Page 118 - Supreme Court

SC to set up bench to hear pleas of states on recovery of royalty, tax dues

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will set up a bench to hear subsequent pleas of mineral-rich states like Jharkhand seeking to recover royalty and tax dues on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands worth thousands of crore of rupees from the Centre and mining firms. On July 25, a nine-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, in a majority 8:1 verdict, had ruled that the legislative power to tax mineral rights vests in states and not Parliament. In a subsequent order on August 14, the top court clarified that the judgement will not have prospective effect and permitted mineral-rich states recover from the Centre and mining firms the royalty and tax dues on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands worth thousands of crore of rupees since April 1, 2005 over a period of 12 years. On Wednesday, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for Jharkhand, urged the bench comprising the CJI and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra to allocate the pleas, relating to recover

NMC expected to act in fairly, says SC; rejects pleas with costs of Rs 10L

The National Medical Commission (NMC) is an organ of the State and is expected to act in a fair and reasonable manner, the Supreme Court has said while dismissing with costs of Rs 10 lakh its pleas challenging an order of the Kerala High Court. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan was dealing with pleas filed by the NMC and others in a matter related to the withdrawal of approval granted to a medical college for increase of seats from 150 to 250 for academic year 2023-24. The apex court observed that making a party run from court to court to seek permission, specifically when the institute has been functional for 18 years, was only an attempt to harass the institution. "Prima facie, we find that the attitude of the NMC is not of a model litigant. The NMC is an organ of the State and is expected to act in a fair and reasonable manner," the bench said in its order passed on September 9. "We are, therefore, of the view that the present special leave petitions are an abuse

Kolkata rape-murder: Doctors continue with cease work, sit-in protest

Defying Supreme Court's directive to join duties by 5 PM on September 10, protesting junior doctors in West Bengal continued with their cease work for the 33rd day on Wednesday to press their demand for justice for a medic who was allegedly raped and murdered at a state-run hospital here last month. The junior doctors also continued their sit-in outside Swasthya Bhawan, the headquarters of the state health department, for the second day, demanding that the Kolkata Police commissioner and senior health officials be removed from their posts. The top court on Monday directed the protesting resident doctors to resume work by 5 PM on Tuesday and said no adverse action shall be taken against them on resumption of work. The court passed the direction after the West Bengal government assured it that no action, including punitive transfers, shall be taken against the protesting doctors on resumption of work. The state government said it has written to the protesters, inviting them for a ...

SC to hear plea related to insolvency proceedings against Byju's on Sept 17

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will hear on September 17 the appeal of US-based creditor Glas Trust Company LLC against a judgment of the NCLAT, which had stayed insolvency proceedings against ed-tech firm BYJU's and approved its Rs 158.9 crore dues settlement with the BCCI. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was urged by a battery of lawyers that the plea be heard urgently keeping in mind the subsequent developments in the case. The plea was mentioned by senior advocate NK Kaul, appearing for the ed-tech major, that the case needed to be heard at the earliest. The submission was supported by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the BCCI, and senior lawyer Abhishek Singhvi, also appearing for the ed-tech firm. Kaul said another plea in the case has also been filed and that is listed for hearing on September 17 and hence, the present plea be either heard on that day or the hearings in both the cases be advance

Abortion rights measure will be on Missouri's November ballot, court rules

An amendment to restore abortion rights in Missouri will be on the ballot, the state's Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday. The proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution is expected to widely undo the state's 2022 near-total abortion ban if passed. Judges ruled hours before the Tuesday deadline for changes to be made to the November ballot. Mary Catherine Martin, a lawyer for a group of GOP lawmakers and abortion opponents suing to remove the amendment, during Tuesday arguments told Supreme Court judges that the initiative petition misled voters by not listing all the laws restricting abortion that it would effectively repeal. Abortion-rights campaign lawyer Chuck Hatfield described the lawsuit as an attempt to derail democracy. Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who opposes abortion, decertified the measure Monday, removing it from the ballot himself following a county circuit judge's ruling Friday. The amendment is part of a national push to have voters weigh

