Page 2012 - Law Crime
SC to hear tomorrow pleas seeking probe into judge Loya's
The Supreme Court will resume tomorrow hearing on the pleas seeking an independent probe into the alleged mysterious death of special CBI judge B H Loya, who was hearing the sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. Loya had died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. The apex court, during the last hearing on January 22, had dubbed as "serious" the issues raised in the pleas but had castigated senior lawyer Dushyant Dave for casting aspersions on BJP president Amit Shah in the case. It had also taken umbrage at senior advocate Indira Jaising for inferring a possible gagging of the media in the case after which she had withdrawn her statement. Since then, political parties and more prominently the Congress has been raking up the issue of Loya's death outside the judicial forum and demanding an independent probe. The two petitions which are pending in the apex court have been filed by ...
SC seeks details of sexual offence cases against children
The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to give details of pending cases of sexual assault against children across the country for taking a "national view" with an aim to figuring out how such trials could be fast-tracked. The direction came from a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud which was hearing a PIL filed in a case relating to the rape of an eight-month-old child allegedly by her 28-year-old cousin here. Additional solicitors general P S Narasimha and Pinky Anand, appearing for the Centre, informed the apex court that following its yesterday's order, a team of doctors from the AIIMS had visited the baby in a local government hospital and shifted her to the AIIMS for better medical care. The AIIMS, in its report, said that the local hospital has performed a corrective surgery in a professional manner and the child has been shifted for ensuring that she gets proper medical care, the law officers said, adding .
ED files charge sheet against ex-HP CM Virbhadra Singh, wife
The Enforcement Directorate today chargesheeted in a Delhi court former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh, accusing him of projecting around Rs 7 crore proceeds of crime as agricultural income in connivance with his wife and others and invested them into purchasing LIC policies. In the charge sheet filed before Special Judge Santosh Snehi Mann for the alleged offence of money laundering, the ED also arrayed Singh's wife Pratibha Singh and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) agent Anand Chauhan, against whom a charge sheet was earlier filed by the agency, as accused. Besides 83-year-old Singh and his 62-year-old wife and Chauhan, the others named are Universal Apple Associate owner Chunni Lal Chauhan and two other co-accused, Prem Raj and Lawan Kumar Roach. All the six have been charge sheeted under the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). "The proceeds of crime acquired by Virbhadra Singh were projected as agricultural income ..
Centre opposes plea for death penalty in rape cases of kids
The Centre today opposed in the Supreme Court a plea for awarding the death penalty to those convicted of raping minor girls. The submission was made by a law officer before a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud which was hearing a PIL filed in a case relating to the gruesome rape of an eight-month-old baby allegedly by her 28-year-old cousin here. "The death penalty is not the answer to everything," Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha, appearing for the Centre, said. The ASG was responding to the submission of lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava, who had filed the PIL in the rape case, that Parliament be directed to amend the law and award death to those convicted of such crimes. The bench, which termed the case "brutal", also said that it could not direct Parliament to amend the law. The baby was raped allegedly by her cousin on January 28 in a locality near Netaji Subhash Place in north-west Delhi.
Court orders release of nine men in Kashmir terror funding case
A court here on Thursday ordered the release of nine persons arrested with demonetised currency that was alleged to be used for funding terror in Jammu and Kashmir.
"I would like to be a nationalist judge": Justice Chandrachud
A visibly annoyed Supreme Court judge Justice D Y Chandrachud today asserted he would like to be a "nationalist judge" committed to the Constitution and not seen as an "Aadhaar judge" or following the NGO line. Justice Chandrachud, who is part of the five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, lost his cool after not getting a satisfactory reply to his query from senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing an NGO that has challenged the government's flagship Aadhaar scheme and its enabling law. Divan referred to an affidavit of the central government filed in the case which cited a World Bank report stating that India has an estimated saving of USD 11 billion per annum by using Aadhaar in its various schemes. The lawyer submitted that the Centre used the report, saying the World Bank is an independent body and will not indulge in "puffery". He also contended that the World Bank report was not authentic as recently its chief Paul Romer resigned saying there was no
CJI brings out new roster, makes categories of matters bench specific
In a departure from past practice where any matter could be allocated to any bench, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Thursday issued a new roster indicating the nature of cases that would be listed before 12 benches - a move being seen as addressing the grievance of the four rebel judges.
