News Analysis India

Tag: Supreme Court

  • ‘Very happy’ Mamata Banerjee welcomes Supreme Court order staying Calcutta High Court verdict on school jobs scam

    West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court order that stayed the Calcutta High Court verdict of cancelling more than 25,000 school jobs, and said she is “very happy and mentally relaxed” after getting justice in the apex court. The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the Calcutta High Court order invalidating the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff made by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) in state-run and state-aided schools. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, however, permitted the CBI to continue with its investigation and probe even members of the state cabinet. The top court, however, asked the CBI not to take any precipitate action like arresting a suspect during the investigation. “I am really very happy and mentally relaxed on receipt of justice at the highest Court of the land. Congratulations to the entire teaching fraternity and my humble regards to the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,” Banerjee said in a post on X. AllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther StatesSpeaking in a similar vein, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said truth has triumphed. “The Honorable Supreme Court has DEFUSED the BJP’s ‘EXPLOSIVE’ hurled last week to malign Bengal’s image and destabilise WB government. TRUTH HAS TRIUMPHED! We will continue to defy all odds and stand shoulder to shoulder with the people until our last breath,” he wrote on X. Earlier in the day, it termed the alleged scam as a “systemic fraud” and said the state authorities were duty-bound to maintain digitised records pertaining to the appointment of teachers and non-teaching staff. The top court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Calcutta High Court’s April 22 decision that invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff.

    The BJP, however, claimed that corruption in school recruitment in West Bengal has been proven in the court.

    “The TMC is neck-deep in corruption in this scam. They cannot evade their responsibilities,” BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.

    The TMC-led West Bengal government had challenged the Calcutta High Court order, saying it cancelled the appointments “arbitrarily”.

  • Congress will increase reservation quota beyond 50 percent, claims Jairam Ramesh – The Economic Times Video

    Congress leader Jairam Ramesh questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on the issue of increasing the reservation beyond 50 percent. Jairam Ramesh asked will the BJP remove this 50 percent limit or not. In India, reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes in legislatures, higher education, and public employment cannot exceed 50% of the total seats and this limit has been in place since a Supreme Court judgment in 1992.Jairam Ramesh said, “I have only one question for the PM and Home Minister the current limit of reservation for SCs, STs, and OBCs is 50 percent. Will you remove this 50 percent limit or not? We have clearly said in our ‘Nyay Patra’ that we will increase the limit beyond 50 percent.”

  • ‘Contradicting Yourself’: Supreme Court’s Strong Remarks On Arvind Kejriwal’s Plea Against Arrest |

    The Supreme Court of India yesterday heard Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest. While the CM’s counsel contended that his arrest was illegal and was done merely based on suspicion, the apex court made some strong remarks. Appearing for Kejriwal, senior lawyer Abhishek Singhvi said that a person can be arrested only on evidence of guilt. Referring to Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, Singhvi contended that the investigating agency had not recorded the statement of the Delhi Chief Minister, said reports.

    However, the top court reacted sharply to this saying that the petitioner is contradicting his own statement. “Are you not contradicting yourself by saying that his statements under Section 50 of the PMLA were not recorded?” said the court adding that first the CM did not appear on summons for recording of statements under Section 50 and now saying it was not recorded. Arvind Kejriwal had refused to appear before the Enforcement Directorate despite the probe agency issuing nine summons to him. 

    Kejriwal has moved the Supreme Court challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi liquor policy case. Kejriwal contended that his arrest was illegal, politically motivated and aimed at toppling the Delhi government. 

    According to reports, the top court noted that the petitioner cannot take the defence that his statement was not recorded because he did not go for it when summoned. To this, Singhvi responded, “Non-recording of Section 50 statements is not a defence to arrest me for reasons of believing there is guilt…The ED came to my house to arrest me. Then why can’t ED record my statement under Section 50 at my house?” he added.

