Page 212 - Supreme Court

I am not a person to retire, will start new inning': SC Justice MR Shah

Fourth senior-most Supreme Court judge Justice M R Shah on Monday got emotional in the courtroom on his last day in office, saying he is not a person to retire and will start a new inning in life. Sitting on the ceremonial bench presided over by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justice Shah broke down at the end of his address and quoted lines from Raj Kapoor's iconic song "jeena yaha, marna yaha". "I am not a person to retire and I am going to start a new inning of my life. I am praying to the almighty God to give me strength and courage and good health to play the new inning," said Justice Shah. "Before parting, I would like to remember a song by Raj Kapoor kal khel me hum ho na ho, gardish me tare rahenge sada', he said choking with emotions. With the retirement of Justice Shah, who was appointed to the top court on November 2, 2018, the number of judges in the top court will now come down to 32, including the CJI. A day before, Justice Dinesh Maheshwari demitted the office. The

Allegations that we have been investigating Adani since 2016 baseless: Sebi

Sebi also sought an extension of the deadline to complete the probe to ensure 'carriage of justice'

Supreme Court refuses to entertain plea on cleaning of rivers Ganga, Yamuna

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea seeking directions to clean rivers Ganga and Yamuna and monitor the action plan for their rejuvenation, saying there is a specialised tribunal for this. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala asked the petitioner to approach the National Green Tribunal (NGT) with his grievances. "Why don't you move the NGT? There is is a specialised tribunal for this. We are not inclined to entertain this," the bench said. The top court was hearing a plea filed by Swami Gurcharan Mishra seeking directions to clean the rivers and also monitor the action plan for their rejuvenation.

Andhra moves SC against NGT order on clearance to Avulapalli reservoir

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear on May 17 a plea filed by the Andhra Pradesh government challenging an order of the National Green Tribunal which set aside environmental clearance granted to the Avulapalli reservoir in the state. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala posted the matter after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi mentioned the matter seeking urgent hearing. "We will list it day after tomorrow since it is a public project," the bench said. Rohatgi said this is an extraordinary case where the NGT has set aside the environmental clearance (EC) to the reservoir. The NGT on May 11 had set aside the EC given by the State-level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) for the construction of the Avulapalli balancing reservoir. The green panel had passed the order on a plea filed by farmers against the validity of the EC. The NGT had also imposed a penalty of Rs 100 crore on Andhra Pradesh government payable to the Kri

Govt 'misleading' SC on herbicide-tolerant nature of GM mustard: Coalition

The government is allegedly misleading the Supreme Court on the herbicide-tolerant (HT) nature of GM mustard and is trying to "criminalise" farmers for using herbicide on the crop, a group of NGOs opposing genetically modified crops has said. In a letter to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, the Coalition of GM-free India also alleged the government is ignoring the clear recommendation by the court-appointed technical expert committee (TEC) for a ban on HT crops in India. "The Union of India is misleading the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India with an assurance that GM mustard is not an HT crop. By repeatedly giving this assurance that GM mustard is not a herbicide-tolerant crop, the Government of India is trying to circumvent the clear recommendation by the court-appointed TEC for a ban on HT crops in India," the letter read. The government is instead seeking to "criminalise" farmers who use herbicide on GM mustard, it said. The approval letter issued by the Genetic Engineeri

Minister's hate speech about Muslims liable for prosecution

The SC, in a recent order, ruled that hate speech was a serious offence and directed all states and UTs to register hate speech cases even if no complaint is made by an individual

Letter and spirit

SC judgments will strengthen federalism

SC trashes appeal of former ISRO scientist against dismissal from service

The Supreme Court has junked a scientist's plea challenging his dismissal from service by ISRO, saying the space agency was justified in suspecting his honesty and integrity on account of his unauthorised association with a South Korean institution involved in rocketry research, a strategic subject of his employer. The apex court was hearing the special leave petition of V R Sanal Kumar, a former scientist at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation in Thiruvananthapuram against the order of his dismissal from service which was upheld by the Central Administrative Tribunal and the Kerala High Court. Kumar, who had joined the ISRO in 1992, was dismissed with effect from September 1, 2003 under the Department of Space Employees' (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules for joining Andong National University, South Korea and assisting Prof H D Kim, Head of School of Mechanical Engineering, without permission from his employer. Upholding the ...

