Page 18 - Supreme Court

Ex-Unitech promoters in SC seeks hearing on bail pleas in fraud case

Former Unitech promoters Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court that either their bail pleas be heard by it or they be allowed to move the trial court for securing relief in a financial fraud case in which they are in custody for over five years. During the hearing, the top court asked the Noida authority to process the layout and building plans of Unitech Group, without asking for the upfront payment of dues. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice M R Shah was told by senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Chandra brothers, that both of them are lodged in jail for over five years and six months in the case lodged by Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police for financial fraud for which maximum sentence is seven years imprisonment. The bench asked what happened to the precondition of deposition of Rs 750 crore in the court for securing bail. Dave said that the condition was imposed in a plea for interim bail but now the charge

SC orders Whatsapp to make public its undertaking on 2021 privacy policy

Top court wants Indian users to know that they are under no obligation to accept the platform's 2021 privacy policy in order to be able to use it

Budget: FM proposes case management system to reduce litigation by I-T dept

In a bid to lessen litigation in tax disputes, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday proposed a case management system where the Income Tax department would defer filing a lawsuit if an identical question of law is pending adjudication in high courts or the Supreme Court. Presenting the Union Budget for 2023-24 in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said a lot of time and resources are consumed in filing appeals involving identical legal issues pertaining to income tax. "Taking forward our policy of sound litigation management, I propose to provide that if a question of law in the case of an assessee is identical to a question of law which is pending in appeal before the jurisdictional high court or the Supreme Court, the filing of a further appeal in the case of this assessee by the department shall be deferred till such a question of law is decided by the jurisdictional high court or the Supreme Court," the minister said in her budget speech. She said litigation management is ...

Top headlines: Budget to push spending, Adani's FPO sails through, and more

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SC may wait for data protection bill before probing WhatsApp privacy policy

The top court observed that there was no harm in waiting for the bill to be tabled and "heavens are not going to fall in the meanwhile"

Armed forces can take action against their officers for adulterous acts: SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that armed forces can take action against their officers for adulterous acts, as it clarified the landmark 2018 judgement that decriminalised adultery. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice K M Joseph said its 2018 judgement was not concerned with the provisions of the armed forces acts. The top court, on a plea filed by NRI Joseph Shine, in 2018 had struck down Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code dealing with the offence of adultery, holding it unconstitutional. The Tuesday order by the bench, also comprising justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy, and C T Ravikumar came after Additional Solicitor General Madhavi Divan, appearing for the Centre, submitted a plea seeking clarification of the 2018 judgement. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) had moved the apex court for an exemption to armed forces from the September 27, 2018 judgement striking down adultery, saying it may hinder action against officers who indulge in such .

SC to consider govt's plea for open court hearing of petition on Benami law

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider the Centre's submissions for an open court hearing of its plea seeking review of the judgement by which several provisions of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 were struck down. A three-judge bench headed by then CJI N V Ramana, since retired, on August 23 last year had struck down section 3(2) and section 5 of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, and one of the provisions which provided for the punishment of a maximum jail term of three years or a fine or both for those indulging in benami' transactions. The top court had also held that the amended Benami law of 2016 did not have retrospective application and the authorities cannot initiate or continue criminal prosecution or confiscation proceedings for transactions entered into prior to the coming into force of the legislation. The Centre, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, on Tuesday urged a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y ...

SC reserves verdict on plea of journalist Rana Ayyub against summons

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on a plea of journalist Rana Ayyub challenging the summons issued by a special court in Ghaziabad in the money laundering case. A bench of Justice V Ramasubramanian and Justice J B Pardiwala said it will pass orders on the plea. During the hearing, advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for Ayyub, submitted, "Can her personal liberty be deprived by a procedure not authorised by law?" She submitted that the Ghaziabad special court has no jurisdiction to try the offence as the alleged act is said to have been committed in Mumbai. Grover said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached the journalist's personal bank account in a bank at Navi Mumbai in which around Rs 1 crore was lying. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED, said the prosecution complaint has been filed in the Ghaziabad court by the agency as part of the cause of action had arisen in Uttar Pradesh, where a lot of people, including from Ghaziabad, contribute