1991 Multani murder case: SC to not quash fresh FIR against ex-Punjab DGP

The Supreme Court Tuesday refused to interfere with a fresh FIR lodged against former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini in the 1991 disappearance and murder of junior engineer Balwant Singh Multani. A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Pankaj Mithal said that in view of the subsequent development of a charge sheet being filed in the case, it would not like to interfere with the FIR. The top court, however, said that observations and findings recorded in the Punjab and Haryana High Court verdict dated September 8, 2020, will not come in the way of proceedings before the trial court. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Saini, sought quashing of the FIR, saying it was lodged in 2020 after decades of the alleged incident due to political reasons. He said that time and again this court had granted relief to Saini, who is a decorated officer, and even protected him from any coercive action in the case. Justice Sundresh said that since the charge sheet has been filed in the case, it

SC stays proceedings against Shashi Tharoor over remarks against PM Modi

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed proceedings before a trial court against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in a defamation case lodged against him for his alleged "scorpion on Shivling" remarks targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and R Mahadevan issued notice to the Delhi government and the complainant in the case. The notice is returnable in four weeks. Tharoor has moved the top court against Delhi High Court order which refused to quash defamation proceedings against him on August 29. The Congress leader had sought setting aside of the trial court's April 27, 2019 order summoning him as an accused in the criminal defamation complaint filed by Rajiv Babbar as also the November 2, 2018 complaint. The criminal complaint was filed against Tharoor in the trial court by Babbar, who claimed that his religious sentiments were hurt by the Congress leader's statement. In October 2018, Tharoor had claimed that an unnamed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS

Free on-arrival visa scheme to be implemented after Parl nod: Sri Lanka

The commencement of granting free on-arrival visas to tourists from 38 countries, including India, can only be implemented in October as it needs parliamentary approval, Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles has announced. The minister said on Monday that a new gazette to implement the change requires parliamentary approval. Last week, the presidential advisor on tourism, Harin Fernando, said the scheme was to be implemented with immediate effect following a proposal approved by the Cabinet. The Parliament is not scheduled to meet before the September 21 presidential election. The island's tourism industry has demanded an immediate end to the long delays experienced by travellers to the country. In April, a foreign company was engaged to issue on-arrival visas. However, it has caused much heartburn to the tourism industry that says travellers are made to spend hours before being allowed entry at the immigration at the Colombo International Airport. The tourism industry demands

WB school jobs row: SC to hear pleas challenging HC verdict on Sept 24

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would hear on September 24 the pleas of the West Bengal government and others challenging a Calcutta High Court order that invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in state government and aided schools. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said it may not be able to hear the batch of pleas, listed on Tuesday, due to the hearing of some other matters during the day. "We will list it on September 24," the CJI said. Earlier, the top court had said that it will hear the pleas on September 10 and granted last opportunity to the parties to file their responses to the petitions by August 16. The bench had also asked the nodal counsel -- Astha Sharma, who represents the state government, and Shalini Kaul, Partha Chatterjee and Shekhar Kumar-- to prepare a common compilation of the records in electronic form and ensure that the judgments cited by the parties were part of

SC orders U'khand college to release original documents of MBBS students

In a relief to 91 students, the Supreme Court has ordered a medical college in Uttarakhand to release their original documents withheld by the institute for non-payment of fee arrears. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the submissions of senior lawyer Gaurav Agarwal and advocate Tanvi Dubey, appearing for the doctors, that the students will neither be able to register themselves as medical practitioner nor can take up examinations for higher studies for lack of original documents. The bench, which also comprised justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, ordered Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences College at Dehradun in Uttarakhand to release the documents on payment of Rs 7.5 lakh by students who have completed their MBBS course and the requisite internship. The students will have to give an undertaking that they will be paying the remaining fee arrears, the top court said on Monday. The medical college had earlier increased Rs 5 lakh

'Protests won't stop': Bengal IMA defies SC order over RG Kar rape case

RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder case: The Indian Medical Association of West Bengal has defied the Supreme Court's order for protesting junior doctors to return to work

Kolkata rape-murder: Doctors want demands met before returning to work

The West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front said it would 'consider' the court's order only if its demands were tackled by the deadline

Medic rape-murder: Junior docs' ceasework to continue despite SC's order

Agitating junior doctors in West Bengal on Monday evening said they would continue their cease work' to demand justice for the RG Kar hospital medic who was raped and murdered, despite Supreme Court directions to resume duties by 5 pm on Tuesday. Demanding the resignation of the state's health secretary and director of health education (DHE), the striking medics said that they would also take out a rally to 'Swasthya Bhavan' the headquarters of the health department in Salt Lake on Tuesday noon. "Our demands are unfulfilled and justice is not meted out to the victim. We will continue our agitation as well as the cease work'. We want the health secretary and DHE to resign. Tomorrow noon, we will hold a rally to the Swasthya Bhavan," one of the protesting doctors told PTI after their governing body meeting here. The body of the postgraduate trainee was found with injury marks in a seminar room of state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. She was allegedly raped and .

