Page 30 - Supreme Court

'Fake currency, terror financing should be tackled', Centre to SC on DeMo

Fake currency, terror financing and black money are three evils and are like 'Jarasandha' (an antagonist in Mahabharat) and should be cut into pieces, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday while opposing the pleas challenging the 2016 demonetisation exercise. Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, submitted before a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer that the government is duty bound to address the three evils. "They (petitioners) have said we should have conducted studies before demonetisation. For more than a decade, central government and the Reserve Bank of India have been looking at the three problems (fake currency, terror financing, black money)... They are like Jarasandha. You have to cut it into pieces. If you don't cut it into pieces, it will always be alive," he said. Venkataramani said judicial review of an economic policy may be restricted to where the court may only determine if there is a rational nexus with the objec

Govt wants Delhi-Centre power dispute case be referred to larger SC bench

The Centre on Monday told the Supreme Court that it has filed a fresh plea seeking reference to a larger bench of nine or more judges a matter involving a constitutional issue related to the control of services in the national capital. The Delhi government, represented by senior advocate A M Singhvi, opposed the Centre's plea before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha, saying, "this will only create delay and such tactics cannot be allowed". Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said at the outset "there are no facts to be controverted. But, I have filed an IA (interim application) stating that this matter (Delhi-Centre case) may have to be referred to a larger bench". Singhvi opposed the submission, saying it amounted to seeking a review of the apex court order which had said the matter did not require reference to a larger bench and the only issue remaining between the parties was the dispute pertaining to control

'Serious issue': SC pulls up Punjab govt over sale of spurious liquor

The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Punjab government over the issue of sale of spurious liquor in the state, saying "Punjab is a border state and this is a very serious matter"

DMK files review petition against top court order upholding 10% EWS quota

Plea seeks an open court hearing in the matter on the ground that it affects a lot of citizens in the country

DMK seeks review of EWS quota judgement, says it overrules Mandal verdict

Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK on Monday sought a review of the November 7 verdict of the Supreme Court which upheld 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in educational institutions and government jobs that excluded the poor among the SC/ST/OBC categories, contending it "legitimises discrimination". It said there is an apparent error in the judgement as it directly overrules the landmark 1992 nine-judge Constitution bench verdict in the Indra Swahney versus Union of India case, popularly referred to as the Mandal verdict'. The DMK said all five judges on the Constitution bench which pronounced its verdict on November 7 upholding the EWS quota introduced in 2019, have answered that the 103rd Constitution Amendment cannot be said to breach the basic structure of the Constitution and therefore it overruled the 1992 judgement, which authoritatively pronounced that reservation cannot be granted on the basis of economic criteria. The review plea said, "It is ...

Purpose of charity should not be religious conversion, observes SC

Asserting the purpose of charity should not be conversion, the Supreme Court reaffirmed on Monday that forced religious conversion is a "serious issue" and against the Constitution. The court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking direction to the Centre and states to take stringent steps to control fraudulent religious conversion by "intimidation, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits". The Centre told the court it is collecting information from states on religious conversion through such means. Appearing before a bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought time to furnish detailed information on the issue. Mehta sought a week's time from the court which it granted. "The purpose of charity should not be conversion. Allurement is dangerous," the top court said, and acknowledged that forced religious conversion is a very serious matter. When a lawyer questioned the maintainability of

SC to conduct accessibility audit of premises by specially abled persons

The Supreme Court has decided to conduct a comprehensive accessibility audit with an aim to understand the hardships faced by specially abled persons and ensure their better access to the justice system. On International Day of Persons with Disabilities which is observed on December 3 every year, Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud constituted a Supreme Court Committee on Accessibility chaired by a sitting judge. In a statement, the Supreme Court said the committee will be headed by Justice S Ravindra Bhat, who has been asked to conduct an accessibility audit extending to both physical as well as technology accessibility. "The committee has also been tasked to prepare and release a questionnaire for persons with disabilities, who visit the Supreme Court premises to assess the nature and extent of the problems they face," it said, adding that inputs will also be sought by the committee from Supreme Court advocates, litigants and interns. The committee will also include a professor from th

