Page 198 - Supreme Court

AG writes to Centre on setting panel to examine hanging death row convicts

From ED's opposition to Preeti Chandra's bail to plea for urgent hearing on SIMI, here's what happened in the Supreme Court today

CIC verdict can't be referred to bring political parties under RTI: Centre

An order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) cannot be used to seek a writ from the Supreme Court to bring recognised political parties under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Centre told the apex court on Tuesday. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta made the submission while appearing for the central government before a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, which is hearing two PILs seeking a direction to bring political parties under the transparency law. The CIC order cannot be used to seek a writ of mandamus (a judicial order to the government to fulfil official duties) to bring political parties under the RTI, the law officer told the bench, which also comprised Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), represented by lawyer P V Dinesh, said the party has no objection to RTI with regard to ensuring financial transparency. But there cannot be requests (under RTI) on why a candidate has been selecte

SC puts Gyanvapi survey on hold, refuses to stay Assam delimitation

Several important matters were taken up for hearing by the Supreme Court today. Here's a list of them

SC rejects West Bengal's challenge against NIA probe in Ram Navami violence

Several vehicles were set on fire and shops were vandalised in parts of Howrah district as Hindus and Muslims clashed during a Ram Navami procession in March

SC stays court order of Gyanvapi mosque ASI survey till Wednesday

The Supreme Court on Monday halted a "detailed scientific survey" of the ASI to determine if the Gyanvapi mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi was built upon a temple till 5 pm on July 26 and asked the Allahabad High Court to hear an appeal filed by the mosque committee before the expiry of its order. A Varanasi court directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Friday to conduct the survey -- including excavations, wherever necessary -- to determine if the mosque was built at a place where a temple existed earlier. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the submissions made by senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, who appeared in the court on behalf of the mosque committee, stayed the operation of the order till Wednesday evening and asked the committee to file an appeal in the meantime. "We are of the view that some breathing time should be granted to the mosque committee," said the bench that also comprised Justices J B Pardiwala a

Satyendar Jain's bail extended by 5 weeks by SC in money laundering case

The Supreme Court on Monday extended by five weeks the interim bail of former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case probed by the Enforcement Directorate. A bench of Justices AS Bopanna and Bela M Trivedi was informed by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Jain, that he had undergone a spine surgery on July 21 and needs time to recover. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED, said he is not opposing extension of interim bail. He said the probe agency wants its application seeking independent evaluation of Jain by AIIMs or any other hospital to be heard on the next date. The bench posted the matter for hearing after five weeks. On July 10, the top court had extended till July 24 the interim bail granted to Jain on medical grounds. The top court on May 26 had granted interim bail to Jain for six weeks on medical grounds, saying a citizen has a right to receive treatment of his choice in a private hospital at his own expense. The E

Plea on free sanitary pads for class 6-12 girls to be heard by SC on Monday

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking directions to states and the Centre to provide free sanitary pads to class 6-12 girls and ensure separate female toilet facility in all government-aided and residential schools. The plea by social worker Jaya Thakur is scheduled to be heard by a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. The top court had earlier asked the Centre to prepare a Standard Operating Procedure and a national model to be adopted by all states and Union Territories for managing menstrual hygiene for girls studying in schools. On April 10, the top court had said the issue was of "immense importance" and that the Centre should engage with all the stakeholders for implementation of a uniform national policy on management of menstrual hygiene in schools, including government and aided schools. It had appointed the secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) as the nodal officer to coordinat

Motive necessary for commission of crime when there is no eyewitness: SC

The prosecution will have to establish motive for commission of crime if there is no eyewitness of an incident, the Supreme Court has said while acquitting a man convicted in a 2008 murder case. A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah noted that all the witnesses have stated that there was no enmity between the petitioner and the deceased. "Once there is no eyewitness of the incident, the prosecution will have to establish a motive for the commission of the crime inasmuch as in a case of direct evidence, motive may not have a major role," the bench said. "If there is no motive setup or proved and there are direct eyewitnesses, motive may loose its importance but in the present case as admittedly no one has seen the occurrence, the motive has an important role to play," it said. The observations came while hearing a plea by a man challenging an order of the Chhattisgarh High Court which confirmed his conviction under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code and

