News Analysis India

Tag: SC

  • Strong Judicial System Part Of Viksit Bharat Says PM Modi As Supreme Court Turns 75 |

    New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the government was modernising laws keeping in view the present context and in line with the best practices. Addressing the 75th anniversary celebrations of the Supreme Court here, he said that with the enactment of three new criminal justice laws, India’s legal, policing and investigative systems have entered a new era.

    “It is important to ensure that the transition to new laws from the ones dating back to hundreds of years is smooth. In this regard, we have already started training and capacity building work for government employees,” the prime minister said. PM Modi urged the Supreme Court to come forward to work towards the capacity building of other stakeholders.

    “An empowered judicial system is a part of Viksit Bharat. The government is working continuously and taking many decisions to form a trusted judicial system. The Jan Vishwas Bill is a step in this direction. In the future, this will reduce the unnecessary burden on the judicial system,” the prime minister said.

    He said the Supreme Court has strengthened India’s vibrant democracy and given many important verdicts on individual rights, freedom of speech which have given new direction to the country’s socio-political milieu.

    “Today’s economic policies of India will form the basis of tomorrow’s bright India. The laws being made in India today will further strengthen tomorrow’s bright India,” the prime minister said.

    “Laws made today will brighten the future of India. With changes happening globally, the world’s eyes are set on India, as the world’s faith is growing stronger in India. In such times, it is important for India to take advantage of every opportunity given to us,” Modi said.

    He also noted that last week the government had approved ₹ 800 crore for expansion of the Supreme Court building.

  • ‘Specify steps taken to end caste discrimination on campuses’: SC to UGC

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the University Grants Commission (UGC) to specify steps it has taken and proposed to take, to provide a non-discriminatory, enabling environment for the students belonging to Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes in institutions of higher learning, terming it a “very serious issue”.

    A bench of Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh asked the UGC to furnish the details of steps taken on a plea by the mothers of Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi, who had allegedly died by suicide following alleged caste-based discrimination in their educational institutions.

    While Vemula, a Dalit PhD scholar at Hyderabad Central University, had ended his life on January 17, 2016, Tadvi, a tribal student at TN Topiwala National Medical College, Mumbai, took the extreme step on May 22, 2019, due to alleged caste-based discrimination by three doctors of her institution.

    “This is a very serious issue. Whatever concerns are raised… how do you propose to deal with it and what steps have you taken to address these grievances? This issue is non-adversarial and the UGC needs to take some concrete action. It is for the benefit of students and their parents. Steps taken would ensure that these types of incidents don’t happen in future,” the bench told the counsel appearing for the UGC.

    Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the mothers of Vemula and Tadvi, said they have lost their son and daughter respectively, and in the past year three more students studying at a National Law School, a medical college and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay have taken their lives.

    “Therefore, there is a sense of urgency about this petition. It would be appropriate that UGC formulates binding guidelines which can be followed by institutes of higher learning. “It is unfortunate that the existing guidelines do not have a binding effect as they do not have any sanction for violation of the norms. There should be some regulations like Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) at Workplace Act and the anti-ragging law, which provides for punitive action in case of violation”, Jaising said.

    She said equity regulations framed by the UGC in 2012 to address the complaints of caste discrimination on campuses are proving to be inadequate. The counsel for UGC said the Commission is aware of the situation and has written to vice-chancellors of universities and college principals. Justice Sundresh told the counsel that efforts needed to be made so the students from SC/ST communities are mainstreamed.

    “You need to ensure that there is no discrimination as some of them may drop out of the college/universities if they don’t get along with other students. For this, some out-of-the-box solutions are needed,” he said.

    The bench then asked the UGC counsel to elicit suggestions from the petitioners and file a reply specifying the steps it has taken and proposed to take to create a non-discriminatory environment on campuses within four weeks.

    On September 20, 2019, the top court issued a notice on the plea by the mothers of Vemula and Tadvi, seeking to end caste bias in universities and other higher education institutions across the country. It had sought responses from the Centre and the UGC on the petition.

    The petitioners have sought enforcement of fundamental rights, particularly the right to equality, right to prohibition of discrimination against caste, and the right to life. The petition has claimed rampant prevalence of caste-based discrimination in higher educational institutions throughout the country and said it reflects flagrant non-compliance with existing norms and regulations.

