Page 142 - Supreme Court

Soumya murder case: SC notice on plea challenging bail granted to convicts

Highlighting the two life terms awarded to the convicts, Soumya's mother has sought the top court's intervention

NCLAT order of Jet Airways takeover shocking, unacceptable: SBI tells SC

The lenders have appealed against this order in the Supreme Court

2G spectrum case: Centre moves SC seeking modification of 2012 verdict

More than 12 years after it was delivered, the Centre on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking modification of its verdict in the 2G spectrum case which said the State was duty bound to adopt the auction route while transferring or alienating the country's natural resources. In its judgement delivered on February 2, 2012, the apex court had quashed 2G spectrum licences given to various firms during the tenure of A Raja as the telecom minister in January 2008. On Monday, Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, mentioned an interim application before a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice J B Pardiwala. While seeking urgent listing of the application, the top law officer told the bench that the plea seeks modification of the 2012 verdict as the Centre wanted to grant 2G spectrum licences in some cases. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation which was one of the petitioners on whose plea the February 20

SC grants Centre one week to provide relief to drought-stricken Karnataka

Karnataka government has sought financial assistance of Rs 18,171.44 crore under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for drought-relief from the Centre

SC seeks Guj govt's reply on bail plea of ex-IAS officer Pradeep Sharma

The Supreme Court on Monday sought response of the Gujarat government on the bail plea of retired IAS officer Pradeep Sharma in a case of alleged illegal allotment of government land for monetary benefits during his tenure as the collector of Kutch district. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan issued notice to the Gujarat government and sought its response in four weeks. Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, appearing for Sharma, said, "I am the usual weeping boy of the state, who is seeking relief in the matter." The bench said, "Alright, we are issuing the notice." Sharma has challenged the March 20 order of the Gujarat High Court rejecting his bail plea in the case. The high court had observed that it was not inclined to favour the applicant-accused (Sharma) given the fact that there have been several FIRs registered against him in similar offences "while sitting over the highest post of the government". The FIR was lodged against Sharma by state CID Crime in Kutch unde

Over 2,000 criminal cases against MPs, MLAs decided in 2023: SC told

Special courts for trial of criminal cases related to Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly decided more than 2,000 cases in 2023, the Supreme Court has been informed. In an affidavit filed by senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, who has been appointed amicus curiae in a PIL seeking expeditious disposal of criminal cases against MPs/MLAs, said that more directions are needed for speedy adjudication of pending trials and their investigation under strict monitoring by the respective high courts, as there are around 501 candidates with criminal cases who are contesting the Lok Sabha elections in the first two phases. Referring to a report of NGO 'Association of Democratic Reforms for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase I and Phase II,' Hansaria, assisted by advocate Sneha Kalita, said that out of 2,810 candidates (Phase I - 1618 candidates and Phase II - 1192 candidates), 501 (18 per cent) candidates have criminal cases against them, out of which, 327 (12 per cent) are ...

BJP may bring back electoral bonds after 2024 elections: FM Sitharaman

Electoral bond issue: Finance Minister Sitharaman said electoral bonds could be reintroduced with improvements for transparency and stakeholder consultations if BJP came back to power after the ongoin

CJI Chandrachud urges voters to not miss voting in 2024 general elections

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has urged citizens not to miss the opportunity to vote in the general elections, saying that it is the "foremost duties" in a constitutional democracy. In a video message for the Election Commission's 'My Vote My Voice' mission for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Justice Chandrachud said, "We are citizens of the world's largest democracy, which is our country. "The Constitution gives us a multitude of rights as citizens but it also expects that each of us performs the duty, which is cast upon us. And one of the foremost duties of citizenship is to cast a vote in a constitutional democracy," he said. "I will request every one of you please do not miss this opportunity to vote responsibly as citizens of our great motherland. Five minutes, every five years for our nation. It's doable, isn't it? Let's vote with pride. My vote, my voice," the CJI said. Justice Chandrachud said the citizens have a participatory role in electing the government and that is w

We are using AI to translate new criminal legislations: Ministry of Law

As far as the use of technology in the arbitration and mediation system is concerned, he said they have consciously incorporated the use of online mediation