Delhi HC sends plea seeking minimum age for marriage for men, women to SC

Delhi High Court on Tuesday sent to the Supreme Court a petition seeking uniform minimum age for marriage for both men and women. A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad was informed by the petitioner about the Supreme Court's January 13 order by which the present petition was transferred to the apex court itself. "In light of the aforesaid order, the matter is immediately transferred to the Supreme Court. The registry is directed to transmit the record immediately to the Supreme Court," the bench said. On January 13, the apex court transferred to itself the petition filed by advocate and BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay, which was pending before Delhi High Court, seeking equality in the legal age of marriage for men and women. The plea before the apex court stated that it had been filed in order to avoid multiplicity of litigations and conflicting views on the interpretation of articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution and judgments involving gend

Centre moves SC, seeks open court hearing on plea for review on Benami law

The Centre on Tuesday sought from the Supreme Court an open court hearing on its plea seeking review of the judgement by which several provisions of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 were struck down. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha was urged by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, that the review plea be heard in open court keeping in mind the importance of the issue. This is an unusual request. We seek an open court hearing of the review. Due to this judgement, a lot of orders are being passed even though some of the provisions of the Benami Act was not even under challenge. Like the retrospectivity could not have been looked into (by the SC bench), the top law officer said. We will consider it, the CJI said. The top court, on August 23 last year, had struck down some provisions of the Benami law. One of the struck down provisions provided for the punishment of a maximum jail term of three ye

SC to hear pleas against BBC docu ban on Feb 6, Rijiju slams petitioners

The Supreme Court will hear next Monday pleas challenging the Centre's decision to block a controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots even as Law Minister Kiren attacked the petitioners for "wasting precious time" of the top court. Taking note of the submissions of lawyer M L Sharma and senior advocate C U Singh, appearing for veteran journalist N Ram, TMC MP Mahua Moitra and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan, seeking urgent listing of the petitions against the Centre's ban on the two-episode BBC series using its emergency powers, a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said it will hear the matter on February 6. One of the petitioners also alleged that the ban on the documentary 'India: The Modi question' was "malafide, arbitrary and unconstitutional". Reacting strongly, Rijiju tweeted "this is how they waste the precious time of Hon'ble Supreme Court where thousands of common citizens are waiting and seeking dates for justice".

SC upholds NCLAT order on payment of dues to ex-employees of Jet Airways

In a setback to the Jalan-Fritsch consortium, the new owners of the cash-strapped Jet Airways, the Supreme Court on Monday upheld an NCLAT order directing the payment of the provident fund and gratuity dues of the airline's former employees. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala said, "Anyone stepping in would know that there are overriding labour dues. Unpaid labour dues always take precedence. Somewhere, there has to be finality. Sorry, we will not interfere." The top court refused to entertain a plea moved by the consortium and upheld the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal's (NCLAT) order. At the outset, senior advocate Saurabh Kirpal, who appeared in the court on behalf of the consortium, said they will now have to put in an additional amount of more than Rs 200 crore and it would be difficult to revive the airline. He said once approved, the resolution plan cannot be modified or taken back. Senior advocate Siddharth Bhatnagar

SC refuses to entertain JKC plea on Jet Airways employees' dues

The consortium had moved the Supreme Court earlier this month challenging the NCLAT Order of October 21, 2022

Inherent powers of high courts should be exercised with care, says SC

The inherent powers of high courts under section 482 of the Code Of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) should be exercised with care, caution and sparingly, the Supreme Court said on Monday. A bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and CT Ravikumar made the observation while quashing and setting aside an FIR registered against a woman and others under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). "There can be no doubt with respect to the position that the jurisdiction under section 482, CrPC is to be exercised with care and caution and sparingly.... The exercise of the said power must be for securing the ends of justice and only in cases where a refusal to exercise that power may result in an abuse of the process of law," the bench said. The top court was hearing an appeal challenging a Calcutta High Court order that refused to quash the FIR against the accused in connection with the management

