Page 29 - Supreme Court

SC stays NGT order to phase out public transport vehicles below BS-IV

The Supreme Court has stayed an order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to phase out all public transport vehicles with BS-IV (Bharat Stage) engines and below in the next six months. A bench of Justices S K Kaul and Abhay S Oka issued notice to the parties in the case and sought their replies on the appeal filed by the West Bengal government. The NGT in its order had said the state government must ensure that public transport vehicles with BS-IV engines and below are phased out in six months so that only BS-VI vehicles ply in the state, including Kolkata and Howrah, thereafter. "It is her (counsel for the West Bengal government) say that in terms of the directions of this court in order dated October 24, 2018, no motor vehicle conforming to the emission standard Bharat Stage-IV was to be sold or registered in the country with effect from April 1, 2020. "Thus, registrations were carried out till that date as permitted, and therefore the 15-year period has to be counted from the d

SC to hear Bilkis Bano's plea challenging remission to convicts on Dec 13

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on December 13 a plea filed by Bilkis Bano, who was gangraped and seven members of her family killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots, challenging the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the case by the state government. A bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi is likely to take up the plea of Bano, who has also filed a separate prayer seeking a review of the apex court's May 13, 2022 order on a plea by a convict. The top court had asked the Gujarat government to consider the plea for premature release of the convicts in terms of its policy of July 9, 1992 about deciding a remission petition within a period of two months. In her plea against the grant of remission which had led to the release of the convicts on August 15, Bano said the state government passed a mechanical order completely ignoring the requirement of law as laid down by the Supreme Court. "The enmasse premature release of the convicts in the much talked about case o

Supreme Court to hold two-day national programme on POCSO Act today

The Supreme Court Committee on Juvenile Justice is organising a two-day national programme on Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act from Saturday. The national consultation on POCSO Act of 2012 is being organised in association with Unicef and its inaugural session would be attended by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, and the Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani, the Supreme Court said in a press statement. Besides the CJI and the Union minister, Justice S Ravindra Bhat, the Chairperson of the Supreme Court JJC, and other apex court judges and judges of high courts, and Cynthia McCaffery, a Unicef India representative, will also take part in the programme, the statement said. "Marking 10 years since POCSO came into force, the consultation will feature the participation of key stakeholders from the Government of India, law enforcement, senior members of the judiciary, state governments, and civil society," it said. It is the seventh s

National Judicial Commission Bill introduced in Rajya Sabha, AAP opposes

A private member bill to regulate the appointment of judges through the National Judicial Commission was on Friday introduced in Rajya Sabha by CPI(M)'s Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya but was opposed by AAP MP Raghav Chadha. The National Judicial Commission Bill, 2022 was introduced after the majority of voice votes were in its favour. Bhattacharyya moved the bill that aims to regulate the procedure to be followed by the National Judicial Commission for recommending people for appointment as the Chief Justice of India and other judges of the Supreme Court and Chief Justices and other judges of High Courts. The bill, if approved, will also regulate their transfers and to lay down judicial standards and provide for accountability of judges, and establish credible and expedient mechanism for investigating into individual complaints for misbehaviour or incapacity of a judge of the apex court or of a high court and to regulate the procedure for such investigation. It also proposes for the

Collegium discussions can't be put in public domain through RTI, says SC

'Whatever was discussed in the collegium was not required to be put out in the public domain, that too under the RTI Act'

SC rejects plea seeking Rs 75 lakh compensation for ads on YouTube

The Supreme Court on Friday slapped a cost of Rs 25,000 on a petitioner who had sought compensation of Rs 75 lakh from Google India for the advertisements shown on YouTube which allegedly had explicit content. While dismissing the plea, the apex court termed as "atrocious" the petition filed by a Madhya Pradesh resident who claimed that due to the advertisements, his attention was diverted and he could not clear a competitive examination. Google-owned firm, YouTube, is a video hosting platform. "You want damages because you saw advertisements on internet and you say because of that your attention was diverted and you could not clear the exam?" a bench of Justices S K Kaul and A S Oka asked the petitioner, who was appearing in person. "It is one of the most atrocious petitions filed under Article 32 (of the Constitution)," the bench observed. "This kind of petitions are utter wastage of judicial time". The petitioner had also sought a ban on nudity on social media platforms. The b

There was no proposal to reintroduce a modified NJAC, says Centre

The Centre further said that out of the 34 judge strength of the Supreme Court, 27 judges are working in the, which puts the vacancy to 7

SC to hear Maha govt's plea against acquittal of Saibaba, others on Jan 17

On October 15, the top court in a special hearing on Saturday suspended the October 14 order of the High Court which discharged Saibaba and others

