Legopolis

The Jharkhand government on Saturday recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the death case of Dhanbad Additional District and Sessions Judge Uttam Anand, who was hit by a three-wheeler near his residence on Wednesday, while he was taking a morning stroll. The incident, which initially looked like an accident, later turned into a murder, after CCTV footage revealed that the District and Sessions Judge-8 of Dhanbad Court was jogging on the edge of a wide road at Randhir Verma Chowk early on Wednesday, when a heavy auto-rickshaw hit him from behind, leading to his death. The Jharkhand High Court had ordered an SIT probe, headed by Additional Director General of Police Sanjay Latkar, after taking cognisance of a letter filed before the court by the Dhanbad Principal District Judge in the case. The post Jharkhand govt recommends CBI probe into death of Dhanbad ASJ appeared first on India Legal . from Top News of the Day – India Legal https://ift.tt/3rIA5iW

The Jharkhand government on Saturday recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the death case of Dhanbad Additional District and Sessions Judge Uttam Anand, who was hit by a three-wheeler near his residence on Wednesday, while he was taking a morning stroll. The incident, which initially looked like an accident, later turned into a murder, after CCTV footage revealed that the District and Sessions Judge-8 of Dhanbad Court was jogging on the edge of a wide road at Randhir Verma Chowk early on Wednesday, when a heavy auto-rickshaw hit him from behind, leading to his death. The Jharkhand High Court had ordered an SIT probe, headed by Additional Director General of Police Sanjay Latkar, after taking cognisance of a letter filed before the court by the Dhanbad Principal District Judge in the case. The post Jharkhand govt orders CBI probe into death of Dhanbad ASJ appeared first on India Legal . from India Legal https://ift.tt/3rIA5iW

The Supreme Court will hear the plea of a rape survivor on August 2 seeking bail for her “tormentor” 53-year-old Kerala priest Robin Vadakkumchery, who has been sentenced to 20 years in jail and has dismissed from priesthood by the Vatican. Listed before the bench of Justice Vineet Saran and Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, the survivor has sought bail for Vadakkumchery so that she can marry the defrocked priest. The petitioner says this has been filed according to her wish. But earlier Vadakkumchery had approached the Kerala High Court with a similar prayer which had been turned down given the nature of the crime. Vadakkumchery had been serving as a parish vicar near Kannur in north Kerala and was the manager of the church-backed-school, where the survivor, a Class 11 student, was studying. A child line agency that works among school children registered the complaint against the priest, who came under pressure after the survivor gave birth to a child in February 2017. The priest was arre...

The Supreme Court will hear the plea of a rape survivor on August 2 seeking bail for her “tormentor” 53-year-old Kerala priest Robin Vadakkumchery, who has been sentenced to 20 years in jail and has dismissed from priesthood by the Vatican. Listed before the bench of Justice Vineet Saran and Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, the survivor has sought bail for Vadakkumchery so that she can marry the defrocked priest. The petitioner says this has been filed according to her wish. But earlier Vadakkumchery had approached the Kerala High Court with a similar prayer which had been turned down given the nature of the crime. Vadakkumchery had been serving as a parish vicar near Kannur in north Kerala and was the manager of the church-backed-school, where the survivor, a Class 11 student, was studying. A child line agency that works among school children registered the complaint against the priest, who came under pressure after the survivor gave birth to a child in February 2017. The priest was arre...

The Sikkim High Court sought explanation by the Central Ground Water Board on granting permission to 22 companies for extracting ground water, when sufficient surface water was available. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari and Justice Meenakshi Madan passed the order on July 27, while hearing a suo motu PIL regarding discharge of Effluents by Pharma Companies situated at Singhtam. The pivotal issue is regarding extraction of the groundwater, though sufficient surface water is available in the State. In the earlier order, the Bench asked, “The Central Government Counsel shall give reasons as to why after having sufficient surface water, the necessity of extraction of ground water arises.” During the hearing on Tuesday, the Bench observed that the permission so granted for extracting the ground water were conditional, but there is nothing available on record to show those conditions have been complied with by the industries and the Regional Authorities have...

