Legopolis

Dead body of a lawyer was found in the Saket Court complex parking on Monday night after he allegedly jumped from the lawyers’ chamber. The lawyer who is deceased was identified as 44-year-old Om Kumar Sharma by the Delhi Police. The police said that prima facie looks like a suicide as a note has also been found. As per the information available, deceased Om Kumar Sharma was suffering from a liver ailment and left a suicide note at the spot. Police received call around 8 pm about the incident afetr the staff at the Saket court saw an advocate jump from the lawyer’s chambers. DCP (South) Ankit Chauhan,said that the police rushed to the spot where the lawyer  was lying near the parking area.” The DCP informed that on Monday evening, the deceased went to a hospital with his wife and later came to court. He left his wife at the main gate and went inside. Around 20-30 minutes later, his wife found out about the incident. Further investigation is still on, the police added. The...

The Delhi High Court has imposed a cost of Rs 10,000 on a petitioner seeking gag orders against Hindustan Times and Dainik Jagran, stating that a gag order should be passed only when it became absolutely necessary for the fairness of a trial. The single-judge Bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad observed that just because a publication was mentioning the court proceedings, it could not be concluded that it was affecting a fair trial. The court has to carefully see the nature of the publication and find out whether the content of the publication will cause prejudice to the trial or not. It said prejudice by a publication could be divided into two categories, one which threatened to impair the courts impartiality and the other which prejudiced the court’s ability to determine true facts. The single-judge Bench imposed cost of Rs 10,000 on petitioner Ajay Kumar, who sought directions against Hindustan Times and Dainik Jagran to conceal his identity while circulating news or any article...

Shelly Oberoi, mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has moved a petition before the Supreme Court seeking directions to ensure that the functioning of MCD Standing Committee is permitted to be exercised by the MCD corporation, till the committee can be properly and legally constituted.  In the petition, Shelly Oberoi mentioned that the Supreme Court on May 17, 2023 reserved its judgement on whether the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi can nominate aldermen to the MCD without the aid and advice of Delhi government.  The petition noted that under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act (DMC Act), the ten nominated persons (aldermen) are entitled to vote in elections for the appointment of twelve out of eighteen seats in the Standing Committee. Hence, on account of the pendency of the decision on the legality of the aldermen nominations, the Standing Committee could not be constituted. Shelly Oberoi further contended that such case pendency before the Supreme Court ...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Supreme Court has strengthened the vibrant democracy of Bharat in the past 75 years by protecting the individual rights of citizens and their freedom of speech, giving a new direction to the socio-political scenario of the country. Attending the Diamond Jubilee celebrations at the Additional Building Complex of the Apex Court, the Prime Minister said that every organisation of the country was working with the aim of developing itself in the next 25 years, when Bharat will complete 100 years of independence. Mr Modi said today’s economic policies will form the basis of a bright future for India and today’s laws will strengthen the future of the country, adding that the judgements delivered by the top court of the country in the next 25 years will play a crucial role in India’s transformation by 2047. He said the whole world was looking at India, it was important for India to take advantage of every opportunity, adding that major reform...

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Sunday encouraged the lawyers to shift from adjournment culture to a culture of professionalism and also adopt flexi timings during the long vacations of courts. Attending the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Supreme Court at the Additional Building Complex of the Apex Court, the CJI said through the Constitution, people gave to themselves this court. It’s not just a legal document, but also represents feeling of mutual respect towards fellow citizens, feeling of responsibility in institutions which it creates. He said the judiciary must look back and look forward in equal measure. Mahatma Gandhi said recall the face of the poorest and weakest man and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Since the founding of this court, its decisions have been guided by this principle. The Front Desk experience of approaching courts has changed completely. As opposed to lawyers lugging trolley cars of papers, now the...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Supreme Court has strengthened the vibrant democracy of Bharat in the past 75 years by protecting the individual rights of citizens and their freedom of speech, giving a new direction to the socio-political scenario of the country. Attending the Diamond Jubilee celebrations at the Additional Building Complex of the Apex Court, the Prime Minister said that every organisation of the country was working with the aim of developing itself in the next 25 years, when Bharat will complete 100 years of independence. Mr Modi said today’s economic policies will form the basis of a bright future for India and today’s laws will strengthen the future of the country, adding that the judgements delivered by the top court of the country in the next 25 years will play a crucial role in India’s transformation by 2047. He said the whole world was looking at India, it was important for India to take advantage of every opportunity, adding that major reform...

