Page 456 - Law Crime
Delhi: Pak woman asked to leave India, HC says no coercive steps against her till Feb 28
Coming to the rescue of a Pakistani woman who had been directed by the Ministry of Home Affairs to leave the country by February 23, the Delhi High Court Friday directed the Centre to not take any coercive steps against her till next week. The 37-year-old woman had come to India in 2005 after marrying an Indian man. She has been residing in Delhi with her husband and two minor sons -- aged 11 and 5 years. On February 8, the woman had received a 'leave India notice' from the ministry, directing her to leave the country within 15 days. The notice stated that if she failed to leave India within the stipulated time, action will be taken against her as per law and her entry into the country will be barred in future. The woman and her husband moved the high court seeking a direction to quash the Centre's notice dated February 7. Justice Vibhu Bakhru directed the authorities not to take any coercive steps against the woman till February 28, the next date of hearing. The Centre was ...
HC orders four men to clean Mahim dargah to get FIR quashed
In an unusual order, the Bombay High Court Friday directed four men from the city to clean the Mahim dargah on four Sundays next month in return for quashing an FIR registered against them. A bench of Justices B P Dharmadhikari and Revati Mohite-Dere took up urgent hearing of a petition filed by a 19-year-old man from Mahim and a 22-year-old man from the Dharavi area in the city. The petitioners, both Muslims, had got into an altercation with two Hindu men aged 18 and 19, in December 2017 during the Mahim fair. The altercation escalated and the four of them came to blows. An FIR was registered charging them with various provisions for unlawful assembly and assault under the Indian Penal Code. The maximum punishment for the charges against them ranges between six months and three years. However, all four of them eventually came to a settlement and approached the HC seeking that the FIR be quashed by their mutual consent. They argued that considering their young age and the fact that ...
NGT directs GCZMA to submit report on illegal activities at Kandla port
The National Green Tribunal has directed the Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to submit a report within a month on the action taken against illegal expansion of the Kandala Port and unauthorised activities taking place around it. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel slammed the GCZMA for inaction and said it has failed to perform its duty despite admitting that illegal activities are going on. The green panel's direction came after perusing a report dated February 5 which acknowledged that there was violation and said that an advisory has been issued by the district magistrate (chairman, District Level CRZ Committee) to the chairman of the Kandala Port Trust to stop the usage of pipeline without obtaining clearance. "It is clear from the report that even though illegality has been found, the regulatory authority has failed to perform its duty to take appropriate further action, including recovery of compensation for the damage caused by the said
National Oilwell Varco pays Rs 6.8 lakh to settle case with Sebi
US-based National Oilwell Varco Inc Friday settled with Sebi a probe for alleged delay in complying with minimum public shareholding norms in GMM Pfaudler by paying Rs 6.8 lakh as settlement charges. Due to open offer in 2013, the total promoter shareholding (including National Oilwell) changed to 76.66 per cent in GMM Pfaudler, which indicated that public holding was not at least 25 per cent as mandated under minimum public shareholding norms, the regulator said. To bring down the shareholding to 75 per cent, offer of sale for 1.66 per cent (2,42,472 shares) was made which was completed in December 2014. It was alleged that shareholding was not brought down within the stipulated time, hence it was in violation of SAST (Substantial Acquisition of shares and Takeovers) norms. Following which the regulator initiated adjudication proceedings against National Oilwell. While the proceedings were pending, the firm filed an application in September 2018 under consent mechanism to settle the .
Centre not delaying appointment of judges in higher judiciary, says SC
The Centre has not been delaying the appointment of judges in higher judiciary and delay, if any, was at the collegium end, the Supreme Court said Friday. The apex court was hearing a PIL filed by NGO 'Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) which has alleged that the Centre has been "indefinitely sitting" on the names recommended by the Supreme Court collegium for appointment of judges in the higher judiciary. "Appointments are happening. As the Chief Justice, I am telling you that whatever is pending is pending before the Supreme Court collegium. Nothing is pending with the government," a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna said. Most of the recommendations with regard to appointment of judges in high courts were pending with the collegium headed by the CJI, it said. "There are about 27 recommendations pending before the government and there are 70 to 80 pending before the Collegium, as the CJI, I am telling you," the CJI said. Bhushan, however, said ..
