Page 27 - Supreme Court

Law must not be used as tool to harass accused, says Supreme Court

The law must not be used as a tool to harass the accused and courts must always ensure that frivolous cases do not "pervert" its sacrosanct nature, the Supreme Court has said. The apex court, which quashed the criminal proceedings pending at a Chennai court against two people, said law is meant to exist as a shield to protect the innocent rather than being used as a sword to threaten them. A bench of Justices Krishna Murari and S R Bhat delivered its verdict on an appeal against the August last year judgement of the Madras High Court which had dismissed a plea seeking quashing of a criminal complaint regarding alleged contravention of the provision of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. The top court noted there was a gap of over four years between the initial investigation and filing of the complaint, and even after the lapse of substantial amount of time, no evidence was provided to sustain the claims in the complaint. It said while inordinate delay in itself may not be a ground f

Police are not required to do moral policing, ask for physical favour: SC

The Supreme Court has said police officers are not required to do moral policing and ask for physical favour or material goods as it upheld the order of the disciplinary authority for the removal of a CISF constable from service. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and J K Maheshwari set aside the verdict of the Gujarat High Court of December 16, 2014, by which it had allowed the plea of CISF constable Santosh Kumar Pandey and directed his reinstatement in service with 50 per cent back wages from the date of his removal. Pandey, who was working as a constable with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), was posted at the Greenbelt Area of the IPCL Township, Vadodara, Gujarat, where he was charge-sheeted vide memorandum dated October 28, 2001 on allegations of misconduct. According to the charge sheet, Pandey, on the intervening night of October 26 and October 27, 2001, when he was posted as a constable on night duty at the Greenbelt Area of the IPCL Township, Vadodara, Gujarat a

CBI moves SC challenging Bombay HC order granting bail to Anil Deshmukh

The CBI has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court order granting bail to former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in a corruption case. The high court had on December 12 granted bail to the 73-year-old Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader in the case but said the order will be effective after 10 days, as the Central Bureau of Investigation had sought time to challenge it in the apex court. The high court had said except for dismissed police officer Sachin Waze's statement none recorded by the CBI indicated money was extorted from bar owners in Mumbai at the behest of the politician. In its plea filed in the top court, the probe agency has claimed the high court "committed grave error" while granting bail to Deshmukh irrespective of the serious objections raised by the CBI both on the merits of the case as well as the effect his bail will have on the continuing investigation. "The high court failed to appreciate that the economic offences are requi

RERA becomes functional in Bengal, 18 months after SC order: Top official

The West Bengal Real Estate Regulatory Authority (WBRERA) is finally up and running, nearly 18 months after the Supreme Court struck down the state's own regulations introduced as a substitute for the central law, a senior official said. In May last year, the top court had declared the West Bengal Housing Industry Regulatory Act (WBHIRA) as unconstitutional. "The WBRERA is now in place and we have very recently commenced functioning. Until the IT backbone is ready, consumers will be able to file complaints against builders, agents and others physically. The website is expected to be operational within a fortnight," Sandipan Mukherjee, who assumed charge as WBRERA chairman, told PTI. West Bengal was perhaps the only state where the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, passed by Parliament, had not become functional. The WBRERA is headed by Mukherjee, an ex-Indian Forest Service officer, and consists of two other members -- B N Das (former power department official)

Where will people go if they don't get justice from SC: DCW chief on Bilkis

When people do not get justice from the Supreme Court, where do they go, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal asked on Saturday after the apex court dismissed a review plea filed by Bilkis Bano. Bano was gang-raped and seven members of her family were killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots. The Supreme Court has dismissed Bano's plea seeking a review of its earlier order by which it had asked the Gujarat government to consider the petitions for remission of the sentences of 11 convicts in the gang-rape case. "Supreme Court rejected Bilkis Bano's plea. Bilkis Bano was gang-raped when she was 21 years old, and her three-year-old son and six family members were murdered but Gujarat government freed all the rapists. If justice won't come from Supreme Court, where will people go?" Maliwal asked on Twitter. According to procedures, review pleas against apex court judgments are decided in chambers by circulation by the judges who were part of the judgment under review. Bano