SC to hear plea for action against VP, Rijiju over remarks on judiciary

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea of Bombay Lawyers Association (BLA) against Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar over their remarks on judiciary and the collegium system for appointment of judges. The lawyers' body has moved the top court challenging the Bombay High Court's February 9 order dismissing its plea on the ground that it was not a fit case to invoke the writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution. As per the apex court web-site, the appeal of the BLA is listed for hearing before a bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Ahsanuddin Amanullah. The Bombay Lawyers Association (BLA) had claimed that Rijiju and Dhankhar showed lack of faith in the Constitution with their remarks and conduct. It had sought orders to restrain Dhankhar from discharging duty as the vice president, and Rijiju as the cabinet minister for the central government. In an appeal, the lawyers body said the "frontal attack not jus

Supreme Court makes a key clarification on grounds for bail under PMLA

The top court made these observations while considering an appeal by the Enforcement Directorate against the Telangana High Court orders

Trial against Delhi L-G in abeyance to add to pendency of cases: Court

A court here has rejected Delhi L-G VK Saxena's plea to keep the trial against him in abeyance in an assault case till he is in office, saying it doesn't want to increase the pendency of cases in Gujarat courts. The court of additional chief judicial magistrate PN Goswami had on May 8 refused to grant relief to Saxena in the case registered against him for allegedly assaulting Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Medha Patkar when she was holding a peace meet at Gandhi Ashram against Gujarat riots in April 2002. A copy of the order was made available on Friday. This case has been going on since 2005, that is, 18 years, and will take more time ... If the trial against the accused is suspended, naturally this case will remain pending for many more years. This will only increase the pendency of old cases existing in Gujarat judiciary, the court said. It noted that the trial against Saxena was going on since last year, and during this period, he did not request the state government to put i

A change of heart

A heartfelt letter to the Chief Justice, appealing for the consideration of marriage equality, emphasises why it is such an emotive issue for so many parents

LIVE: Firing reported outside Islamabad HC, no casualties, say police

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Banks could not hold hearing before classifying account as fraud: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday clarified its March 27 verdict, saying it had not directed banks to accord a personal hearing before classifying a borrower's account as fraud. The clarification came on the plea of State Bank of India which flagged two issues pertaining to the March 27 judgement and said now the NPA account holders, against whom the proceedings were initiated before the verdict, may come and say that stall everything as they were not heard by banks and the hearing should not mean personal hearing. We never stated that the personal hearing be granted to the borrowers. Rather we had said that they should be given adequate notice and an opportunity to make a representation," a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala said. On the issue of applicability of the verdict with prospective effect, the bench said that a review petition will have to be filed against the judgement by the SBI. A bench headed by the Chief Justice, on

SC may grant 3-months extension to Sebi in Adani vs Hindenburg probe

From hearing a plea in the Adani vs Hindenburg case, to Delhi govt's decision to move the court, here are some of the important cases heard today

L-G refuses to abide by top court verdict, forced to approach again: AAP

The AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Friday accused LG V K Saxena of refusing to abide by the Supreme Court's verdict on the services matter and said his action had prompted them to approach the apex court again. A day after the Supreme Court held it has legislative and executive powers over all but three services, the Delhi government moved the apex court on Friday alleging the Centre was not implementing the decision to transfer its services secretary, a potential flashpoint in the running feud between the two. The city's AAP government said the Centre may be held liable for contempt of court. "The L-G has already said that he does not believe in the Supreme Court. Today, he refused to accept the order of the chief justice of India as well," Singh alleged. "This way a constitutional crisis will arise. The SC judgment is very clear. Except for land, law and order, and police, the L-G is bound to follow the decision of the Delhi Government on all other subjects," he said. The

Shinde-led government 'illegal', will collapse in 3 months: MP Sanjay Raut

A day after the Supreme Court verdict on the 2022 political crisis in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Friday termed the 11-month-old Eknath Shinde-led government in the state as "unconstitutional" and claimed it will collapse in the next three months. He said the Supreme Court, in its verdict on Thursday, made crucial observations and found fault with the conduct of then-Governor B S Koshyari and the Assembly Speaker during the political crisis. This government is completely illegal and unconstitutional. There are three observations of the Supreme Court. The whip Bharat Gogawale (appointed by the Shinde faction and recognised by Speaker) is illegal. Orders given by the illegal whip are illegal. The court has clarified that our whip Sunil Prabhu was the legal whip. "Every decision taken by then-Governor, including direction for a floor test, has been considered wrong by the Supreme Court. The election of Eknath Shinde as the group leader (after the rebellio

Court orders charges against 5 people in Bhajanpura petrol pump blaze case

A court here on Friday, while hearing a case related to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, ordered framing of charges against five accused, saying it has been "prima facie" established that they were part of a riotous mob. The case is against Arif, Mohd Faisal, Abdul Sattar, Tanveer Ali and Hunain, who are accused of being a part of the mob that set ablaze the Bhajanpura petrol pump, besides assaulting people, pelting stones and committing vandalism and arson on February 24, 2020. "Thus, the evidence on record does prima facie establish that all the five accused persons herein were members of this mob, which indulged in acts of vandalism, arson, assault to the public persons at Bhajanpura petrol pump as well as on the service road Yamuna Vihar and using force against police officials," Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala said. The court said the accused persons were liable to be tried under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly ...

SC hints at granting Sebi three-month extension to complete Adani probe

On March 2, the apex court had asked Sebi to conclude the investigation in two months and file a status report by May 2

Adani-Hindenburg: May grant Sebi a three-month extension for probe, says SC

In April, Sebi moved the SC and sought a six-month extension to complete its probe