Page 1738 - Law Crime
Spanish king backs judges during Catalonia visit
Spain's King Felipe VI defended the work of judges during a visit to Catalonia today, in the presence of a magistrate who charged 13 Catalan separatists over their independence bid. The Spanish monarch's firm stance against independence has angered some who say he should not take sides. The bitter dispute over demands for independence plunged Spain into crisis last year and is now being thrashed out in the courts. "I am aware, and we all are, of the difficulty and great responsibility which your role involves," Felipe said during a ceremony for newly graduated judges in Barcelona, the capital of the wealthy northeastern region. "You can always count on the confidence and support of the Crown." Among those in attendance was Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena, widely criticised in Catalonia for having charged 13 separatists with rebellion over their failed bid to declare independence last year. Llarena is due to decide later this week if he will let one of the 13, Jordi Sanchez, leave ...
SC junks plea to nationalise rivers
The Supreme Court today junked a plea seeking nationalisation of all the rivers and dams in the country and handing over their operation and control to the Centre. A bench of Chief Justice Diak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud dismissed the plea, saying it cannot nationalise all the rivers and order interlinking of rivers just because some states are fighting over it. The plea seeking nationalisation of all the rivers and water resources had been made to the apex court by Tamil Nadu Centre For Public Interest Litigation. "Direct the state and the Union Territories where all water resources like rivers, dams administrative operation, control and maintaining be done by Union of India and not by the state governments," the plea said.
April 13 a crucial day for Binani Cement lenders
Lenders of Binani Cement are looking forward to April 13 when the Supreme Court hears a petition by parent Binani Industries in the insolvency case. The hearing is expected to bear a major impact on the ongoing takeover tussle of Binani Cement between Dalmia Bharat Cement and Aditya Birla group-owned UltraTech Cement. "April 13 will be a crucial day for us," a Binani Cement lender, who did not wish to be quoted, said. Binani Industries will be seeking redemption of the pledge of assets in the debt-ridden Binani Cement, a move supported by its lenders. A Binani spokesperson had said that they have lenders' support on the move. Binani sources said they have also submitted Rs 750 crore to prove their commitment in this regard. Dalmia Bharat Cement officials said they are also geared up to face the situation. Binani Industries has been trying for a Rs 7,618 crore out-of-court settlement with the lenders with UltraTech's financial backing in lieu of 98.43 per cent stake in ...
Porn star's attorney alleging Trump affair to offer reward
The attorney for a porn actress who says she had an affair with President Donald Trump plans to release a composite sketch today of the person he says threatened Stormy Daniels to stay quiet, and says there will be a reward for help with identification. Michael Avenatti said today that a "sizeable monetary reward" will be offered to anyone providing information identifying the person that Daniels says threatened her in a Las Vegas parking lot in 2011. He said the sketch will help provide "additional details about what happened here." A hard-charging attorney who has relentlessly kept the case in the headlines, Avenatti said "common sense dictates" that this person could only have been someone associated with Trump or the Trump Organization. He said the money would likely come from a crowd-sourced legal fund. Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, says she had sex with Trump once in 2006 and was paid $130,000 by Trump's personal attorney days before the 2016 presidential ...
Domestic violence: Court issues warrant against AAP MLA Bharti
A Delhi court today issued bailable warrant against AAP leader Somnath Bharti after he failed to appear before it in a domestic violence case filed against him by his wife. Special Judge Arvind Kumar passed the order and directed the accused to appear in court on April 27. The Delhi High Court had on March 20 allowed Bharti to settle the dispute with his wife, Lipika Mitra, through mediation after they expressed willingness to settle their differences. Bharti, former law minister of Delhi, had moved the application in a pending plea filed by his wife against a trial court's October 7, 2015 order granting him bail in the case. The investigators had on April 5, 2016 filed a charge sheet in the trial court in the case, claiming that the woman had alleged that Bharti had endangered the life of an unborn child she was carrying, by unleashing his dog on her. The MLA from Malviya Nagar assembly, who was granted bail in October 2015 after being in jail for eight days, had denied the ...
