Page 25 - Law

SC stays HC order that declared MP Ravindhranath's election invalid

The Supreme Court has stayed a Madras High Court order that declared as "null and void" the 2019 election of expelled AIADMK member P Ravindhranath from Tamil Nadu's Theni parliamentary constituency. A bench of justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta admitted the appeal filed by Ravindhranath against the high court order for hearing and issued notice to P Milany, who filed the petition challenging his election from the Theni constituency. "Meanwhile, operation of the impugned judgment and order dated July 6, 2023, passed by the High Court of Judicature at Madras, shall remain stayed. Resultantly, the appellant (P Ravindhranath) shall be allowed to continue as a Member of Parliament of the 17th Lok Sabha for all intents and purposes till further orders," the bench said in an order passed on Friday. Ravindhranath is the son of deposed AIADMK leader and former Tamil Nadu chief minister O Panneerselvam. Milany alleged before the high court that Ravindhranath suppressed various materials

Donald Trump calls on US Supreme Court to 'intercede' in legal fights

A day after being arraigned for the third time, former United States President Donald Trump on Friday called on the Supreme Court to "intercede" citing the time and cost spent on several legal battles, CNN reported."My political opponent has hit me with a barrage of weak lawsuits, including DA, AG, and others, which require massive amounts of my time and money to adjudicate," Trump stated on Truth Social."Resources that would have gone into Ads and Rallies, will now have to be spent fighting these Radical Left Thugs in numerous courts throughout the Country. I am leading in all Polls, including against Crooked Joe, but this is not a level playing field. It is Election Interference, & the Supreme Court must intercede," Trump added.On Friday, Trump also pleaded not guilty to the new charges special counsel Jack Smith brought against him in the case alleging mishandling of classified documents from his time in the White House, CNN reported.The filing marked the second time in 24 ...

Iran proposes long jail terms, AI surveillance in harsh new hijab law

Experts said the Bill, which has yet to be passed, was a reminder to Iranians that the regime will not back down from its stance on the hijab despite the country's enormous protests last year

Industry, patient groups want draft drugs and medical devices Bill recalled

Seek a separate 'Medical Devices Act' distinct from the drug regulations Bill

Manipur HC orders status quo on burial site, over 25 injured in violence

Hours before a planned mass burial of Kuki-Zomi people killed in Manipur's ethnic violence, the states high court on Thursday ordered that the status quo be maintained at the proposed burial site in Churachandpur district, while ITLF, an apex tribal body, said it was postponing the funeral service plans by seven days following requests from the Union home ministry. Meanwhile, over 25 people were injured in clashes as Army and RAF personnel fired tear gas shells in Kangvai and Phougakchao areas in Bishnupur district on Thursday to stop processions from proceeding to the proposed burial site violating restrictions on gatherings, officials said. The district magistrates of Imphal East and Imphal West withdrew curfew relaxations earlier announced, imposing day curfew as a precautionary measure, throughout the Imphal valley. The Kuki-Zomi organisation, Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum, had planned the burial of 35 people, who were killed in ethnic riots in the state, on Thursday at a sit

Donald Trump charged with illegal retention of top secret documents

Donald Trump has now been indicted for the third time, with the former president being charged Tuesday in Washington over his efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election. The federal investigation is the latest criminal case for Trump as he runs for the White House in 2024. Special counsel Jack Smith, who indicted Trump in the election case, has also charged Trump in federal court with the illegal retention of top secret documents. In New York, Trump faces criminal charges in a hush money case and a civil trial over his business practices. And in Georgia, a county district attorney is expected to announce charging decisions in August over efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. Trump, a Republican, has denied any wrongdoing and says he is being targeted by Democrats trying to keep him from reclaiming the presidency. Here's a look at some of the other top probes against the former president: CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE Trump has been