The Sikkim High Court sought explanation by the Central Ground Water Board on granting permission to 22 companies for extracting ground water, when sufficient surface water was available. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari and Justice Meenakshi Madan passed the order on July 27, while hearing a suo motu PIL regarding discharge of Effluents by Pharma Companies situated at Singhtam. The pivotal issue is regarding extraction of the groundwater, though sufficient surface water is available in the State. In the earlier order, the Bench asked, “The Central Government Counsel shall give reasons as to why after having sufficient surface water, the necessity of extraction of ground water arises.” During the hearing on Tuesday, the Bench observed that the permission so granted for extracting the ground water were conditional, but there is nothing available on record to show those conditions have been complied with by the industries and the Regional Authorities have...

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday dismissed the petition of a man who had attempted to illegally oust his aged mother. A single-judge bench of Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan passed this order while hearing a Criminal Writ Petition filed by Sunny Goyal. The court held that this is an unfortunate petition in which petitioner has prayed for the protection of life and liberty against his mother and maternal uncle. The Court observed that a perusal of the petition shows that father of the petitioner and husband of respondent No.4/ late Raj Kumar Goyal had executed a will dated November 11, 2013, vide which 100% share of the booth and 50% share of the house was given to the petitioner and 50% share of the house was already in the name of his wife-respondent No.4/ Suresh Goel for the obvious reason that the petitioner being son will inherit his business and his wife will have a house to live in for the rest of her life. The Court said the latter part of the petition reflects the p...

In a TV discussion on prime time programme India Legal , part of APN news channel, Editor-in-Chief Rajshri Rai discusses the problems plaguing tribunals. These include lack of infrastructure, unsatisfactory service conditions and delays by lawyers and parties. Another issue is the independence of tribunals. What they need are efficient, well-qualified judicial and technical members to ensure swifter and efficacious justice delivery and a recent apex court judgment could just see matters improving for tribunals. Access to justice and confidence of the litigant public in impartial justice being administered by tribunals need to be restored.”  This strong observation and its urgent tone were not lost to many. It was part of a July 2021 judgment made by a Supreme Court bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat, wherein provisions in the Tribunals Reforms Ordinance 2021, which fixed the term of members of various tribunals as five years, were set aside. The judgement pave...

The Calcutta High Court recently declared person Deepa Asani a ‘mentally challenged person’ by exercising its powers under Clause 17 of the Letters Patent, 1865. A single-judge bench of Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya passed this order while hearing a petition filed by Deepa Asani. The Petition has been filed invoking the powers of the High Court under Clause 17 of the Letters Patent, 1865, for a declaration that one Deepa Asani, alias Deepa C Asani/Deepa Chetan Asani be declared a mentally ill person and/or a lunatic who is incapable of taking care of herself or managing her property. The prayer in the application is for an order appointing the petitioner as the guardian and for taking care of Deepa Asani as a manager of the properties and estates described in a Schedule to this application. The applicant claims to be the daughter and the sole and surviving heir of Deepa Asani and one Chetan Laxmikant Asani; the latter died intestate on August 11, 2017. The interim relief which the...

By Vikram Kilpady The routine story of extra-judicial killings of alleged accused, or even gangsters, gets buried on the inside pages of a newspaper. But not this, this was Page 1. And top billing at Prime Time. It’s not every day that two states of India, which is a union of states, remember, end up in such conflict that five policemen are gunned down by the other state’s police. And no, this is not involving Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, mind you! Though the killing of five men from the Assam Police by Mizoram Police comes as a shock to most of us and to the TV studios, the conflict has been raging since Independence though some will date it to the late 1800s, when the British brought the Lushai Hills under their control. Mizoram says that the immediate provocation is that Assam Police along with its state authorities overran a police post in Kolasib district and tried to set up infrastructure. In turn, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted that Assam policemen were killed ...