    The Enforcement Directorate has submitted before the court that Kejriwal was avoiding interrogation while recording his statement under Section 17 of the PMLA. The ED also accused the CM of being evasive and uncooperative. 

    The top court also asked why Kejriwal did not file a plea for bail in the trial court, Singhvi told the bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta that they have approached the Supreme Court as it has ‘wider jurisdiction’.

    Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 and is currently lodged in Tihar jail. The hearing in the case will continue today.

  • SC to hear Arvind Kejriwal’s plea against arrest in money laundering case on April 29

    New Delhi, The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging his arrest in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged excise policy scam. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta is likely to hear the matter. Kejriwal had earlier told the apex court that his “illegal arrest” in the case constitutes an unprecedented assault on the tenets of democracy based on “free and fair elections” and “federalism”. In a rejoinder to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) reply affidavit filed on his petition challenging his arrest in the case, Kejriwal said the mode, manner and timing of his arrest just before the Lok Sabha elections when the Model Code of Conduct had come into play, speaks volumes about the “arbitrariness” of the agency. Kejriwal claimed it is a “classical case” of how the Centre has misused the ED and its wide powers under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to “crush” the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its leaders. AllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther StatesIt claimed that the ED illegally ‘picked up’ a sitting chief minister and the national convenor of one of the national Opposition parties, five days after the general elections were announced and the Model Code of Conduct came into force. He said a level playing field, which is a pre-requisite for ‘free and fair elections’, has clearly been compromised with his illegal arrest. It said the entire basis of Kejriwal’s arrest rests upon certain statements which are in the nature of “self-incriminating confessions” by alleged accomplices who have been given the immunity by way of pardon etc. “Whether such statements could qualify as materials to reach the conclusion of guilt as envisaged under section 19 PMLA to justify the arrest of a sitting chief minister of NCT of Delhi or a national convenor of a national political party in India in the midst of general elections,” it asked.

    In the rejoinder, Kejriwal alleged the only objective of the ED was to procure and obtain some statement against him and as soon as the statement was taken, the mission of the probe agency was accomplished and thereafter, the co-accused were neither arrested nor any further statements were taken.

    The AAP leader claimed the malicious intent of the ED in conducting the investigation was apparent from its deliberate concealment of statements made by co-accused individuals where either no allegations were made or allegations were explicitly denied.

    Kejriwal also said there is no link whatsoever established by the ED to claim that an amount of Rs 45 crore was transferred by the South group as advanced kickback which was then utilised by the AAP in the Goa elections.

    The chief minister said the ED, in its reply affidavit filed in the apex court, has said that one of the reasons which necessitated his arrest was that he did not remain present before the investigating officer (IO) despite being summoned nine times.

    In its reply affidavit filed in the apex court earlier this week, the ED has claimed that Kejriwal is the “kingpin and key conspirator” of the excise policy scam and the arrest of a person for an offence based on material can never violate the “concept of free and fair elections”.

    The ED arrested Kejriwal on March 21 after the Delhi High Court refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the federal anti-money laundering agency. He is currently lodged in Tihar jail under judicial custody.

    On April 15, the top court issued a notice to the ED and sought its response to Kejriwal’s plea.

    The high court had on April 9 upheld Kejriwal’s arrest in the money laundering case, saying there was no illegality about it and that the ED was left with “little option” after he skipped repeated summonses and refused to join the investigation.

    The matter pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 which was later scrapped.

  • ‘No Proof That AAP Received Kickbacks’: Arvind Kejriwal Responds To ED’s Allegations In Delhi Liquor Policy Case |

    NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday filed his response to the Enforcement Directorate’s affidavit in the Supreme Court, saying that there is no proof that AAP received funds or advanced kickbacks in connection with the ongoing probe into the liquor policy case. In his reply, the AAP chief stated that the mode, manner, and timing of his arrest just before when the schedule of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 was announced and the Model Code of Conduct had come into force speaks volumes about the arbitrariness of the ED.