SC to hear pleas against laws regulating religious conversions on Feb 3

The Supreme Court on Monday said it would hear on February 3 a batch of pleas challenging controversial state laws regulating religious conversions due to interfaith marriages. A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala noted that a transfer plea was mentioned in the morning. "We can list it, issue notice and hear it together. The transfer petition will also be numbered by then. The attorney general can also examine. We will hear all on Friday," the bench said. During the brief hearing, senior advocate CU Singh, appearing in the court on behalf of NGO "Citizens for Justice and Peace" of activist Teesta Setalwad, submitted that people cannot get married due to these state laws and the situation is very grave. Attorney General R Venkataramani submitted that these are state legislations that have been challenged before the apex court and the high courts concerned should hear the cases. The top court had earlier asked the parties challen

Sikkim to file review petition in SC for Sikkimese Nepali community: Tamang

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Monday said his government will file a review petition in the Supreme Court with a prayer for rectification of its "inadvertent mention of the Sikkimese Nepali community as foreigners" in an order two weeks ago. "Let me reiterate and reassure that no injustice will be meted out to anyone with regard to the inadvertent mention of Sikkimese Nepali Community as foreigners in the observation part and not in the judgment part of the verdict of Hon'ble Apex Court in the matter of income tax exemption for the old settlers of Sikkim," he said in a social media post. "I express my solidarity not only with Sikkimese Nepali Community but with all the communities of our dear state. We all are one, and will always remain united," Tamang said. The state government has already initiated steps for filing the review petition for addressing the concerns of the Sikkimese Nepali community, the chief minister said. Tamang said he has already spoken to Union La

Those moving SC against BBC documentary ban wasting its time, says Rijiju

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday hit out at those moving the Supreme Court challenging the Centre's decision to block a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots, saying this is how they "waste" precious time of the top court. Responding on Twitter to news reports that veteran journalist N Ram, activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan and others have moved the Supreme Court challenging the Centre's decision to block the documentary "India: The Modi Question" on social media, Rijiju said that "this is how they waste the precious time of Hon'ble Supreme Court where thousands of common citizens are waiting and seeking dates for justice". A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Monday took note of the submissions of lawyer M L Sharma and senior advocate C U Singh, appearing for N Ram and Bhushan, seeking urgent listing of their separate PILs on the issue. On January 21, the Centre issued directions for blocking multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the ...

'Final report almost ready', Delhi Police to SC in hate speech case

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala gave three weeks' time to the police to inform it about the preventive steps taken

Supreme Court judges observe two minutes of silence to mark Martyrs Day

The Supreme Court on Monday observed two minutes of silence on 'Martyrs Day'. All the judges stood in silence halting proceedings till a bell was sounded to conclude it after two minutes. 'Martyrs Day' is observed on January 30 in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi's sacrifice. He was assassinated on that day in 1948.

Delhi HC sends to SC pleas seeking recognition for same-sex marriages

The Delhi High Court on Monday sent to the Supreme Court a batch of petitions seeking to recognise same-sex marriages under various laws. A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad passed the order after it was informed by the counsel appearing in the matter that the Supreme Court has transferred to itself all petitions pending in various high courts involving the same issue. In light of the apex court's January 6 order, the high court bench directed its registry to transfer the case files immediately to the Supreme Court. The high court has been hearing a batch of petitions filed by several same-sex couples seeking a declaration to recognise their marriages under the Special Marriage Act, the Hindu Marriage Act, and the Foreign Marriage Act. Eight petitions have been filed in the high court on the issue. The top court's five-judge Constitution bench, in a path-breaking unanimous judgement delivered on September 6, 2018, had held that consensual