Page 107 - Supreme Court

Byju's in trouble again as SC scraps NCLAT ruling on insolvency proceedings

A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud revoked the NCLAT's approval of Byju's settlement of Rs 158.9 cr in outstanding dues to the BCCI

Haryana suspends 24 agri dept officials for failing to stop stubble burning

Haryana's Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Department has suspended 24 officials over alleged failure to take adequate steps to prevent stubble burning incidents in their respective areas. An order in this regard was issued on October 20. While the order mentioned that the officials are suspended on administrative grounds, a senior officer of the department on Tuesday said the action has been taken because of the alleged failure of these officials to prevent stubble burning incidents. He said that more stubble burning cases were found in their areas. The officials, who have been placed under suspension, include agriculture inspectors, supervisors and agriculture development officers from nine districts --Jind, Panipat, Hisar, Kaithal, Karnal, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra, Sonipat and Ambala. When reporters here on Tuesday asked Haryana's Agriculture Minister Shyam Singh Rana the reason behind suspension of the 24 officials, he said, "The reason is that stubble should not be burnt." "Wh

Criticism is everyone's right, not levelling defamatory allegations: BJP

The BJP said on Tuesday that everyone in politics has a right to criticise but those levelling defamatory allegations will have to suffer consequences, as the Supreme Court cleared the way for AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal to face trial in a defamation case for remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's educational qualifications. BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP Ravi Shankar Prasad claimed that Kejriwal's conduct towards PM Modi has been utterly irresponsible, saying it need not be told the kind of "abuses" he has heaped on Modi. Prasad said Kejriwal offered to tender an apology during the hearing in the Supreme Court on Monday but it was declined. He has become an expert in tendering apologies, the BJP leader said, adding he has apologised 10 times to different leaders, including Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari and Kapil Sibal, for his defamatory remarks. In a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, Prasad described him as a companion of Kejriwal and noted that the Congress leader has also been facing defamati

Punjab CM approves prosecution of Dera Sacha Sauda head in sacrilege cases

Cases were filed after several incidents in Bargari, Faridkot district, where the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of the Sikhs, was allegedly desecrated and had gone missing

SC permits govt-appointed Unitech board to seek police aid for disturbances

The Supreme Court on Tuesday permitted the Centre-appointed board of directors of Unitech Ltd to seek police assistance to deal with "impediments" created by third parties on properties of the embattled realty firm. The top court had on January 20, 2020 come to the rescue of over 12,000 hassled homebuyers of Unitech Ltd by permitting the union ministry of corporate affairs to take "total management control" of the real estate firm and appointed retired Haryana cadre IAS officer Yudvir Singh Malik as chairman and managing director (CMD). On Tuesday, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of an interim plea of the government-appointed board that it has been facing third party disturbances in effectively dealing with the properties and other affairs of the real estate company. "It has been clarified that in the event of impediments created by any third party, the board (of directors) can seek police assistance," ordered the

Bahraich violence: SC to hear plea against demolition notices by UP govt

The Supreme Court agreed to hear on Wednesday a plea filed by three accused in the Bahraich communal violence incident against demolition notices issued by the Uttar Pradesh government. Senior advocate C U Singh, appearing for the petitioners, mentioned the matter before a bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan seeking urgent hearing. "This is an application by three persons who are recipients of demolition notices. The state government has given only three days to respond to the notices," Singh told the bench. Singh submitted that petitioner No.1's father and brothers have surrendered and notices were purportedly issued on October 17 and pasted on 18th evening. "We sought hearing on Sunday, but that did not happen," he added. Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, told the court that the Allahabad High Court is seized of the matter and has given 15 days' time to respond to the notice. The bench then said, "If they (UP govt)

Ram Rahim to face trial for 2015 sacrilege, Punjab govt grants nod

The development follows the Supreme Court lifting the Punjab and Haryana High Court's stay on Dera Sacha Sauda head Ram Rahim Singh's trial in the 2015 sacrilege cases three days ago

FinMin can't treat DRT officers as subordinates, says Supreme Court

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih was hearing a matter related to lawyers' strikes at DRT Visakhapatnam

SC notices ECI after plea claims RP Act provision prevents choosing NOTA

The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre and Election Commission of India (ECI) on a plea challenging a provision of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, claiming it prevents voters from choosing the "none of the above" (NOTA) option if there was only one candidate. The plea, which came up for hearing before a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, challenged Section 53 (2) of the Act. Section 53 deals with procedure in contested and uncontested elections and Section 53 (2) says if the number of contesting candidates is equal to the number of seats to be filled, the returning officer shall forthwith declare all such candidates to be duly elected to fill those seats. The apex court issued notices to the Centre and the ECI seeking their responses on the petition. Senior advocate Arvind Datar along with advocate Harsh Parashar appeared for petitioner legal think-tank Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. The plea further sought that Rule 11 read with Forms

SC slams Finance Ministry for asking data from debts recovery tribunals

The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Union Finance Ministry for seeking data from the Debts Recovery Tribunals (DRT) over the amount recovered on the basis of the tribunals' orders and sought an explanation. A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih said the ministry could not treat the judicial staff of the DRTs as its subordinates and owed an explanation for calling upon the tribunals to collect such huge data within a short time. "You are treating the judicial staff as if they are your subordinates. We expect an apology from the government. Such extent of collection of data is sought within three days. If you want data to be collected, additional staff as required by DRT should be provided. This will not be tolerated. Some of them are judicial officers you are treating them as subordinates," the bench said. The top court expressed its surprise over the DRTs carrying out such an exercise. "The secretary of the department concerned shall look into the