Gujarat opposes SC bail pleas of some convicts in Godhra train burning case

The Gujarat government has opposed in the Supreme Court the bail pleas of some convicts of the 2002 Godhra train burning case, saying they were not mere stone-pelters and their acts prevented people from escaping the burning coach. On February 27, 2002, 59 people were killed when the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express was burnt at Godhra, triggering the riots in the state. The matter came up for hearing on Friday before a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha. The apex court, while asking the state to specify the individual roles of the convicts, observed that bail pleas of those who were accused of stone pelting could be considered as they have already spent 17-18 years in jail. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state of Gujarat, said these convicts threw stones on the train which prevented people from escaping the burning coach. "It is not a case of mere stone pelting," he told the bench. Mehta told the bench that appeals filed by the conv

Give management of Amrapali to Uttar Pradesh: AG tells Supreme Court

Attorney General R Venkataramani, the court receiver for the Amrapali group projects, told the Supreme Court on Friday he is facing resistance from Noida and Greater Noida authorities in generating funds for the stalled projects and, if the situation remains so, the management of the company should be handed over to the Uttar Pradesh government. Home buyers, through their counsel, submitted the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) has completed construction of around 3,000 flats left incomplete by the Amrapali group but no electricity and water connections have been provided by the Noida and Greater Noida authorities. "I, as a court receiver and the Attorney General, am taking all efforts to generate more funds for completion of the stalled projects but Noida and Greater Noida have taken a stand that unused FAR (floor area ratio) should not be sold," Venkataramani told a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi. Floor Area Ratio is the ratio of a building's tot

Collegium system shouldn't derail, won't comment on former judges: SC

The Supreme Court said on Friday the existing collegium system should not be derailed on the basis of statements of "some busybody", asserting the top court is one of the most transparent institutions. Amid divisions within the judiciary and its festering dispute with the government over the system under which existing judges appoint judges to constitutional courts, it said it does not want to comment on what a few former apex court judges, who were once members of the Supreme Court collegium, are now saying about the mechanism. A bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar said, "Nowadays, it has become a fashion to comment upon earlier decisions (of the collegium) made when they (former judges) were part of the collegium. We don't want to say anything on their comments". The top court was hearing a petition by RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj against the Delhi High Court order dismissing her plea seeking the agenda of the Supreme Court collegium's meeting held on December 12, 2018 when

Reliance Infra moves SC against DMRC for payment of Rs 4,500 crore

Court issues notice to DMRC, seeks reply by Dec 12

Plea seeks waiver of enrolment fees for transgenders as lawyers, SC refuses

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea which sought the waiving of registration fee for transgender lawyers charged by the statutory Bar bodies for enrolment, saying such issues do not fall under the parameters of the judicial review. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha said that the parameters of judicial review did not allow constitutional courts to pass orders such as waiver of enrolment fees. "You cannot say that you do not charge an enrolment fee. Why just transgender persons, why not extend this to women, disabled and marginalised persons," the CJI asked. "You must understand the parameters of judicial review." The bench asked why only in the legal profession, such fee waiver should be extended to the medical field also, and said it would dismiss the plea. The counsel for petitioner M Karpagam then decided to withdraw the petition. The top court permitted Karpagam to give a representation to this effect to the Bar Counc

50% quota for in service doctors, fill seats in 2 weeks: SC directs TN govt

The Supreme Court on Friday permitted the Tamil Nadu government to allocate 50 per cent of super-speciality seats in government medical colleges to NEET-qualified in-service candidates for the current academic year. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Vikram Nath directed the state government to fill the seats as per the Tamil Nadu government order dated November 7, 2020, within a period of 15 days. The state government had vehemently defended the government order (GO) of 2020 on the Super Specialty seats. "The state of Tamil Nadu has approached this court for clarification of an order dated March 16, 2022, that the said order is also applicable to all subsequent academic years till disposal of petitions. We have heard the counsels. The ASG submitted that last year a number of seats reserved for in-service candidates could not be filled up. She submitted that super speciality courses are valuable national assets and they cannot be permitted to go waste... "We appreciate the anxiety o