A Sessions Court in Karnataka has restrained media houses from either publishing or telecasting any defamatory material in relation to the Ramesh Jarkiholi sex scandal, against BJP lawmaker, MP Renukacharya. An Additional City Civil  & Sessions Judge, Bengaluru City, Ningouda B Patil passed this order on July 28, while hearing a petition filed by Mr Renukacharya. The petitioner, in his affidavit, stated that he hails from a respectable family and he is in public life as a people’s representativ. He said the defendant media organisations on July 21, 2021 published/telecast/broadcast defamatory statements regarding the alleged CD/explicit material on their platforms and channels referring him, which damaged his reputation. The defendants intended to malign his goodwill and reputation, which he earned by sacrificing his personal life for decades, Mr Renukacharya further alleged. He said if the defendants were permitted to publish/broadcast/telecast such statements, then it wou...

The Gauhati High Court has pulled up the Assam government on vaccination of those persons in the state, who do not have proper identification documents. The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak passed the order on July 30 over a PIL filed by Sourav Paul. The High Court, after hearing the submission from J. I. Borbhuiya, Counsel for the petitioner and D. Upamanyu, Standing Counsel, Health and Family Welfare Department, directed the Health and Family Welfare Department of Assam to file an affidavit within two weeks in respect of vaccination status of persons not having proper identification documents. “The Standing Counsel, Health & Family Welfare Department, shall file an affidavit within two weeks apprising this Court as to how many persons, who are not having proper documents in support of their identification, have been vaccinated and, in that event, as to how the second dose of vaccination would be given to such persons and...

The Jharkhand High Court on July 29 , took Suo Motu cognizance of the death of a district Judge in Dhanbad who was mowed down in a road accident on Wednesday when he was out on a morning walk. The Division bench Comprised of Chief Justice Dr. Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad on the basis of the letter by the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Dhanbad regarding sad and unfortunate demise of  Uttam Anand and the CCTV footage called upon the Advocate General of the State, Director General of Police, Jharkhand, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Dhanbad and Superintendent of Police (City), Dhanbad and Rajiv Sinha, learned Additional Solicitor General of India. The Senior Superintendent of Police, Dhanbad has submitted in the course of hearing that two persons have been apprehended. One of them was an auto-rickshaw driver and another person who was sitting in the vehicle. Interrogation is being done by the Special Investigating Team constituted by him. The member...

The Delhi High Court has sought the response of the Central and Delhi governments on a plea filed by auto drivers union Chaalak Shakti, challenging the mandatory imposition of uniforms on auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers. A Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notice to the Centre, Delhi Government, Delhi Police and the Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, and posted the matter for further hearing on August 20. The petition also challenged the imposition of penalty of Rs 20,000 on drivers for contravention of mandatory uniforms. Advocates Paras Jain and Mohini Chaubey represented the Chaalak Shakti Union. They said the rules governing the field are vague and there is no clarity on either the colour of the uniform or what constituted a uniform, thereby giving a wide discretion to law enforcement agencies to prosecute drivers. The plea sought to quash Rule 7 of the Motor Vehicles Rules 1993 on the basis that it was ‘vague’. It also chall...

By Prof Upendra Baxi “TO Have A More Civilized India, Judiciary Must Be Strengthened,” was the headline remark of retiring Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court Sri Govind Mathur. He further said that the judiciary cannot remain “in hibernation when the people of this country are under deep depression, are living every moment under the fear and threat of death, where a sense is prevailing that certain privileged persons are getting every protection but the larger section is helpless”. He deprecated the executive was “still acting like colonial rulers”, and ignoring judicial order and directions, even on the sedition law. He added: “It is a well-accepted fact that criticism of the government is not seditious in law.” His predecessor in that high constitutional office, now a Supreme Court judge, Justice DY Chandrachud, headed a bench that ordered bail for Manipur activist Leichombam Erendro 1 on July 22, 2021, (arrested under the National Security Act, which authorises indefinite prev...