SC dismisses plea against Rahul's election from Wayanad in 2019 LS polls

The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea challenging the election of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in 2019 from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala. A bench of justices A S Bopanna and Dipankar Datta rejected the petition filed by Saritha S Nair, who had moved the apex court against an October 31, 2019 decision of the Kerala High Court by which her election petitions challenging the Lok Sabha polls in Wayanad and Ernakulam also were dismissed. On November 2, 2020, Nair's plea challenging Gandhi's election was rejected by the top court for non-prosecution. Later, an application seeking the restoration of the plea was filed in the apex court. When the matter came up for hearing before the court on Friday, the bench allowed the application for restoration. "The special leave petition is restored to its original number. Having heard counsel for the petitioner on merits, we see no reason to interfere with the impugned order. The special leave petition is, accordingly, dismissed," the

SC dismisses Bilkis Bano's plea seeking review of its May 2022 order

The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea filed by Bilkis Bano, seeking a review of its earlier order by which it had asked the Gujarat government to consider the petitions for remission of sentences of 11 convicts in the gang-rape case. Bano was gang-raped and seven members of her family were killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots. According to procedures, review pleas against apex court judgments are decided in chambers by circulation by the judges who were part of the judgment under review. The review plea came up for in-chamber consideration on December 13 before a bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath. "I am directed to inform you that the review petition above mentioned filed in Supreme Court was dismissed by the court on December 13, 2022," read a communication sent to Bano's counsel Shobha Gupta by the apex court's assistant registrar. The gang-rape survivor had sought a review of the top court's May 13 order on a plea moved by a convict. The top court had asked the s

SC stays NGT order directing Rajasthan to pay environmental compensation

In a major relief to the Rajasthan government, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed the National Green Tribunal's order directing it to pay Rs 3,000 crore as environmental compensation for alleged improper management of solid and liquid waste in the state. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha took note of the submissions of senior advocate Manish Singhvi, appearing for the Rajasthan government, and stayed the operation of the tribunal's September 15 order. "The order shall not be construed as obviating the duty of the state to comply with all other directions and to report compliance to the tribunal," it said. Singhvi, during the brief hearing, said Rajasthan has taken steps in this regard. "That the present statutory civil appeal is being filed... against the interim order dated September 15, 2022, passed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT)... in original application... whereby the learned NGT in the impugned order has stated that total Rs 3,00

No SC benches to be available during two-week winter break: CJI Chandrachud

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Friday said no Supreme Court bench will be available from December 17 till January 1 during the ensuing winter vacations. The CJI's announcement made in the apex court assumes significance in the wake of Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju's statement in Rajya Sabha on Thursday in which he said there was a feeling among the people that long court vacations were not very convenient for justice seekers. "There will be no benches available from tomorrow till January 1," Justice Chandrachud informed the lawyers present in the courtroom at the outset. Friday is the last working day of the top court before it goes on a two-week winter break. The apex court will reopen on January 2. The issue regarding court vacations has been raised earlier also but judges, including former CJI N V Ramana, had said there is a misconception that judges stay in ultimate comfort and enjoy their holidays. Delivering the inaugural Justice SB Sinha Memorial Lecture on 'Li

SC to go paperless with 'Advocate Appearance Portal' from Jan 1, 2023: CJI

In yet another step towards digitisation and making the Supreme Court a paperless court, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Friday announced that from New Year, advocates will not be required to file appearance slip manually but would log into Advocate Appearance Portal' to mark their presence. Presently, advocates write their names, along with details like the case and its serial number on a prescribed paper form, to mark their presence in a hearing to ensure that their names get reflected in court orders or judgements. We are streamlining the process of appearance memos. Exactly, what is uploaded by the lawyers, we will get it. The court masters will not have to type it, the CJI said at the start of the judicial proceedings on Friday. Later in the day, the apex court issued a statement stating that manual filing of advocate appearance slip will be a history. On the first working day of the Year 2023; AOR may submit an Appearance Slip through the new portal. The appearance