    It has said these incidents are violative of the fundamental rights to equality, equal opportunity, right against discrimination, abolition of untouchability, and right to life guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 16, 17 and 21 of the Constitution.

    The petitioners have sought directions to the Centre and the UGC to strictly ensure enforcement of and compliance with the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2012, popularly called ‘UGC equity regulations’. They have also sought directions from the Centre and the UGC to ensure that all universities, including deemed universities and higher educational institutions, comply with UGC equity regulations in “letter and in spirit”.

    The plea has sought the court’s direction to ensure that all universities and Higher Education Institutions (HEI) establish Equal Opportunity Cells and other anti-discrimination internal complaint mechanisms and to include members from SC/ST communities and independent representatives from NGOs or social activists to ensure objectivity and impartiality in the process.

    It has also sought direction to all universities to take strong disciplinary action against the victimisation of students or staff who file complaints alleging caste-based discrimination and to take necessary steps in the nature of interim reliefs that restrain the HEI from creating a hostile environment against students who file such complaints.

    Besides these directions, the petition has sought various steps to ensure an end to caste-based discrimination on campuses. “Since 2004, there have been over 20 documented instances of students committing suicides across the universities in the country. Various committees set up to look into these deaths have concluded that SC, ST students have faced systematic discrimination in matters of allotting supervisors, caste-based abuses, problems in matters of scholarships, and more,” the plea has said.

    READ MORE: Mothers of Rohith Vemula, Payal Tadvi move SC for putting end to caste-based bias in campuses

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the University Grants Commission (UGC) to specify steps it has taken and proposed to take, to provide a non-discriminatory, enabling environment for the students belonging to Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes in institutions of higher learning, terming it a “very serious issue”.

    A bench of Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh asked the UGC to furnish the details of steps taken on a plea by the mothers of Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi, who had allegedly died by suicide following alleged caste-based discrimination in their educational institutions.

    While Vemula, a Dalit PhD scholar at Hyderabad Central University, had ended his life on January 17, 2016, Tadvi, a tribal student at TN Topiwala National Medical College, Mumbai, took the extreme step on May 22, 2019, due to alleged caste-based discrimination by three doctors of her institution.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “This is a very serious issue. Whatever concerns are raised… how do you propose to deal with it and what steps have you taken to address these grievances? This issue is non-adversarial and the UGC needs to take some concrete action. It is for the benefit of students and their parents. Steps taken would ensure that these types of incidents don’t happen in future,” the bench told the counsel appearing for the UGC.

    Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the mothers of Vemula and Tadvi, said they have lost their son and daughter respectively, and in the past year three more students studying at a National Law School, a medical college and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay have taken their lives.

    “Therefore, there is a sense of urgency about this petition. It would be appropriate that UGC formulates binding guidelines which can be followed by institutes of higher learning. “It is unfortunate that the existing guidelines do not have a binding effect as they do not have any sanction for violation of the norms. There should be some regulations like Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) at Workplace Act and the anti-ragging law, which provides for punitive action in case of violation”, Jaising said.

    She said equity regulations framed by the UGC in 2012 to address the complaints of caste discrimination on campuses are proving to be inadequate. The counsel for UGC said the Commission is aware of the situation and has written to vice-chancellors of universities and college principals. Justice Sundresh told the counsel that efforts needed to be made so the students from SC/ST communities are mainstreamed.

    “You need to ensure that there is no discrimination as some of them may drop out of the college/universities if they don’t get along with other students. For this, some out-of-the-box solutions are needed,” he said.

    The bench then asked the UGC counsel to elicit suggestions from the petitioners and file a reply specifying the steps it has taken and proposed to take to create a non-discriminatory environment on campuses within four weeks.

    On September 20, 2019, the top court issued a notice on the plea by the mothers of Vemula and Tadvi, seeking to end caste bias in universities and other higher education institutions across the country. It had sought responses from the Centre and the UGC on the petition.

    The petitioners have sought enforcement of fundamental rights, particularly the right to equality, right to prohibition of discrimination against caste, and the right to life. The petition has claimed rampant prevalence of caste-based discrimination in higher educational institutions throughout the country and said it reflects flagrant non-compliance with existing norms and regulations.

