Page 80 - Supreme Court

SC to hear batch of pleas concerning Places of Worship Act on February 17

The Supreme Court will hear a batch of pleas relating to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, on February 17. As per the causelist for February 17 uploaded on the apex court's website, a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan is slated to hear the matter. The Act prohibits conversion of any place of worship and provides for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947. However, the dispute relating to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue in Ayodhya was kept out of its purview. Some of the pleas filed in the apex court have challenged the validity of certain provisions of the 1991 law. On January 2, the top court agreed to examine a plea filed by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi seeking effective implementation of the places of worship law. On December 12 last year, a bench headed by the chief justice, while acting on a batch of pleas relating to the 1991 law,

Quashing of showcause notices: NFRA moves apex court against HC ruling

Court order pertains to quashing NFRA's 11 show cause notices to multiple auditors and CAs

Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel lose AGR dues case as SC dismisses pleas

The Supreme Court has dismissed telecom giants Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel's review petitions seeking corrections in adjusted gross revenue dues calculations, leaving them with no legal recourse

Ranveer Allahbadia moves Supreme Court over FIRs on controversial remarks

A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, along with Justice Sanjay Kumar, has acknowledged the request made by Ranveer Allahbadia's lawyer

UPSC cheating case: SC extends protection to Puja Khedkar till March 17

The Supreme Court on Friday extended till March 17 protection from arrest to former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, accused of cheating and wrongly availing OBC and disability quota benefits in the civil services examination. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma directed Khedkar to cooperate in the investigation. During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju sought rime to file reply in the matter. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Khedkar, submitted that police were not calling her for investigation and she was willing to come. The top court directed the ASG to file reply within three weeks. The apex court on January 15 had issued notice to the Delhi government and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Khedkar's plea seeking anticipatory bail. Khedkar is accused of misrepresenting information in her application for the UPSC civil services examination, 2022, for availing reservation benefits. She refuted all the allegations

Ex-CJI Chandrachud defends SC ruling on Article 370, PM Modi's puja visit

In an interview, Justice (Retd) DY Chandrachud addressed criticism of the court's decision to uphold the Centre's move to abrogate Jammu and Kashmir's special status

Change of Delhi govt doesn't ensure proactiveness to tackle pollution: SC

The tussle between the Centre and the Delhi government might have ended with the change in guard, but that does not mean they would be proactive in resolving the air pollution crisis, the Supreme Court on Thursday said. A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was hearing the issue of air pollution in Delhi in the M C Mehta case. Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, who is acting as amicus curiae, submitted she was relieved that Delhi and the Centre wouldn't be at loggerheads after the BJP was set to from government. She said half of the time was wasted in fighting and the issues remain unresolved. The bench then said in a lighter vein,"That's the practical aspect of it. They may not be fighting that does not mean they will be proactive." Additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati said she was optimistic that there would no confrontation. Bhati sought permission to ease GRAP-IV measures that are currently enforced in Delhi. The bench said it would consider the issue

SC grants bail to ex-UP Minister Azam Khan, son in machine theft case

The Supreme Court has granted bail to former Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Azam Khan, who had challenged an order of the Allahabad High Court denying them bail in a machine theft case. A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal set aside the Allahabad High Court order which rejected their bail plea. "Taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of the case which include the period of incarceration undergone by the appellants, and that the chargesheet has already been filed, we are inclined to set aside the impugned order and grant bail to the appellants. "Accordingly, the impugned order stands set aside and the appellants are granted bail, subject to the terms and conditions which are to the satisfaction of the trial court," the bench said in its February 10 order. The top court asked the trial court to impose a condition to the effect that the appellants shall cooperate with the conduct of the trial till its conclusion and shall not make an

Ain't we creating a 'class of parasites' by political freebies, asks SC

Says due to these benefits, people are not willing to work

SC orders meeting between Sahara, Sebi over sale of Versova Land

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed Sahara India Commercial Corporation Ltd (SICCL) and SEBI to hold a meeting along with two Mumbai-based property consultants to explore the terms and conditions on which Sahara Group's Versova land could be sold to get maximum value to return investors' money. A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices M M Sundresh and Bela M Trivedi issued notices to the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Maharashtra's chief secretary and sought their responses on the status of Versova plot and clarify whether it was a forest land. "After the last date of hearing, we have had several bidders' proposals for the land at Versova. Mr Shekhar Naphade, who is amicus curiae, has submitted a note before us stating that the Versova plot is mangrove forest area either fully or partially. In these circumstances we deem it appropriate to issue notice to the Ministry of Forests and (Maharashtra) chief secretary who shall inform this court about status of the .

