Page 4 - Law

Coal scam: Delhi court discharges former coal secretary H C Gupta

A Delhi court has discharged former coal secretary H C Gupta and ex-joint secretary (coal) K S Kropha in a case related to alleged irregularities in allocation of Mednirai coal bock in Jharkhand. Special Judge Sanjay Bansal granted the relief to Gupta and Kropha citing lack of evidence against them in the case. "It is held that both the accused public servants are entitled for discharge and are hereby discharged," the judge said in an order passed on April 4. The judge, however, directed framing of charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating against Kohinoor Steel Pvt. Ltd., its director, Vijay Bothra, and employee Rakesh Khare, saying "they dishonestly and fraudulently induced MoS (Ministry of Steel), MoC (Ministry of Coal) and Govt. of India to allocate Mednirai Coal Block to the company." "They appear to have been in conspiracy with one another. The circumstances tend to show existence of such a conspiracy," the judge said. The present case relates to allocation of Mednirai coa

Savarkar remarks case: Court allows Rahul Gandhi's plea for summons trial

A Pune court on Monday allowed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea to convert the defamation case over his alleged remarks on V D Savarkar from a summary to a summons trial so that historical references and evidence can be discussed. Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Amol Shinde of the Special Court for MPs/MLAs allowed the application filed by Gandhi's lawyer Milind Pawar. The case, prima facie, falls in the category of a summons case, the court order said. "In the present case the accused is claiming and raising questions of facts as well as law which are complex in nature. The accused also raised certain issues which will be determined on historical facts. Therefore, in my view it is undesirable to try this case as a summary. Because in summary trial detail evidence, cross examination is not taken," it said. "In (summons) case, the accused has to lead detailed evidence and has to cross examine the witnesses of the complainant thoroughly. It shall be incumbent in the interest of

Razing bulldozer justice: Apex court underlines the need for due process

Apex court underlines the need for due process

Appoint prosecutors on merit, not on political leanings: Supreme Court

The apex court's remarks in the judgment came while hearing a plea against a decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court

SC to hear Tuesday plea challenging validity of 1991 Places of Worship Act

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Tuesday a plea challenging the validity of a provision of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which mandates maintaining the religious character of a place as it existed on August 15, 1947. As per the cause list of April 1, the plea is slated to come up for hearing before a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar. The law prohibits conversion of any place of worship and provides for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947. However, the dispute relating to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid at Ayodhya was kept out of its purview. The plea has sought the apex court's direction allowing courts to pass appropriate orders to ascertain the original religious character of a place of worship. It has challenged section 4(2) of the Act that barred proceedings to change the religious character, besides prohibiting filing of fresh cases for the ..

Codifying citizens' role in lawmaking for more accountable legislation

In a democracy, citizens hold the highest office, vested with significant rights and responsibilities

SC asks Danny Gaekwad to deposit Rs 600 crore for Religare counter offer

It asked US-based investor Danny Gaekwad to deposit Rs 600 crore in terms of its competing offer against the Burman family's open offer on or before February 12

No proposal at present to hike salaries of SC, HC judges, says govt

There is no proposal at present to hike the salary and allowances of Supreme Court and high court judges, the government said in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. The last time their salary, allowances and pensions were hiked was in 2017. "Presently, no proposal for enhancing pay, allowances and pension etc for the judges of Supreme Court and High Courts is under consideration of the government," Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said in a written reply. He said the pay, allowance and pension in respect of judges of the Supreme Court and the 25 high courts are governed by The Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1958 and The High Court Judges (Salary and Conditions of Services) Act, 1954 respectively. The salary, pension and allowances of judges of the higher were last revised with effect from January 1, 2016 following the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission recommendation by the government, through an amendment in both the laws. The chief justice of India

AGI Greenpac bid for Hindustan National Glass unsustainable: Supreme Court

The case pertains to HNG, which was admitted to insolvency in October 2021. Two bidders, AGI Greenpac and Independent Sugar Corp. (INSCO), were vying for HNG

AIBE 19 exam result 2024 to be out soon; here's how to check and download

The AIBE 19 exam result is expected to be out soon. This exam is mandatory for law graduates to practice law in India and obtain the Certificate of Practice (CoP)

Delhi High Court tells SpiceJet to pay $2.67 million to lessor in a week

Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet Ajay Singh appeared before the Delhi High Court during the hearing

Delhi High Court exempts electricity commissions' fees from GST

The judgment came in response to show cause notices (SCNs) issued by tax authorities demanding GST on regulatory fees under the Central GST (CGST) Act, 2017, and the Integrated GST (IGST) Act, 2017

Frame policy on cashless treatment for motor accident victims: SC to Centre

In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to formulate a scheme for cashless medical treatment to motor accident victims in the "golden hour" period mandated under law. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih referred to Section 162(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and ordered the government to provide by March 14 the scheme which could save numerous lives with prompt medical care to accident victims. The golden hour, defined under Section 2(12-A) of the Act, refers to a one-hour window following a traumatic injury under which a timely medical intervention will most likely prevent death. "We, therefore, direct the Central government to make a scheme in terms of sub-section (2) of Section 162 of the MV Act as expeditiously as possible and, in any event, by March 14, 2025. No further time shall be granted, it ordered. A copy of the scheme was directed to be placed on record on or before March 21, along with an affidavit of the ...

