Page 46 - Supreme Court

SC allows Kerala govt to withdraw pleas against guv over assent to bills

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Kerala government to withdraw its pleas against Governor over the delay in approving bills passed by the state assembly. A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar passed the order after senior advocate K K Venugopal, appearing for the Kerala government, sought withdrawal of the plea and said the issue had turned infructuous in view of the recent judgment passed in the Tamil Nadu Governor case. Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed the submission and urged the court to await the top court's decision on the reference of President under Article 143 of the Constitution over the grant of assent to bills. On April 22, the top court said it would examine whether the recent judgement on a plea of Tamil Nadu, fixing timelines for the grant of assent to bills, covered the issues raised by the Kerala government in its pleas. Acting on a plea of Tamil Nadu government, an apex court bench on April 8 set asi

Foreign firm using shared premises in India liable to income tax: SC

SC rules foreign firm's control over Indian business via shared office space qualifies as a permanent establishment, triggering income tax liability

PlayStore billing policy: Google appeals NCLAT order in Supreme Court

Google approached the Supreme Court on July 21

Three-member Parliament panel likely to probe charges against Justice Varma

This comes after over 200 members of parliament submitted a motion in both the Houses to probe the allegations against Justice Varma

SC dismisses Hyatt International Southwest Asia's appeal in tax case

The Supreme Court upholds the Delhi High Court's decision, ruling that Hyatt International Southwest Asia's operations in India will be treated as a Permanent Establishment for tax purposes

'Bring down age of consent from 18 to 16 years': Plea filed in SC

The Supreme Court has been urged by amicus curiae and senior advocate Indira Jaising to read down the statutory age of consent from 18 to 16 years. Jaising, who is assisting the top court in "Nipun Saxena v. Union of India" case, has filled her written submissions challenging the blanket criminalisation of sexual activity involving adolescents aged 16 to 18 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 and Section 375 of IPC. She has argued the current law criminalises consensual romantic relationships among adolescents and violates their constitutional rights. Jaising said the legal framework wrongly equates consensual relationships between adolescents with abuse, ignoring their autonomy, maturity, and capacity to consent. There is no rational reason or empirical data to justify the increase in the age of consent from 16 to 18 years, Jaising submitted, noting that the age had remained at 16 for over 70 years until it was raised by the Criminal Law ...

Supreme Court dismisses plea to mandate six airbags in passenger vehicles

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea to ensure installation of six airbags in passenger vehicles and said the matter was exclusively within the policy domain. A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran told the petitioner to make a representation to the government. The petitioner said he had already given a representation to the government on May 17. "The prayers made in the writ petition are exclusively within the domain of policy to be framed by the executive. We are, therefore, not inclined to entertain the present petition," the bench said. If the petitioner has made a representation to the Centre, the bench said, the same would be considered on its own merits. The plea urged the court to declare non-mandating of six airbags was a violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution besides seeking a direction to authorities concerned to enhance vehicle safety mechanisms. While Article 14 deals with equality before the law, Article 21 pro

SC to hear pleas over Centre's delay in appointing judges after two weeks

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to list a batch of pleas questioning the delay on the part of the central government in appointment of judges after the collegium reiterated their names. A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran said it will hear the pleas after two weeks after senior advocate Arvind Datar and advocate Prashant Bhushan mentioned them for urgent listing, saying the petitions were listed in 2023 but were suddenly dropped from the cause list. "There are names of some judges which were reiterated in 2019, then 2020 and 2022, but till now they have not been cleared. This court has a fixed time limit for taking decisions at every stage. A delay of a few weeks is understandable but a delay of four years is not understandable at all," Datar said. Eventually, what happens is that the candidate whose name has been recommended for judgeship by the Supreme Court Collegium gradually loses interest and seniority, he said. The counsel also

SC stays Bombay HC order acquitting all 12 in 2006 Mumbai train blasts case

The Supreme Court stays Bombay HC verdict acquitting all 12 in Mumbai train blasts; says judgment will not be treated as precedent, issues notice to accused on Maharashtra's appeal

SC to hear plea on July 28 over end-of-life rules for BS-VI vehicles in NCR

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear on July 28 a plea questioning whether BS VI-compliant vehicles should have an end-of-life period of 15 years for petrol variants and 10 years for diesel variants in the National Capital Region. A bench of Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran agreed to hear the plea after a counsel mentioned it for urgent listing, saying the government cannot override the court's earlier directions on pollution control. The government cannot alter the limits already set by the apex court for curbing vehicular emissions to check pollution in Delhi, the counsel said.