SC grants time to Danny Gaekwad to deposit Rs 600 cr for counter offer

The court also clarified that except for the modification of the time limit to deposit the said amount, other terms and conditions mentioned in the February 7 order will remain unaffected

SC ruling on lotteries brings regulatory certainty to businesses: Experts

For industry stakeholders, this decision removes ambiguity surrounding tax liabilities, allowing for more predictable financial planning and compliance, according to expert

SC slams freebies, says they discourage people from willing to work

The Supreme Court on Wednesday deprecated the practice of announcing freebies prior to elections, and said people were not willing to work as they were getting free ration and money. The observations came from a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih which was hearing a matter concerning the right to shelter of homeless persons in urban areas. "Unfortunately, because of these freebies... the people are not willing to work. They are getting free rations. They are getting amount without doing any work," Justice Gavai observed. "We quite appreciate your concern for them but would it not be better to make them a part of the mainstream of society and permit them to contribute to the development of the nation," the bench said. Attorney General R Venkataramani told the bench that the Centre was in the process of finalising the urban poverty alleviation mission, which would address various issues, including the provision of shelter for the urban homeless. The bench asked t

Sheena Bora case: SC dismisses Indrani Mukerjea's plea to travel abroad

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the plea of Indrani Mukerjea, accused of killing her daughter Sheena Bora, against a ruling denying her permission to travel abroad. A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal directed the trial court to conduct the proceedings in the case within a year and upheld the Bombay High Court order refusing her plea. "There is no guarantee that you will come back. Trial is at an advanced stage. Taking into consideration the fact that the trial is ongoing, we are not inclined to consider the request at this stage. We direct the trial court to expedite the hearing and conclude within a year," it said. The bench gave liberty to Mukerjea to approach the trial court Opposing the permission, the CBI counsel said it was a sensitive matter and the trial had reached halfway with the examination of 96 witnesses. The counsel for Mukerjea, a former media executive, submitted she was given bail by the top court and 92 witnesses still remained to be ...

Unified pension scheme for judicial officers notified: Centre tells SC

The Centre on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that it recently notified the Unified Pension Scheme which might address the concerns of judicial officers. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih heard the submission made by the Centre's counsel. Attorney general R Venkataramani and solicitor general Tushar Mehta appeared for the Centre and apprised the bench about the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). The matter relates to the applicability of the New Pension Scheme to the officers of the district judiciary. "It is the submission of the attorney general as well as the solicitor general that the Unified Pension Scheme may address concerns of all the employees, including the judicial officers," observed the bench. The court therefore found it appropriate to defer the matter for some time to experience how the Unified Pension Scheme worked and then take a call on the issues at hand. The matter would be heard after 12 weeks. The case raises concerns over the disburse

SC to hear pleas challenging new law for CEC, EC appointments on Feb 19

The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed February 19 to hear pleas against the appointment of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners under the 2023 law saying if anything happens in the interregnum, the consequences are bound to follow. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh was told by advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for an NGO, that earlier the pleas were scheduled to be heard on Wednesday but now they have been listed for hearing on February 19. Bhushan said the urgency in the matter is that Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar is scheduled to superannuate on February 18 and the government may appoint the new CEC under the 2023 law, which is under challenge. The bench said, "We are fixing the matter for hearing on February 19. If anything happens in the interregnum, then the consequences are bound to follow." Bhushan, appearing for NGO 'Association for Democratic Reforms', said the apex court registry has informed them that as Justice Kant wa

SC asks Election Commission response on pleas for EVM verification

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the Election Commission of India's response on the pleas seeking verification of the burnt memory and symbol loading units in EVMs in compliance of its judgement. A special bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta asked the poll panel to refrain from erasing or reloading data during the verification process. The pleas sought a direction to the poll panel to check and verify burnt memory/micro-controllers and the symbol loading unit (SLU) of electronic voting machines (EVM). The bench asked the poll panel to file its response within 15 days and explain the procedure adopted and posted the matter in the week commencing March 3. Irked over suppression of the fact relating to a similar petition which was dismissed as withdrawn, the bench said it would not hear a fresh plea filed by former Haryana minister and five-time MLA Karan Singh Dalal seeking a policy for the verification of EVMs. The bench issued notices to the

No need for round-the-clock manning of every ATM, says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside a Gauhati High Court order for round-the-clock manning of ATMs to ensure one customer entry at a time. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran took note of the submissions of solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for some banks, that it was not practical to deploy security guards round the clock at all ATMs. "In Assam, we have around 4,000 ATMs. We cannot have one security guard at all the ATMs. The worldwide recognised system is to have CCTVs," he said. Mehta said the apex court in December 2016 stayed the high court's direction, which could be made absolute. He said the petitioner banks, including the State Bank of India, had no grievance in accepting the other directions issued by the high court in December 2013 concerning security protocols for proper functioning of ATMs. The bench allowed the petition and set aside the direction issued by the high court which read, "Place security guards round the clock at all ATMs so that

Lottery distributors not liable to pay service tax to Centre, says SC

Lottery distributors are not liable to pay service tax to the Union government, the Supreme Court held on Tuesday while dismissing an appeal of the Centre on the issue. A bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and NK Singh did not agree to the appeal of the Centre against the Sikkim High Court judgement. Since there is no agency in the relationship, the respondents (lottery distributors) were not liable to pay service tax. However, the respondents will continue to pay the gambling tax levied by the state under Entry 62, List II of the Constitution, Justice Nagarathna said while pronouncing the verdict. "Service tax is not leviable on the transactions between the purchaser of the lottery tickets and firmIn view of the aforesaid discussions, we find no merit in the appeals filed by the Union of India and others. Hence, these appeals are dismissed," the bench said. Upholding the Sikkim High Court verdict, the top court said it is only the state government that can impose taxes on ..

SC summons Andhra, Delhi, J&K chief secretaries over misleading ads issue

The court noted that as far as the states of Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Jammu & Kashmir are concerned, "there is hardly any implementation of the orders passed" by the court