Page 30 - Supreme Court

VC appointments: SC defers Kerala Guv plea to remove CM Vijayan from panel

The Supreme Court on Monday asked to wait for the report of former apex court judge Sudhanshu Dhulia before hearing the plea of Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar seeking the removal of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan from a panel tasked to recommend vice chancellors (VCs) for two state universities. The plea was mentioned by Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for Governor, before a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan. The top law officer indicated urgency and asked the bench to take up the Governor's plea for hearing. Venkataramani said the question of who was the authority to appoint vice chancellors could create complications once the committee's recommendations were submitted. I have a very small request. These applications should not be seen as obstructing any process of Justice Dhulia in this matter. But a subsequent order passed by another bench has restored the Chancellor as the appointing authority, he said. The attorney general was referring to an

Jacqueline Fernandez moves SC, challenges HC dismissal in ₹200-cr case

Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez moves the Supreme Court after Delhi HC rejected her plea to quash ₹200-crore money laundering case, seeking a stay of trial against her

Draft rules to be notified making dealer liable once vehicle is sold

once a car is handed over with due intimation, the dealer would be deemed the owner and held liable for any incidents during possession, According to the draft rules

Adani seeks accountability as Sebi dismisses Hindenburg allegations

Adani Group demands accountability after SEBI cleared it of Hindenburg's charges that triggered a $150 billion market loss and rattled investor confidence in 2023

Administrative tribunals bridge executive, judiciary: CJI BR Gavai

The Chief Justice of India, BR Gavai, commented on the functioning of the administrative tribunal in India during the 10th All India Conference of the Central Administrative Tribunal on Saturday.During the conference, Chief Justice BR Gavai discussed the functioning of Indian tribunals, highlighting that administrative tribunals occupy a unique position between the executive and the judiciary. He noted that, in contrast to courts, many members of these tribunals come from an administrative background, while a significant number also have judicial experience."...The administrative tribunals are unlike courts in that they occupy a unique space between the executive and the judiciary. Many of the members come from the administrative services, while others come from the judiciary..." said CJI BR Gavai.However, Gavai emphasised that even though diversity is a strength of tribunals, he notes that members with an administrative background require training in legal reasoning and are generally

Some solution has to be found in Vi's AGR case, Centre tells Supreme Court

The Centre told the Supreme Court that a solution must be found in Vodafone Idea's plea against additional AGR dues, with the matter adjourned for further hearing next week

SC judge recuses from Vedanta PIL; case to be heard by new Bench

A Supreme Court judge recused himself from hearing a PIL on alleged financial irregularities by Vedanta and HZL, the second recusal in the case, which will now go to a new bench

SC seeks govt, OMCs' reply on biodiesel off-take plea by producers' body

The Supreme Court sought a response from the government and OMCs on a petition by biodiesel producers citing poor off-take, policy lapses and heavy losses despite set targets

SC to hear plea against Madras HC order on relocation of historic tomb

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a plea against an order to relocate the tomb of David Yale and Joseph Hynmer, while ordering status quo with regard to the monument. The tomb, situated in the compound of the Madras Law College (now Dr Ambedkar Government Law College) which is part of the high court campus, was declared as a protected monument through a January 1921 notification made in the Fort St. George Gazette. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the Ministry of Culture and others seeking their responses on the plea challenging the April order of the Madras High Court. "Issue notice, returnable within four weeks," the bench said. The bench asked senior advocate Shyam Divan, who appeared for the petitioner, whether he wanted a stay on the operation of the high court order. "I will just say that in so far as this monument is concerned, status quo be preserved," Divan said. A single judge of the high court in June 2023 allowed a petition .