The Patna High Court rejected  a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed  seeking a direction to Respondent No. 1 (Chancellor of University) to consider his (Petitioner’s) representation seeking an exemption sought from attending the classes for the LLB course, since he is employed in the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya.  The representation  demand that the Chancellor pass an order on his request for exemption after which he will seek admission to a college in any of the Universities within the State of Bihar for admission to the LLB course. The petitioner is a Science Teacher in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, District Garhwa, State of Jharkhand. The Division Bench of Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Rajiv Roy said that the representation is misguided and there can be no consideration of the same. The further arguments are with respect to an R.T.I. application, which again cannot be sought to be agitated in a public interest litigation.  The Court pertine...

A journalist who filmed an illegal sand mining act in West Bengal had a criminal case lodged against him by the police, threatening arrest. The Calcutta High Court saw through this police-politician nexus and allowed the journalist’s anticipatory bail plea. The media needs such backing to be able to report on critical issues By Sujit Bhar Governments across the country have throttled the voice of the media in many ways. And in every such matter that has ever come up before courts or other law enforcement agencies, there has always been a political angle. National media today—especially the leading electronic media houses—all toe the government line, displaying an almost surprising show of obeisance. It has happened at state levels as well, and state governments have employed all methods available to them to bring media houses to heel. If the media falls out of line, swift penalties follow.   The only saving grace has been the fact that, sometimes, the tottering justice sys...

The Allahabad High Court while dismissing the petition said that the application u/s 156 (3) CrPC must be supported by an affidavit. A Single Bench of Justice Surendra Singh passed this order while hearing a Criminal Revision filed by Bharat Singh Kushawaha. The criminal revision has been filed against order dated 22.03.2023 passed by Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jalaun at Orai in Criminal Misc Case (Bharat Singh Kushwaha Vs Smt Vijay Lakshmi @ Bulbul), Police Station- Kotwali Orai, District- Jalaun. By the impugned order, the Magistrate rejected the application u/s 156 (3) Cr.P.C filed by the revisionist. The revisionist/applicant, Bharat Singh Kushwaha, had filed application u/s 156 (3) Cr.P.C on 17.01.2023 contending that his son, Gopal Krishna alias Rinku aged 32 years, was living from long duration separately from him with his wife Smt Vijay Lakshmi @ Bulbul and his children. On 04.09.2022, Gopal Krishna alias Rinku, after working as electrician, returned to his house at 10...

The Supreme Court on Saturday stayed all proceedings in a case arising from a judicial order passed by the single-judge Bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay to ignore a Division Bench stay order of of the Calcutta High Court related to former Trinamool Congress Abhishek Banerjee. The order was passed by a five-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Aniruddha Bose in a special Saturday sitting. Taking suo motu cognisance of the events transpiring before the Calcutta High Court in the past few days, the Supreme Court on Friday decided to hear the matter on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. The matter pertained to a petition filed in the Calcutta High Court alleging that the issuance of fake caste certificates was rampant in the State of West Bengal and that several persons have obtained such certificates to get admission to medical courses. On January 24, Justice Gangopadhyay passed an order asking the West...

The Delhi High Court has recently refused to stay the proceedings before a trial court against BJP National Secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa in a criminal defamation case lodged by a former Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) President Manjit Singh GK.  Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma pronounced the order on January 24. He said that prima facie, there is no infirmity in the order passed by the magistrate summoning Sirsa or the order of the sessions court dismissing a revision petition lodged by the BJP leader against the magistrate order.  The Delhi High Court therefore concluded that there is no reason to stay the proceedings before the trial court. The court stated that it has found that the learned ASJ has examined in detail, the issue of registration of FIR in relation to letter dated 04.04.2016 and simultaneous proceedings in the present complaint case for commission of offence of defamation. It added that at this stage, the high court does not find any reason...