    It has said these incidents are violative of the fundamental rights to equality, equal opportunity, right against discrimination, abolition of untouchability, and right to life guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 16, 17 and 21 of the Constitution.

    The petitioners have sought directions to the Centre and the UGC to strictly ensure enforcement of and compliance with the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2012, popularly called ‘UGC equity regulations’. They have also sought directions from the Centre and the UGC to ensure that all universities, including deemed universities and higher educational institutions, comply with UGC equity regulations in “letter and in spirit”.

    The plea has sought the court’s direction to ensure that all universities and Higher Education Institutions (HEI) establish Equal Opportunity Cells and other anti-discrimination internal complaint mechanisms and to include members from SC/ST communities and independent representatives from NGOs or social activists to ensure objectivity and impartiality in the process.

    It has also sought direction to all universities to take strong disciplinary action against the victimisation of students or staff who file complaints alleging caste-based discrimination and to take necessary steps in the nature of interim reliefs that restrain the HEI from creating a hostile environment against students who file such complaints.

    Besides these directions, the petition has sought various steps to ensure an end to caste-based discrimination on campuses. “Since 2004, there have been over 20 documented instances of students committing suicides across the universities in the country. Various committees set up to look into these deaths have concluded that SC, ST students have faced systematic discrimination in matters of allotting supervisors, caste-based abuses, problems in matters of scholarships, and more,” the plea has said.

    READ MORE: Mothers of Rohith Vemula, Payal Tadvi move SC for putting end to caste-based bias in campuses

  • Supreme Court disapproves HC’s practice of calling for answer scripts, directing for revaluation

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court recently disapproved the practice of HC calling for answer scripts and directing for revaluation in the absence of a specific provision. 

    A bench Justices MR Shah and MM Sundresh in their order said, “We are of the opinion that the High Court was not at all justified in calling the record of the answer scripts and then to satisfy whether there was a need for re-evaluation or not. As reported, the High Courts are calling for the answer scripts/sheets for satisfying whether there is a need for re-evaluation or not and thereafter orders/directs re-evaluation, which is wholly impermissible.”

    The court further said, “Such a practice of calling for answer scripts/answer sheets and thereafter to order re-evaluation and that too in absence of any specific provision in the relevant rules for re-evaluation and that too while exercising powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is disapproved.”

    Court’s observation came in a plea which was filed by Dr NTR University of Health Sciences against Andhra Pradesh HC’s order asking the university to reevaluate the answer scripts of the students who appeared in the PG diploma course.

    A University’s counsel contended that HC’s order was not justified since there wasn’t any provision for re-evaluation and it was not justified for the court to direct the university under Article 226.

    Informing the bench of the new mode adopted by the university for introducing digital evaluation for answer scripts of PG Degree/Diploma Examinations, the counsel further argued that the answers were evaluated digitally for every exam and there was no manual evaluation pursuant to resolution for digital evaluation. 

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court recently disapproved the practice of HC calling for answer scripts and directing for revaluation in the absence of a specific provision. 

    A bench Justices MR Shah and MM Sundresh in their order said, “We are of the opinion that the High Court was not at all justified in calling the record of the answer scripts and then to satisfy whether there was a need for re-evaluation or not. As reported, the High Courts are calling for the answer scripts/sheets for satisfying whether there is a need for re-evaluation or not and thereafter orders/directs re-evaluation, which is wholly impermissible.”

    The court further said, “Such a practice of calling for answer scripts/answer sheets and thereafter to order re-evaluation and that too in absence of any specific provision in the relevant rules for re-evaluation and that too while exercising powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is disapproved.”

    Court’s observation came in a plea which was filed by Dr NTR University of Health Sciences against Andhra Pradesh HC’s order asking the university to reevaluate the answer scripts of the students who appeared in the PG diploma course.

    A University’s counsel contended that HC’s order was not justified since there wasn’t any provision for re-evaluation and it was not justified for the court to direct the university under Article 226.