Trial against Virbhadra Singh in DA case to start from April 3 in Delhi court
The much-awaited trial against former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh will commence on April 3 as the veteran Congress leader Friday claimed innocence before a Delhi court and decided to contest the disproportionate assets case of over Rs 10 crore lodged by CBI. Special CBI Judge Arun Bhardwaj fixed three dates -- April 3, 4 and 5 -- when the CBI will start recording statements of the witnesses in the case. "Today, the case is listed for recording plea of the accused no 1, Virbhadra Singh and accused no 3 Anand Chauhan to the charge framed against them pursuant to order passed on December 10, 2018," the court said. Charges have been read over and explained to the accused to which they pleaded not guilty and claimed trial, it said. During the hearing, Singh and his wife, who were present in the court, moved a plea seeking permanent exemption from appearing in the court during the trial of the case. The court asked CBI to file its reply on their plea before the next date
26-year-old kills wife with axe after argument during lunch: Police
A 26-year-old man allegedly killed his wife on Friday by hitting her with an axe in Srigangangar district of Rajasthan, police said. The accused, Raju Singh, attacked his wife Santosh (23) after an argument while they were having lunch this afternoon, police said. Both of them worked at a power house in Lalgarh police station area. "The culprit absconded after the incident. A case has been registered against him and he is being searched," SHO of Lalgarh police station Kashyap Singh said.
Swamy seeks stay on AirAsia application for international flights; HC to hear plea in Mar
The Delhi High Court Friday said it would hear in March a plea by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy seeking interim stay on AirAsia India's application for a licence to fly internationally. Swamy has also filed another application seeking to know the status of the investigation conducted by the CBI in a case relating to alleged lobbying by AirAsia India while trying to get international flying licence by manipulating policies and violation of foreign investment norms. A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao said it would hear the matter on March 29, by when the respondents, including the Centre and AirAsia, can file their objections to both the applications. In the first plea, Swamy sought a stay on the application filed by AirAsia India seeking an international permissions/ licence to fly internationally. It sought directions to the Union of India not to process the application of AirAsia until the final disposal of the present writ petition. "The legality and validity
Chinese-Australian billionaire wins media defamation suit
Chinese-Australian billionaire Chau Chak Wing was awarded 280,000 Australian dollars (USD 200,000) in damages on Friday by an Australian judge who ruled he was defamed by a media report that insinuated he bribed a former United Nations general assembly president. The businessman, philanthropist and generous political donor sued Fairfax Media and journalist John Garnaut over an online story published in October 2015 under the headline: "Are Chau Chak Wing's circles of influence in Australia-China ties built on hot air?" Garnaut later became a China analyst who was commissioned by the Australian government to write a classified report that found the Chinese Communist Party for a decade had tried to influence Australian policy, compromise political parties and gain access to all levels of government. The report led to Parliament passing laws last year forbidding covert foreign interference in domestic politics and making industrial espionage for a foreign power a crime. The laws created .
HC extends protection from arrest to Teltumbde till Feb 27
The Bombay High Court Friday extended till February 27 the interim protection from arrest granted to activist and academic Anand Teltumbde. While Teltumbde's plea seeking anticipatory bail was listed for hearing Friday, a single bench presided over by Justice N W Sambre adjourned the hearing and extended Teltumbde's protection at the request of the latter's counsel. Teltumbde is one of the 22 accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case. Pune police has charged Teltumbde and others for various offences, including having links with banned Maoist organisations. The high court had earlier directed Teltumbde to appear before the investigating officer in the case on February 14 and 18, and to cooperate with the investigation till his plea is finally decided. Teltumbde was arrested on February 3 after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by a Pune court, but released hours later when a city sessions court termed his arrest 'illegal' after noting that the Supreme Court had granted ...
NIA files charge sheet in case of attempt to kill Shiv Sena leader in Punjab
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Friday filed a charge sheet against eight people, allegedly owning allegiance to the proscribed Khalistan Liberation Front (KLF) terror group, in a case related to the attempt to murder of Shiv Sena leader Amit Arora, officials said here. The charge sheet was filed in the special NIA court in Mohali in Punjab. The agency claimed that the attempt to murder Arora was part of a trans-national conspiracy hatched by the senior KLF leadership. The charge sheet names Hardeep Singh alias Shera, Ramandeep Singh alias Canadian, Dharminder Singh alias Guguni, Anil Kumar alias Kala, Jagtar Singh Johal alias Jaggi, Harmeet Singh alias Happy (suspected to be in Pakistan), Gurjinder Singh alias Shastri (suspected to be in Italy) and Gursharanbir Singh alias Pehalwan (suspected to be in UK). They have been charged under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including attempt to murder, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Arms Act. The agency ...
UK's Serious Fraud Office drops investigations of Rolls Royce individuals, GSK
(Reuters) - Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has dropped its investigations into aero engine maker Rolls-Royce individuals and drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline, citing insufficient evidence.
