Page 13 - Law

Adani-Hindenburg row: Plea filed in SC seeks review of January 3 verdict

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking review of its January 3 verdict by which it refused to transfer the probe into allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani Group to a special investigation team or the CBI. In a significant win for the Adani Group, the apex court had declined to order a CBI or SIT probe and said in its judgement that market regulator SEBI was conducting a "comprehensive investigation" into the allegations and its conduct "inspires confidence". The petition claimed there were "mistakes and errors" in the judgment, and in light of certain new material that have been received by the counsel for the petitioner, there were sufficient reasons for a review of the verdict. The review petition has been filed by Anamika Jaiswal, who was one of the petitioners in the case. The plea, filed through advocate Neha Rathi, said the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had in its report only updated the court about the status of the 24 investigatio

Castes of SCs, STs may not be homogenous in terms of social status: SC

The Supreme Court, examining whether states can sub-classify scheduled castes and scheduled tribes for grant of quota inside quota, on Wednesday said all SCs and STs may not be homogenous in terms of their sociological, economic, education and social status. "They (SCs and STs) may be a class for a certain purpose. But, they may not be a class for all the purposes," a seven-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud observed while hearing as many as 23 petitions on the issue. The top court is hearing references to revisit a five-judge constitution bench judgement of 2004 in the case of 'EV Chinnaiah vs. State of Andhra Pradesh' in which it was held that SCs and STs are homogenous groups and hence, states cannot further sub-classify inside SCs and STs to grant quota inside quota for more deprived and weaker castes in these groups. "Therefore, there is homogeneity in the sense that each one of them belongs to the scheduled castes. But your argument is that there i

Donald Trump's sweeping immunity claim rejected by US appeals court

"We cannot accept that the office of the Presidency places its former occupants above the law for all time thereafter," the unanimous panel wrote

Need to make justice system flexible to deal with new challenges: PM Modi

Noting that criminals have been using the latest technology for funding and operating across regions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday pitched for expanding cooperation between countries for investigation and justice delivery. He also said cooperation can happen even while respecting each other's jurisdiction and asserted that when nations work together, jurisdiction becomes a tool to deliver justice, not delay it. The rise of cryptocurrency and cyber threats presents new challenges and there is a need for making the justice delivery system more flexible and adaptable, he said. Speaking at the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA) - Commonwealth Attorneys and Solicitors General Conference (CASGC) here, he said countries already work with each other in the domain of air traffic control and maritime traffic, and advocated extending this to investigation and justice delivery. "When we work together then jurisdiction becomes a tool to deliver justice and not to delay

Court allows Hemant Soren to participate in trust vote in J'khand assembly

A special court in Ranchi on Saturday allowed former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren to participate in the trust vote in the state assembly on February 5. Soren, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday in a money laundering case, filed a petition before the special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court, seeking permission to participate in the trust vote sought by the new Champai Soren government. Soren was remanded to ED custody for five days by the court on Friday.

eCourts Ph-3 project gets Rs 825 cr this fiscal, Rs 1,500 cr for next FY

The phase-III of the ambitious eCourts project, which seeks to upgrade the lower judiciary's digital infrastructure, has been allocated Rs 825 crore this fiscal after the revised estimates, while an enhanced sum of Rs 1,500 crore has been allocated for the next financial year. The phase-III received a Cabinet nod in September last year with a financial outlay of Rs 7,210 crore. According to the revised estimates for 2023-24, the Law Ministry has been granted Rs 825 crore for the Phase III of the project. The project will get Rs 1500 crore, according to the budget estimates for 2024-25. This phase of the the project, which is to be implemented over four years, will see digitisation of entire court records, both legacy and pending cases, at an estimated cost of Rs 2,038.40 crore. A total of 3,108 crore documents will be digitised, official sources had said. The eCourts Mission Mode Project has been described by the government as the prime mover for improving access to justice using

BharatPe fraud: Ashneer Grover, wife move HC challenging lookout circular

Payment app BharatPe's former MD Ashneer Grover and his wife on Thursday approached the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of the Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against them in connection with the investigation in a cheating and forgery case. Justice Subramonium Prasad, before whom the matter came up for hearing, listed it for May 8 saying the investigation in the case registered by the Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) is at a nascent stage. It is too hot in the day for this court to intervene now. Come after sometime. The investigation is at a nascent stage and they will take some time to investigate, the high court said. It further said that at this juncture, it will not be correct to say that the LOC is completely unjustified. As an interim relief, Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover have sought suspension of the LOC issued against them with a further direction to the authorities not to interfere with or prevent their right to travel abroad. The court asked the ..

Court sends Hemant Soren to one-day judicial custody after arrest by ED

The Directorate of Enforcement had sought 10-day remand of the former Jharkhand Chief Minister but the order has been reserved

AAP to move Supreme Court for early hearing on Chandigarh mayoral election

The Aam Aadmi Party will move the Supreme Court seeking an early hearing of its plea on Chandigarh mayoral polls, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said on Wednesday. His statement came hours after the Punjab and Haryana High Court fused to grant any interim relief on the AAP's petition for setting aside Tuesday's mayoral election and seeking fresh mayoral polls. The HC also asked the Chandigarh administration to file its reply within three weeks and has adjourned the matter till February 26. The AAP-Congress alliance has alleged tampering with ballot papers by the presiding officer Anil Masih, a charge rejected by him and the BJP which won the election to all three posts. "We will move Supreme Court. We will seek an early hearing in the matter. There is a video of the whole thing," Mann said and questioned why the Chandigarh administration required three weeks to prepare a report. The chief minister was replying to queries at a news conference here on the sidelines of chairing

