Page 158 - Supreme Court

SC to hear PIL seeking court-monitored probe into Sandeshkhali case on Mon

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a PIL seeking a court-monitored CBI or SIT probe into the violence in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali village. A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Augustine George Masih will hear the PIL filed by advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava. On February 16, the top court agreed to hear the plea after it was mentioned for urgent listing by Srivastava. The plea, filed by Srivastava in his personal capacity, also seeks compensation for the victims of the Sandeshkhali violence and action against officials of the West Bengal Police for alleged dereliction of duty. Srivastava, a practising Supreme Court lawyer, has been filing PILs in the top court to raise socio-political issues. The plea also seeks transfer of the probe and subsequent trial outside West Bengal. Besides, it seeks an inquiry by a three-judge committee as done in the Manipur violence case. Sandeshkhali, a village in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, has been witnessing

EC decision on NCP matter unfair, we are approaching SC: Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the verdicts given by the Election Commission and Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar on the NCP matter were "unfair", and his faction would approach the Supreme Court to get back the party name and symbol. The Sharad Pawar-led group - now officially named as NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) - suffered a setback on Thursday after speaker Narwekar held that the faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, was the real NCP. He also rejected the disqualification petitions filed by both the rival groups against each other's MLAs. The ruling came days after the Election Commission held the Ajit Pawar-led faction as the real NCP and allotted him the party name and symbol 'clock'. "We had anticipated such a decision. The assembly speaker failed to maintain the dignity of his position. The decisions taken by the Election Commission and the speaker are unfair. Therefore, we are approaching the Supreme Court over the issue

Banking norms likely to shield information on electoral bond buyers

Govt unlikely to issue ordinance

Legal views split on disclosure of political donations by India Inc

Before the amendment the Act required a company to disclose any amount contributed to any political party along with the particulars of the amount donated and the name of the receiving party

SC tags plea challenging Triple Talaq law validity with pending petitions

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered clubbing a fresh plea challenging the validity of certain provisions of the 2019 law, which make the practice of instant divorce through Triple Talaq a punishable offence, with those already pending with the court. Violation of the law entails imprisonment up to three years. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra agreed to hear the plea along with pending petitions on which notices were issued to the Centre in 2019. The fresh plea has been filed by Amir Rashadi Madani, a resident of Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh. During the brief hearing, the CJI asked as to how the provisions violate the rights of men. The counsel for Madani said the provisions of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 criminalise instant Triple Talaq and provide for punishment to men. Sections 3 and 4 of the law are contrary to each other, the lawyer claimed. Section 3 terms Triple Talaq as illegal and se

Sharad Pawar seeks urgent hearing from SC over NCP faction recognition

Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar reaffirmed Ajit Pawar's faction as the legitimate NCP and dismissed calls for the disqualification of either faction's lawmakers

Cong appeals to judiciary to 'save' multi-party system, calls for agitation

"That is why, I have said that there won't be any elections in the future. We appeal to the Judiciary to save the multi-party system in this country and protect India's Democracy," Congress chief said

AAP moves SC against removal of 'encroachment' on land allotted to Delhi HC

The Aam Aadmi Party has moved the Supreme Court against immediate removal of an "encroachment" by it on a land allotted to the Delhi High Court at Rouse Avenue here, saying it will severely prejudice the party as well as the fairness of the electoral process in view of Lok Sabha polls. In an application filed in the pending matter related to judicial infrastructure, the AAP claimed there is no question of it "encroaching" on a space that was duly allotted to it in 2015 and that has been in its possession since then. It said while the party remains ready and willing to vacate the subject premises and requested the top court to direct that such vacation be required only after at least one of the two office spaces that the applicant is entitled to are allotted to it in the New Delhi Municipal area of a nature appropriate to the applicant's status as a National Party. In view of these circumstances, immediate vacation will mean that the applicant will be left with none of the two office

Sandeshkhali violence case: PIL filed in SC seeks court-monitored probe

A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored CBI or SIT probe into the violence in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali village. The plea filed by lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava also seeks compensation for victims of the Sandeshkhali violence and action against officials of the West Bengal Police for alleged dereliction of duty. The plea also seeks transfer of the probe and subsequent trial outside West Bengal. Besides it seeks an inquiry by a three-judge committee as done in the Manipur violence case. Sandeshkhali, a village in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, has been witnessing protests over allegations of sexual abuse of women by a local TMC leader. Several women in the region have accused the local Trinamool Congress strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of land-grab and sexually assaulting them under coercion. Shajahan has been absconding after a mob, allegedly affiliated to him, attacked Enforcement Directorate officials who has gone to search his ..