    The jailed Delhi Chief Minister further claimed that there exists no proof or material demonstrating that the AAP received funds or advanced kickbacks from the South group, let alone utilising them in the Goa election campaign. 

    “Not a single rupee was traced back to the AAP, and the allegations put forth in this regard are devoid of any tangible evidence, rendering them vague, baseless without any corroboration,” Arvind Kejriwal said in his affidavit.

     

    Delhi Liquor policy case: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal files his response on the ED’s affidavit in the Supreme Court, and says that the mode, manner, and timing of his arrest just before when the schedule of the Lok Sabha elections had been announced and the Model Code of…
    — ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2024

     

    Kejriwal also accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of acting in a “most highhanded manner” in a money-laundering case stemming from the alleged excise policy scam. In a rejoinder to the ED’s reply affidavit filed on his petition challenging his arrest in the case, Kejriwal said he has always cooperated with the investigation.

    The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor said the ED, in its reply affidavit filed in the apex court, has said that one of the reasons which necessitated his arrest was that he did not remain present before the investigating officer (IO) despite being summoned nine times.

    Kejriwal said the ED has said in its reply that in such a case, the IO was justified in forming an opinion that custodial interrogation would lead to “a qualitatively more elicitation orientated” questioning of the accused.

    “The aforementioned tenor, text and contents of the reply leave no manner of doubt that the ED has acted in a most highhanded manner in a gross affront to the due process of law,” he said.

    Kejriwal further claimed that a cumulative reading of the ED’s stand in its reply would expose the “bogey and blatant falsehood” in the conduct of its proceedings. The AAP supremo said the record would reveal that each and every summons issued to him was duly responded to while seeking vital details and information, which under no circumstances can be claimed to be privileged or confidential by the ED.

    Kejriwal claimed that the ED has never spelt out the alleged non-cooperation by him. “What was the requirement in not calling the petitioner (Kejriwal) either through an authorised agent or seeking information or documents from him in writing or through a virtual mode and insisting on his presence physically in person, is not forthcoming,” he said.

    Kejriwal maintained that his plea deserves to be allowed and he is entitled to be released forthwith.

  • Supreme Court To Pronounce Verdict On Pleas Seeking Mandatory EVM-VVPAT Cross-Verification Today |

    In a significant development, the Supreme Court is set to rule on a series of petitions requesting complete cross-verification of votes cast using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). A bench consisting of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta is expected to deliver the verdict.

    The Supreme Court previously stated that it cannot “control the elections” or issue orders based solely on concerns raised about the efficacy of EVMs. The court had reserved judgement on the petitions, which also claimed that polling devices could be manipulated to influence results.

    The court also clarified that it cannot change the minds of those who question the benefits of polling machines and advocate for a return to ballot papers. The bench also considered the responses to questions it posed to the Election Commission about the operation of EVMs, such as whether the microcontrollers in them are programmable.

    Last week, the bench reserved its decision on a number of public interest litigations (PILs) in the case, noting that official acts are normally presumed to be valid under the Indian Evidence Act, and that nothing done by the Election Commission can be questioned.

    One of the petitioners, the NGO ‘Association for Democratic Reforms’, has requested that the poll panel reverse its 2017 decision to replace the transparent glass on VVPAT machines with an opaque one. The petitioners have also asked the court to restore the old ballot paper system.

    Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, the Centre’s second highest law officer, criticised the petitioners for filing PILs on the eve of elections, claiming that a voter’s democratic choice is being turned into a joke. He added that the Supreme Court had already resolved the issue by dismissing previous petitions seeking similar relief.

    In April 2019, the Supreme Court ordered the Election Commission of India (ECI) to increase the number of VVPAT slips from one to five per Assembly constituency. It had issued guidelines for the mandatory verification of VVPAT slips from five randomly selected polling stations after the final round of counting votes recorded in EVMs.