    Informing the bench of the new mode adopted by the university for introducing digital evaluation for answer scripts of PG Degree/Diploma Examinations, the counsel further argued that the answers were evaluated digitally for every exam and there was no manual evaluation pursuant to resolution for digital evaluation. 

  • SC restores criminal complaint against TN Minister V Senthil Balaji in 2015 job scam

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: As a setback to current Tamil Nadu electricity Minister Thiru Senthil Balaji, Supreme Court on Thursday restored a criminal complaint against the minister and persons who were accused of taking bribes from job aspirants on the false promise of appointment to the Metro Transport Corporation (MTC) in various posts.

    A bench headed by Justices S Abdul Nazeer in their order said, “In light of the same, Madras HC’s impugned order is unsustainable. The criminal complaint is restored. At present we are not passing any order on the prayer by the intervenor on the formation of SIT, state may do the needful itself.”

    On Friday, SC had reserved orders in the pleas challenging Madras HC’s order of quashing criminal proceedings against four persons including the minister.  The order was reserved by the bench of Justices Abdul Nazeer and V Ramasubramanian. 

    Madras HC had quashed the proceedings on being informed that the complainant and thirteen alleged victims of the recruitment scam had arrived at a settlement and have been repaid the money owed.

    Proceeding to quash the case, Justice N Nirmal Kumar in the order had said, “The case is still at the stage of trial. By passage of time, the parties have decided to bury their hatchet and compromised the dispute amicably among themselves. This Court enquired both the parties and is satisfied that the parties have come to an amicable settlement between themselves. In view of the above, no useful purpose would be achieved by keeping the above case pending … Under such circumstances, no useful purpose will be served in this case, even though the offences involved are not compoundable in nature.”

    NEW DELHI: As a setback to current Tamil Nadu electricity Minister Thiru Senthil Balaji, Supreme Court on Thursday restored a criminal complaint against the minister and persons who were accused of taking bribes from job aspirants on the false promise of appointment to the Metro Transport Corporation (MTC) in various posts.

    A bench headed by Justices S Abdul Nazeer in their order said, “In light of the same, Madras HC’s impugned order is unsustainable. The criminal complaint is restored. At present we are not passing any order on the prayer by the intervenor on the formation of SIT, state may do the needful itself.”

    On Friday, SC had reserved orders in the pleas challenging Madras HC’s order of quashing criminal proceedings against four persons including the minister.  The order was reserved by the bench of Justices Abdul Nazeer and V Ramasubramanian. 

    Madras HC had quashed the proceedings on being informed that the complainant and thirteen alleged victims of the recruitment scam had arrived at a settlement and have been repaid the money owed.

    Proceeding to quash the case, Justice N Nirmal Kumar in the order had said, “The case is still at the stage of trial. By passage of time, the parties have decided to bury their hatchet and compromised the dispute amicably among themselves. This Court enquired both the parties and is satisfied that the parties have come to an amicable settlement between themselves. In view of the above, no useful purpose would be achieved by keeping the above case pending … Under such circumstances, no useful purpose will be served in this case, even though the offences involved are not compoundable in nature.”

  • Supreme Court lists Subramanian Swamy’s plea on ‘secular, socialist Constitution’

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday listed a plea by former Rajya Sabha MP Dr Subramanian Swamy seeking to delete the words “socialist” and “secular” in the Preamble of the Constitution with a similar plea that is to come up before CJI UU Lalit on September 23.

    The words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ were inserted in the Preamble of the Constitution under the 42nd Constitutional amendment moved by the Indira Gandhi government in 1976. The amendment changed the description of India in the Preamble from a “sovereign, democratic republic” to a “sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic.”

    The petition where Swamy had argued that it was not possible for the policymakers to vary, alter or repeal the Preamble as it was not equivalent to an ordinary statute was listed before the bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and MM Sundresh.  

    Considering that a similar plea was pending before CJI’s court, the bench in their order said, “Subramanian Swamy, the petitioner appearing in-person, submits that an identical writ petition being W.P.(C) No. 645 of 2022, is pending before the first Bench of this Court. Let this writ petition be tagged with Writ Petition (C) No. 645 of 2022.”

    Swamy in the petition stated that the Preamble not only formed the essential features of the Constitution but also the fundamental conditions based on which various groups and interests adopted the Constitution with the hope to create one unified integrated community. 