Indrani drug overdose: Prisons dept orders detailed inquiry
The prisons department of Maharashtra has ordered a detailed inquiry into the case of possible drug overdose by Indrani Mukerjea, who was arrested in August, 2015 for allegedly killing her daughter Sheena Bora. "A detailed inquiry into the case relating to Indrani Mukerjea's health has been ordered and the Inspector-General of Prisons has been asked to conduct it," Bhushan Kumar Upadhyay, Additional Director General of Prisons, said today. Mukerjea was hospitalised at around 11:15 pm on Friday after she was brought in a "semi-conscious" state to the JJ Hospital from her prison cell in Byculla Jail in south Mumbai. Sudhir Nanandkar, dean of JJ Hospital, had said yesterday that a basic level provisional diagnosis had pointed to a case of "drug overdose". Doctors at the state-run JJ Hospital had also said that the police would have to investigate the circumstances that led to the overdose since Mukerjea was orally administered medicines by prison guards. "The medicines were not placed ..
Oxygen supplier of UP hospital where children died gets bail
The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Manish Bhandari - the oxygen supplier to a hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur where a large number of children died in 2017.
Woman assaulted in Assam 'moral policing' case; 12 arrested
In a case of 'moral policing', a woman was assaulted by a group of men when she was going with a male friend to a medical centre in Goalpara district of Assam and the police has arrested 12 people for the incident, a senior officer said today. "This is a case of moral policing. What we have come to know is that the woman's marriage has been fixed. She was going somewhere with her male friend yesterday, when some youths attacked them. The youths mainly targeted the woman," Goalpara SP Amitava Sinha told PTI. The 22-year-old woman was beaten up by local people after she was spotted with her friend at Aolguri area which comes under the jurisdiction of Krishnai police station, he said. Police have registered an FIR in the case and nabbed six people yesterday and six more today, Sinha said and added that the woman and her friend were apparently going to a medical centre when the beating incident took place. The attackers sought an explanation from the woman for going out with another man, .
Unauthorised constructions: Govt proposes in SC to set up task force
The Centre today told the Supreme Court it has proposed to set up a special task force (STF) to oversee the enforcement and implementation of laws to deal with unauthorised construction and encroachment in Delhi after consulting all stakeholders. The government told a bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta that during two meetings held on April 4 and today, it has been suggested by the authorities that "unauthorised occupation" and encroachment on public streets, pavements, footpaths, pedestrian streets and roads should be removed forthwith. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) A N S Nadkarni, appearing for the Centre, handed over a note to the bench in which the government has given the details of meetings and issues deliberated upon. He said the STF would be chaired by the vice-chairman of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and consist of commissioners of the three municipal corporation of Delhi (MCDs), chairperson of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the CEO of ...
UP criminal carrying Rs 50,000 reward arrested in Delhi's New Seemapuri
An alleged criminal carrying a reward of Rs 50,000 on his arrest has been caught in New Seemapuri area of the city, police said today. Accused, Yogesh Bhati, 33, was held on the intervening night of April 7-8 by policemen on picket duty on the 70 Foota Road in New Seemapuri, a senior police officer said. Bhati, who is wanted in two cases, including one under the Gangster Act, in Uttar Pradesh, was spotted riding a motorcycle. When signalled to stop for inquiry, he flashed a gun at the policemen to escape but was overpowered, said Nupur Prasad, deputy commissioner of police, Shahdara. "During interrogation, it was found that Yogesh Bhati is involved in 20-21 heinous cases and is also a member of the Kulbir and Randeep Bhati gang of Dadri, Uttar Pradesh," the DCP said. He was also wanted in a case registered at Surajpur police station in UP. The case related to an encounter with police in which Amit Bhati was injured and arrested while Yogesh and Billu Dujana escaped after opening fire .