SC issues notices on plea challenging anti-profiteering provisions

The petition, filed by Swati Reality, states that the High Court erred in failing to appreciate that the impugned provisions under the GST system are ultra vires the Constitution

SC asks Ramdev to implead complainants in plea for stay of criminal probes

The Supreme Court on Friday asked yoga guru Ramdev to implead the complainants, who have lodged cases against him over his alleged remarks against the use of allopathic medicines during the Covid pandemic, as party in his plea seeking stay of criminal proceedings. The Patna and Raipur chapters of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) have lodged complaints in 2021 alleging Ramdev's remarks were likely to cause prejudice to Covid control mechanism and may dissuade people from availing proper treatment. A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale, which was hearing Ramdev's plea seeking stay on criminal proceedings, said he needs to implead the complainants for securing relief in the matter. The bench granted liberty to Ramdev to implead the complainants and posted the matter for hearing after the summer vacations of the apex court, which are starting from May 20. The counsel appearing for the Bihar government said he needed time to file reply in the matter. In his plea, Ramdev ha

SC reserves verdict on cross-verification of votes using EVMs with VVPAT

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta reserved its verdict after hearing the response of Election Commission on the pleas. The petitioners have also sought reversal of the poll panel's 2017 decision to replace the transparent glass on VVPAT machines with an opaque glass through which a voter can see the slip only when the light is on for seven seconds. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the Election Commission, explained the process of how an EVM functions. Advocate Prashant Bhushan and senior advocate Gopal Sankararanarayanan appeared for the petitioners. Other lawyers represented the intervenors. On April 16, the top court had deprecated criticism of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and calls for reverting to ballot papers, saying the electoral process in India is a "humongo

SC asks EC to look into allegation of EVM malfunctioning in Kerala

The Supreme Court observed that in an electoral process, there has to be sanctity, and nobody should have apprehension that something which is expected is not being done

What did the Supreme Court say about VVPATs and EVMs?

The Supreme Court on April 16 ruled out returning to ballot papers by saying the judges “have not forgotten” the past. The petitions sought cross-verification of votes cast with the VVPAT system

SC questions EVMs, VVPAT counting process; rejects return to ballot paper

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta heard petitions regarding the comprehensive verification of votes VVPAT system

Skill development case: SC to hear AP's plea against bail to Naidu on May 7

The Supreme Court will hear on May 7 a plea filed by the Andhra Pradesh government challenging a high court order granting regular bail to TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu in the skill development corporation scam case. The petition came up for hearing on Tuesday before a bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal which noted the counsel for the state has said they have filed an interlocutory application (IA) in the matter. It observed the said application does not appear to be part of the record. "In view of the above, the Registry is directed to do the needful. List the IA and the special leave petition on May 7, 2024," the bench said in its order. The state government has approached the apex court challenging the November 20 last year order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court which granted regular bail to Naidu. On November 28 last year, the top court had sought a response from Naidu on the state's plea against the high court order. The top court had also relaxed the bail ..

SC pans EVM critics, says attempts should not be made to bring down system

The Supreme Court on Tuesday deprecated criticism of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and calls for reverting to ballot papers, saying the electoral process in India is a "humongous task" and attempts should not be made to "bring down the system". It also recalled how polling booths were captured in the era of ballot papers to manipulate election results. The top court was hearing a batch of pleas seeking complete cross-verification of the votes cast using EVMs with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), an independent vote verification system which enables an elector to see whether his vote was cast correctly. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta was critical of the argument that many European countries have gone back to ballot papers after having tried out voting machines. "This is a humongous task. No European country can do this. You talked about Germany but what is the population there. My home state West Bengal is far more populous than Germany. We have

Supreme Court order on climate change not a recipe to rewrite laws

The Supreme Court of India has always advocated a balance between development and environmental goals, say experts

Patanjali's Ramdev, Balkrishna not out of the woods yet, says Supreme Court

Supreme Court asks them to issue a public statement in a week

Supreme Court allows women officers to challenge Army's promotion policy

30 women colonels have filed an appeal against policy that mandates compulsory higher courses lasting two years