    It was also contended that insertion was against the rights to freedom of religion, the concept of judicial review which formed an integral part of the basic structure of the Constitution. “The edifice of our Constitution is built upon and stands on several props, remove any of them, the Constitution collapses.

    Lastly, it is submitted that the Constitution has conferred a limited amending power on the Parliament, the Parliament cannot under the exercise of that limited power enlarge that very power into absolute power,” the petition has stated. 

    ALSO IN TOP COURT

    Order in TN job scam reserved

    The Supreme Court on Friday reserved order in plea challenging Madras HC’s order of quashing criminal proceedings against four persons, including V Senthil Balaji, current Tamil Nadu Minister of Electricity in the 2015 job scam whereby the accused had taken bribes from job aspirants on the false promise of appointment to the Metro Transport Corporation (MTC) in various posts. The order was reserved by the bench of Justices Abdul Nazeer and V Ramasubramanian. 

    Allows transfer of criminal case against Unnao rape survivor

    The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the transfer of a criminal case filed by the father of one of the accused men facing charges in Unnao rape from UP trial court to Delhi. The petition where the victim had also sought for stay on the non-bailable warrants issued by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Unnao, against her was listed before the bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dinesh Maheshwari. 

    Sanskrit as national language: Court rejects petition 

    The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition that sought to declare Sanskrit as the national language. The bench of Justices MR Shah and Krishna Murari stressed the fact that the national status of a language was a policy decision that would require an amendment to the Constitution. 

    J&K pandit killing: ‘Ask union govt for SIT probe’

    The Supreme Court on Friday granted liberty to NGO “We the Citizens” to approach the Union government and UT administration with its pleas seeking probe by SIT into the targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs in Jammu & Kashmir. “It’s purely in the domain of the executive,” the SC bench said.

    Junks Suvendu plea on transfer of election plea

    The Supreme Court on Friday rejected BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s plea seeking transfer of the election petition filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee out of the State of West Bengal. The bench opined that it could not allow choice of HCs as that would send a ‘wrong’ message to the HC. 

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday listed a plea by former Rajya Sabha MP Dr Subramanian Swamy seeking to delete the words “socialist” and “secular” in the Preamble of the Constitution with a similar plea that is to come up before CJI UU Lalit on September 23.

    The words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ were inserted in the Preamble of the Constitution under the 42nd Constitutional amendment moved by the Indira Gandhi government in 1976. The amendment changed the description of India in the Preamble from a “sovereign, democratic republic” to a “sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic.”

    The petition where Swamy had argued that it was not possible for the policymakers to vary, alter or repeal the Preamble as it was not equivalent to an ordinary statute was listed before the bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and MM Sundresh.  

    Considering that a similar plea was pending before CJI’s court, the bench in their order said, “Subramanian Swamy, the petitioner appearing in-person, submits that an identical writ petition being W.P.(C) No. 645 of 2022, is pending before the first Bench of this Court. Let this writ petition be tagged with Writ Petition (C) No. 645 of 2022.”

    Swamy in the petition stated that the Preamble not only formed the essential features of the Constitution but also the fundamental conditions based on which various groups and interests adopted the Constitution with the hope to create one unified integrated community. 

    It was also contended that insertion was against the rights to freedom of religion, the concept of judicial review which formed an integral part of the basic structure of the Constitution. “The edifice of our Constitution is built upon and stands on several props, remove any of them, the Constitution collapses.

    Lastly, it is submitted that the Constitution has conferred a limited amending power on the Parliament, the Parliament cannot under the exercise of that limited power enlarge that very power into absolute power,” the petition has stated. 

    ALSO IN TOP COURT

    Order in TN job scam reserved

    The Supreme Court on Friday reserved order in plea challenging Madras HC’s order of quashing criminal proceedings against four persons, including V Senthil Balaji, current Tamil Nadu Minister of Electricity in the 2015 job scam whereby the accused had taken bribes from job aspirants on the false promise of appointment to the Metro Transport Corporation (MTC) in various posts. The order was reserved by the bench of Justices Abdul Nazeer and V Ramasubramanian. 