SC reserves verdict on batch of pleas against bull-taming sport Jallikattu

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its judgement on a batch of pleas challenging Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra laws allowing bull-taming sport 'Jallikattu' and bullock cart races. "Jallikattu", also known as "eruthazhuvuthal", is a bull-taming sport played in Tamil Nadu as part of the Pongal harvest festival. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice K M Joseph heard submissions from senior advocates including Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Tamil Nadu, and several other counsel representing the intervenors. The bench, also comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and C T Ravikumar, asked parties to file a collective compilation of written submissions with a week. The top court had earlier said the petitions challenging the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 2017 needed to be decided by a larger bench since they involved substantial questions relating to interpretation of the Constitution. The bench framed five questions to b

Collegium law of land, comments against it not very well taken: SC to govt

Amid the ongoing friction between the Centre and the judiciary on the issue of appointment of judges, the Supreme Court on Thursday told the Centre that collegium system is the "law of the land"

Advise Centre to exercise restraint on comments: SC tells attorney general

In his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha on December 7 and at a public event last week, vice president Jagdeep Dhankar criticised the Supreme Court's judgement overturning the NJAC

CJI Chandrachud releases latest version of Supreme Court mobile app

First version was released in 2019 on Constitution Day. Since then, the SCI Mobile App has been downloaded by 100,000-plus users

SC reserves verdict on demonetisation, asks govt, RBI for submissions

AG said note ban's success or failure in curbing black money not a reason to invalidate the decision judicially as the move was made in good faith, after following due process

SC directs Centre, RBI to put on record relevant info on demonetisation

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to put on record relevant records relating to the government's 2016 decision to demonetise currency notes of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 denomination. Reserving its verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the Centre's 2016 decision, a five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer heard the submissions from Attorney General R Venkataramani, RBI's counsel and the petitioners lawyers including senior advocates P Chidambaram and Shyam Divan. "Heard. judgement reserved. Learned counsels of the Union of India and Reserve Bank of India are directed to produce the relevant records," the bench also comprising Justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna, V Ramasubramanian, and B V Nagarathna, said. The AG submitted before the bench that he will submit relevant records in a sealed cover. The top court was hearing a batch of 58 petitions challenging the demonetisation exercise announced by the Centre on November 8,

SC directs Centre, RBI to produce records relating to 2016 demonetisation

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to put on record relevant records relating to the government's 2016 decision to demonetise currency notes of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 denomination for its perusal. Reserving its verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the Centre's 2016 decision, a five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer heard the submissions from Attorney General R Venkataramani, RBI's counsel, and the petitioners' lawyers, including senior advocates P Chidambaram and Shyam Divan. The top court directed the parties to file written submissions by December 10. "Heard. Judgement reserved. Learned counsels of the Union of India and Reserve Bank of India are directed to produce the relevant records," the bench, also comprising Justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna, V Ramasubramanian, and B V Nagarathna, said. The AG submitted before the bench that he will submit relevant records in a sealed cover. The top court was hearing a b

Restricted judicial review doesn't mean court will sit back: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said limited scope of a judicial review in economic policy matters does not mean that court will fold its hands and sit back, observing that the manner in which a decision is taken by the government can always be examined. The top court was hearing a batch of 58 petitions challenging the demonetisation exercise announced by the Centre on November 8, 2016. During the hearing, the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) submitted that "temporary hardships" were there and that they are also an integral part of the nation-building process but there was a mechanism by which problems that arose were solved. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer said legal compliance of an economic policy can be examined by a constitutional court. "Court will not go into the merits of the decision taken by the government. But it can always go into the manner the decision was taken. But, just because it is an economic policy, does not mean court will fold its hands an

Jalan-Kalrock consortium looks to move SC over Jet Airways staffers' dues

The consortium won the bid to revive the grounded airline in October 2020, and its revival plan was cleared by the National Company Law Tribunal in June 2021

Denting democracy

India is heading for judicial authoritarianism as the system of checks and balances has gone askew

Nobody should sleep empty stomach, govt to ensure grains reach last man: SC

It is our culture to ensure nobody goes to sleep empty stomach, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday and asked the central government to see to it that foodgrains under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) reaches the last man. A bench of Justices M R Shah and Hima Kohli directed the Centre to submit a fresh chart with the number of migrant and unorganised sector workers registered on eShram portal. "It is the duty of the central government to ensure foodgrains under NFSA are reaching the last man. We are not saying that Centre is not doing anything, the Union of India has ensured foodgrains to people during Covid. At the same time, we have to see it continues. It is our culture (to ensure) that nobody goes to sleep empty stomach," the bench said. It was hearing on its own a public interest matter related to the plight of migrant workers during the Covid pandemic and the resultant lockdowns. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for three social activists Anjali Bharadwaj, Harsh Man

Sisodia's claims regarding non-cooperation of officials vague: Centre to SC

The Centre has told the Supreme Court that no Union Territory has its own services under the Constitution and the present status of Delhi is in existence since 1993