Page 252 - Supreme Court

From industry icon to defaulter: How Venugopal Dhoot lost his empire

The top court's order and cash-for-loans scandal later, rocked the group across verticals; its fate now hinges on SC's ruling on bankruptcy even as the quid pro quo case involving Kocchars goes on

Court orders and govt decisions: A look back at criminal justice in 2022

Sedition, bail law, and criminal law reforms--we look at some of the major announcements for criminal justice in India

Raising judges' retirement age can benefit non-performers: Justice dept

Increasing the retirement age of Supreme Court and High Court judges could extend the years of service of non-performing judges and might have a cascading effect with government employees raising similar demands, the Department of Justice told a parliamentary panel. It also said increasing the retirement age of judges would be considered along with measures to ensure transparency and accountability in appointments to the higher judiciary. In July, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju had informed Parliament that there is no proposal to increase the retirement age of Supreme Court and High Court judges. The Department of Justice made a presentation before the parliamentary panel on Personnel, Law, and Justice that is chaired by BJP MP and former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Modi. The department in the Ministry of Law and Justice made the presentation that comprised details of judicial processes and reforms, including on the possibility of increasing the retirement age of High Court and .

SC issues notice to Centre on plea seeking caste-based census for OBCs

The Supreme Court has sought response from the Centre and others on a plea seeking directions for a caste-based census for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the upcoming Census. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha issued notices to the Centre, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and others while seeking their replies. It also tagged the matter with a similar case pending before it. The top court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Krishan Kanhaya Pal who said that the governments are unable to share the benefits of the welfare schemes with all sections among backward classes due to a lack of caste-based survey and a caste-based census of the OBCs is of 'vital necessity'. The petition had contended that concrete policies cannot be formulated in the absence of concrete data. Pal had stated that despite the announcement made by the then Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in 2018, there would be a census of the OBC population during the 2021 Censu

SC to pronounce judgment on pleas against demonetisation on January 2

The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce its judgment on January 2 on a batch of pleas challenging the government's 2016 decision to demonetise currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denominations. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer, who will retire on January 4, is likely to pronounce its verdict on the matter on the said date. The top court had, on December 7, directed the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to put on record the relevant records relating to the government's 2016 decision and reserved its verdict. The bench, also comprising justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna, V Ramasubramanian and B V Nagarathna, had heard the submissions of Attorney General R Venkataramani, the RBI's counsel and the petitioners' lawyers, including senior advocates P Chidambaram and Shyam Divan. Calling the scrapping of the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes deeply flawed, Chidambaram had argued that the government cannot on its own initiate any proposal relating to

Representations on lack of objectivity in collegium system received: Rijiju

The government has been receiving representations from "diverse sources" on lack of transparency, objectivity and social diversity in the collegium system of appointment of Supreme Court and high court judges with the request to improve the mechanism, Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday. In a written reply, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju also said the government has sent suggestions for supplementing the Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of judges to the high courts and Supreme Court. MoP is a document which guides the appointment and transfer of judges in the higher judiciary. He recalled that in a bid to make the collegium system of appointments of judges "more broad-based, transparent, accountable and bringing objectivity in the system", the government brought into force the Constitution (Ninety-Ninth Amendment) Act, 2014 and the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014 on April 13, 2015. However, both the Acts were challenged in the Supreme Court which eventually .

Delhi Police questions Flipkart officials for selling acid despite SC ban

Delhi Police has questioned the officials of e-commerce firm Flipkart for allegedly selling acid on its platform despite a ban on the substance by the Supreme Court. Police on December 15 issued a notice to Flipkart after the prime accused in an acid attack on a girl in Dwarka, Delhi said he bought the substance from the e-commerce website. According to the police, the officials were questioned on Wednesday and they are not satisfied with the reply of the firm. The company had responded to the notice, saying that the acid was sold by an Agra-based firm. Police said whether they will be questioned again will be decided later. It may be mentioned that in furtherance of the directions of the Supreme Court in the matter of Laxmi vs Union Of India & Ors, the home ministry had issued an advisory on 'Measures to be taken to prevent acid attacks on people and for treatment and rehabilitation of survivors' on August 30, 2013. The home ministry had asked all states/Union Territories to tak