2 Indians among 5 held for employment fraud in Nepal
Two Indians were among the five persons who have been arrested for alleged swindling of documents, including passports of various countries, police said today. Acting on a tip off, Sandip Singh, 30, a resident of Sahajpur district of Uttar Pradesh and Ronald Gahatraj, 37 a resident of Darjeeling Siliguri in West Bengal were arrested yesterday during a raid at a hotel in Thamel. Police had also arrested three Nepalese citizens, the Himalayan Times reported. A total of 19 Nepali passports, 25 Bangladesh passports, one Indian passport, 11 police reports and various other documents were also recovered from them. It was not clear if the passports were genuine. According to police, Gahatraj runs 'Global Consultancy' in Delhi with an intent to swindle people under the pretext of offering jobs in various countries. While one of the Nepali accused operates 'Nikita Global Consultancy' in Putalisadak in Kathmandu to allegedly swindle people under the pretext of offering jobs in ...
Govt to bring corporate frauds under PMLA ambit
The finance ministry today proposed to tighten the Prevention of Money Laundering Act by bringing in corporate frauds within its ambit. The amendments to PMLA proposed through Finance Bill 2018 seek to modify the definition of "proceeds of crime" to ensure that domestic properties can be attached in case the proceeds of crime are parked abroad. It also proposed an amendment to make bail conditions uniform for all offences under the PMLA. The amendments to PMLA, 2002, are aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of the Act, widen its scope and take care of certain procedural difficulties faced by the Enforcement Directorate in prosecution of PMLA cases, a finance ministry statement said. It further said that Section 447 of Companies Act is being included as scheduled offence under PMLA so that Registrar of Companies in suitable cases would be able to report such cases for action by Enforcement Directorate under the PMLA provisions. Section 447 deals with punishment for ...
seven member criminal gang arrested
A seven-member gang which carried out several crimes like burglary and chain snatching, masquerading as police personnel, was arrested here today, police said. The modus operandi was to stop persons at deserted spots and rob them of valuables on the pretext of checking. Based on a complaint by one Ramesh Kumar that he was relieved of a 20 gram gold chain at knifepoint by the gang yesterday, a special police team was formed to nab them. The team, while checking vehicles, stopped a car and a motorcycle, with Maharashtra Registration, and arrested seven persons travelling in the vehicles after they found some gold ornaments in their possession. Hailing from North India, the gang is said to be involved in eight burglary cases in the city and four in various parts of Tamil Nadu, they said.
SC judge Arun Mishra to hear medical admission matters
A new roster system for allocation of cases in the Supreme Court has assigned to Justice Arun Mishra matters related to admission and transfer of candidates in engineering and medical colleges which recently saw a sitting and a retired high court judge caught on the wrong foot. Justice Mishra, who heads a bench, has been divested of the PIL matters. He had recently recused himself from hearing the PILs related to the death of special CBI judge B H Loya, who was dealing with the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. Four seniormost top court judges -- J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph -- in their controversial Janaury 12 press conference had questioned, among other issues, the allocation of PILs on Loya to him. The notification on the allocation of matters issued under the order of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra showed that as per the new roster, Justice Mishra will hear matters related to all admissions/transfers to engineerings and medical .
Ram Rahim charge sheeted in castration case
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday filed a chargesheet against former Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in connection with alleged castrations of his male devotees.He has been charge sheeted along with two doctors Pankaj Garg and M P Singh under sections 120-B r/w 326, 417 and 506 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and substantive offences.Singh is currently serving a 20-year jail term at Rohtak prison after being convicted in two rape cases.In 2015, the CBI had registered a case against Ram Rahim and others in connection with the same case on a directive, issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2014.A writ petition was filed in the High Court in 2012 by a follower of the sect, demanding CBI inquiry and compensation for his castration in the year 2000.The petitioner alleged that around 400 male devotees, including himself, belonging to Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan were castrated at that place under the false claim made by Ram Rahim.Further investigation in
Prosecution complaint filed against Virbhadra Singh
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday filed prosecution complaint against former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and five others, in a money laundering case.Earlier in the day, the probe agency filed a supplementary charge sheet against Singh, his wife and others under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).In January 22, the agency had filed a status report in connection with the case.Singh had allegedly accumulated assets worth Rs 6.03 crore in his name and in the names of his family members, which were disproportionate to his known sources of income, during his tenure as the Union Steel Minister from 2009 to 2011.