SC asks Centre, states to file response on uniform healthcare standard plea

The Supreme Court Friday directed the Centre and the states to file their responses on a plea seeking directions for a uniform standard of healthcare for citizens in line with the Constitution by adopting provisions of the Clinical Establishments Act, 2010. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Vikram Nath granted four weeks to the Union of India and the state governments to file their replies. The top court was hearing a plea filed by Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Patients' Rights Campaign and K M Gopakumar which had also sought directions for operationalising all the provisions of the Act, as well as Clinical Establishment Rules, 2012 in order to ensure affordable and quality healthcare. The plea had sought directions for notification and implementation of the conditions for registration of clinical establishments such as observance of minimum standards, display of rates for procedures and services, compliance with the standard treatment protocol, as provided in Sections 11 and 12 of the CEA

Supreme Court constitutes all-women Bench to hear transfer petitions

The bench has 32 matters listed before it, starting with 10 transfer petitions involving matrimonial disputes and followed by 10 bail matters

Will stand and fight again, against what is wrong, says Bilkis Bano

"I will stand and fight again, against what is wrong and for what is right," said Bilkis Bano, who has moved the Supreme Court challenging the remission and release of 11 convicts in the 2002 case related to her gangrape and murder of seven members of her family. Bano was 21 years old and five-month pregnant when she was gangraped while fleeing the 2002 Gujarat riots that broke out after the Godhra train burning incident. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed. In her two separate petitions, she has challenged the premature release of the convicts by the Gujarat government on August 15, saying it has "shaken the conscience of society". In a statement, issued on Thursday, she said, "The decision to once again stand up and knock on the doors of justice was not easy for me. For a long time, after the men who destroyed my entire family and my life were released, I was simply numb. I was paralysed with shock and with fear for my children, my daughters, and

Any compelling reason for environmental release of GM Mustard? SC to Centre

Amid concerns over environmental contamination due to genetically modified crops, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre whether there was any compelling reason for the environmental release of GM Mustard failing which the country will be doomed. The top court said Indian farmers, unlike their western counterparts, are not literate and they do not understand about genes and mutations notwithstanding events like 'Krishi Melas' and 'Krishi Darshan' which is the ground reality. The Centre told the top court that opposition by activists, experts and scientists to GM crops is "ideological" rather than based on scientific rationale. On October 25, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) under the Union environment ministry approved the environmental release of transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11 and the parental lines containing barnase, barstar and bar genes so that they can be used for developing new hybrids. A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and BV Nagarathna told

GM mustard unsustainable in India, SC told; arguments to continue today

The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) had earlier this year cleared the proposal for commercial cultivation of the GM mustard

Bilkis Bano moves Supreme Court challenging remission to convicts

Bilkis Bano, who was gang-raped and seven members of her family slaughtered during the 2002 Gujarat riots, Wednesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the case by the state government, saying their premature release has "shaken the conscience of society". Besides the plea challenging the release of the convicts, the gang-rape survivor has also filed a separate petition seeking a review of the apex court's May 13, 2022 order on a plea by a convict. The top court had asked the state 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. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha was urged by the counsel for Bano that her two separate pleas, one challenging the remission and the other seeking a review of the apex court's direction, be listed for urgent hearing. The top court took note of t

GM Mustard plants needs uprooting to avoid contamination: Campaigners to SC

The seeds of GM mustard have started germinating after their environmental release and before the plants start flowering in few weeks they must be uprooted to prevent the environment from getting irreversibly contaminated, campaigners against genetically modified crops told the Supreme Court on Wednesday. On October 25, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) under the Union environment ministry approved the environment release of transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11 and the parental lines containing barnase, barstar and bar genes so that they can be used for developing new hybrids. A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and BV Nagarathna was told by advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for activist Aruna Rodrigues, that no one knows about the effect of environmental release of the Genetically Modified (GM) mustard, which has the potential of contaminating all mustard seeds in the country. "The only benefit claimed is that the technology will be used for developing new hybrids