SC strikes down electoral bond scheme as 'unconstitutional', against rights

Orders EC to disclose donors, amount & recipients by March 13

Mumbai has the largest share of electoral bonds sold since inception

Top four cities account for bulk of money coming in through the scheme

A vote for disclosure

Scrapping electoral bonds is an opportunity for reform

Highlights of the day: Lok Sabha's fifteenth session ends today

News updates: Catch all the latest updates from around the world here

State Bank of India to follow SC's verdict on electoral bonds scheme

5-judge bench of SC, comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, on Thursday barred SBI from any further issuance of electoral bonds

Electoral bonds: SC verdict will set level playing field, cheers Opposition

Electoral bonds: The Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgement on Thursday, annulling the electoral bonds scheme for political funding

SC verdict on electoral bond: Everything you need to know about it

In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Thursday annulled the electoral bonds scheme for political funding, saying it violates the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression as well as the right to information. But what exactly are electoral bonds? An electoral Bond is a financial instrument for making donations to political parties as has been first pronounced by the Finance Minister in the Union Budget 2017-18. According to the Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018, an electoral bond is a bond issued in the nature of a promissory note, which shall be bearer in character. A bearer instrument is one which does not carry the name of the buyer or payee, no ownership information is recorded and the holder of the instrument (i.e. political party) is presumed to be its owner, explains Association for Democratic Reforms. The scheme allows individuals -- who are citizens of India -- and domestic companies to donate these bonds issued in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 la

Only BJP benefitted from electoral bonds, say Maharashtra Oppn parties

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was the only outfit that benefited from electoral bonds, said opposition parties in Maharashtra on Thursday after the Supreme Court struck down the political funding scheme, calling it "unconstitutional". The NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar claimed the electoral bonds were brought into practice to solely benefit the BJP from anonymous donors. This scheme cannot rule out the possibility of a 'quid pro quo' from an individual or a company to a political party and therefore seeing the quantum of electoral bonds received by the BJP, this is a possibility, said party spokesperson Clyde Crasto. The Supreme Court's decision to strike down the electoral bonds scheme, calling it unconstitutional', is a very welcome move. There should be transparency and accountability of every donation that comes to a political party, Crasto said. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) said the top court has given a landmark decision over poll bonds but it should not go the way t

Electoral bonds: CPI(M) hails SC verdict, calls for reforms in funding

Welcoming the Supreme Court judgment striking down electoral bonds, the CPI(M) on Thursday said it was an "unscrupulous scheme designed to help the ruling party" and it was now essential to introduce reforms for political and electoral funding. In a widely anticipated judgement ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Supreme Court annulled the electoral bonds scheme for political funding, saying it violates the Constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression as well as the right to information. "The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) hails the historic judgment of the Supreme Court, which has struck down the electoral bonds scheme as unconstitutional. By this verdict, this unscrupulous scheme designed to finance the ruling party by anonymous corporate donors has been completely scrapped," the CPI(M) said in a statement. The party had declared at the outset itself that it will not accept electoral bonds as this scheme legalizes corruption, the statement read, adding that the CPI(M) ha

Significant for transparency: AAP lauds SC's electoral bonds scheme ruling

The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision on electoral bonds, saying it is an important step in ensuring transparency in election funding. In a landmark judgement that delivered a big blow to the government, the Supreme Court on Thursday annulled the electoral bonds scheme, saying it violates the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression as well as the right to information. The apex court ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to disclose to the Election Commission the names of the contributors to the six-year-old scheme. "We welcome this decision. This is an important step in the transparency of election funding. Otherwise through electoral bonds, it was not known which person was giving funds to which party. It is important for country's democracy that it is known which person is giving how much money to which political party," Delhi Cabinet minister Atishi told reporters outside the Assembly. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chi

Govt must stop implementing such ideas in future: Kharge on electoral bond

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court decision to strike down the electoral bonds scheme and hoped the government will stop resorting to "such mischievous ideas" in the future. He said the Congress party had called the scheme "opaque and undemocratic" when it was launched. Subsequently, in the 2019 manifesto, the Congress promised to scrap the Modi government's "dubious scheme". "We welcome the decision of the Supreme Court today, which has struck down this 'Black Money Conversion' scheme of the Modi Government, calling it 'Unconstitutional'. "We remember how the Modi Govt, PMO and FM bulldozed every institution - RBI, Election Commission, Parliament and Opposition to fill BJP's coffers. No wonder, 95% of the funding under this scheme was received by BJP," Kharge said in a post in X. "We hope that Modi Government will stop resorting to such mischievous ideas in future and listens to the Supreme Court, so that Democracy, Transparency and ...