Page 263 - Supreme Court

SC to set up bench to hear Gyanvapi Kashi Vishwanath case on Friday

The Supreme Court agreed to set up a bench on Friday to hear the Gyanvapi Kashi Vishwanath case in which the Hindu side has sought extension of an order by which protection of an area where a "Shivling" was found in Gyanvapi premises was ordered. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Thursday took note of the submissions of advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, appearing for some Hindu devotees, and said the order granting protection was expiring on November 12. We will constitute a bench at 3 pm tomorrow, the CJI said. The top court, on May 17, had passed an interim order directing protection of the area inside Gyanvapi premises at Varanasi.

'Protest is tool in the hands of civil society', says Supreme Court

Protest is a "tool in the hands of the civil society" just as "strike is a weapon in the hands of the workmen", the Supreme Court said on Wednesday. The top court made the remarks while hearing an appeal filed by Ravi Namboothiri, who had challenged the Kerala High Court's judgment that upheld a trial court verdict setting aside his election as councillor in the Gram Panchayat in November 2015. His election to the post was cancelled on the ground that he suppressed in his nomination form his involvement in a criminal case and that he had committed a corrupt practice. A bench of justices S Abdul Nazeer and V Ramasubramanian said the Kerala Police Act was the successor legislation of certain police enactments of the colonial era which aimed at scuttling the democratic aspirations of the indigenous population. "Just as strike is a weapon in the hands of the workmen and lockout is a weapon in the hands of the employer under labour welfare legislations, protest is a tool in the hands of

Setback for realty developers as SC recalls order capping interest rate

With the recent order, the way has been unlocked for the government authorities to get the land dues worth Rs 40,000 crore from the defaulters which were pending for years

US midterm: Republicans limp toward house control with Senate still in play

While Democrats have reason to rejoice, the fate of President Joe Biden's legislative agenda still hangs in the balance and the prospect of government gridlock looms

Supreme Court lists pleas on 2016 demonetisation for hearing on Nov 24

Meanwhile, Attorney General R Venkataramani seeks a week's time to prepare the comprehensive affidavit that the court had directed to file in the last hearing

A fresh beginning

Justice Chandrachud's term will be closely followed

SC stays notices for closure of shops within 500 metres of Taj Mahal

The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Agra Development Authority (ADA) for not conducting any survey on the environmental impact of business activities near the iconic Taj Mahal and termed it a "sorry state of affairs". The top court said it has to act like a "super administrator" as the ADA has failed to do its duty and stayed the operation of notices served for closure of all business activities along the boundary wall of the centuries-old monument. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Abhay S Oka asked the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to conduct an environment impact assessment (EIA) based on the latest survey of the business activities especially in the Taj Ganj area within 500 metres from the boundary wall of the iconic monument and submit a report giving suggestion to the court as early as possible. The top court noted that its September 26 order for removal of businesses was passed to bring in conformity with a similar order passe

'I will take care of citizens in every aspect', says CJI D Y Chandrachud

President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday administered the oath of office to Justice Chandrachud as the 50th Chief Justice of India

15 new judicial and technical members appointed for NCLT benches

The tribunal has a total sanctioned strength of 63 members and 28 benches

Corrupt people destroying country, they get away with help of money: SC

Corrupt people are destroying the country and they get away with corruption taking the help of money, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday. The top court's oral remark came while it was hearing a plea filed by activist Gautam Navlakha that he be placed under house arrest instead of judicial custody in the Elgar Parishad case. Opposing his plea, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the National Investigation Agency (NIA), told the top court that people such as Navlakha want to destroy the country. "Their ideology is of that type. It is not that they are innocent people. They are persons involved in actual warfare," Raju said. A bench of justices K M Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy then remarked, "Do you want to know who is destroying this country? People who are corrupt. Every office you go into, what happens? Who takes action against the corrupt? We should be accused of being biased." "We saw a video of people where people talk of crores of rupees to buy our so-called ele

Elgar Parishad-Maoist case: SC may allow house arrest request of Navlakha

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it was considering allowing house arrest request of activist Gautam Navlakha incarcerated in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case. The top court asked Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the National Investigation Agency (NIA), to seek instructions and inform it about restrictions that can be placed on Navlakha while keeping him under house arrest for few days. A bench of justices K M Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy said it will pass the order Thursday after hearing the ASG. "He is a 70-year-old man. We don't know how long he will live. Certainly, he is going towards the inevitable. It's not that we are going to release him on bail. He is not going to enjoy the default bail which comrade Sudha (Bharadwaj) got... We are conscious that we have to tread carefully. We agree that house arrest as an alternative has to be used carefully... "We are concerned about what restriction would you like to place. Place whatever ...