Setalvad moves HC to quash FIR for altering evidence of 2002 riots cases

Social activist Teesta Setalvad has moved the Gujarat High Court to quash an FIR filed against her by the Ahmedabad crime branch for allegedly fabricating evidence in the 2002 riots cases. A sessions court recently rejected her discharge plea in the case, even as the Supreme Court granted her bail after the Gujarat High Court denied her relief. On Monday, Setalvad moved a plea in the HC for quashing the FIR and the matter is likely to come up for hearing in a few days. Setalvad and two others former state Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and former Indian Police Service officer Sanjiv Bhatt were arrested by the city crime branch in June 2022 on charges of forgery and fabricating evidence with the intent to implicate Gujarat government functionaries in the 2002 riots cases. An FIR was registered against them after the Supreme Court last month dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, whose husband and former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was killed during the riots. Setalvad has

In the wilderness

Forest Bill defeats purpose of the law

SC refuses to entertain PIL seeking SIT probe into Manipur violence

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a fresh PIL on the Manipur violence seeking among other things a SIT probe into alleged poppy cultivation and narco-terrorism. It asked for a "more specific" petition and said this one was "very difficult" to entertain because it blamed only one community. Senior advocate Madhavi Diwan, appearing for the petitioner Mayanglambam Bobby Meetei, sought to withdraw the plea and was allowed to do so. This petition is very difficult to entertain because it places blame on one community, said the bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandcrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. You can come with a more specific petition. This petition has everything from the violence to narcotics to deforestation, the bench said. Diwan referred to cross-border terrorism and poppy cultivation in the state as responsible for the recent violence. The plea made the Narcotics Control Bureau, the National Investigation Agency and the NHRC as well as the .

Constitute sexual harassment probe committees: NMC asks health institutions

The National Medical Commission has directed all health institutions to constitute sexual harassment probe committees in compliance with the provisions of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act. In a letter to the institutions and medical colleges, the Commission referred to the directions of the Supreme Court regarding the implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013. "Accordingly, all the medical colleges are requested to comply with the directions of the Supreme Court as under. "All health institutions/medical colleges are directed to undertake a time bound exercise to verify as to whether the medical colleges/institutions has constituted ICCS/LCS/ICs, as they case may be and that the composition of the said committees are strictly in terms of the provision of the POSH Act," the Commission said. "The institutions shall ensure that necessary information regarding the constitution and composition of the ICCS/LCS/IC

Mere holding of certain literature would not attract provisions of UAPA: SC

Mere holding of certain literature through which violent acts may be propagated would not attract the provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Supreme Court on Friday said as it granted bail to activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case. A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia said the actual involvement of Gonsalves and Ferreira in any terrorist act has not surfaced from any third-party communications. "Mere holding of certain literatures through which violent acts may be propagated would not ipso facto attract the provisions of Section 15(1)(b) (use of criminal force or the show of criminal force or attempts to do so or cause the death of any public functionary ) of the said Act. "Thus, prima facie, in our opinion, we cannot reasonably come to a finding that any case against the appellants under Section 15(1) (b) of the 1967 Act can be held to be true," the bench said. According to the NIA, various letters a

Madras High Court directs police to take action on old age home issue

The Madras high court has directed the police to immediately take action against persons who are causing disturbance in running an old age home in the city. Disposing of a petition filed by M/s Athulya Assisted Living Pvt.Ltd, Justice N Anand Venkatesh in his recent order said if required, protection shall also be given to the petitioner to ensure that no one interferes with the running of the Old Age Home. The direction was given to the Inspector of Police, Pallavaram Police Station. The petitioner submitted he was running the home and was providing health care services for the elderly people. He had obtained a necessary license in this regard. Senior Counsel Abudu Kumar, appearing for the petitioner submitted that persons in and around the place were causing threat to the petitioner and were bent upon causing problems following which he filed a police complaint recently. Though FIR was registered the threat perspective continues and hence, the petitioner approached the court, h

Caveat petition filed in Allahabad HC over Gyanvapi ASI survey order

Also the main petitioner in the Shringar Gauri Sthal case, Rakhi Singh also came out in support of the ASI survey at the Gyanvapi mosque complex