Nearly 26,000 cases disposed of by Supreme Court so far: Law Minister

The Supreme Court has disposed of nearly 26,000 cases so far this year while the 25 high courts have settled over 5.23 lakh cases, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal informed Lok Sabha on Friday. On Thursday, the minister had informed Rajya Sabha that cases pending in various courts in the country had crossed the five-crore mark. Citing data from the Supreme Court's Integrated Case Management Information System (ICMIS), Meghwal, in a written reply in Lok Sabha, said the top court had settled 25,959 cases till July 15 this year. The 25 high courts disposed of 5,23,338 cases till July 17 this year, he said, citing National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) data. Meghwal said the disposal of pending cases in courts is within the domain of the judiciary. "No time frame has been prescribed for disposal of various kinds of cases by the respective courts. The government has no direct role in disposal of cases in courts," he said. He said timely disposal of cases in courts depends on several factors

SC seeks ED's reply on Senthil Balaji's plea against HC order in PMLA case

The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the pleas of Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji and his wife Megala challenging the July 14 order of the Madras High Court upholding his arrest by the probe agency in a money laundering case. A bench of Justices A S Bopanna and M M Sundresh issued a notice to the ED on the pleas and posted the matter for hearing on July 26. The minister and his wife have filed two separate petitions in the top court challenging the high court order. Besides upholding the arrest of the minister, the high court had held as valid his subsequent remand in judicial custody by a sessions court in the money laundering case arising out of the alleged cash-for-jobs scam in the state's transport department when he was the transport minister. He continues to be a minister without portfolio in the Tamil Nadu cabinet. During the hearing in the apex court, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners, referred t

Will examine if Parl can abrogate constitutional principles for Delhi: SC

The Supreme Court has said a five-judge constitution bench will examine the "contours of the power" of Parliament to make law for Delhi and also if it can "abrogate the constitutional principles of governance" for the city dispensation by making a law to take away its control over services. Eight days after a constitution bench held that the Delhi government will have control over services, the Centre on May 19 promulgated an ordinance on the Delhi services matter by exercising its powers under Article 239-AA, a special provision in the Constitution pertaining to the national capital. The top court, which on Thursday referred to a constitution bench the Delhi government's plea challenging the ordinance, framed two legal questions in its 10-page order to be dealt by a larger bench on the ordinance which set off a fresh tussle between the two power centres. "We accordingly refer the following questions to a constitution bench: (i) What are the contours of the power of Parliament to ..

PMLA case: SC seeks ED's reply on plea by Senthil Balaji against HC order

The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the pleas of Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji and his wife Megala challenging the July 14 order of the Madras High Court upholding his arrest by the probe agency in a money laundering case. A bench of Justices A S Bopanna and M M Sundresh issued notice to the ED on the pleas and posted the matter for hearing on July 26. The minister and his wife have filed two separate petitions in the top court challenging the high court order. Besides upholding the arrest of the minister, the high court had also held as valid his subsequent remand in judicial custody by a sessions court in the money laundering case arising out of the alleged cash-for-jobs scam in the state's transport department when he was the transport minister. He continues to be a minister without portfolio in the Tamil Nadu cabinet. Justice C V Karthikeyan, who was named as a third judge by the high court to hear the habeas corpus petit

SC seeks report from HC on Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Registrar General of the Allahabad High Court to furnish details of suits related to the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute. A bench of Justices S K Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia was hearing a plea challenging the order passed by the high court which transferred to itself all matters related to the dispute pending before a Mathura court. Looking at the nature of the matter, is it not better that the high court tries the matter?. Thinking aloud, if it is tried at a higher level... pendency of matter causes its own disquiet, one side or the other", Justice Kaul observed. Justice Kaul orally observed that multiplicity of proceedings and prolongation are not in the interest of anybody. He said it will be better if the issue is settled at the high court level. The bench then said in its order, We consider it appropriate to ask Registrar of HC to forward to us what are the suits which are sought to be consolidated by the impugned order. The

