Page 277 - Supreme Court

No Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations at Idgah Maidan in Bengaluru, orders SC

The Supreme Court Tuesday refused to grant permission for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations at Idgah Maidan in Bengaluru and ordered status quo on land by both parties. A three-judge bench headed by Justice Indira Banerjee asked the parties to approach the Karnataka High Court for the resolution of the dispute. "The issues raised in the Special Leave Petition may be agitated by both parties before the High Court. In the meanwhile, the status quo as of today will be maintained by both sides. SLP is disposed of," the bench also comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and M M Sundresh said. The top court was hearing an appeal filed by the Karnataka Waqf Board challenging the order of the High Court. A division bench of the Karnataka High Court on August 26 permitted the state government to consider and pass appropriate orders on the applications received by the Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru (Urban) seeking the use of Idgah Maidan at Chamarajpet. PTI PKS .

SC judge expresses displeasure over WhatsApp messages sent on his phone

My mobile is not meant for WhatsApp... I will just send the proceeding off…. I had mentioned earlier, I did not take any action," Justice Kaul said

SC to examine constitutional validity of 10% EWS quota in admissions, jobs

Supreme Court said it would examine the constitutional validity of the Central government's decision to allow 10% reservation to economically weaker sections in admissions and jobs

Gujarat riots: SC to hear bail plea of activist Teesta Setalvad on Sep 1

The Supreme Court deferred to Thursday the hearing on the bail plea of activist Teesta Setalvad, arrested for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame "innocent people" in the 2002 Gujarat riots cases. A bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and justices S Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia, which was to take up the plea for hearing at 3.45 pm, adjourned the matter to September 1 due to paucity of time. Because of the paucity of time, the matter could not be taken up. List this matter at 3 pm on Thursday, the bench said in its order. In response to the bail plea, the Gujarat government has said that the activist had "enacted" the conspiracy along with other accused at the behest of a senior political leader. The state government, in an affidavit, claimed that Setalvad had held meetings with the said political leader and received "large amounts of money". The affidavit, filed by the chief of the special investigation team (SIT) constituted to probe the case lodged in June

Supreme Court closes all proceedings pertaining to Babri mosque demolition

The Supreme Court on Tuesday closed the contempt proceedings, arising out of the demolition of Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in 1992, against the state of Uttar Pradesh and others. A bench headed by Justice S K Kaul said the issue does not survive now and referred to the November 2019 verdict of a constitution bench. A five-judge constitution bench of the apex court had on November 9, 2019, cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya and directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque. While closing the contempt proceedings, the bench observed that the matter ought to have come up for hearing earlier. The counsel appearing for the petitioner told the bench, also comprising Justices A S Oka and Vikram Nath, that the contempt plea was pending for a long and the petitioner had died in 2010. "I appreciate the fact that the matter ought to have come up earlier," Justice Kaul said. The counsel appearing for

SC drops contempt case on Prashant Bhushan, Tarun Tejpal after 13 years

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dropped a contempt case against activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan and journalist Tarun Tejpal filed in 2009 over their remarks against the judiciary. A bench of Justices Indira Banerjee, Surya Kant and M M Sundresh closed the proceedings after senior advocate Kapil Sibal informed that an apology has been tendered. "In view of the apology tendered by the contemnors, we do not deem it necessary to proceed with the contempt. The contempt proceedings are dropped," the bench said. The top court had in November 2009 issued contempt notice to Bhushan and Tejpal for allegedly casting aspersions on some sitting and former top court judges in an interview to a news magazine. Tejpal was then editor of the magazine. In response to the 2009 contempt case, Bhushan had told the apex court that making corruption charges against the judges would not amount to contempt of court and mere utterance of corruption charge could not be contempt of court.

NEET-PG counselling 2022 rescheduled once again; check details

Earlier, the NEET-PG counselling 2022 was slated to begin from Sept 1, 2022 till Sept 4, 2022.

Bench strength: A decisive move by Justice Lalit

His suggestion on Constitution Bench cases is a useful one

SC rejects plea seeking fresh probe into Rafale deal alleging bribery

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a PIL seeking a fresh probe into the deal between India and France for procurement of 36 Rafale jets on the basis of reports alleging payment of bribes by Dassault Aviation for getting the order. A bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice S Ravindra Bhat considered the submission of lawyer M L Sharma that a direction for issuance of a letter rogatory to collect fresh evidence relating to the deal be issued. The lawyer referred to media reports and sought issuance of direction for issuing letter rogatory to the Indian probe agency to enable them to secure evidence in the case from foreign countries. He said one billion Euros were allegedly paid by Dassault Aviation to some middleman to get the deal in its favour. Having gone through the facts and circumstances and the case on record, in our considered view, no case is made out for the exercise of jurisdiction of this court under Article 32 (provides right to move SC

SC to soon get new mechanism for listing of matters, says CJI U U Lalit

A new mechanism for the listing of matters will be devised soon, Chief Justice of India U U Lalit said on Monday, his first working day in the Supreme Court as the CJI. He asked lawyers to mention cases for urgent hearings before the registrar rather than requesting the first court to entertain such pleas. "We will have a new mechanism by Thursday. Till then, we will look at it in chamber and if urgent we will list it For mentioning, we will go back to the original practice of mentioning before the registrar," the CJI said. The observation came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought to know about the mechanism of mentioning the matters before the bench. As the bench headed by the chief justice of India commenced proceedings for the day, Mehta welcomed CJI Lalit and assured him of full support from the government. Senior advocate Dushyant Dave also wished the CJI on behalf of the entire bar. Over 900 petitions, including 60 PILs, were listed before the top court on Monday alon