Scarlett case: Final HC hearing on CBI plea against acquittal on Apr 12
The Bombay High Court will hear final arguments on April 12 on a CBI petition challenging the acquittal of two accused by a lower court who were booked for drugging and raping British teenager Scarlett Keeling on state's Anjuna coast in 2008. The Goa Children's Court had in 2016 acquitted the accused, Samson D'Souza and Placido Carvalho, booked under the IPC for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, assault or use of criminal force on a woman with an intent to outrage her modesty and administering a stupefying drug with an intent to cause hurt. The CBI challenged the acquittal of D'Souza and Carvalho in the high court in February last year. A Goa bench of justices Prithviraj Chavan and N M Jamdar has fixed April 12 as the date to hear final arguments on the CBI's plea, the HC stated in an order, which was made available today. Scarlett's bruised body was found on the popular Anjuna beach in north Goa on February 18, 2008, four days after the 15-year-old went for a beach party ...
SC asks Goa court to complete trial against Tarun Tejpal in one year
The Supreme Court today directed a Goa court to complete the trial against Tehelka magazine's founder Tarun Tejpal in a case of alleged rape lodged by a former woman colleague, within a year. The top court asked Tejpal to serve a copy of his petition challenging the Bombay High Court's December 20, 2017 order dismissing his plea for quashing of rape charges to Goa government. A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bushan posted the matter for further hearing on April 24 and asked the Goa government to file its reply on Tejpal's petition. During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said there were several inconsistencies in the statements recorded by the victim and the CCTV footage but the trial court has not considered it. He said when the proceedings had started, the police had not given him the clone copy of cell phone saying there was no such technology available. "They gave us the clone copy of the phone only after two years when there was order from the court. From the ...
Cop suspended for sharing morphed pic of Sikh Guru on WhatsApp
A sub-inspector of Kaithal police was today suspended for allegedly sharing a morphed photograph of a Sikh Guru in a WhatsApp group, police said. SI Suresh Kumar was suspended on the basis of a complaint filed by a woman on April 7, they said. The complainant claimed that the alleged act of the police officer had hurt the religious sentiments of not only the Sikhs, but of other communities as well, the police said. Kaithal SP Astha Modi said that she has ordered a departmental probe into the matter. "The guilty will be punished as per the law," she said.
Topless protester charges at Bill Cosby as retrial begins
A topless protester with "Women's Lives Matter" written on her body in red ink charged at Bill Cosby as he walked into a suburban Philadelphia courthouse today for the start of his sexual assault retrial. The woman jumped over a barricade and launched toward Cosby but was intercepted by sheriff's deputies. She was taken into custody and led away in handcuffs. Cosby seemed startled by the commotion as protesters chanted at him, but was not touched and is uninjured. The unidentified woman was among about a half dozen people chanting in support of Cosby's accuser. She had "Women's Lives Matters" written in red ink on her chest and stomach along with other phrases in black and red all over her body. Opening arguments are scheduled to begin Monday morning and prosecutors have lined up a parade of accusers to make the case that the man revered as "America's Dad" lived a double life as one of Hollywood's biggest predators. Cosby's retrial likely won't be anything like his first one. He's ...
Ahmednagar shootings: NCP says Sena behind "framing" of its
Alleging a political conspiracy, the NCP today said two legislators of the party were "falsely implicated" in the murder case of two Shiv Sena leaders in Ahmednagar "at the behest of the Shiv Sena", a ruling ally in the BJP-headed Maharashtra government. Police have arrested four persons, including NCP MLA Sangram Jagtap, for hatching a conspiracy to kill Sanjay Kotkar (35) and Vasant Thube (40) who were shot dead on Saturday in Kedgaon by two motorcycle-borne assailants, hours after the result of a civic bypoll was announced. According to police, MLA Jagtap's father Arun Jagtap, an NCP MLC, was allegedly involved in vandalising the office of Ahmednagar superintendent of police on Saturday after arrest of his son. BJP MLA Shivaji Kardile, who represents Rahuri seat in Ahmednagar district, was arrested today for vandalising the SP's office. According to a Shiv Sena leader, Kardile is the father-in-law of Sangram Jagtap. "The Shiv Sena has falsely implicated NCP MLA ...
