Page 95 - Supreme Court

SC questions ED over low conviction rate in money laundering cases

The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the ED over the low rate of convictions in money laundering cases, wondering for how long former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, arrested over alleged irregularities in academic staff recruitment in the state, could be kept in jail. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said Chatterjee has been incarcerated for over two years and the trial in the case was yet to commence. "What will happen if we don't grant bail? Trial is yet to commence, there are 183 witnesses in the cases. Trial will take time...How long can we keep him? That is the question. Here is a case where more than two years have gone. How to strike balance in such case?" the bench asked Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, representing ED. The top court remarked it also couldn't ignore that the allegations against the former minister were serious in nature and asked, "Mr Raju, if ultimately he is not convicted, what will happen? Waiting for 2.5-3 years is not

Religious conversion to avail reservation a 'fraud on constitution': SC

In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court has said religious conversions undertaken solely to avail reservation benefits without genuine belief amounted to a "fraud on the Constitution". Justices Pankaj Mithal and R Mahadevan passed the verdict on November 26 in a case filed by one C Selvarani and upheld a Madras High Court decision of January 24 denying a scheduled caste certificate to a woman who converted to Christianity but later claimed to be a Hindu to secure employment benefits. Justice Mahadevan, who wrote the 21-page verdict for the bench, further underscored that one converted to a different religion, when they were genuinely inspired by its principles, tenets and spiritual thoughts. "However, if the purpose of conversion is largely to derive the benefits of reservation but not with any actual belief in the other religion, the same cannot be permitted, as the extension of benefits of reservation to people with such ulterior motives will only defeat the social ethos of th

Lakhimpur Kheri: SC asks Ashish Mishra to reply to 'threat' allegations

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed former Union minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra to respond to allegation that witnesses were being threatened in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence case that claimed eight lives. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan asked senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Mishra, to file an affidavit clarifying his stand after he refuted the allegations. At the outset, a counsel appearing for one of the complainants in the case told the court that he has filed a plea in which he has said that witnesses were threatened by Mishra. Dave denied the allegations and said this is an "endless process". "It's not me in the photographs. This is not for this court, this is for outside," Dave said. The top court then asked Mishra to file an affidavit denying the allegations within four weeks. On July 22, the top court had granted bail to Ashish Mishra and restricted his movement to Delhi or Lucknow. On January 25 last year, the top court ha

CJI backs advance letters for case withdrawals to streamline proceedings

Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Wednesday emphasised the importance of preemptive communication in court processes and suggested that lawyers submit advance letters for case withdrawals rather than relying on oral submissions during hearings. The CJI has been taking several procedural steps to streamline the judicial process in the top court. On November 12, he said no oral submissions for urgent listing and hearing of cases would be permitted and urged lawyers to either send emails or written letters for it. On Wednesday, the CJI suggested lawyers file advance letters for case withdrawals rather than making oral submissions while hearing a transfer petition in a family dispute case. The counsel in the case informed the bench that the parties had resolved their differences and wished to withdraw the transfer petition. Granting the withdrawal, the CJI remarked that advance notice would enhance court efficiency. "If you have any such requests, you can always give a letter to

Supreme Court flags 'worrying trend': When love turns sour, FIRs follow

The Supreme Court highlighted a 'worrying trend' of criminalising long-term consensual relationships when they turn sour, calling for careful scrutiny to prevent misuse of criminal laws

Constitution our 'guiding light', 'living stream': PM Narendra Modi

PM says his govt has strengthened constitutional values by implementing welfare measures

Worrying trend of criminalising long, consensual ties after break-up: SC

Flagging the "worrying trend" where long term consensual relationships, upon turning sour, were sought to be criminalised by invoking penal laws, the Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed an FIR lodged against a man for alleged offences of rape and cheating. Noting that the relationship continued for nine long years in the case, the apex court observed if criminality was to be attached to such prolonged physical relationship at a very belated stage, it could lead to serious consequences. "It is evident from the large number of cases decided by this court dealing with similar matters as discussed above that there is a worrying trend that consensual relationships going on for prolonged period, upon turning sour, have been sought to be criminalised by invoking criminal jurisprudence," a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh said. The top court delivered its verdict on an appeal filed by a man, who had challenged a February 2018 order of the Bombay High Court which dismissed

Sheena Bora case: Indrani Mukerjea moves SC, seeks nod to travel abroad

A special court on July 19 allowed Mukerjea's plea to travel to Spain and the UK for 10 days between intermittent periods over the next three months

SC upholds validity of land acquisition for Yamuna Expressway development

In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the validity of land acquisition for the integrated development of the Yamuna Expressway and its adjoining areas in Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. The top court decided a batch of appeals and the cross-appeals filed by the landowners and the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) respectively. The cases arose from two conflicting verdicts of the Allahabad High Court. One judgement upheld the acquisition by the YEIDA and another quashed state action of taking the land of farmers by invoking the urgency clauses. A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta dismissed appeals by the landowners while allowing the appeals filed by the YEIDA, resolving a long-standing dispute over the application of urgency provisions in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. Writing a 49-page judgement for the bench, Justice Mehta said the acquisition was deemed integral to the Yamuna Expressway's development. The .