Elgar Parishad-Maoist case: HC grants bail to Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted bail to researcher Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale, arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, noting that they were in jail since 2018 and the trial was yet to start. A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Kamal Khata said the two had spent more than six years in jail as under-trial prisoners. "They are in jail since 2018. Even the charges in the case are yet to be framed. The prosecution has cited over 300 witnesses, and thus there is no possibility of the trial to conclude in the near future," the court said. A trial starts after the charges are framed. The NIA, the prosecution agency, did not seek a stay to the HC order. Defence lawyers Mihir Desai and Sudeep Pasbola had argued that the two accused were incarcerated since their arrest in the case. While granting relief, the high court said it was not dealing with the merits of the case at this stage. Wilson and Dhawale were directed to submit a surety of Rs one

Places of Worship Act: SC to hear plea against 'Bhojshala' survey in MP

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would hear a plea against an order on the survey of a medieval-era "Bhojshala" in Madhya Pradesh which people from two communities stake claim to, apart from pleas against the 1991 places for worship law. A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti said the issue appeared to be covered by the December 12 order of the apex court restraining courts in the country from entertaining fresh lawsuits and passing orders in disputed claims over religious structures. The bench directed the registry to seek instructions from Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and tagged the matter with the pending petitions. It left all contentions of the parties to be kept open during the hearing of the petitions. During a brief hearing, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, appearing for Hindu parties, said the issue of Bhojshala wouldn't be covered by the December 12 order as it was protected and maintained by the Archeological Survey of India. The bench said it was

Delhi HC refuses to intervene in order for revision in CLAT-2025 result

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to intervene in an order directing the Consortium of National Law Universities to revise the result of CLAT-2025 over errors in the answer key. A bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela while dealing with an appeal by the consortium against the decision of a high court single judge opined no case for an interim order was made out. The bench prima facie found no error in the view taken by the single judge with respect to two questions and clarified the consortium was free to declare the results in terms of the single judge's decision. "Single judge examined two questions carefully... Prima facie we concur with the said view," the court said, "you can proceed with the result. There is no interim order." The court posted the matter on January 7, 2025. On December 20, the single judge's verdict came on the plea of a CLAT aspirant and ruled the answers to two questions in the entrance test were wrong. The

Law committee calls for simplification of GST registration structure

As per GSTN data, more than 98 per cent of applicants for new registration under GST either do not pass on ITC or pass on ITC within a limit of Rs 500,000 per month

AAP legal cell head removed as VC of Bar Council Delhi over degree row

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has removed Sanjeev Nasiar from the post of Bar Council of Delhi's vice chairman, pending the completion of an inquiry into the authenticity of his law degree. Nasiar, who is also the president of Aam Aadmi Party's legal cell, holds a law degree from Devi Ahilya Bai Vishwavidyalaya, Indore. In a press conference at AAP office, Nasiar alleged that the BJP has weaponised the BCI against him. "I am not afraid of any action or investigation." "I welcome any inquiry by the CBI or any other authority. I will not be intimidated. Every document of mine has already been verified, and the high court has upheld this," he claimed. Earlier, in a release issued on Sunday, the BCI said, "The sub-committee constituted by the BCI, after a thorough enquiry, concluded that the authenticity of the LLB (Hons) degree of Sanjeev Nasiar is highly questionable." It said the BCI's general council had resolved to adopt the committee's report and the BCI secretary had been dire

Case lodged against Chinmoy Krishna Das, his followers in Bangladesh

A case was lodged on Sunday over a clash between police and followers of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das on the court premises in Chittagong, according to a media report. The Dhaka Tribune newspaper said the case names the Hindu leader, arrested on a charge of sedition, as the prime accused, along with 164 identified individuals and 400 to 500 unidentified people. The complaint was filed by Enamul Haque, a businessman and activist of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, in the court of Chittagong Metropolitan Magistrate Md Abu Bakar Siddique. Haque in his complaint alleged that he was attacked by followers of Chinmoy Krishna Das while returning home after completing land registry work at the court on November 26. The businessman claimed that he was targeted for wearing a panjabi', a kurta, and a cap, which resulted in injuries to his right hand and head. He was rescued by bystanders and admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, the newspaper said. Haque also said that his delay in fi

Banking law amendments to make inheritance of deposits unambiguous

To improve governance, customer services says experts