officially so that the contractor could raise a bill and get payment from the railways. A trap was laid and the official was caught red handed by CBI sleuths while accepting the bribe. A case was registered against Thotta Sivakumar under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act by the CBI's anti-graft wing here. On completion of trial, the court convicted and sentenced him to undergo a two-year prison term.
Kodnani, 17 others acquitted in Naroda Patiya case; Bajrangi's conviction upheld
The Gujarat High Court today acquitted former BJP minister Maya Kodnani but upheld the conviction of former Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riot case in which 97 people were killed by a mob. The high court upheld conviction of 13 people including Bajrangi, and convicted another three for the first time, while acquitting 18 of the 32 people convicted by the trial court in 2012. In 2002, Kodnani was a BJP MLA and the trial court had said she was the "kingpin" of the Naroda Patiya killings, one of the worst incidents of violence during the Gujarat riots, and sentenced her to 28 years in jail. Kodnani went on to become a minister in then Narendra Modi government in Gujarat in 2007, before resigning when she was arrested in the case in March 2009. Acquitting her, the high court said the statements made by witnesses regarding her role were contradictory. No prosecution witness mentioned that she talked to them at the relevant time, the high court noted. The high .
Sunanda case: Draft final report prepared, SIT tells SC
The special investigation team (SIT) today told the Supreme Court that a draft final report has been prepared after conducting "thorough professional and scientific investigations" in the case relating to the death of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar. Delhi Police, in its affidavit filed in the apex court, has said that a draft final report has been sent to the prosecution department of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi for "legal scrutiny" and it would be filed in the concerned trial court after being vetted. "The SIT, after conducting thorough professional and scientific investigations, has prepared a draft police report under section 173 of the Criminal Procedure Code and sent the same to the prosecution department of Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi for legal scrutiny," it said. "As soon as the draft police report is received after legal vetting by the prosecution department, the same shall be submitted before the competent ...
3 arrested for harassing girl in J-K
Three bike-borne teenagers were arrested for allegedly harassing a girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district, police said today. The incident took place yesterday in Bhaderwah area of the district when one of the three teenagers, Umer Farooq, forcibly tried stop the girl who was riding home from school, said Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Brijesh Sharma. A video of the whole incident has also gone viral on social media. The accused were identified as Farooq (19), Azhar Wani (18) and Nayeem Iqbal (19), he said, adding that a case was registered against them and their motorcycles were seized.
Nitish Katara case: HC dismisses Vishal Yadav's parole plea
The Delhi High Court today dismissed a plea of Vishal Yadav, serving life term in the Nitish Katara murder case, for three-month parole for arranging funds for his family. Justice S P Garg denied the relief to the convict who had said he has to sell a property to arrange money and wanted to file an appeal challenging the 2014 order of the high court in the murder case. The court, however, said Yadav can apply for custody parole for the purpose, if he intends to. Vishal had sought a three-month parole to engage a lawyer and make other arrangements to exercise his legal and constitutional rights. The plea was opposed by Delhi police's Additional Standing Counsel Rajesh Mahajan on the grounds that there was a threat to the life of the victim's mother Neelam Katara and also to the lone witness in the case. Vishal had claimed there was no one else to look after his daughter, studying in class 10, for her education and that he has to dispose of his property in Ghaziabad's Vaishali to ...
Ordinance likely to award death penalty for raping children up to 12 yrs
An ordinance to award death penalty to those convicted of raping a child up to 12 years of age is likely to come up before the Union Cabinet tomorrow. Against the backdrop of outrage over the incidents of rape of minors in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao and Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua, the government plans to bring the ordinance to amend the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act by bringing an ordinance, sources aware of the development said today. According to the proposal, those convicted of committing rape on children up to 12 years can also be awarded death penalty. As the POCSO law stands today, the maximum punishment for "aggravated assault" is life in jail. The minimum sentence prescribed is seven years in jail. After the Nirbhaya case in December 2012, when the criminal laws were amended, a provision of death penalty in case the woman either dies or is left in a "vegetative state" after rape was introduced through an ordinance which later became the Criminal Law Amendment ...
NIA files charge sheet against Hizbul chief's son in terror funding case
The NIA today filed a charge sheet against Syed Shahid Yusuf, son of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, in a 2011 terror funding case. District judge Poonam Bamba posted the matter for considering the charge sheet on May 4. The 42-year-old Yusuf, who was posted as an agricultural assistant in central Kashmir's Budgam, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on October 24 last year. Yusuf's bail plea was dismissed by the trial court on March 7. He is in judicial custody. The NIA had earlier alleged that the accused was linked with banned terrorist organisations such as Hizbul Mujahideen. It had said the case was registered on the basis of information that funds from Pakistan were sent to Jammu and Kashmir via Delhi through hawala channels to spread terrorism. The NIA had in 2011 arrested a number of persons, including Ghulam Mohd Bhat, with Rs 21.2 lakh, alleging that Yusuf was "one of the several Indian contacts of Bhat" who had been in touch with him for ...