Page 6 - Supreme Court

SC to form bench to hear Bilkis Bano's plea against release of convicts

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to constitute a special bench to hear a plea by Bilkis Bano, who was gang-raped during the 2002 Gujarat riots, against the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the case. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala assured Bano, represented through her lawyer Shobha Gupta, that the new bench will be formed. Gupta mentioned the matter for urgent hearing and said that a new bench needs to be constituted. "I will have a bench constituted. Will look at it this evening," the CJI said. Earlier, on January 24, the hearing on Bano's plea challenging the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the gang-rape case by the Gujarat government could not be held in the top court as the judges concerned were hearing a matter related to passive euthanasia as part of a five-judge Constitution bench. Besides the plea challenging the release of the convicts, the gang-rape survivor had also filed a separate petition seeking

Constitution does not preclude Centre from abolishing state tribunals: SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that provisions of the Constitution do not preclude the Centre from abolishing a state administrative tribunal (SAT) and upheld a decision to abolish Odisha Administrative Tribunal. The top court said that the public at large (or some sections of it) does not have a right to be heard before a policy decision is being taken. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli ruled that the Centre acted in valid exercise of its powers when it invoked Section 21 of the General Clauses Act read with Section 4(2) of the Administrative Tribunals Act to rescind the notification establishing the Odisha Administrative Tribunal (OAT) because the decision to establish the tribunal was an administrative decision and not a quasi-judicial decision. "Article 323-A does not preclude the Union Government from abolishing SATs because it is an enabling provision which confers the Union Government with the power to establish an administrative tribunal at i

SC to decide if electoral bonds need to be referred to bench on April 11

The electoral bond scheme was implemented by the Centre in 2018 as a source of political funding

Abolition of Odisha Administrative Tribunal constitutionally valid: SC

The Supreme Court Tuesday held that the abolition of the Odisha Administrative Tribunal was constitutionally valid. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud rejected the challenge to the decision by the tribunal bar association. "We hold that abolition of Orissa Administrative Tribunal (OAT) was constitutionally valid. Article 323A (dealing with Administrative tribunals) does not preclude the Union of India to abolish state administrative tribunals. The decision to abolish the tribunal is not violative of Article 14 of the Constitution," the bench also comprising Justice PS Narasimha said. The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by the Orissa Administrative Tribunal Bar Association against a high court order that upheld the notification issued by the Department of Personnel and Training of the central government on August 2, 2019, which abolished OAT. The high court had noted in its order that there was sufficient material to support the view of the state government that O

Clear all 'One Rank One Pension' dues by Feb 28 next year: SC tells Centre

The bench further added in three equal instalments by February 28, 2024, the dues should be paid to the remaining 10-11 lakh pensioners

Supreme Court directs market regulator to refund Rs 3 bn to NSE

The top court also refused to stay a tribunal order, which had set aside the regulator's ruling against NSE, the lawyers added

Air India urination: Complainant moves SC for strict compliance with SOPs

A 72-year-old woman, whose ordeal on an Air India flight in November when a co-passenger allegedly urinated on her had made headlines, has moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to aviation regulator DGCA and airlines to frame SOPs to deal with such incidents. The woman said she was constrained to approach the court because Air India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) failed to treat her with care and responsibility after the incident. "In addition, the wide-ranging national press reportage full of conjecture and surmises has severely undermined the petitioner's rights as a victim under Article 21 of the Constitution, and in fairness has also affected the rights of the accused as well. "Their rights to a free and fair trial have also been substantially affected due to a selective leaking of the 'AIR SEWA' complaint of the petitioner, the FIR and selective witness statements being released to the media to match specific narratives," she said in her plea. The .

