Page 14 - Law

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

Sena Vs Sena: SC seeks response of Maha CM Shinde on Thackeray group's plea

The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other lawmakers of his group on a plea of the Uddhav Thackeray faction challenging Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar's order declaring the Shiv Sena bloc led by Shinde as the "real political party" after its split in June 2022. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the submissions of senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Thackeray faction, and sought response of the chief minister and other MLAs within two weeks. At the outset, the top court said the plea can be heard by the Bombay High Court as well. The senior lawyers for the Thackeray faction, however, opposed the idea and said the top court is more equipped to handle the case. Your Lordships have to decide it. If we go to the high court, then it will be delayed further, Sibal said, adding the speaker's decision had come in ...

Moti Mahal owner files suit against Daryaganj restaurant over using tagline

Plaintiffs Moti Mahal restaurants claims that their predecessor's Late Chef Kundan Lal Gujral alone has been known and identified as the sole 'Inventor of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani'

Bilkis Bano case: No SC relief, convict's kin says will surrender on Sunday

A relative of one of the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case said on Saturday that he will surrender on the evening of January 21, the deadline set by the Supreme Court. The apex court on Friday dismissed a plea by the convicts, sentenced to life imprisonment in the gangrape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots, seeking an extension of time to surrender. The convicts, who belong to Singvad and Randhikpur villages in Singvad taluka of Dahod, are required to surrender at Godhra sub-jail in Panchmahal district on Sunday. A relative of Shailesh Bhatt, one of the convicts, told PTI that he would surrender before the Godhra jail authorities on Sunday evening. The top court had on January 8 annulled the remission granted to the convicts by the Gujarat government in the high-profile case, slamming the state for usurpation of power. In August 15, 2022, the convicts were granted premature release after the Gujarat government accepted the

Judiciary pillar of democracy, should have spirit of service: CM Bhajanlal

Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma on Saturday said the judiciary is playing an important role as a strong pillar of democracy and exhorted lawyers to work with a spirit of service by helping provide timely justice to victims. Sharma was addressing the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected executive of The Bar Association Jaipur. "The Indian judiciary is highly respected in the world today due to the important contribution of lawyers in the freedom movement to the making of the Constitution. This pleasant result has been possible only due to the work done by the lawyers in the interest of society," an official statement quoted the chief minister as saying on the occasion. He said advocates have a very high status in the society. "By living in the society, they remain aware of their problems and work with commitment to provide them timely justice. Besides, they also work to connect the society". Sharma said lawyers should perform the duty of providing timely justice to t

HC refuses to stay notice asking Moitra to vacate govt accommodation

The Delhi High Court Thursday refused to stay the eviction notice issued to expelled Lok Sabha member of TMC Mahua Moitra asking her to vacate her government accommodation. Justice Girish Kathpalia said no specific rule has been brought before the court which would deal with the eviction of members of Parliament from government accommodation after they cease to be MPs. "To conclude, in view of the pendency of the issue of expulsion of petitioner (Moitra) before the Supreme Court and the issue of extension of time to vacate the government accommodation being inextricably linked with that, coupled with the fact that as on date petitioner has no right, this court is not inclined to invoke jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India at this stage to restrain the operation of the impugned eviction order. Accordingly, the application stands dismissed," the court said in its detailed order. The court listed the petition of Trinamool Congress leader in which she has challeng

Unmarried daughters have right to get maintenance from parents: HC

The Allahabad High Court has ruled that an unmarried daughter, irrespective of her religion or age, has the right to obtain maintenance from their parents under the Domestic Violence Act. The high court made the observation while dismissing a petition filed by Naimullah Sheikh and another under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. The parents of three daughters had challenged a lower court's order grating maintenance to them. "There remains no doubt that an unmarried daughter, whether Hindu or Muslim, has a right to obtain maintenance, irrespective of her age. This is made clear again that the courts have to look for other laws applicable when the question pertains to the right to be maintained. However, where the issue does not pertain to mere maintenance, the independent rights are available to an aggrieved under section 20 of the domestic violence act itself," Justice Jyotsna Sharma observed. The three daughters had filed a case in a court claiming maintenanc

Ex-Prez Trump arrives at defamation trial over columnist's sex abuse claims

After a political victory in the Iowa caucus, former President Donald Trump arrived at court Tuesday to face another legal challenge: a trial to determine how much more he owes the writer E Jean Carroll for denying that he sexually assaulted her in the 1990s and accusing her of lying about her claims. Jury selection is beginning at a federal court in Manhattan where Trump arrived in a motorcade shortly before 9 am, entering the building through a special entrance not usually used by the public. Opening arguments could take place by afternoon in what is essentially a second penalty phase of a legal fight Carroll has already won. In May, a different jury awarded Carroll USD 5 million after concluding that Trump sexually abused her in a department store dressing room in spring 1996, then defamed her in 2022 by claiming she made it up after she revealed it publicly in a 2019 memoir. The jury said Carroll hadn't proven that Trump raped her. Trump is appealing and hasn't paid any of that

US SC allows court order to take effect potentially costing Apple billions

The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed a court order to take effect that could loosen Apple's grip on its lucrative iPhone app store, and potentially affect billions of dollars in revenue a year. The justices rejected Apple's appeal of lower-court rulings that found some of Apple's app store rules for apps purchased on more than 1 billion iPhones constitute unfair competition under California law. The appeal stemmed from an antitrust lawsuit filed by Epic Games, maker of the popular Fortnite video game. Epic lost its broader claim that Cupertino, California-based Apple was violating federal antitrust law, and the justices also rejected Epic's appeal Tuesday. But in turning away Apple's plea, the court lifted a hold on an order to allow app developers throughout the US to insert links to other payment options besides its own within iPhone apps. That change would make it easier for developers to avoid paying Apple's commissions. Epic, based in Cary, North Carolina, had claimed that ...

PM Modi's degree row: SC stays defamation proceedings against AAP leaders

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the proceedings before a trial court on a defamation complaint filed by the Gujarat University against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP MP Sanjay Singh for their alleged remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's educational qualification. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta passed the order while hearing Singh's plea seeking a transfer of the case pending before a trial court in Gujarat outside the state, preferably in Kolkata. The apex court asked the Gujarat High Court to take a decision within four weeks on a plea filed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders seeking quashing of the summonses issued to them by the trial court. The bench said in the meantime, the proceedings before the trial court will remain stayed. Singh, in his plea filed in the top court through advocate Karan Sharma, had alleged bias in the proceedings before the trial court, saying while the plea was pending before the high court, the trial judge w

Tighter rules to be notified soon: Govt after Tendulkar's deepfake video

After legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar flagged his deepfake video doing the rounds, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar slammed deepfakes as a threat to the safety and trust of Indian users, saying the government will soon notify tighter rules under the IT Act to ensure compliance by platforms. In a post on X, Tendulkar mentioned the doctored video - where he is seen promoting a gaming application - and expressed concerns about the misuse of technology. Taking to X, the Minister of State for IT and Electronics thanked Tendulkar for flagging the deepfake video and said "#DeepFakes and misinformation powered by #AI are a threat to Safety&Trust of Indian users and represents harm & legal violation that platforms have to prevent and takedown". Chandrasekhar said that a recent advisory by the IT Ministry requires platforms to fully comply with this. "We will be shortly notifying tighter rules under the IT Act to ensure compliance by platforms," the minister said. The fake video