CJI constitutes committee to conduct accessibility audit of SC premises

In a bid to remove the barriers to access, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud has constituted a committee headed by apex court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat to conduct an audit of "physical and functional access" of the top court premises to make them disabled friendly. The 'Supreme Court Committee on Accessibility' has been given a broad mandate to prepare and release a questionnaire for persons with disabilities, including the apex court employees, advocates, litigants and interns, who visit the top court premises to assess the nature and extent of problems they face. According to a notice uploaded on the apex court website, the committee will prepare a report on the accessibility audit, result of the survey of persons with disability and recommendations/proposals geared towards removing the barriers to access. "The Chief Justice of India has been pleased to constitute a committee namely the 'Supreme Court Committee on Accessibility' to conduct accessibility audit of physical

Govt examining SC order on employees' pension scheme: Union minister

The government on Thursday said it is examining a Supreme Court judgement which upheld Employees' Pension (Amendment) Scheme, 2014 and allowed employees to opt for enhanced pension coverage alongside their employers in four months' time. "Yes, sir. The directions of the Supreme Court in the judgment are under examination," Minister of State for Labour & Employment Rameswar Teli said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. Teli was replying to a question on whether the government is aware about the Supreme Court verdict of November 4 on EPF pension scheme and by when it will implement the verdict and instruct the EPFO (Employees Provident Fund Organisation) to take actions for giving higher pension. In another written reply, Teli said the court judgement has legal, financial, actuarial and logistical implications. The scheme has provided for an extension of four months' time for eligible employees to opt for enhanced pension. The apex court order provides that employees who were ...

Hemant Gupta appointed New Delhi International Arbitration Centre chairman

Former Supreme Court judge Hemant Gupta has been appointed as the chairperson of New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (NDIAC), according to a Personnel Ministry order. The NDIAC has been established for the purpose of creating an independent and autonomous regime for institutionalised arbitration. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Justice Hemant Gupta (R) as NDIAC chairperson and that of Ganesh Chandru and Anant Vijay Palli as its part-time members, the order said.

SC rebukes UP govt over inordinate delay in filing plea against HC decision

The Supreme Court has rebuked the Uttar Pradesh government over an inordinate delay of 1,173 days in filing a petition against a judgement of the Allahabad High Court and that too with "incorrect particulars", saying a State litigation cannot be taken "so casually". While rejecting the plea with a cost of Rs 1 lakh, the apex court said it has no doubt that such matters are filed in a "cursory manner" so the petitions are dismissed. It also chastised the state government over the "casual manner" in which the application seeking condonation of delay was filed. "We are left with no doubt that such matters are filed in a cursory manner to somehow seek a certification of dismissal by the Supreme Court. We thoroughly disapprove such a practice and feel necessary to impose costs on the petitioners," a bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Hrishikesh Roy said. The state of Uttar Pradesh and others had challenged the May 2019 verdict of the high court which enhanced the compensation to a

Low Payments, no respect: Why quality of free legal aid in districts is bad

About 20% of legal aid counsels identified a lack of infrastructure, such as designated chambers for interacting with clients

SC directs Centre, IITs to follow quota law in recruitment of faculty

The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to follow the reservation policy for admission in research degree programmes and recruitment of faculty members at IITs as provided under the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers' Cadre) Act, 2019. The top court was hearing a plea filed by a man named S N Pandey seeking direction to the Centre and the IITs to follow the reservation policy with regard to admissions in research programmes and recruitment of faculty members, claiming the guidelines were being violated. The matter came up before a bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar and it was informed that the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers' Cadre) Act, 2019 stipulates such reservation and it is being implemented. "Counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent has pointed out that now in view of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers' Cadre) Act, 2019, the reservation is provided with respect to all the Central ...

Law must not be used as tool to harass accused, says Supreme Court

The law must not be used as a tool to harass the accused and courts must always ensure that frivolous cases do not "pervert" its sacrosanct nature, the Supreme Court has said. The apex court, which quashed the criminal proceedings pending at a Chennai court against two people, said law is meant to exist as a shield to protect the innocent rather than being used as a sword to threaten them. A bench of Justices Krishna Murari and S R Bhat delivered its verdict on an appeal against the August last year judgement of the Madras High Court which had dismissed a plea seeking quashing of a criminal complaint regarding alleged contravention of the provision of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. The top court noted there was a gap of over four years between the initial investigation and filing of the complaint, and even after the lapse of substantial amount of time, no evidence was provided to sustain the claims in the complaint. It said while inordinate delay in itself may not be a ground f