SC rejects ballot paper plea; Kharge demands revival of traditional voting

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge demands bringing back the traditional method of casting votes

SC asks Centre, states to expedite steps to fill vacancies in CIC, SICs

Taking serious note of vacancies in the Central Information Commission (CIC) and state information commissions (SICs), the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre and the state governments to apprise it about the steps taken to fill up the posts. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said the states that have initiated the process of filling up the vacant posts should complete the process within four weeks. Pointing out that there are eight vacancies in CIC out of the 11 sanctioned posts including that of chief information commissioner, the bench asked Additional Solicitor General Brijender Chahar, appearing for the Centre, to file an affidavit within two weeks about the steps taken to fill up the vacancies. Since February 2019, the apex court has given several directions on the need for timely appointments to the transparency watchdog by the Centre and states so that the 2005 law on the Right to Information remains effective. The court said on Tuesday that in Jharkhand

Air India urination case: SC exhorts Centre for guidelines on unruly flyers

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre and aviation regulator DGCA to frame more comprehensive guidelines to control unruly air passengers and observed "something creative" had to be done. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan was hearing a plea filed by a 73-year-old woman, on whom a male co-passenger allegedly urinated in an inebriated condition on board an Air India flight in November, 2022. The septuagenarian sought directions to the Centre, the DGCA and all the air carriers to frame a standard operating procedure (SOP) to deal with similar incidents. The bench, hearing the plea, asked Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati to instruct the authorities concerned to examine and suitably modify the existing guidelines on unruly passengers, in line with the international norms. Interestingly, Justice Viswanathan shared his own experience while travelling with Justice Surya Kant when they encountered a similar incident. "We had a recent experience. Two passengers w

'Completely misconstrued': Ex-CJI on praying for solution to Ayodhya case

Former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that his remarks about praying to God to help him find a solution to the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute were "completely misconstrued."In an exclusive interview with ANI, Justice Chandrachud said that in Ayodhya's case, the judgment of the court states whether the law and the Constitution were applied or was some "divine intervention.""Like everything else on social media, what I said has been misconstrued. Because what you say is then sort of compressed into a small short of 20 seconds. And what you said on a particular occasion is then put forth in 20 seconds as your view, which is not so. Now, I must tell you that when I spoke on that occasion, just before I laid down office, I went to my own village, which is about an hour and a half from Pune."It's a village called Kanersar, which is predominantly an agricultural community. And I thought I must go to my village. We have an old house built in the 18th century which ...

SC dismisses petition for reverting to ballot paper voting in elections

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking to revert to ballot paper voting in elections in the country. "What happens is, when you win the election, EVMs (electronic voting machine) are not tampered. When you lose the election, EVMs are tampered (with)," remarked a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P B Varale. Apart from ballot paper voting, the plea sought several directions including a directive to the Election Commission to disqualify candidates for a minimum of five years if found guilty of distributing money, liquor or other material inducement to the voters during polls. When petitioner-in-person K A Paul said he filed the PIL, the bench said, "You have interesting PILs. How do you get these brilliant ideas?". The petitioner said he is the president of an organisation which has rescued over three lakh orphans and 40 lakh widows. "Why are you getting into this political arena? Your area of work is very different," the bench retorted. After Paul revealed he ha

Venugopal seeks Supreme Court-monitored probe into Sambhal violence

Opposition members were keen to raise the issue in the House and have targeted Yogi Adityanath government over the violence

After SC's intervention, CAQM relaxes GRAP curbs for schools in Delhi-NCR

The Bench, comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih, also emphasised the urgent need for a decision by Tuesday

SC quashes Telangana's preferential land allotment to 'privileged' class

In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court on Monday quashed the government orders facilitating preferential land allotments to MPs, MLAs, bureaucrats, judges and journalists within the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits, saying the distribution of state largesse was "capricious" and "irrational". A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta held the policy to be "unreasonable, arbitrary, discriminatory", and violative of Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution. "The allocation of land at basic rates to select privileged groups reflects a 'capricious' and 'irrational' approach. This is a classic case of executive action steeped in arbitrariness, but clothed in the guise of legitimacy, by stating that the ostensible purpose of the policy was to allot land to 'deserving sections of society'," the verdict said. Shorn of pretence, this policy of the state government, is an abuse of power meant to cater exclusively to the affluent ...

No divine power can wake up civic body: SC to MCD over library demolition

The first Delhi Public Library (DPL) was started by then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru near the Old Delhi railway station in 1951

Consider restarting physical classes in NCR schools, colleges: SC to CAQM

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the national capital region and adjoining areas to consider restarting physical classes in schools and colleges noting many students lacked mid-day meals and infrastructure to attend online classes. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih said a large number of students did not have air purifiers at home and therefore there may not be a difference between children at home and those attending schools. The top court, however, refused to relax the anti-pollution GRAP-4 restrictions in Delhi-NCR and said unless it was satisfied that there was consistent decrease in AQI levels, it cannot order curbs below GRAP-3 or GRAP-2. Noting that several sections of society, especially labourers and daily wagers, were adversely affected due to GRAP-4, the bench directed the state governments, where construction has been banned, to use funds collected as labour cess for subsistence to them. GRAP-

SC slams Delhi govt on Grap IV, directs CAQM to review school closure

Delhi air pollution: Parents request the reopening of schools as children loss access to midday meals and air purifiers