Page 39 - Supreme Court

SC allows CBI to register six more real estate fraud cases in Delhi-NCR

The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the CBI to register six more regular cases into the "unholy nexus" between banks and developers to dupe homebuyers in real estate projects in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mohali and Prayagraj. A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh allowed the CBI to proceed as per law after Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the agency, mentioned that it has completed preliminary inquiry in projects of the various builders except Supertech Ltd, falling outside Delhi-NCR in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mohali and Prayagraj. The bench noted the submission of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that, after preliminary inquiry, it has found a cognisable offence being made out and allowed the agency to register regular cases and proceed according to law. Bhati said the agency is willing to register six regular cases for speedy investigation and conduct a search and seizure in the matter. The top court directed

Courts cannot act as agents to recover money: SC asks police to apply mind

The judges noted this has become a recent trend, with parties filing criminal cases to recover money that is essentially a civil dispute

Chhattisgarh NAN 'scam': ED gets 4-week custody of 2 ex-IAS officers

A special court here has sent former IAS officers Alok Shukla and Anil Tuteja in the Enforcement Directorate's custody for four weeks in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Nagrik Apurti Nigam (NAN) scam. The duo surrendered before the court of Special Judge (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) Damarudhar Chouhan, following which they were formally arrested by the ED on Monday and produced before the court. "The special court has granted their custodial remand to the ED for four weeks. The two will be taken to Delhi for interrogation," ED's lawyer Saurabh Kumar Pande told PTI. Last week, the Supreme Court set aside the anticipatory bail granted to Shukla (65) and Tuteja (62). It allowed ED to take their custody for a period of four weeks, after which both were to be released "if not required in any other case, subject to the terms and conditions that may be imposed by the trial court". The apex court had granted the duo one week to surrender. As per the custodial remand

SC to hear PIL on Air India crash, slams selective release of report

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a PIL seeking an independent probe into the Air India Ahmedabad crash while criticising the selective release of the AAIB's inquiry report

'Time to decriminalise defamation': SC issues notice in The Wire case

The Supreme Court observed it may be time to end criminal defamation while hearing The Wire's plea against summons in a case filed by JNU professor Amita Singh over a 2016 report

'Very unfortunate': SC on pilot's error leaks in Air India crash probe

On June 12, Air India flight AI171, using a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, crashed into a hostel soon after taking off from Ahmedabad, killing 265 people

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