    A VVPAT is regarded as an independent verification system for voting machines, allowing voters to confirm that they have correctly cast their votes. The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections began on April 19 and will end with the announcement of results on June 4. This verdict could have far-reaching consequences for India’s electoral process.

  • SC Verdict Today On Pleas Seeking 100% EVM-VVPAT Vote Verification |

    New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to declare its verdict on Wednesday regarding several petitions requesting complete cross-verification of votes cast through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) using the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). The VVPAT serves as an autonomous method for voters to verify if their votes have been accurately recorded. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta will pronounce the specific instructions on the plea in which order was reserved by the apex court on April 18. 

    During the hearing the top court pointed out the importance of voter’s trust in the electoral system and their satisfaction. The SC told petitioners seeking direction to go back to using ballot papers, not to suspect the efficacy of EVMs and appreciate if the Election Commission does good work.  

    During the nearly two-day hearing, the bench discussed with senior Deputy Election Commissioner Nitesh Kumar Vyas for about an hour to grasp the operation of EVMs. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing the Election Commission, asserted that EVMs are standalone devices invulnerable to tampering, although he acknowledged the potential for human error. 

    On April 16, the SC depreciated the criticism of EVMs and calls for going back to ballot papers, saying the electoral process in India is a “humongous task” and attempts should not be made to “bring down the system”, reported PTI. 

    The NGO ‘Association for Democratic Reforms’ (ADR) sought the court to change a decision made by the election commission in 2017. This decision was about replacing see-through glass on voting machines with opaque glass. With the new glass, a voter can only see their vote slip when a light is on for seven seconds. 

    The ADR has requested that the number of votes recorded by EVMs matches the votes that have been reliably recorded as cast. They also want to ensure that voters can confirm through the VVPAT slip that their vote, as seen on the paper slip, has been counted as recorded. 

    At present, VVPAT slips from five randomly chosen EVMs in each Assembly segment undergo verification.

  • Supreme Court Dismisses Return To Ballot Paper, Says `Have Not Forgotten` Pre-EVM Era

    Supreme Court Justice Sanjiv Khanna said that the petitioner may have forgotten what used to happen before EVM but the judges have not.

  • LIVE Updates | SC To Hear Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal`s Bail Plea Against Arrest Today

    Arvind Kejriwal Arrest LIVE Updates: Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21, hours after the high court refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the federal anti-money laundering agency.

  • Arvind Kejriwal Arrest LIVE Updates: Delhi CM Moves SC Against HC Order On Arrest |

    Arvind Kejriwal Arrest LIVE Updates: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi high court verdict upholding his arrest related to a money laundering case connected to a alleged excise scam. Vivek Jain, Kejriwal’s legal representative, told news agency PTI that they have challenged the Delhi HC order in the apex court. The Delhi High Court’s decision to sustain Kejriwal’s arrest dealt a significant setback to the Chief Minister just before the Lok Sabha elections.

    The court remarked that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was left with ‘little option’ but to proceed with the arrest due to Kejriwal’s consistent absence from summons and his refusal to participate in the probe.

    Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday said that Punjab’s Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh were scheduled to visit Kejriwal at Tihar Jail, which has now been deferred. The jail authorities have cited security concerns as the reason for the postponement, news agency IANS reported.

    “Yesterday, the time for Bhagwant Mann and Sanjay Singh to meet Kejriwal was fixed. Now, Tihar Jail will inform about the new time,” said AAP.  “The administration had received a letter for a meeting with CM Kejriwal,” IANS quoted jail sources as saying.

    “The Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Tihar will respond today. The reply will address security measures and propose alternative dates for the meeting. Sanjay Singh and CM Bhagwant Mann may then visit CM Kejriwal on the suggested dates, should they choose to,” a source from the prison administration stated.

    Kejriwal was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 over allegations related to the excise scam. Since his arrest, Kejriwal has been under the ED’s authority, followed by his transfer to Tihar Jail.