Accused in custody in one case can seek anticipatory bail in another: SC

The Supreme Court on Monday held that an accused, who is lodged in custody in a case, is entitled to seek anticipatory bail in another matter as long as he is not arrested in relation to that alleged offence. The apex court said there was no express or implied restriction in the statute that prohibits the sessions court or high courts from deciding an anticipatory bail application in a case, while the applicant was in custody in connection with a different offence. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said the purpose behind incorporating section 438 in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which deals with direction for grant of bail to a person apprehending arrest, was to recognise the importance of "personal liberty and freedom in a free and democratic country". "An accused is entitled to seek anticipatory bail in connection with an offence so long as he is not arrested in relation to that offence. Once he is arrested, the only remedy available to him is to apply for

SC directs Bengal's protesting doctors to resume work by 5pm on Tuesday

The apex court also flagged the at least a 14-hour delay by Kolkata Police in registering an FIR in the rape and murder of the doctor

SC sets aside Bombay HC order imposing Rs 80 lakh fine on Sebi, NSE, BSE

The petition has been restored to the original file for disposal. "Let the matter be heard (by the Bombay High Court) for passing an interim or final order," the Supreme Court said

SC upholds ED's summons against TMC leader Abhishek, wife in coal case

In a setback to TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira Banerjee, the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed their pleas challenging the summons and proceedings initiated against them by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case related to alleged illegal excavation and theft of coal in areas of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL). A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma upheld the validity of the summons issued by the ED dated September 10, 2021, to the couple under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) asking them to appear in New Delhi office in connection with the case. "In that view of the matter, we do not find any substance in the challenge made by the appellants to the summons issued to the appellants under Section 50 of the PMLA," the bench ordered. It said that as contemplated in the sub-section (3) of Section 50, all the persons summoned are bound to attend in person or through authorised agents as the officer may .

SC rejects PIL asking to halt export of arms, military equipments to Israel

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a PIL seeking a direction to the Centre to stop the export of arms and military equipments to Israel which is fighting a war in Gaza, saying the court cannot enter into the domain of the nation's foreign policy. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said the Indian firms, involved in the export of arms, equipments to Israel, may be sued for breach of contractual obligations and hence they cannot be stopped from supplying. "We cannot enter into the nation's foreign policy domain," the bench said. "Can we direct that under the UN's genocide convention you ban the export to Israel...why this restraint. This is because it impacts the foreign policy and we do not know what the impact will be," the CJI said. A PIL was filed by Ashok Kumar Sharma and others through lawyer Prashant Bhushan seeking a direction to the Centre to cancel licences and not to grant new ones to Indian firms exporting arms an

Kolkata rape-murder: SC voices concern over absence of document for autopsy

The Supreme Court on Monday voiced concern over the absence of a key document that was needed for the postmortem of the medic raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, and asked the CBI to investigate into it. The top court also directed the protesting resident doctors in West Bengal to resume work by 5 pm on Tuesday and said no adverse action shall be taken against them on resumption of work. The court passed the direction after the West Bengal government assured it that no action, including punitive transfers, shall be taken against the protesting doctors on resumption of work. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said there was no reference of the 'challan' (document) used, and sought an answer from the CBI and the West Bengal government. "Where is the challan of the body when it was handed over for postmortem? the bench also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, informed the

Medic rape-murder case: SC urges doctors to return to work by 5 on Tuesday

The Supreme Court on Monday commenced hearing a suo motu case related to the rape and murder of a postgraduate medic at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is hearing the matter. On August 22, the apex court had tore into the Kolkata Police over the delay in registering the unnatural death of the woman doctor, who was raped and killed at the RG Kar Hospital, calling it "extremely disturbing", and questioned the sequence of events and the timing of its procedural formalities. The top court had earlier constituted a 10-member National Task Force (NTF) to formulate a protocol for ensuring the safety and security of doctors and other health care professionals. Terming the incident as "horrific", the apex court had excoriated the state government over the delay in filing the FIR and allowing thousands of people to vandalise the state-run facility. The alleged rape and murder of th