Sustainable development not using bulldozers raising forests: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday underscored the need of sustainable development but advised against the use of bulldozers to clear forests in order to achieve it. A bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a suo motu case over large-scale felling of trees in the Kancha Gachibowli area of Telangana. I am myself an advocate for sustainable development, but that doesn't mean that overnight you should employ 30 bulldozers and clear all the jungle, Chief Justice Gavai said. Senior advocate K Parameshwar, who is amicus curiae in the matter, informed the bench about several private parties wishing to respond to the state's affidavit. The bench took note of the statement and posted the hearing on August 13. On May 15, the top court said felling of trees next to the University of Hyderabad prima facie appeared to be "pre-planned" and asked the Telangana government to restore it or its officials could land in jail. The CJI said it was fo

SC refuses to hear plea challenging gag order in Dharamsthala case

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to hear a petition challenging a sweeping gag order that restrained media houses from reporting on matters related to the brother of Dharamadhikari D Veerendra Heggade of Dharamsthala in Karnataka. The gag order pertained to reports on alleged murder of women in Dharmasthala in the state's Dakshina Kannada district. The plea, filed against an ex parte interim order of a local court, questioned the legality of the directive which directed as many as 390 media houses to remove nearly 9,000 links and stories related to the Dharamsthala burial case. A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi asked the petitioner as to why the high court had not been approached. You go the high court first, the CJI said. The gag order was reportedly passed in a defamation suit filed by Harshendra Kumar, Secretary of Sri Manjunathaswamy Temple institutions, who highlighted the spread of allegedly false and defamato

SC rejects Kalanithi Maran, KAL plea seeking ₹1,323 cr from SpiceJet

Delhi High court order's upheld in long-running dispute over transfer of shares to low-cost carrier's founder

After Kanwar Yatra rush, Haridwar battles waste; Delhi hit by noise, jams

Over 40 million Kanwariyas visited Haridwar as the city struggles with waste cleanup; Delhi sees over 350 complaints over DJ noise, traffic snarls during final days of the Kanwar Yatra

Cash row: Will constitute bench to hear Justice Varma's plea, says SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would constitute a bench to hear Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma's plea seeking to invalidate a report by an in-house inquiry panel, which found him guilty of misconduct in the cash discovery row. Justice Varma has also sought quashing of the May 8 recommendation by then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna urging Parliament to initiate impeachment against him. The matter was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who mentioned the matter for Justice Varma, said the plea was in respect of recommendation made by the then CJI for removal of Justice Varma. "We have raised some constitutional issues. I request your lordships to list it as early as possible," he said. The CJI said, "I will have to constitute a bench". He said it might not be proper for him to take up the matter as he was also a part of the ...

Cash discovery row: Justice Varma urges SC to accord urgent hearing on plea

Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to accord urgent hearing on his plea seeking to invalidate a report by an in-house inquiry panel, which found him guilty of misconduct in the cash discovery row. "I will have to constitute a bench," Chief Justice B R Gavai told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who mentioned the matter for Varma. The CJI was heading a bench which also comprised Justices K Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi. Sibal requested the bench to list the matter as early as possible, saying they have raised some constitutional issues in the plea. Varma has also sought quashing of the May 8 recommendation by then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna urging Parliament to initiate impeachment against him. The three-judge panel headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court conducted the inquiry for 10 days, examined 55 witnesses and visited the scene of the accidental fire that started at around 11.35 pm o

SC declines plea seeking transfer of Waqf Act petition from Delhi HC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain a plea seeking transfer of a petition challenging the 1995 Waqf Act from the Delhi High Court to the apex court. A bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai said that courts are increasingly being used for generating newspaper headlines rather than genuine legal redress. The bench, which also comprised Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria, made sharp remarks while hearing a transfer petition filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. The petition sought to move his challenge to various provisions of the Waqf Act from the Delhi High Court to the Supreme Court. "This issue is already pending before this court. Why do you want more petitions," the CJI asked at the outset. The bench noted that an earlier bench led by then CJI Sanjiv Khanna had already set a clear timeline for admitting such challenges. The court had also permitted fresh petitioners to file intervention applications in the ongoing batch of 11 petitions challenging .

Bet value doesn't qualify as income under I-T Act: Egaming firms to SC

Online gaming firms tell the Supreme Court that bet money placed by users in online real-money games should not be considered taxable income under the Income Tax Act

Supreme Court says it feels 'ashamed' over rising crimes against women

The petition seeks the creation of a National Sex Offenders Registry that should be accessible online to all women, enabling them to identify repeat sexual offenders and take necessary precautions

Maharashtra moves SC against acquittal of 7/11 train blasts convicts

A division bench of the high court (HC) on Monday overturned the conviction of all 12 accused, saying that cases against them had not been proven beyond a doubt