In the instant case, the issue before the Bench is that whether the rejection of application for grant of nativity certificate on the sole ground that place of birth of applicant is not Kerala is valid/Justified. The bench comprising Justice P.B. Suresh Kumar observed by fortifying his decision with Judgement of Madras high court in […] The post Social belongingness also can be a criterion for the grant of nativity certificate to a person regardless of the place of birth: Kerala HC appeared first on Law Times Journal .

The division bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and Justice M.R. Shah reiterated the Judgement of the Supreme Court in Sushila Aggarwal versus. State (NCT of Delhi) where the court held that “while granting the order of anticipatory bail the court has to take into account of the role of […] The post Investigation under Section 156(3) of CrPC can be ordered before taking cognizance of the offence: SC appeared first on Law Times Journal .

By Justice Kamaljit Singh Garewal Nothing much seems to have changed in our districts, and nothing shall, as long as the executive and the police dominance over judges is allowed to raise its ugly head. The colonial system in British India centered around the Collector, the Judge, the Civil Surgeon and the Police Superintendent. The first two from the Indian Civil Service, the Civil Surgeon from the Indian Medical Service and the Police Superintendent from the Indian Police. They formed a formidable foursome who held the empire together and kept Indians at bay. They worked in imperial splendour at the Kutchery, often played tennis or bridge together at the club, lived in bungalows on tree-lined avenues in Civil Lines, spread over acres of gardens and looked after a battalion of servants. Their memsahibs dabbled a bit in social work and occasional match-making, but social life of the district was planned around picnics, shikar, polo, galas and balls. Ladies and children spent summers...

By Swati Jindal Garg For all those who are wondering as to what this title is all about… well it is all about the career choices that one is faced with these days! Gone is the era when all one could become was either a lawyer, an engineer or a doctor. Today it’s all about specialisation and versatility. The complexity of the legal scenario has created thousands of legal career options that serve a variety of core and non-core legal functions. The role of a legal professional is expanding by the minute with choices like lawyers, judges, mediators, arbitrators, paralegals, consultants etc. If there is one field that has experienced staggering growth in the last few years, it is that of the legal profession. One of the contributing factors in this growth has also been the fact that the legal industry is also coming up as one of the most lucrative in today’s job market. Associates in the leading firms start at a very good package and if they prove their mettle, they also get rewarded with...

The Supreme Court on Friday decided to take up next week a PIL seeking an independent probe by a sitting or a retired judge into the charges of spying by Israel spyware Pegasus on a number of journalists and opposition politicians. Chief Justice N.V. Ramana took note of the PIL filed on July 27 by senior journalists N. Ram and Sashi Kumar through senior advocate Kapil Sibal stating that the petition needs to be heard in view of the large ramifications into the allegations of snooping. The move follows a global collaborative investigative project that disclosed a fortnight ago that Pegasus spyware was used to target over 300 mobile phone numbers in India, including that of Ministers in the Narendra Modi government, various Opposition leaders, a constitutional authority, and several journalists and business persons. The issue has also been the cause for multiple disruptions of Parliament’s Monsoon Session as Opposition parties have united to protest against the alleged snooping and de...

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently said that if a detenu is in custody at the time of passing a detention order, then it is necessary for the Detaining Authority to mention it in such order. The Division Bench of Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Vishal Dhagat passed this order while hearing a petition filed by Rajeev Kumar Jain. In this petition, the petitioner has challenged the order dated May 3, 2021 passed by the District Magistrate, Satna, for his detention under section 3(1) of the Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980. The Petitioner has also challenged the order dated May 10, 2021 passed by the State Government approving the detention order dated May 3, 2021. The case of the Petitioner is that he is running a business with the trade name of M/s Vindhya Engineering Company at Rewa and Satna and also having GST registration certificate. The FIR was lodged against the Petitioner in Police ...