Will examine if parl can abrogate constitutional principles for Delhi: SC

The Supreme Court has said a five-judge constitution bench will examine whether Parliament can "abrogate the constitutional principles of governance" for the Delhi government by making a law to take away its control over services. The Centre recently issued an ordinance on the Delhi services matter by exercising its powers under Article 239-AA, a special provision in the Constitution pertaining to the national capital. The top court, which on Thursday referred to a constitution bench the Delhi government's plea challenging the Centre's ordinance, uploaded its order on its website containing the legal questions to be dealt by the larger bench. "We accordingly refer the following questions to a constitution bench: (i) What are the contours of the power of Parliament to enact a law under Article 239-AA(7); and (ii) Whether Parliament in the exercise of its power under Article 239-AA(7) can abrogate the constitutional principles of governance for the National Capital Territory of Delhi

SC seeks ED's reply on plea by Senthil Balaji against HC order in PMLA case

The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the pleas of Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji and his wife Megala challenging the July 14 order of the Madras High Court upholding his arrest by the probe agency in a money laundering case. A bench of Justices A S Bopanna and M M Sundresh issued notice to the ED on the pleas and posted the matter for hearing on July 26. The minister and his wife have filed two separate petitions in the top court challenging the high court order. Besides upholding the arrest of the minister, the high court had also held as valid his subsequent remand in judicial custody by a sessions court in the money laundering case arising out of the alleged cash-for-jobs scam in the state's transport department when he was the transport minister. He continues to be a minister without portfolio in the Tamil Nadu cabinet.

SC stays proceedings pending in various high courts against 'Adipurush'

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed proceedings pending in various high courts against the controversial movie "Adipurush". "Adipurush", a retelling of the epic Ramayana, has come under attack for its dialogues and use of colloquial language. A bench of Justices S K Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia issued notice to parties in the case. The Allahabad High Court on June 30 had directed the makers of the movie to appear before it on July 27 and told the central government to form a committee to give its views on the film. It was hearing separate petitions of Kuldeep Tiwari and Naveen Dhawan seeking a ban on the movie. The high court had ordered director Om Raut, producer Bhushan Kumar, and dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir to appear before it on July 27. It has also directed the central government to constitute a five-member committee to give its view on the film as to whether it had hurt the feelings of the public. In an order, it had also directed the government to review the decision of ..

Won't notify Fact Check Unit against fake news till Sept 4: Centre to HC

The three petitions sought the court to declare the amended Rules unconstitutional and direct the government to restrain from acting against any individual under the Rules

SC issues notice to Gujarat govt on Rahul's appeal against HC verdict

The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi and the state government on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's appeal challenging the high court verdict which dismissed his plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and P K Mishra issued notices to Purnesh Modi, who had filed a criminal defamation case in 2019 against Gandhi over his "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?" remark made during an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019, and the Gujarat government on Gandhi's appeal. "The limited question at this stage is whether the conviction deserves to be stayed," the bench observed. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Gandhi, said the Congress leader has suffered for 111 days, lost one Parliament session and is about to lose another session. The apex court has posted the matter for further hearing on August 4. In his appeal f

SC to hear Rahul Gandhi's plea against Gujarat HC order in defamation case

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Friday Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's appeal against the Gujarat High Court verdict dismissing his plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark. A bench of justices B R Gavai and P K Mishra will likely take up the matter tomorrow. A bench headed by CJI D Y Chandrachud had on July 18 agreed to hear Gandhi's plea after senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi mentioned the matter and sought urgent hearing. In his appeal, Gandhi has said if the July 7 HC judgment is not stayed, it will lead to "throttling of free speech, expression, thought, and statement". Purnesh Modi, a former minister in the Gujarat government, had filed a criminal defamation case in 2019 against Gandhi over his "how all thieves have Modi as the common surname" remark made during an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019. He was apparently referring to businessmen Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi, two fugitive prominent ...

Sad that nobody cares for 'headless' DERC, will appoint ad-hoc chief: SC

As the hearing began on Thursday, the apex court was informed that the chief minister and the LG failed to arrive at a consensus on the issue