    Allows transfer of criminal case against Unnao rape survivor

    The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the transfer of a criminal case filed by the father of one of the accused men facing charges in Unnao rape from UP trial court to Delhi. The petition where the victim had also sought for stay on the non-bailable warrants issued by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Unnao, against her was listed before the bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dinesh Maheshwari. 

    Sanskrit as national language: Court rejects petition 

    The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition that sought to declare Sanskrit as the national language. The bench of Justices MR Shah and Krishna Murari stressed the fact that the national status of a language was a policy decision that would require an amendment to the Constitution. 

    J&K pandit killing: ‘Ask union govt for SIT probe’

    The Supreme Court on Friday granted liberty to NGO “We the Citizens” to approach the Union government and UT administration with its pleas seeking probe by SIT into the targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs in Jammu & Kashmir. “It’s purely in the domain of the executive,” the SC bench said.

    Junks Suvendu plea on transfer of election plea

    The Supreme Court on Friday rejected BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s plea seeking transfer of the election petition filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee out of the State of West Bengal. The bench opined that it could not allow choice of HCs as that would send a ‘wrong’ message to the HC. 

  • Places of Worship Act 1991 cannot be enforced in dispute between two segments of same religion: SC

    The Act prohibits conversion of any place of worship and provides for maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947.

  • SC dismisses plea of SP leader Azam Khan in son Abdullah’s fake birth certificate case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday junked a plea filed by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan challenging an order of the Allahabad High Court refusing to quash the charge sheet in the fake birth certificate case of his son.

    A bench comprising Justices Hemant Gupta and Vikram Nath said it does not find any reason to interfere with the order of the high court.

    Azam Khan, his wife Tazeen Fatima and son Abdullah Azam Khan were sent to jail in a criminal case registered against them, alleging that Abdullah Khan got two fake birth certificates issued through fraudulent means from two different places.

    In an FIR lodged by BJP leader Akash Saxena at the Ganj police station in Rampur on January 3, 2019, it was alleged that Azam Khan and his wife helped their son obtain two fake dates of birth certificates, one from Lucknow and another from Rampur.

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday junked a plea filed by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan challenging an order of the Allahabad High Court refusing to quash the charge sheet in the fake birth certificate case of his son.

    A bench comprising Justices Hemant Gupta and Vikram Nath said it does not find any reason to interfere with the order of the high court.

    Azam Khan, his wife Tazeen Fatima and son Abdullah Azam Khan were sent to jail in a criminal case registered against them, alleging that Abdullah Khan got two fake birth certificates issued through fraudulent means from two different places.

    In an FIR lodged by BJP leader Akash Saxena at the Ganj police station in Rampur on January 3, 2019, it was alleged that Azam Khan and his wife helped their son obtain two fake dates of birth certificates, one from Lucknow and another from Rampur.

  • SC allows Centre to continue with security of Industrialist Mukesh Ambani, family in Mumbai

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Centre to continue with the security cover for industrialist Mukesh Ambani and his family members in Mumbai.

    A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli allowed the appeal of the Central government to challenge the Tripura High Court’s direction on a PIL.

    A vacation bench, on June 29, had stayed the orders of the Tripura High Court on a PIL challenging the grant of security cover to the industrialist and his family members in Mumbai.

    Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, had said that the PIL petitioner (Bikash Saha ) in Tripura has nothing to do with the security of individuals provided in Mumbai.

    The Tripura High Court had on a PIL filed by one Bikash Saha passed two interim orders on May 31 and June 21 and directed the Central Government to place the original file maintained by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) regarding threat perception and assessment report of Ambani, his wife and children based on which security has been granted to them.

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Centre to continue with the security cover for industrialist Mukesh Ambani and his family members in Mumbai.

    A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli allowed the appeal of the Central government to challenge the Tripura High Court’s direction on a PIL.

    A vacation bench, on June 29, had stayed the orders of the Tripura High Court on a PIL challenging the grant of security cover to the industrialist and his family members in Mumbai.

    Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, had said that the PIL petitioner (Bikash Saha ) in Tripura has nothing to do with the security of individuals provided in Mumbai.