Kolkata Police summons CBI Jt Director in month-old case of alleged torture
The Kolkata police has sent a notice to CBI Joint Director Pankaj Srivastava, asking him to appear before the investigating officer at the Bhawanipur police station here in connection with a complaint registered against him last month. According to a senior officer of the Kolkata Police, Srivastava has been directed to appear before the investigating officer within seven days in connection with the case registered last month. The summon notice was sent to his office here Thursday when Srivastava was not present, the officer said. Based on the complaint, lodged by one Vaibhav Khattar with the Bhawanipore police station about the CBI illegally detaining and torturing him in a case in which he claimed he had no connection, police started its investigation. When contacted, a senior CBI official here denied receiving any such communication from the Kolkata Police "We have not received anything from the Kolkata Police," he said. Srivastava could not be reached for his comments. Khattar, an .
Excess land around disputed site in Ayodhya not part of case: BJP
BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav said on Friday the government would abide by the Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya issue and asserted that the land the Centre wants to return to its original owners wasn't part of the case. "The Ram Mandir issue is before the Supreme Court. It is taking up (hearing) on February 26. The land is not part of the case at all. It is outside the case. The issue is under active consideration of the Supreme Court," he told reporters here. "Whatever directive the Supreme Court gives to the government, it will certainly be taken forward," Madhav said on the sidelines of a programme at the Indian School of Business here. The central government had, on January 29, moved the apex court seeking its nod to return the 67-acre undisputed acquired land around the disputed site to original owners. The 0.313-acre plot, on which the disputed structure stood before it was demolished by 'kar sevaks' on December 6, 1992, was within the 2.77-acre disputed ...
NGT refuses permission for registration of new vehicles for garbage disposal
The National Green Tribunal has dismissed a plea seeking review of its order refusing permission for registration of new vehicles of municipal corporations for garbage disposal. The petitioners had filed the plea under Section 14 of the NGT Act. The bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said the application was not maintainable as only a victim of pollution can move a plea under Section 14. "We have perused the review application which relies upon order dated July 27, 2018 in a group of matters, allowing some of the applications seeking such a direction in the light of an earlier order on the subject. "However, a perusal of the order dated July 27, 2018 shows that it was made clear that the said order was not to be treated as a precedent in view of finality of orders of the tribunal to the contrary," the bench, also comprising Justices S P Wangdi and K Ramakrishnan, said. The tribunal noted that it had earlier directed that no commercial diesel vehicle could be ...
Fire claims seven lives in Bihar village
Seven persons including four children were charred to death in a fire that broke out in a village in Gopalganj district on Friday, a top district official said. According to District Magistrate, Gopalganj, Animesh Kumar Parashar, the incident took place at Bakhri village in the early hours killing Bakridan Shah (36), Husntara Khatoon (35), Sufrina (8), Hasanuddin Miyan (24), Salauddin (7) and Shamima (8) besides a seven-month-old boy. All the deceased belonged to the same extended family and they lived in a hutment which caught fire, apparently, on account of a short circuit, the District Magistrate said.
Gold worth Rs 10 lakh seized from passenger at airport
The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the customs department Friday seized more than 283 gm gold from a passenger after he landed at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here. The value of the gold seized is around Rs 10 lakh, a customs department official said. The passenger came here from Bangkok in a Kolkata-bound flight and he was trying to smuggle the gold into the country, the official said. Silver-coated gold rings, concealed in the buttons of garments, were recovered from the passenger's hand baggage, he said. The accused passenger has been detained and an investigation has been initiated, the official added. The AIU on Tuesday had seized nine gold bars from a woman passenger and the value of the gold was more than Rs 33 lakh, the customs official said. The woman had come to Bhubaneswar from Delhi and the gold bars were concealed in the body of an emergency light, the official said. A total of 122 cigarette packets, worth more than Rs one lakh, was also seized ...
Appointment of judges to HCs much faster now: SC
The Supreme Court on Friday said the collegium recommendations for the appointment of judges to different High Courts was being cleared by the government and only 27 recommendations were pending.
Stop appointment of retired judges to offices of profit: AAP MP to PM
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to stop appointment of retired judges of higher judiciary in offices of profit. He also urged the prime minister to appoint an eligible person whose credentials cannot be questioned as Lokpal. He claimed that a sitting judge of the Supreme Court was reportedly being considered for the post. Singh said appointments of retired judges to offices of profit was the "main reason" behind questions being raised on the independence of the judiciary. "The retired judges should not be given offices of profit because decisions given by them will be seen linked to such appointments," Singh told reporters. The Rajya Sabha MP wrote, "Such appointments have been questioned by different sections including the intellectuals, senior lawyers, media and people at large, from time to time." He also urged the prime minister to appoint an eligible person as Lokpal whose credentials could not be questioned. He ...
AgustaWestland: Saxena's interim bail extended till Feb 25
A Delhi court on Friday extended the interim bail granted to Dubai-based businessman Rajiv Saxena till February 25 in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case.