SC directs UPSC, Bihar Govt to finalise Director-General of Police

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and the Bihar Government to finalise expeditiously the name of the Director-General of Police (DGP) of the state

Personal liberty is precious, inalienable right, no case is small: SC

The right to personal liberty is a precious and an inalienable right and by attending to grievances alleging its violation the Supreme Court performs its plain constitutional duty, obligation and function; no more and no less, a bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud-led said on Friday. The observation came two days after Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Supreme Court should not be hearing "bail applications and frivolous PILs" when pendency of cases is so high. "What are we here for if we do not listen to our conscience?" the bench, also comprising Justice P S Narasimha, said while dealing with the plea of a man from Uttar Pradesh called Iqram who was to suffer a jail term of 18 years in nine minor cases of theft of electrical equipment of the state electricity department. No case is small for the Supreme Court, the bench said. The top court set aside an Allahabad High Court order and directed that Iqram's jail term of two years each in nine cases would run ...

PILs increasingly used to target infrastructure projects, says SC

Public interest litigation (PIL) matters are being increasingly used to target infrastructure projects, the Supreme Court observed on Friday while refusing to entertain a plea challenging the re-development of a plot of land in Mumbai. "The PILs could become an instrument of blackmail when it is an issue of an infrastructure project. This actually makes a plank to target such projects. The (Bombay) High Court has actually smelled the rat here. This is happening across Delhi, Mumbai....," a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha said. The top court was hearing an appeal against the dismissal of a plea by the Bombay High Court challenging the redevelopment of a plot of land at Mumbai's Worli. It concurred with the high court's findings that the PIL was filed to target the project. "When a particular property is targeted in a PIL, the high court is often aware why the party has approached it. The idea is to target one project and the high court often knows wh

Nirav Modi loses bid to go to UK Supreme Court against extradition to India

Fugitive jeweller and designer had fled India in early 2018, days before the details of his alleged role in large-scale fraud at the Punjab National Bank became public

After SC rap, DMRC launches Rs 7,100 crore rights issue for RInfra dues

Transporter asks Centre, Delhi govt to infuse equity of Rs 3,500 crore each

Circumstantial evidence enough to hold public servant guilty of graft: SC

Five-judge Constitution bench lists terms for cases related to Prevention of Corruption Act

Circumstantial evidence enough to convict public servants for graft: SC

SC holds that direct evidence of demand for bribe by public servants is not necessary to convict them under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act

Supreme Court grants bail to convict in Godhra train coach burning case

The Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to a convict serving life imprisonment in the 2002 Godhra train coach burning case, noting that he has been in jail for the last 17 years. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha took note of the submission of a lawyer, appearing for one of the convicts, Faruk, that he be granted bail considering the period undergone till now. The appeals against the conviction of several convicts are pending adjudication in the apex court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Gujarat government, said it was the most heinous offence in which 59 people, including women and children were burnt alive and there was a need to hear the appeals of the convicts at the earliest. Faruk along with several others was convicted for pelting stones at the coach of the Sabarmati Express. Mehta said usually stone pelting is an offence of minor nature. However, in the instant case, the train coach was bolted and stones were .

Public servants can be held for corruption on circumstantial evidence: SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday said a public servant can be convicted for illegal gratification in a corruption case on the basis of circumstantial evidence when there is no direct oral or documentary evidence against them. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer said complainants as well as the prosecution should make sincere efforts so that corrupt public servants are brought to book and convicted so that the administration and governance become unpolluted and free from corruption. "In the absence of evidence of complainant (direct or primary), it is permissible to draw an inferential deduction of culpability," the bench, also comprising justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna, V Ramasubramanian and B V Nagarathna, said. The top court said that even if direct evidence of the complainant is not available, owing to death or other reasons, there can be conviction of the public servant under the relevant provisions. "In the event the complainant turns hostile or has died

Law for enforcement of arbitral award no different for govt: SC to DMRC

Comment follows non-payment of Rs 4,500 cr by Delhi Metro Rail to Reliance Infra, out of a total Rs 7,200 cr in an arbitral award passed by the top court