    The Tripura High Court had on a PIL filed by one Bikash Saha passed two interim orders on May 31 and June 21 and directed the Central Government to place the original file maintained by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) regarding threat perception and assessment report of Ambani, his wife and children based on which security has been granted to them.

  • Tender graft: Furnish inquiry report’s copy to Velumani, SC tells Madras HC 

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Madras High Court to supply a copy of report of preliminary enquiry conducted against S P Velumani over alleged corruption in awarding of tenders in corporations during his tenure as Tamil Nadu minister for municipal administration, and asked the HC to dispose of the cases on merit, uninfluenced by any observation made by it. 

    “In our considered opinion, the HC has committed a patent error. Without considering the material before it, and by merely relying on the submissions made by the State, the HC has made sweeping observations which are prejudicial to the appellant,” the court said.

    “It was the HC which had ordered that a preliminary inquiry be conducted and a report be submitted by the special investigating officer. However, once the inquiry was completed, the HC failed to even peruse the report. Rather, the HC left the decision completely in the hands of the State government. Such an approach cannot be countenanced in law. When the State changed its stand, the HC neither provided the appellant an opportunity to defend himself, nor sought a reasoned justification from the State for having turned turtle,” the apex court said. 

    According to Velumani’s plea, a a PIL was filed before the Madras High Court in 2018 for a direction that an FIR be lodged and an investigation be conducted relating to tenders awarded by municipal corporations.  It was alleged that Velumani had misused his powers and the tenders were awarded to his close aides. The HC had directed an enquiry, though there was no offence made against him, he said. 

  • Police deliberately killed gang-rape suspects: Panel

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: A Supreme Court-appointed panel that probed the alleged encounter killing of four persons in the gang-rape and murder of a young veterinarian in Hyderabad in 2019, tore into the police version of the events, saying it was “concocted”, adding the suspects were “deliberately fired upon with an intent to cause their death”.Pointing out that three of the four suspects were minors, the panel headed by retired Supreme Court judge V S Sirpurkar recommended trial of 10 accused policemen for murder.

    “It cannot be said that the police party fired in self-defence or in a bid to re-arrest the deceased suspects. The record shows that entire version of the police party beginning from the safe house to the incident at Chatanpally is concocted. It was impossible for the deceased suspects to have snatched the weapons of the police and they could not have operated the fire arms. Therefore, the entire version is unbelievable,” the report said. “…it cannot be believed that the deceased suspects might have died due to the indiscriminate firing from the pistols allegedly snatched by them and it has to be held that all the deceased suspects died due to the injuries caused by the bullets fired by the police party. It cannot also be believed the deceased suspects opened fire towards the police,” the report said. 

    “After considering the entire material on record, we conclude that the deceased have not committed any offence in connection with the incident on 06.12.2019, like snatching  weapons, attempting to escape from custody, assaulting and firing at the police party,” it added.Brushing aside the State government’s request to keep it in a sealed cover, the Supreme Court on Fri day shared the report filed by a three-member panel headed by retired Supreme Court judge V S Sirpurkar with all stakeholders and sent the case back to the Telangana High Court.

    The report said the suspects, at the time of arrest, were entitled to a number of constitutional and statutory rights that were violated by the police personnel.Taking a sharp look at the criminal justice system, the panel observed that in certain aspects there is absence of clear legal provisions, but in others although legislative mandates are clear, there is laxity in enforcement, like in registration of an FIR, mandatory compliance of laws relating to arrest procedures, use of body cameras, and mandatory videography of all investigation processes.

    It suggested that no police officer should hold a press conference in respect of an offence under investigation until such time as it is complete and final report filed in the concerned court.On the night of November 27, 2019, the veterinarian, 27, was kidnapped, gang-raped and murdered near a toll plaza at Tondupally, Shamshabad and her body was dumped and burnt at Chatanpally on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

    What next

    Three scenarios

    Telangana High Court resuming hearing pending PILs, but does not take the Sirpurkar Commission report on record. Trial could then go back to the Sessions Court in the main case of gang-rape and murder
    If HC accepts panel’s findings, it could also take into consideration that prima facie a case has been established by the report. It can then commit the case to Sessions Court for trial
    State govt moves SC claiming evidence submitted before a commission of inquiry is not admissible before a court of law