Page 140 - Supreme Court

SC adjourns former Tamil Nadu Minister Senthil Balaji bail plea till May 6

The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned till May 6 the hearing on the bail plea of former Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last year in connection with a money laundering case. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan deferred the matter after a lawyer appearing for the agency sought an adjournment saying Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was not available. The lawyer told the bench that they have filed their reply in the matter. Senior advocate Aryama Sundaram, appearing for Balaji, urged the bench to hear the matter and contended that he had been inside jail for 320 days. The bench said it has not gone through ED's reply in the case and posted the matter for hearing on May 6. The top court on April 1 sought a response from the ED on Balaji's bail plea while issuing notice to the agency. Dismissing the bail petition, the Madras High Court on February 28 said if he is let out on bail in a case of this nature, it will send a wrong s

Chasing paper trails

Supreme Court puts VVPAT controversy to rest

SC to hear Kejriwal's plea against arrest in money laundering case Monday

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging his arrest in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged excise policy scam. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta is likely to hear the matter. Kejriwal had earlier told the apex court that his "illegal arrest" in the case constitutes an unprecedented assault on the tenets of democracy based on "free and fair elections" and "federalism". In a rejoinder to the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) reply affidavit filed on his petition challenging his arrest in the case, Kejriwal said the mode, manner and timing of his arrest just before the Lok Sabha elections when the Model Code of Conduct had come into play, speaks volumes about the "arbitrariness" of the agency. Kejriwal claimed it is a "classical case" of how the Centre has misused the ED and its wide powers under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to "crush" the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its leaders.

Congress should apologise for questioning integrity of EVMs: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Congress should apologise to the country for doubting the integrity of the electronic voting machines (EVMs). Speaking at an election rally here, he also said Goa was a model of the BJP 'saturation approach' to the implementation of the central government's schemes, which was true secularism and means of doing social justice. Congress lied about EVMs and tried to instigate people, but the Supreme Court has held in its recent ruling that there was nothing wrong with EVMs, the prime minister said, adding that Congress should apologise to the country for its stand. "Goa is a model of the BJP's saturation approach (to welfare scheme) which has benefited farmers, the poor, fisherfolk, women. Modi lives to fulfill your dreams and aspirations," he said, The coastal state is the land of patriots and known for its magnificent temples and churches, Modi added. The 2024 elections are a fight between the NDA's ideology which seeks to fulfill .

Delhi liquor policy case: Kejriwal files response to ED's affidavit in SC

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday told the Supreme Court that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has acted in a "most highhanded manner" in a money-laundering case stemming from the alleged excise policy scam. In a rejoinder to the ED's reply affidavit filed on his petition challenging his arrest in the case, Kejriwal said he has always cooperated with the investigation. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said the ED, in its reply affidavit filed in the apex court, has said that one of the reasons which necessitated his arrest was that he did not remain present before the investigating officer (IO) despite being summoned nine times. Kejriwal said the ED has said in its reply that in such a case, the IO was justified in forming an opinion that custodial interrogation would lead to "a qualitatively more elicitation orientated" questioning of the accused. "The aforementioned tenor, text and contents of the reply leave no manner of doubt that the ED has acted in a most ...

SC rejects pleas seeking 100% verification of EVM votes with VVPAT slips

The court also said that regressive measures to revert to paper ballots or any alternative to the EVMs that does not adequately safeguard the interests of Indian citizens have to be eschewed

SC's EVM verdict 'tight slap' to Congress-led Opposition: PM Modi

'I will not allow reservations meant for SCs, STs and OBCs to be diverted for vote bank politics. This is Modis guarantee', he said

SC issues notice to EC on plea seeking re-election if NOTA gets majority

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Petition filed by motivational speaker Shiv Khera wants NOTA to be treated as a 'fictional candidate'

Supreme Court rejects all pleas seeking 100% EVM-VVPAT verification

The top court was hearing petitions seeking a complete verification of VVPATs generated by EVMs during the elections

SC's EVM order: Former CECs say 100% cross-verification not needed

Former chief election commissioners Friday welcomed the Supreme Court order rejecting pleas to go back to the ballot system and hold complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with paper trail machines, and said the present system of matching results was sufficient. Delivering its verdict on a clutch of petitions, the top court said persistent doubts and despair in EVMs create distrust in the electoral process and reduce citizen participation. Former CEC O P Rawat welcomed the apex court verdict and pointed out that the Election Commission (EC) had approached the Indian Statistical Institute in 2017, seeking answers on a sample of VVPAT-EVM cross-verification to ensure 99.99 per cent voter confidence level. The ISI said a sample of 479 VVPAT count out of 10 lakh polling stations will be good enough for 99.99 per cent confidence, he told PTI. The EC decided that one polling station in every assembly segment would be identified for EVM-VVPAT match. "The figure came to 4,300

What was the Supreme Court's final verdict on Evm VVPAT

The Supreme Court has dismissed all petitions demanding full verification of votes cast using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) paired with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips.