Azam Khan disqualification: No bypoll notification till Nov 10, SC tells EC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Election Commission not to issue till November 10 the notification for the assembly bypoll in Rampur Sadar in Uttar Pradesh, which fell vacant following the disqualification of Samajwadi Party MLA Azam Khan after his conviction in a hate speech case. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud directed a special sessions court to hear and decide on Thursday itself the appeal of Khan seeking a stay on his conviction so that he survives disqualification as a lawmaker. The Supreme Court said the Election Commission can issue the notification for the bypoll on or after November 11 once the sessions court decides on Khan's plea. On October 27, Khan was convicted in the hate speech case and sent to three years in jail by a Rampur court. The MP-MLA court in Rampur also granted bail to the MLA in the 2019 case. On October 28, the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly Secretariat had announced the disqualification of Khan from the House.

SC adjourns to November 24 pleas against 2016 demonetisation by govt

The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred to November 24 the hearing on a batch of pleas challenging the Centre's 2016 decision to demonetise currency notes of denomination of Rs 500 and Rs 1000. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer adjourned the matter after Attorney General R Venkataramani sought time to file a comprehensive affidavit in the matter. Venkataramani apologised to the bench also comprising Justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna, V Ramasubramanian, and B V Nagarathna, for not being able to prepare the comprehensive affidavit and sought a week's time. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing petitioner Vivek Narayan Sharma, said this is highly unusual to ask a Constitution Bench for adjournment. Senior advocate P Chidambaram, appearing for one of the parties, said this is an embarrassing situation. Justice Nagarathna observed that normally the Constitution Bench does not rise like this and this is very embarrassing. The top court granted one week time

Trip that includes a foreign leg is not eligible for LTC, say experts

This condition is not satisfied merely by the trip starting and ending in India

Education not business to earn profit, fees shall always be affordable: SC

Education is not a business to earn profit and tuition fees shall always be affordable, the Supreme Court has said while upholding the Andhra Pradesh High Court order quashing the state government's decision to enhance the tuition fee in medical colleges to Rs 24 lakh per annum. A bench of Justices M R Shah and Sudhanshu Dhulia imposed a cost of Rs 5 lakh on the petitioner, Narayana Medical College, and Andhra Pradesh to be deposited with the court registry within a period of six weeks. "To enhance the fee to Rs 24 lakh per annum i.e., seven times more than the fee fixed earlier was not justifiable at all. Education is not the business to earn profit. The tuition fee shall always be affordable," the bench said. The top court's observation came while dismissing a plea filed by the college against an order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court which set aside the government's decision to enhance the tuition fee of MBBS students. The high court had held that considering the provisions of

EWS quota: TN calls legislature parties meeting to discuss course of action

The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday announced convening a meeting of various legislature parties on November 12 to discuss the next course of action following the Supreme Court upholding the 10 per cent EWS quota. Chief Minister M K Stalin will chair the meeting. The EWS quota is "against social justice and equality," a government release said, adding, the meeting of all legislature party leaders will discuss the next course of action in this issue. Stalin had earlier said the SC verdict on EWS is a setback to century-long social justice struggle.

What does the EWS quota verdict mean for India?

The Supreme Court upheld the 103th amendment to the Constitution, which paved the way for 10% reservation for people of economically weaker sections. What will be the likely impact of this judgment?

Big shoes to fill after CJI U U Lalit, says Justice D Y Chandrachud

Supreme Court judge Justice DY Chandrachud, who will take oath as the 50th Chief Justice of India (CJI) on November 9, said on Monday that he has "very big-sized shoes to fill" as Justice UU Lalit's successor and hoped to continue the "good work" initiated by him. CJI Lalit, who had a short tenure of 74 days as the head of the judiciary, is set to demit the office at the age of 65 years on November 8 which is a court holiday. Justice Chandrachud, while addressing the farewell function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) for Justice Lalit, said the 49th CJI showed remarkable leadership and was committed to increasing access to justice during his tenure. CJI Lalit prioritised listing of important constitutional issues, decreased pendency and helped transform the image of the institution from a "colonial justice delivery system to a system where people have to be reached out to", the senior-most apex court judge said. "Personally, as your successor, I am conscious th

10% quota in education a ray of hope for backward upper caste: Bommai

Karnataka CM Bommai said the 103rd amendment made to the Constitution by central govt to provide 10% reservation in employment and education for the economically backward upper castes is a ray of hope

'50% ceiling in reservation only for SC/ST, OBC': SC in EWS quota verdict

Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, Bela M. Trivedi, and J.B. Pardiwala upheld the validity of the EWS quota