India embraces data privacy with DPDP Act, experts await detailed rules

Amid rising cyber threats, DPDP Act marks a pivotal step in data privacy management, with stakeholders eager for comprehensive guidelines

SC recalls 2023 decision on relocation of liquor shop away from temples

The Supreme Court on Monday recalled its 2023 decision ordering relocation of a liquor shop in Puducherry to an area beyond 500 metres from a temple, mosque or an educational institution, saying that local municipal laws will also apply to deal with wine shops. Earlier, the top court in 2016 had come out with a significant verdict in a case titled State of Tamil Nadu Vs K Balu holding that no liquor shops will be permitted within 500 metres of national and state highways to prohibit drunken driving and road mishaps. Later, the decision was modified and liquor vends were permitted at a distance of 220 metres from national and state highways if the area is a municipal area with a minimum population of 20,000. It was also held that besides the apex court judgement, the state government will be free to frame a policy on setting up of liquor shops keeping in mind the local municipal laws and regulations. However, a Supreme Court bench on March 20, 2023 ordered relocation of a liquor sho

Parl panel examining bill on marriage age of women gets another extension

A parliamentary committee examining a bill seeking to raise the age of marriage of women from the present 18 years to 21 has been given another extension to table its report. The Budget session of Parliament beginning January 31 is the last session of the present Lok Sabha before parliamentary elections are announced. The committee will now finalise its report by May following the four-month extension while the term of the 17th Lok Sabha ends on June 16. The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha and remains pending there, is likely to lapse when the tenure of the House ends in June. Bills introduced in the Lok Sabha and pending there as well as those passed by the Rajya Sabha and pending in the lower house lapse on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. "Chairman, Rajya Sabha, has granted extension of time for a period of four months with effect from 24th January, 2024 to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on ..

Delhi court grants bail to ex-Unitech promoters Sanjay, Ajay Chandra

A court here on Saturday granted bail to ex-promoters of realty major Unitech Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra in a case related to allegedly swindling home buyers. The court noted they were in jail for about six years and further inquiry and trial would likely take considerable time owing to a large number of witnesses in the case. The Chandra brothers, however, will continue to remain in jail as they are accused in a money laundering case. Additional Sessions Judge Navjeet Budhiraja said the accused had "undergone a long period of incarceration" and "further inquiry and trial are likely to take considerable time owing to the humongous number of witnesses." Therefore, "the nature and enormity of the offence have to be balanced out with the aspect of the fundamental right of the offender to ensure a speedy trial," the judge said. The court said the duo was behind bars for more than six years and one of the charges against them under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (cheating an

Presiding officers' meet: PM Modi stresses on women's empowerment

PM Modi was virtually addressing the All India Presiding Officers' Conference

Railways land-for-job case: Court summons Rabri Devi, daughter Misa Bharti

A Delhi Court on Saturday summoned former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and her daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav along with others after taking cognisance of an Enforcement Directorate charge sheet against them in the railways land-for-jobs linked money laundering case. Special Judge Vishal directed the accused to appear before the court on February 9, saying there were sufficient grounds to proceed in the matter. The judge also issued a production warrant against businessman Amit Katyal, who is presently in judicial custody in the case. An alleged "close associate" of the Yadav family Katyal (49), railway employee and alleged beneficiary Hridayanand Chaudhary, two firms A K Infosystems Pvt. Ltd. and A B Exports Pvt. Ltd., through their common director Shariqul Bari, have also been named in the charge sheet. Katyal was arrested in this case by the ED in November last year while former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav was summoned by the agency but is yet to ...

PM to inaugurate diamond jubilee celebration of Supreme Court on Jan 28

The Digital Supreme Court Reports (SCR) will make Supreme Court judgements available to the citizens of the country free of charge and in electronic format

Instances when Supreme Court held special sittings on non-working days

The Supreme Court on Saturday held a special sitting after taking suo moto cognisance of an order passed by a single bench of the Calcutta High Court that termed as "illegal" a division bench order in a case of alleged irregularities in admission of MBBS students in West Bengal's state-run medical colleges and hospitals. A five-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, Surya Kant and Aniruddha Bose stayed all proceedings before the Calcutta High Court in the matter and issued notice to the West Bengal government and the original petitioner in the case. This is one of the many instances when the apex court has held a special sitting on a non-working day. The past few years have witnessed the top court constituting special benches to hear during the weekend cases dealing with matters of personal liberty, political crisis in states and pollution in the national capital, among other things. On July 1 last year, the Supreme Cour

SC junks review plea on overvaluation in capital goods' import by Adani cos

According to a lawyer associated with the case, the court had found that the project cost of APML and APRL was either similar or lower than the price of their competitors

Reply on plea against ban on food items with halal certification: SC to UP

The Supreme Court on Thursday sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh government and others on a plea challenging the notification prohibiting manufacture, storage, sale and distribution of food products with halal certification within the state, except for items produced for export. The November 18, 2023 notification was issued by the office of the Commissioner, Food Safety and Drug Administration, Uttar Pradesh, under the provision of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The apex court issued notice to the state government and others seeking their responses on a plea filed by 'Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind Halal Trust'. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta also directed that no coercive steps will be taken against the trust and its office bearers in connection with the FIR lodged in Lucknow in a case related to Halal certification. Advocate M R Shamshad, appearing for 'Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind Halal Trust', told the bench that the petitioner has already joined the probe and ...

Act in accordance with law, not on oral instruction: SC to TN officials

Here's a lowdown on the important cases heard in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court today