SC to consider plea of Delhi govt against law giving Centre upper hand

The Supreme Court on Friday told the Delhi government that it would consider listing its plea challenging the central government's law establishing pre-eminence of the lieutenant governor over the elected dispensation in controlling services in the national capital. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was urged by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the AAP government, that the whole administration has come to a standstill and the matter needed to be heard. The CJI said presently a nine-judge bench matter is going on and he will consider the submission. Presently, the nine-judge bench headed by the CJI is hearing petitions raising a vexed legal question whether private properties can be considered "material resources of the community" under Article 39(b) of the Constitution, which is a part of the Directive Principles of State Policy. The top court had earlier referred to a five-judge Constitution bench the Delhi ..

After EC's reply to SC queries, verdict on EVM-VVPAT case likely today

In the last hearing, the Supreme Court panned EVM criticism and the calls for a return to ballot papers, saying that efforts should not be made to undermine the electoral process

EVM-VVPAT case: What did the Election Commission tell the Supreme Court?

On April 24, the Supreme Court posed five questions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding the working of EVMs.

Wealth redistribution debate: Supreme Court hears case on private property

The case stems from a challenge to the 1986 amendment to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Act, 1976 by owners of 'cessed' properties in Mumbai

SC to share cause lists, info about filing of cases through WhatsApp: CJI

The Supreme Court will start sharing information relating to cause lists, and filing and listing of cases to advocates through WhatsApp messages, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud announced on Thursday. The announcement was made by the CJI before a nine-judge bench headed by him commenced the hearing on a vexed legal question arising from the petitions whether private properties can be considered "material resources of the community" under Article 39(b) of the Constitution, which is a part of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP). "In the 75th year, the Supreme Court launches an initiative to strengthen access to justice by integration of WhatsApp messages with the IT services of the Supreme Court," the CJI said. Now, the advocates will receive automated messages about filing the cases, he said, adding that the members of the bar will also get the cause lists, as and when they are published, on mobile phones. A cause list features the cases to be heard by a court on

DMRC vs DAMEPL: SC broadens scope of court intervention in arbitral awards

A perusal of the judgment in DMRC vs DAMEPL would show that the SC has interpreted the terms of the contract and that too, in its curative jurisdiction

In SC affidavit, ED cites Delhi CM Kejriwal's conduct to justify arrest

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal led the investigating officer through his conduct "to form the satisfaction" that he is guilty of money laundering. In its reply affidavit to Kejriwal's petition challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the agency said the AAP leader was avoiding interrogation by not being present before the investigating officer despite nine summonses. Reacting to the affidavit, AAP alleged the ED has become "a machine for telling lies". The ED said in its affidavit, "The accused, by his conduct, has himself contributed and aided the investigating officer regarding the existence of the necessity to arrest, apart from the material in possession of the IO, to form the satisfaction that the petitioner is guilty of the offence of money laundering." Terming Kejriwal's petition challenging his arrest as "devoid of merit" and liable to be dismissed, the ED said the material that ..

WB moves SC against cancellation of appointment of 25,000 staff in schools

The West Bengal government has moved the Supreme Court against the Calcutta High Court order invalidating the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff made by the state's School Service Commission (SSC) in state-run and state-aided schools. Challenging the high court order, the state government, in its appeal filed before the top court, said the HC cancelled the appointments "arbitrarily". "The high court failed to appreciate the ramification of cancelling the entire selection process leading to straightaway termination of teaching and non-teaching staff from service with immediate effect, without giving sufficient time to the petitioner state to deal with such an exigency, rendering the education system at a stand-still," the plea said. The Calcutta High Court had on Monday declared the selection process as "null and void" and directed the CBI to probe the appointment process. It had also asked the central agency to submit a report within three months. The high court

Govt application in SC 'doesn't seek' to change spectrum auction order

It has not sought permission for administratively allocating spectrum, say sources