First female judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice M. Fathima Beevi, was conferred with Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour in the country, on the eve of the 75th Republic Day. Justice Beevi passed away on November 23 at the age of 96. In her long and decorated career, she served as a role model and icon for women across the country. She even left her mark on the political arena by being appointed as the Governor of Tamil Nadu after her superannuation as a Supreme Court judge. She was born in Pandalam of Kerala in 1927 and completed her schooling at the Catholicate High School in Pathanamthitta. She finished her Bachelor of Science from University College, Trivandrum and obtained her Bachelor of Law Degree from the Government Law College. Justice Beevi’s father encouraged her to study law. She topped the Bar Council exam in 1950, becoming the first woman to receive a Bar Council gold medal. She enrolled as an Advocate on November 14, 1950. Her career spanned ove...

Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court has passed a judicial order, alleging that Justice Soumen Sen directed Justice Amrita Sinha not to pass adverse orders against Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee. Justice Gangopadhyay claimed in the order passed on Thursday night that Justice Sinha had informed him on a phone call that Justice Sen asked her to come to his chamber before the winter vacation. As per the order, Justice Sinha informed Justice Gangopadhyay that Justice Sen called her in his chamber on the last day before vacation and like a political leader, he dictated Justice Sinha three things:- i) Mr. Avishek Banerjee has a political future, he should not be disturbed. ii) Live-streaming shall be stopped in Justice Amrita Sinha’s court. iii) The two writ petitions before Justice Amrita Sinha, where the name of Mr. Avishek Banerjee is involved, are to be dismissed, it added. Justice Sinha informed the Chief Justice of the High Court about this, who i...

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which conducted survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque Complex on the orders of the Allahabad High Court, has claimed that there existed a large Hindu Temple before the construction of the existing structure (Gyanvapi Mosque). The report further said that parts of the pre-existing temple including pillars were used in the construction of existing structure (Gyanvapi Mosque). As per the ASI report, based on the study of architectural remains, exposed features, artefacts, inscriptions, art and sculptures, it can be said that there existed a Hindu temple prior to the construction of the existing structure (Gyanvapi Mosque). The national agency said that 34 inscriptions were discovered during its survey, with a significant number found on the stones of the pre-existing Hindu temple. These stones were subsequently reused in the construction/repair of the current structure. The sculptures of Hindu deities and carved architectural structures were found bu...

The Supreme Court has issued directions for sharing of digitised copies of paper books with Advocates-on-Record (AoRs), in order to facilitate the lawyers and judges during court hearings. On January 25,the project will commence on a pilot basis from the Chief Justice of India’s courtroom. The reason for taking this step was taken as the paper books being used for court hearings were not uniform, leading to inconveniences and loss of time. A notice issued by the Court’s Registrar reads that issue pertaining to variation in reference to page numbers of the scanned and digitized paper books during court proceedings is important. The Court Registrar stated variation often cause grave inconvenience and loss of invaluable time of the Court and the members of the bar. The best way to address the concern is sharing of digitised pleadings which would act as a remedial measure to address these concerns. The digitally circulated paper books would be segregated into three separate portable...

Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, Justice Prasanna B Varale, was on Thursday sworn-in as a judge of the Supreme Court. Justice Varale is the senior-most Judge belonging to a Scheduled Caste and the only Chief Justice of a High Court in the country belonging to a Scheduled Caste. With the swearing-in of Justice Parale, the Supreme Court has reached its full strength of 34 judges. The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, had last week recommended the elevation of Justice Parale Other members of the Supreme Court Collegium included Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Aniruddha Bose. The recommendation was made towards the vacancy which arose in the Supreme Court following the retirement of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul last month. The post Justice PB Parale takes oath as Supreme Court judge, Apex Court at full strength appeared first on India Legal . from Top News of the Day – India Legal https://ift...

Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, Justice Prasanna B Varale, was on Thursday sworn-in as a judge of the Supreme Court. Justice Varale is the senior-most Judge belonging to a Scheduled Caste and the only Chief Justice of a High Court in the country belonging to a Scheduled Caste. The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, had last week recommended the elevation of Justice Parale. The recommendation was made towards the vacancy which arose in the Supreme Court following the retirement of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul last month. Other members of the Supreme Court Collegium included Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Aniruddha Bose. The post Justice PB Parale takes oath as Supreme Court judge, Apex Court at full strength appeared first on India Legal . from India Legal https://ift.tt/cUmiNtk

The Union government has apprised the Supreme Court that Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) had surrendered its denominational character at the time of its establishment by an Act of the British Parliament in 1920 and hence, it could not claim the minority status now. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre on Tuesday, argued that AMU chose to surrender its minority status when it bowed down to the British legislation establishing the institution under the Aligarh Muslim University Act, 1920. SG Mehta made the arguments before a Constitution Bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Surya Kant, Justice JB Pardiwala, Justice Dipankar Datta, Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, which was hearing a batch of petitions concerning the minority status of AMU. The SG pointed out that communications between the British officers and MAO College showed that from the very inception, the Imperial Government was clear that the ...

The Supreme Court recently issued notice to National Medical Council (NMC) and a Madhya Pradesh based government medical college after taking note of the grievance of some foreign medical graduates about not being paid stipend during the internship. A bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta took note of the submissions of lawyers Tanvi Dubey, appearing for five doctors who obtained their degrees from foreign medical colleges. The foreign medical graduates submitted that they should be treated on par with those who did MBBS from Indian Institutions.  The Supreme Court bench also issued notice to the Madhya Pradesh Medical Council apart from the National Medical Council (NMC) and Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government Medical College, Vidisha on the plea lodged by the five including Sajith SL of Thiruvananthapuram, and scheduled it for hearing on March 11. During the brief hearing, Advocate Tanvi Dubey argued that these students are being deprived of their rightful c...

The Supreme Court today cancelled the bail granted to former DHFL promoters Kapil Wadhawan and his brother Dheeraj Wadhawan in the multi-crore rupees bank loan scam case. A bench comprising Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice S C Sharma said the high court and the trial court committed error in granting bail to them. The bench remarked that they have no hesitation that the charge sheet having been filed and cognisance being taken in due time, respondents could not have claimed statutory bail as a right.  Notably, under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), an accused becomes entitled for grant of statutory bail if the probe agency fails to file the charge sheet on conclusion of the investigation in a criminal case within 60 or 90 days period. In this particular case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed the charge sheet on the 88th day after registration of the FIR and the trial court granted default bail to the accused and the Delhi High Court upheld the order. Kap...

The Supreme Court has observed that the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) cannot be decided today on the basis of political alignment of AMU founders during the British Raj, noting that the same will not have any bearing on the case. The observations were made by the Constitution Bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Surya Kant, Justice JB Pardiwala, Justice Dipankar Datta, Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma on a batch of petitions concerning the minority status of AMU. The Constitution Bench observed that the founders could have aligned with either Mahatma Gandhi or Khilafat, but the same will not have any bearing on the minority status of the institute. The Apex Court made such observations after Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, representing the Central government, submitted that every historian has described the founders of AMU as loyal to the British. The CJI said that assuming there were two fact...

The Delhi High Court recently ordered the suspension of a website www.khadiorganic.com in a trademark infringement suit against it for selling Ram Mandir Prasad under the Khadi Organic mark.  The High Court observed that the Khadi and Village Industries Commission had successfully presented a prima facie case. Notably, without the grant of an ex-parte interim injunction, the Commission would suffer irreparable losses and the balance of convenience favoured the Commission over the website.  A single-judge bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula in its order stated that it appeared that the website was attempting to monopolise the consecration event by preying on the public’s religious beliefs, devotion and deceiving them into transferring money to website owners using goodwill of the plaintiff Khadi and Village Industries Commission.  The court in its prima facie opinion observed that the marks of Khadi organic, are deceptively similar to the plaintiff’s Khadi mark. Thereafter...