9 booked over shooting at TV journalist in Ghaziabad
A day after a television journalist was shot at by two bike-borne men, the police today booked nine persons and 57 other unidentified persons over their alleged involvement in the incident. Acting on a complaint filed by the victim's brother-in-law Deepak Chaudhary, an FIR was registered against Shekhar (lodged in jail), his two wives Ravita and Shashi, Shashi's son Vishal, Bobby, Yogendra, Suarabh, Mangal and Seema, SSP Vaibhav Krishna said. Around 57 unidentified persons have also been booked under relevant sections of IPC in the case, he said. The police officer said eight police teams have been formed to trace the accused. Deepak also accused the Kavi Nagar police of not paying heed to the journalist's earlier complaint that a man lodged in Dasna jail had hired contract killers to eliminate him. Meanwhile, local journalists staged a protest and demanded action against the Kavi Nagar SHO for showing laxity in the case by not acting upon the scribe's complaint. They also handed ...
Unnao rape case: Victim's sister demands justice
The sister of a woman, who was allegedly raped by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and his accomplices, on Monday demanded a stringent action against the accused.Talking to ANI, sister of rape victim said, "My father has already died and now they say that the action will be taken. I just want that FIR to be written against Arun Singh and Kuldeep Singh and they be arrested. I want justice."Earlier in the day, condemning the custodial death of the victim's father, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath assured strict action and thorough probe into the matter."It is an unfortunate incident. Additional Director General of Police (ADG) Lucknow has been asked to probe the matter thoroughly. Those at fault, whoever they might be, will not be spared," he said.On April 8, a woman and her family tried to commit suicide in front of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's residence in Lucknow, alleging that she was raped by a BJP MLA from the district.The victim, while speaking to .
Fire at Delhi shoe factory kills four labourers
Four labourers were killed after a fire broke out at a shoe factory in North West Delhi's Sultanpuri area on Monday.According to reports, the blaze started at the Raja Park factory in Sultanpuri at around 6.35 a.m. There were around a dozen labourers inside the factory when the fire broke out.Police authorities reached the spot after a receiving a call at 6:40 a.m. in the morning.The labourers who lost their lives were in the age group of 17-20 years.Mohammed Razi (20), Mohammed Shamu (17), Mahbub Barish (18) and Ayub (17) were the labourers who lost their lives in the incident.A case has been registered under sections 285 (Negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) and 304A (Causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code.Currently, an investigation is underway.
Loan fraud case: ED opposes bail plea of ex-Andhra Bank officer
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today opposed the bail application of a former Andhra Bank director, arrested in an alleged Rs 5,000 crore bank fraud case involving a Gujarat-based pharma firm, saying he may hamper the ongoing probe. The agency opposed the application moved by Anup Prakash Garg before the court of Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma in a written reply. ED's special public prosecutor Nitesh Rana told the court that the allegations against Garg were serious as about Rs 300 crore worth of loans were passed at his behest. "If granted bail, he may hamper the ongoing investigation, influence the witnesses in the case and there is also likelihood that he may flee from justice," Rana told the court. The court posted the matter for further hearing on April 28. Garg (59) was arrested by the probe agency on January 12 and is currently in judicial custody. The ED had on February 9 filed a charge sheet against Garg under the sections of Prevention of Money Laundering Act ...
Prasad questions SC collegium decision to elevate K'tka judge
Should the Supreme Court collegium not withhold its recommendation to appoint a person as a high court judge till he is cleared of the charges of sexual harassment by a "fair" probe and not "merely by a summary enquiry," Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has asked CJI Dipak Misra. Escalating the war of words between the Judiciary and the Executive over appointment of judges, Prasad wrote to Justice Misra, saying that a complaint of sexual harassment against a district court judge in Karnataka, recommended for elevation to the high court, had not been handled as per the apex court's guidelines in Vishakha case Prasad's letter comes days after the apex court's second senior most judge, Justice J Chelameswar, wrote to the SC judges alleging that the government has stalled P K Bhat's elevation even after a discreet probe by the Karnataka High Court absolved him of the charges of sexual harassment, levelled against him by a junior woman judicial officer. The three-page letter, written last