SC rejects PIL seeking fresh probe into Rafale deal between India, France

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a PIL seeking a fresh probe into the deal between India and France for the procurement of 36 Rafale jets. A bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and S Ravindra Bhat considered lawyer M L Sharma's submission that a direction for issuing a letters rogatory to collect fresh evidence relating to the deal be issued. He also referred to some media reports alleging that one billion Euros was paid by Dassault Aviation to a middleman to get the deal in its favour. The bench refused to consider the fresh PIL. Sharma then decided to withdraw the PIL. On December 14, 2018, the apex court had dismissed a batch of PILs challenging the deal between India and France for the procurement of 36 Rafale jets, saying there was no occasion to "really doubt the decision making process" warranting setting aside of the contract.

SC seeks UP govt's response on bail plea of journalist Siddique Kappan

The Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Uttar Pradesh government on the bail plea of Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan, arrested in October 2020 while on his way to Hathras where a Dalit woman had died after allegedly being gang-raped. A bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and S Ravindra Bhat fixed the plea for final disposal on September 9. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had earlier this month rejected the bail application of Kappan, who was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the alleged Hathras conspiracy case. The FIR had been filed under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the UAPA against four persons having alleged links with the Popular Front of India (PFI). The PFI had been accused in the past of funding protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act across the country. The police had earlier claimed that the accused was trying to disturb the law and order in Hathras.

SC issues notice to Karnataka govt over pleas against hijab ban verdict

The Supreme Court expressed anguish at petitioners' counsel seeking adjournment on pleas against the Karnataka HC judgment, which upheld the right of educational institutions to ban wearing of hijab

Noida twin towers hog attention one last time as they get demolished

After Supreme Court upheld demolition order last year, buildings taller than Qutub Minar brought down in 9 seconds in a safe operation that grabbed eyeballs

Hijab ban: SC to hear appeals against Karnataka HC order on Monday

The Supreme Court will hear on Monday a batch of appeals challenging the Karnataka High Court's order which had upheld the state government's order to ban hijabs in school and college classrooms

SC to hear bail plea of Siddique Kappan booked under UAPA on Monday

The Supreme Court on Monday will hear the bail plea of Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan who was booked under UAPA and other charges in the alleged Hathras conspiracy case

Stage set for demolition of illegal Supetech's twin towers in Noida

The stage is set for the safe demolition of Supertech's twin towers here this afternoon in what is expected to be a breathtaking spectacle of engineering to raze to the ground the nearly 100-metre-tall structures borne out of corruption. The towers -- both taller than Delhi's iconic Qutub Minar -- will be brought down in less than 15 seconds by waterfall implosion technique. the They will be the tallest structures yet in India to be demolished, officials said. There was excitement and anticipation as several people, including families and children, gathered at the site on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, clicking selfies and taking videos of the two towers "All arrangements have been made and preparations done for the safe demolition of the twin towers as per schedule at 2.30 pm tomorrow," Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari told PTI Saturday. Over 3,700 kg explosives will be used to bring down the structures in pursuance of a Supreme Court order that found their ...

Can't allow incarceration for long without trial: SC in 2018 narcotics case

The Supreme Court has granted bail to two accused lodged in jail for four years in a criminal case in West Bengal, saying it cannot permit the situation to prevail where a person is kept incarcerated for a long time without a trial. The apex court observed that even the first witness of the prosecution is yet to be examined in the 2018 case relating to the alleged seizure of 414 kg of contraband 'Ganja'. The court, however, said if the appellants seek to delay the trial, "we permit the trial court to put back the appellants into incarceration". A bench of justices S K Kaul and P S Narasimha noted that a charge sheet was filed and charges have been framed, but the case was not proceeding further. "We can't permit the situation to prevail where the person is kept in incarceration for a long period of time with the trial hardly to commence," the bench said in its order passed earlier this week. "We are thus of the view that as the period of incarceration is almost four years now and

Lifetime domestic help, chauffeur for CJIs, SC judges after retirement

A chief justice of India will now get a domestic help, a chauffeur and a secretarial assistant for lifetime from the day he or she demits office, according to the latest post-retirement benefits notified by the government. In a fresh notification issued on Friday, the Department of Justice in the Union Law Ministry said the Supreme Court Judges Rules have been amended again to extend more post-retirement facilities to retired CJIs and judges of the top court. The rules were earlier amended on August 23. The benefits of the amended rules will be extended to all living former CJIs and retired Supreme Court judges. As per the latest changes in the rules, a retired chief justice of India will also be entitled to a security cover round-the-clock at their residence in addition to a 24X7 personal security guard for a period of five years from the date of retirement. A retired Supreme Court judge will be entitled to 24X7 security cover at his or her residence in addition to a round-the-clo

Justice Uday Umesh Lalit sworn in as the 49th Chief Justice of India

Justice Uday Umesh Lalit was on Saturday sworn in as the 49th Chief Justice of India. President Droupadi Murmu administered him the oath at a brief ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers were present at the ceremony. Justice Lalit's predecessor, Justice N V Ramana, was also present.