Supreme Court fixes deadline to pay Rs 28k crore arrears under OROP scheme

Reducing the time limit to February 28, 2024, the SC bench headed by CJI Chandrachud gave the schedule for payment of arrears to different groups of pensioners under the OROP scheme

AI urination case: Victim moves SC for guidelines on unruly behaviour

The victim in the Air India urination case has moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Director General of Civil Aviation and airline companies to frame regulations to address incidents

SC refuses to accept Centre's sealed cover note on payment of OROP dues

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to accept the Centre's sealed cover note about its views on the payment of One Rank One Pension (OROP) arrears to ex-service personnel. We need to put an end to this sealed cover practice in the Supreme Court... This is fundamentally contrary to basic process of fair justice, said a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala. I am personally averse to sealed covers. There has to be transparency in court... This is about implementing orders. What can be secret here, the CJI said. The bench is currently hearing the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement's (IESM) plea over payment of OROP dues. The top court, on March 13, came down heavily on the government for "unilaterally" deciding to pay OROP dues in four instalments. The defence ministry has recently filed an affidavit and a compliance note in the top court, giving the time schedule for payment of the arrears of Rs 28,000 crore to ex-servicemen for years 2019-2

SC agrees to hear pleas seeking CBI probe in Palghar lynching case

The Supreme Court Monday agreed to list for hearing pleas seeking a CBI probe into the alleged lynching of three people in Palghar district in April 2020, after it was apprised that the Maharashtra government has consented to the investigation by the agency. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala was told by a lawyer appearing for one of the petitioners that the state government has also agreed for a CBI inquiry. The lawyer mentioned the matter saying the case can be heard and disposed of on any Friday or Monday. "We'll list it," the bench said. Earlier, in a change of stance, the Maharashtra government had told the Supreme Court it was ready to hand over to the CBI the investigation into the alleged lynching of three people, including two seers. The state government had earlier told the apex court that the Maharashtra Police has punished delinquent policemen for dereliction of duties in the alleged lynching incident and sought dismissal

Remarks against PM: SC to hear Congress leader Pawan Khera's plea on Monday

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea of Congress leader Pawan Khera seeking transfer and clubbing of FIRs lodged against him in Assam and Uttar Pradesh for allegedly making objectionable remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Friday deferred the hearing on Khera's plea to March 20 after taking note of submissions that senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for the Congress leader, was unavailable. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Uttar Pradesh and Assam, urged the bench that the matter can be taken up for hearing on Monday instead of Friday. "Ok, we will take it up on Monday," said the bench, which also comprises justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala. The apex court had earlier extended the interim bail of Khera, who was arrested by Assam Police in the case, till March 17. Earlier, Assam and Uttar Pradesh governments, in their separate affidavits, opposed Khera's plea seekin

ED files caveat in SC on K Kavitha's plea challenging summons against her

A Caveat application is filed by a litigant to ensure that no adverse order is passed against them without being heard

No appointment of SC judges in my tenure due to lack of consensus: Bobde

Former Chief Justice of India S A Bobde Saturday said no judges could be appointed in the Supreme Court during his 18-month tenure as the head of the judiciary since the collegium could not arrive at a consensus. Bobde said there have been times when no elevation of judges could take place for two or more years and it can happen in a human institution. Responding to a question that in his 18-month tenure as the CJI not a single appointment of judge took place, Justice Bobde said, Yes, so? There have been periods when you haven't had elevation for two years. You haven't had elevation for longer. What is so extraordinary about this? We couldn't arrive at a consensus. It can happen in the human institution. Justice Bobde was sworn in as the 47th CJI on November 18, 2019 and retired on April 23, 2021. The former judge, who was speaking at India Today Conclave, said, No, it is not because of the collegium system, it is because as a collegium we were unable to arrive at the consensus. It

Collegium system not perfect but best available, says CJI Chandrachud

Not every system is perfect but this is the best system developed by the judiciary, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said on Saturday while defending the Collegium system of judges appointing judges, a major bone of contention between the government and judiciary. Speaking at the India Today Conclave, 2023, the CJI said the object of the Collegium system was to maintain independence and that can be done by insulating it from outside influences. "As the Chief Justice, I have to take the system as it is given to us... I am not saying every system is perfect but this is the best system we have developed. The object of this system was to maintain independence which is a cardinal value. We have to insulate the judiciary from outside influences if the judiciary has to be independent. That is the underlying feature of Collegium," Chandrachud said. Amid the tussle between the government and the judiciary, the CJI also responded to Law Minister Kiren Rijiju voicing displeasure over the