US court reprimands judge for conduct during Parkland school shooting trial

The Florida Supreme Court publicly reprimanded the judge who oversaw the penalty trial of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz on Monday for showing bias toward the prosecution. The unanimous decision followed a June recommendation from the Judicial Qualifications Commission. That panel had found that Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer violated several rules governing judicial conduct during last year's trial in her actions toward Cruz's public defenders. The six-month trial ended with Cruz receiving a receiving a life sentence for the 2018 murder of 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after the jury could not unanimously agree that he deserved a death sentence. The 15-member commission found that Scherer unduly chastised lead public defender Melisa McNeill and her team, wrongly accused one Cruz attorney of threatening her child, and improperly embraced members of the prosecution in the courtroom after the trial's conclusion. The commission, ...

LIVE: More than 100 rescued in flood-hit Yavatmal district in Maharashtra

Catch all the latest LIVE updates from across the globe here

Motive necessary for commission of crime when there is no eyewitness: SC

The prosecution will have to establish motive for commission of crime if there is no eyewitness of an incident, the Supreme Court has said while acquitting a man convicted in a 2008 murder case. A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah noted that all the witnesses have stated that there was no enmity between the petitioner and the deceased. "Once there is no eyewitness of the incident, the prosecution will have to establish a motive for the commission of the crime inasmuch as in a case of direct evidence, motive may not have a major role," the bench said. "If there is no motive setup or proved and there are direct eyewitnesses, motive may loose its importance but in the present case as admittedly no one has seen the occurrence, the motive has an important role to play," it said. The observations came while hearing a plea by a man challenging an order of the Chhattisgarh High Court which confirmed his conviction under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code and

Will decide after reviewing order: Muslim side lawyer on Gyanvapi verdict

The Hindu side had submitted a petition letter in the Varanasi court asking for an ASI study of the entire complex of the Gyanvapi mosque located in Vishwanath temple

Judges must not use protocol facilities in way that leads to criticism: CJI

Protocol facilities made available to judges should not be used in a manner which causes inconvenience to others or brings public criticism to the judiciary, Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud has said in a letter to the chief justices of all the high courts. The CJI in his letter expressed displeasure over a recent incident in which a judge of the Allahabad High Court sought explanation from railway authorities for "not meeting his requirements" during a train journey. "A Judge of the High Court does not possess disciplinary jurisdiction over railway personnel. Hence, there was no occasion for an officer of the High Court to call for an explanation from the railway personnel 'to be placed before His Lordship for kind perusal'. "Evidently, the officer of the High Court in the above communication was carrying out a direction of the Judge of the High Court in this instance ('the Hon'ble Judge has desired')," the CJI said in the letter dated July 19. In his letter, Chandrachud said ...

3-judge Bench to hear pleas relating to criminalisation of marital rape: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that a three-judge bench will hear a batch of petitions pertaining to criminalisation of marital rape after constitution benches conclude hearing some listed pleas. We have to resolve the matters concerning marital rape, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra said when senior advocate Indira Jaising mentioned the matter for hearing. My case deals with the child sexual abuse case, the senior lawyer said. The CJI said these matters are to be heard by a three-judge bench and these will be listed up for hearing after the five-judge constitution benches conclude hearing some of the listed cases. Presently, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by the CJI is hearing pleas relating to regimes on grant of driving license for different kind of vehicles under the Motor Vehicle Act. The petitions relating to abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which had provided special status to erstwhile Ja

Thai court suspends PM candidate, to rule whether he broke election law

Thailand's Constitutional Court on Wednesday agreed to suspend Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, a candidate to become prime minister, from his duties as a member of Parliament pending its ruling on whether he violated election law. The court's announcement came on the verge of a likely second vote in Parliament whether to confirm Pita as prime minister. His party was the top finisher in May's general election and assembled an eight-party coalition that won 312 seats in the House of Representatives. However, the coalition failed to win enough support in an initial vote last week from the Senate, which votes together with the lower house to name the new prime minister. The court's announcement still would allow Pita's nomination and selection as prime minister, at least until a ruling. Thailand's state Election Commission had referred Pita's case to the court, saying there was evidence he had violated election law over his alleged undeclared ownership of media company ...