SC to hear on Sept 26 plea of Vodafone for quashing additional AGR demand

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on September 26 a plea of telecom major Vodafone Idea Ltd seeking quashing of the additional adjusted gross revenue (AGR) demands for the period until 2016-17. A bench of Chief justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria fixed the plea for consideration on next Friday after taking note of submissions of senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the telecom firm, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represented the Centre. The law officer said that now the circumstances have changed and the parties wanted to find a solution. We will keep it on Friday, the CJI said. The company has filed a fresh plea on September 8 seeking a direction to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to "comprehensively re-assess and reconcile all AGR dues for the period up to FY 2016-17 following the 'Deduction Verification Guidelines'" dated February 3, 2020. Earlier this year, in a setback to telecom majors, including Bharti Airtel a

Delhi riots: SC defers hearing on bail pleas of Khalid, Sharjeel to Sept 22

The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned to September 22 the hearing on bail pleas of activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and Meeran Haider in the UAPA case related to the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 riots in Delhi. A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Manmohan deferred the pleas. The activists have challenged a September 2 Delhi High Court order which denied bail to nine people, including Khalid and Imam, saying "conspiratorial" violence under the garb of demonstrations or protests by citizens could not be allowed. Besides Khalid and Imam, those who faced bail rejection are Fatima, Haider, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Abdul Khalid Saifi and Shadab Ahmed. The bail plea of another accused, Tasleem Ahmed, was rejected by a different high court bench on September 2. The high court said the Constitution affords citizens the right to protest and carry out demonstrations or agitations, provided they are orderly, peaceful and without arms

Datanomics: SC gives ASI edge as Waqf stakes claim on 7% of monuments

SC upholds that ASI-protected monuments cannot be classified as Waqf property, impacting 254 sites nationwide, including major mosques and tombs under Waqf boards

SIT gave clean chit on water resource misuse, carbon credits, says Vantara

The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) has found that allegations of misuse of water resources and carbon credits against Vantara are entirely baseless, the zoological rescue and rehabilitation centre has said in a statement. An apex court bench comprising Justices Pankaj Mithal and P B Varale on Monday accepted the SIT's report, which found no legal violations in Vantara's operations in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The SIT cleared Vantara, run by Reliance Foundation, of all major allegations, including claims that it was acquiring animals to profit from carbon credits, the statement said. The court also further clarified that there is no recognised domestic or international framework that awards carbon credits for the rescue, housing, or upkeep of wild animals, it added. "The SIT's detailed review of the centre's operations and funding confirmed that the allegations of misusing water resources and carbon credits were entirely baseless, lacking any factual or legal ...

Ban loudspeakers across all religious sites, says ex-SC judge citing health

Ex-Supreme Court judge Rohinton Nariman has called for a nationwide ban on loudspeakers and temple bells, saying noise curbs across all religions are needed to protect public health

Bank OTS scheme not a borrower's right without upfront payment: SC

Apex court rules SBI justified in rejecting OTS plea for non-compliance with 5% deposit condition

Why don't you arrest erring farmers? SC asks Punjab govt on stubble burning

The Supreme Court noted that while stricter measures may be necessary to deter violations, the focus need not be on mass prosecutions but on sending a signal to protect air quality

Amazon's non-disclosure a fraud on CCI, regulator tells Supreme Court

CCI told the Supreme Court that Amazon's failure to disclose deal information under the Competition Act amounted to fraud, as the SC hears its appeal against a ₹200 crore penalty

Supreme Court calls for penal action against farmers for stubble burning

CJI says jailing violators could deter stubble burning, a key cause of winter smog

SC asks CAQM, CPCB, states to submit air pollution control plan in 3 weeks

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the CAQM, CPCB and state pollution control boards to come out with measures to prevent air pollution within three weeks, ahead of the onset of winter when pollution levels spike. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran also pulled up states over vacancies in their pollution control boards and asked states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab to fill them in three months. The bench also passed similar directions to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). It, however, granted six months for filling up promotional posts in state pollution control boards, CAQM and CPCB. The CAQM is a statutory body formed by the Centre and its main goal is to manage and improve air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR) and its adjoining areas, which include parts of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The bench was hearing a suo m

Retired judges reluctant to join tribunals due to poor facilities, says SC

The Supreme Court said retired judges hesitate to accept tribunal posts due to inadequate housing, transport and dignity, and asked the Centre to upgrade infrastructure