Police are not required to do moral policing, ask for physical favour: SC

The Supreme Court has said police officers are not required to do moral policing and ask for physical favour or material goods as it upheld the order of the disciplinary authority for the removal of a CISF constable from service. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and J K Maheshwari set aside the verdict of the Gujarat High Court of December 16, 2014, by which it had allowed the plea of CISF constable Santosh Kumar Pandey and directed his reinstatement in service with 50 per cent back wages from the date of his removal. Pandey, who was working as a constable with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), was posted at the Greenbelt Area of the IPCL Township, Vadodara, Gujarat, where he was charge-sheeted vide memorandum dated October 28, 2001 on allegations of misconduct. According to the charge sheet, Pandey, on the intervening night of October 26 and October 27, 2001, when he was posted as a constable on night duty at the Greenbelt Area of the IPCL Township, Vadodara, Gujarat a

CBI moves SC challenging Bombay HC order granting bail to Anil Deshmukh

The CBI has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court order granting bail to former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in a corruption case. The high court had on December 12 granted bail to the 73-year-old Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader in the case but said the order will be effective after 10 days, as the Central Bureau of Investigation had sought time to challenge it in the apex court. The high court had said except for dismissed police officer Sachin Waze's statement none recorded by the CBI indicated money was extorted from bar owners in Mumbai at the behest of the politician. In its plea filed in the top court, the probe agency has claimed the high court "committed grave error" while granting bail to Deshmukh irrespective of the serious objections raised by the CBI both on the merits of the case as well as the effect his bail will have on the continuing investigation. "The high court failed to appreciate that the economic offences are requi

RERA becomes functional in Bengal, 18 months after SC order: Top official

The West Bengal Real Estate Regulatory Authority (WBRERA) is finally up and running, nearly 18 months after the Supreme Court struck down the state's own regulations introduced as a substitute for the central law, a senior official said. In May last year, the top court had declared the West Bengal Housing Industry Regulatory Act (WBHIRA) as unconstitutional. "The WBRERA is now in place and we have very recently commenced functioning. Until the IT backbone is ready, consumers will be able to file complaints against builders, agents and others physically. The website is expected to be operational within a fortnight," Sandipan Mukherjee, who assumed charge as WBRERA chairman, told PTI. West Bengal was perhaps the only state where the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, passed by Parliament, had not become functional. The WBRERA is headed by Mukherjee, an ex-Indian Forest Service officer, and consists of two other members -- B N Das (former power department official)

Where will people go if they don't get justice from SC: DCW chief on Bilkis

When people do not get justice from the Supreme Court, where do they go, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal asked on Saturday after the apex court dismissed a review plea filed by Bilkis Bano. Bano was gang-raped and seven members of her family were killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots. The Supreme Court has dismissed Bano's plea seeking a review of its earlier order by which it had asked the Gujarat government to consider the petitions for remission of the sentences of 11 convicts in the gang-rape case. "Supreme Court rejected Bilkis Bano's plea. Bilkis Bano was gang-raped when she was 21 years old, and her three-year-old son and six family members were murdered but Gujarat government freed all the rapists. If justice won't come from Supreme Court, where will people go?" Maliwal asked on Twitter. According to procedures, review pleas against apex court judgments are decided in chambers by circulation by the judges who were part of the judgment under review. Bano

SC dismisses plea against Rahul's election from Wayanad in 2019 LS polls

The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea challenging the election of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in 2019 from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala. A bench of justices A S Bopanna and Dipankar Datta rejected the petition filed by Saritha S Nair, who had moved the apex court against an October 31, 2019 decision of the Kerala High Court by which her election petitions challenging the Lok Sabha polls in Wayanad and Ernakulam also were dismissed. On November 2, 2020, Nair's plea challenging Gandhi's election was rejected by the top court for non-prosecution. Later, an application seeking the restoration of the plea was filed in the apex court. When the matter came up for hearing before the court on Friday, the bench allowed the application for restoration. "The special leave petition is restored to its original number. Having heard counsel for the petitioner on merits, we see no reason to interfere with the impugned order. The special leave petition is, accordingly, dismissed," the

SC dismisses Bilkis Bano's plea seeking review of its May 2022 order

The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea filed by Bilkis Bano, seeking a review of its earlier order by which it had asked the Gujarat government to consider the petitions for remission of sentences of 11 convicts in the gang-rape case. Bano was gang-raped and seven members of her family were killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots. According to procedures, review pleas against apex court judgments are decided in chambers by circulation by the judges who were part of the judgment under review. The review plea came up for in-chamber consideration on December 13 before a bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath. "I am directed to inform you that the review petition above mentioned filed in Supreme Court was dismissed by the court on December 13, 2022," read a communication sent to Bano's counsel Shobha Gupta by the apex court's assistant registrar. The gang-rape survivor had sought a review of the top court's May 13 order on a plea moved by a convict. The top court had asked the s