Govt should be responsible, not compulsive litigant: SC judge Maheshwari

Supreme Court judge Justice Dinesh Maheshwari Saturday said the government should act as a responsible and not compulsive litigant. He also asked tribunals to ensure their decisions bring finality to justice delivery. The top court judge, who was speaking as chief guest at an event here to commemorate 40 years of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), said the executive should implement its litigation policy in a manner that it does not remain just a letter. He said clarity and finality in decision making by tribunals will reduce pendency of cases. Merely doing away with a few of low tax-effect matters will not be yielding the results which we are looking at. When we look at our litigation policy, we have to make those commitments there and particularly the mandates there that the government as a whole has to project itself and deal with the things as a responsible litigant rather than being a compulsive litigant, Justice Maheshwari said. Asserting that a cha

HC to ensure all essentials recorded in format of order in bail matters: SC

The Supreme Court has said high courts should endeavour to ensure that all basic essentials like FIR number, police station concerned and offences allegedly committed are recorded in the format of order in bail matters. The apex court said it has noticed that format of orders by various high courts in bail proceedings "differs significantly". While dealing with a matter of anticipatory bail arising out of an order of the Patna High Court, a bench of justices S R Bhat and Dipankar Datta noted that in many instances, the orders do not contain any description of the proceedings pending before the trial court there and at times, no advertence to the nature of the offence alleged in the FIR. "This court is of the opinion that in bail/anticipatory bail matters, high courts should endeavour to ensure that all basic essentials (i.e. FIR no., date, the concerned police station and the offences allegedly committed etc) are duly recorded or reflected in the format of the order," the bench said

Political background not absolute bar to appoint judge: Govt cites SC order

The government on Friday said in Lok Sabha that the Supreme Court has observed in a recent order that political background by itself has "not been an absolute bar" to appoint an otherwise suitable person as a judge. It also said "generally", it is not a practice to seek Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) reports on proposals for appointment of judges in high courts and the Supreme Court except in "extraordinary circumstances, involving issues related to national security". In a written reply, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said according to the Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of judges of high courts, the proposals recommended by High Court Collegiums are to be considered in the light of "such other reports/inputs as may be available" to the government for assessing the suitability in respect of the names under consideration. "Accordingly, IB (Intelligence Bureau) inputs are obtained and provided to the Supreme Court Collegium for making assessment on the recommendees," he ...

SC agrees to hear woman's plea claiming discrimination under Shariat law

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a plea filed by a Muslim woman who claimed the provision of Shariat law to the extent of not giving equal share to a female compared to a male is "discriminatory" and violative of the rights guaranteed under the Constitution. A bench of justices Krishna Murari and Sanjay Karol was hearing the appeal against the Kerala High Court's January 6 order filed by Bushara Ali, who claimed that it is her grievance that being a daughter, according to Shariat Law, she was only allotted half the shares as of her male counterparts. The bench issued notice to petitioner's 11 siblings which include four sisters. The plea, filed through advocate Bijo Mathew Joy, said Bushara is a decree holder in a partition suit whereby according to preliminary decree dated January 19, 1995, she was allotted 7/152 shares of the scheduled property having 1.44 acres each. Joy said that a status quo has also been ordered by the apex court. The plea filed by Bushara said, ..

Will take up issue of land allotment for lawyers' chambers with govt: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday said it would take up the issue of allotment of land for lawyers' chambers with the government. The top court was hearing a plea moved by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to convert a land measuring 1.33 acres allotted to the top court for the construction of lawyers' chambers. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud asked SCBA president Vikas Singh as to how can a judicial order be passed to take over the land for allotment of chambers. "Lawyers are part of us.... But can we use our own judicial powers to safeguard our own people? It seems like the Supreme Court is exercising its own judicial powers to meet its own needs.... "We must trust the court to take it up on the administrative side with the government. A signal must not go to the government that we can bulldoze their authority by passing judicial orders," the bench, also comprising justices SK Kaul and PS Narasimha, said. The CJI said the government engages with the t