8-month-old rape case: Centre not in favor of death penalty
The Central government on Thursday submitted a report before the Supreme Court, saying that the 'Union of India' did not favor death penalty in connection with the rape of an eight-month-old girl by her cousin."We are in not favor of death penalty in the eight-month-old girl rape case," Additional Solicitor General (ASG) P. S. Narasimha told the Apex Court three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra.The apex court was hearing a petition filed by a lawyer, Alakh Alok Srivastava, seeking harsher punishment which should act as a deterrent for those brutal offenders, allegedly committed sexual offenses with girls in the age group of 0-12 years.To this, the CJI asked, the petitioner as to what kind of punishment he was seeking."There should be death penalty in such kind of cases where the victims are children between the age group of 0 to 12," said Srivastava."The punishment should be harsher and should act as a deterrent. It would also send a right message across
Conman who duped and married eight women held
A 53-year-old man, who allegedly cheated eight women after marrying them over a period of time, was today arrested here along with his daughter. Purushothaman, who is also facing some 25 cheating cases, had got married under different names with the help of a matrimonial centre at Gandhipuram in the city, police said. Based on a complaint from a woman at Podanur police station that he had married and cheated her of some 6800 grams of gold ornaments, police took into custody a man and a woman from the matrimonial centre, some 15 days ago. Further investigation led to the arrest of Purushothaman and his daughter Githanjali in the early hours today from an apartment in the city. Purushothaman told police that his target group was widows and those interested in remarriage and he had married eight such women, police said. He has also allegedly cheated a few businessmen and amassed crores of rupees in various parts of Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Maharashtra, Kolkata and Andhra ...
Kenya's SC suspends TV shutdown ordered by government
Kenya's Supreme Court on Thursday suspended a shutdown of TV broadcasters ordered by the government after several channels covered the non-sanctioned ceremony of opposition leader Raila Odinga proclaiming himself to be the "people's president".
Ensure official comments, correspondence in Hindi, Haryana tells officers
The Haryana government has directed all its departments, boards and corporations to make all official comments and correspondence in Hindi only and use English only in legal matters related to the Supreme Court, High Court and subordinate courts.
Protesters in Pakistan call for policeman's arrest
Thousands of people from Pakistan's most powerful tribe are rallying in the capital Islamabad, demanding the arrest of a police officer accused of killing a 27-year-old aspiring model in the largest city of Karachi. Today's rare protest by the Mehsud tribe comes hours after a court ordered officer Rao Anwar arrested for the death of Naqeeb Ullah in a January 13 shootout. Ullah was from the Mehsud tribe and a government probe says he was innocent. Authorities have relieved Anwar of his duties. Holding portraits of Ullah, protesters said they came to seek justice. The protesters are from the Taliban's former stronghold of South Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan, and other nearby towns and cities. They have threatened to hold a sit-in outside parliament if Anwar is not arrested.
Man held for trying to misbehave with Malayalam actress
A man was today arrested for allegedly attempting to misbehave with a Malayalam film actress while she was travelling in a train. Railway police said actress Sanusha complained that a man who was travelling on the berth next to her had tried to harass her in the early hours. She said she caught hold of the man's hand, switched on the light and screamed for help before alerting the travelling ticket examiner, who later informed the railway police about the incident. Based on her complaint, the accused, 40-year-old Anto Bose, a native of Kanyakumari in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, was arrested by 1.30 am when the Thiruvanathapuram-bound Maveli express from Kannur reached Thrissur station, railway police said. He was arrested under IPC section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and remanded to judicial custody till February 15, they said. While talking to the media later, the actress complained that a majority of the co-passengers had ...
SC judge gets irked during Aadhaar case hearing
"We are neither defending the government nor are we going to follow the NGO line," a visibly irked Supreme Court judge, who is part of a Constitution bench hearing cases challenging the validity of Aadhaar, said today. Justice D Y Chandrachud, who is part of the five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, lost his cool after not getting a satisfactory reply to his query from senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing the petitioners opposed to the government's flagship Aadhaar scheme and its enabling law. Divan referred to an affidavit of the central government filed in the case which cited a World Bank report stating that India has an estimated saving of USD 11 billion per annum by using Aadhaar in its various schemes. The lawyer submitted that the Centre used the report, saying the World Bank is an independent body and will not indulge in "puffery". He also contended that the World Bank report was not authentic as recently its chief Paul Romer resigned saying .