SC stresses on uniform standards for student safety at coaching centres

The Supreme Court on Monday stressed on having "uniform standards" to the extent possible to ensure safety and security of students studying at coaching centres. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan was hearing a matter related to the deaths of three civil service aspirants at a coaching centre in the national capital in July due to the flooding in the building's basement. On July 27, the three students drowned in the basement library of Rau's IAS Study Circle in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area after it was flooded following heavy rains. The top court was informed by senior advocate Siddharth Dave, who is assisting the top court as an amicus curiae, about the broad areas that required attention. Dave referred to the aspects of fire safety, fee regulation, student to classroom area ratio, student to teacher ratio, installation of CCTVs, medical facilities, mental health care and counselling for those studying at coaching centres. He suggested that all states be impleaded

SC dismisses plea to remove 'socialist' & 'secular' terms from Constitution

A Supreme Court bench was hearing of a Public Interest Litigation that calls for the terms 'socialist' and 'secular' to be removed from the Constitution's Preamble

SC dismisses Kejriwal's plea to quash summons in PM defamation case

Former Delhi chief minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal is facing criminal proceedings in a defamation case over his alleged remarks over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's educational qualification after the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed his plea to quash summons. A Gujarat Metropolitan court had summoned Kejriwal and AAP's Sanjay Singh in the defamation case over their alleged "sarcastic" and "derogatory" statements related to PM Modi's educational degrees. Gujarat University Registrar Piyush Patel had filed the defamation case against the politicians over their alleged comments after the Gujarat High Court set aside an order of the chief information commissioner (CIC) for providing information about Modi's degrees under the Right to Information Act. A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti noted that a separate bench of the apex court had junked the plea filed by AAP leader Sanjay Singh on April 8 in the same case, who is a co-accused in the case. "We m

SC grants two weeks more to expert panel to file report on NEET-UG reforms

The Supreme Court on Monday extended by two weeks the time granted to the Centre-appointed seven-member expert panel to file its report on exam reforms after reviewing the National Testing Agency's functioning in holding the NEET-UG. The top court on August 2 had passed its formal order and expanded the remit of the seven-member expert panel, headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Radhakrishnan, to review the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and recommend exam reforms to make the controversy-ridden NEET-UG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate), transparent and free from malpractices. The NEET-UG is conducted by the NTA for admission in undergraduate medical programs. The top court had also refused to annul the NEET-UG of 2024, saying there was no sufficient material on record at present to indicate a systemic leak or malpractice compromising the integrity of the examination. On Monday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, ...

Supreme Court to hear on Monday civil services aspirants' death case

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a matter related to the death of three civil service aspirants at a coaching centre here in July due to the flooding in the building's basement. On July 27, three civil services aspirants drowned in the basement library of Rau's IAS Study Circle in the Old Rajinder Nagar area here after it was flooded following heavy rain. As per the cause list of October 21 uploaded on the apex court's website, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan is slated to hear the matter. On September 20, the top court directed a Union government-appointed committee probing the case to submit an interim report about the measures it wanted to be taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents. The apex court had also asked the Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi governments to apprise it of the policy and legislative and administrative changes made to prevent a repeat of such incidents. It had said uniform initiatives should be taken in the entire Nationa

No place for derogatory language against women in courtrooms: CJI

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said all forms of derogatory language, particularly against women, have no place in courts, noting that insensitive words can perpetuate stereotypes and may disproportionately affect women and marginalised communities. The CJI referred to complaints from women judicial officers about the use of derogatory language by some members of the administrative establishment towards women. Addressing a gathering at the inauguration of the North Goa District Courts Complex near Panaji, the CJI said, "We must actively work to dismantle all barriers to have truly democratic access to justice". "As we strive for inclusivity within our courtrooms, the language which we use must reflect our ethos. We must be vigilant in our choice of words ensuring that our language is not only precise but also respectful and intrusive," the CJI said. He said the insensitive or dismissive language can perpetuate stereotypes and may disproportionately affect women

Have tried to make SC a people's court since becoming CJI: Chandrachud

CJI DY Chandrachud, further asserted that AORs are a vital stakeholder in all the decisions which the Court makes and have a crucial voice in the Court's administrative and judicial decision-making

Fed up with frivolous petitions filed by states, PSUs despite warnings: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday said it is fed up with the "frivolous petitions" filed by various state governments and public sector undertakings despite repeated warnings. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan said merely because officers of the state governments or public sector undertakings (PSUs) do not have to bear the cost of litigation personally, the court is burdened with such frivolous matters. "We are fed up with such frivolous special leave petition(s) filed by various state governments and public undertakings," the bench said after it got annoyed over an appeal moved by the Jharkhand government in the case of a government employee who has challenged his dismissal from service. "We have been telling this for the past six months. It is enough," the bench said and added that in spite of warnings, the counsel appearing for various state governments and public undertakings have not shown any intention to refrain from filing such frivolous petitions. "We continue to

Big relief for Sadhguru, SC ruling on Benami transactions, PM Modi in BRICS & more

The Supreme Court today cancelled all proceedings against the Isha Foundation in a petition filed by a father alleging his two daughters had been ‘brainwashed’ to reside at Sadhguru’s ashram.

Will process 3k tonne more solid waste per day in Delhi by 2026: MCD in SC

The Supreme Court was on Friday informed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), which said by 2026 it will exceed its capacity of processing 11,000 tonnes of solid waste generated daily in the national capital. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih was informed by senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for the MCD that in compliance of the court's order, the civic body was able to clear all the bottlenecks and had started the bidding process for hiring contractors for the management of municipal solid waste. "By 2026, we will not only be able to meet the new waste generated on a daily basis but also be ahead of it by 3,000 tonnes a day. We have started the tender process and in the next two weeks, we will be able to finalise the bids for the purpose," she submitted. Guruswamy further said that due to the July 26 order of the apex court, the MCD was able to get all necessary clearances and the work had now started. "The Delhi government has set the li