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Showing posts from June, 2024

Benefits of Submitting Your App to a Directory

Introducing “InnovateHub” – The Ultimate Collaboration App for Agile Teams InnovateHub is a cutting-edge collaboration app designed to revolutionize the way agile teams work together. With its powerful features and intuitive interface, InnovateHub empowers teams to streamline their workflow, foster collaboration, and boost productivity like never before. Effortless Project Management Stay organized and keep your […] The post Benefits of Submitting Your App to a Directory appeared first on Law Times Journal .

A Comprehensive Guide to App Directory Services

Introducing “InnovateHub” – The Ultimate Collaboration App for Agile Teams InnovateHub is a cutting-edge collaboration app designed to revolutionize the way agile teams work together. With its powerful features and intuitive interface, InnovateHub empowers teams to streamline their workflow, foster collaboration, and boost productivity like never before. Effortless Project Management Stay organized and keep your […] The post A Comprehensive Guide to App Directory Services appeared first on Law Times Journal .

UK and India have a strong legal relationship, based on shared history and values: CJI Chandrachud

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Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Friday said that the UK and India share a strong legal relationship, based on shared history and values. Speaking at the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom during the London International Disputes Week (LIDW) 2024, the CJI said that it was a distinct honor and privilege to lecture here on a topic having both contemporary and institutional relevance. Speaking on the Law and Practice of Commercial Arbitration, he said he has studied with interest the erudite lecture by the Lord Chief Justice of England, Dame Sue Carr who dwelt on the shared learnings from mediation, arbitration and litigation. Institutionally, India has replaced a regime of judicial interference with arbitration, with one that supports arbitration, recognizes party autonomy and structures the role of courts in facilitating arbitration. He said the development of arbitration law in the two jurisdictions was a shared heritage. The present system of arbitration law is based on

Bengaluru court grants bail to Rahul Gandhi in defamation case filed by Karnataka BJP

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Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been granted bail in a defamation case by a special court in Bengaluru on Friday. The defamation case was filed by BJP’s Karnataka unit against the publication of advertisements in local newspapers labelling the BJP as corrupt ahead of the 2023 assembly elections.  Special Magistrate KN Shivakumar granted bail to Rahul Gandhi after registering his appearance in person and listed the matter for further hearing on June 30. Previously, Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah were granted bail on June 1 in the same case.  Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi is the fourth accused in the defamation case filed by the BJP against the Congress leaders. The Congress party, Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah are the other accused persons. The BJP, in its complaint alleged that the Congress had defamed the BJP by claiming that the BJP leadership had fixed prices for several postings in the state like Rs 2,500 crore for the Chi

Courts are blamed for delays, even when lawyers do not appear to argue: Supreme Court

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The Supreme Court on Thursday lamented that courts are always squarely blamed for delays in case disposal, even though it was sometimes the lawyers and litigants who contributed to such delays. The aforesaid observation was made by a vacation bench of Justice PV Sanjay Kumar and Justice B Varale after a young lawyer sought an adjournment of a civil appeal filed in 2017 as the arguing counsel was unwell. Subsequently, Justice Kumar asked the lawyer why he is not arguing, and if he is not attached to the office.  The advocate responded that he was not aware of the facts of the case as he had not read the case brief. This led Justice Kumar to note that the matter came up for hearing after 2019, but the lawyers are yet not ready to argue. He added that yesterday the bench sat till 12:30 PM, but they did not think they would be able to sit till 12. Consecutively, he lamented that courts are blamed for delay, but the bench is sitting in vacation but nobody is there to argue.  Furthermor

Delhi water crisis: Supreme Court directs Himachal Pradesh govt to release 137 cusecs of surplus water

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The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Himachal Pradesh government to release the 137 cusecs surplus water to Delhi to ease the water crisis in the national capital.  A vacation bench comprising Justice P K Mishra and Justice K V Viswanathan directed Himachal Pradesh to supply 137 cusecs of surplus water available. The bench also ordered Haryana to facilitate the flow of surplus water to Hathnikhund barrage and to Wazirabad in Delhi. The court ordered the release of surplus water on June 7 with prior intimation to Haryana. In addition, the Upper Yamuna River Board has further been directed to measure the water that comes from Hathnikhund.  Both Haryana and Himachal Pradesh have also been directed to file an affidavit to this effect, the case will now come up for hearing on June 10. Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh told the court that it had surplus water and was ready to provide the same. The state submitted a document mentioning the availability of the surplus water.  However, duri

Allahabad High Court directs District Magistrate of Hamirpur to refund security amount of Rs 90 lakh deposited for mining leases

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The Allahabad High Court has directed the District Magistrate of Hamirpur to refund the security amount of Rs 90 lakhs deposited for the mining leases. The Division Bench of Justice Anjani Kumar Mishraand Justice Jayant Banerji passed this order while hearing a petition filed by M/S Pragyason Constructions Private Limited. The petitioner by means of the petition seeks a writ of certiorari for quashing the order dated 16.07.2020 passed by the District Magistrate, respondent no 2 and the order dated 20.11.2020 passed by the Secretary, Mines and Minerals, UP. By the order dated 16.07.2020, the District Magistrate has rejected petitioner’s application for refund of earnest money deposited by him for participating in an e-auction for grant of a lease in District Hamirpur for which an advertisement had been issued on 03.01.2020. The facts of the case briefly stated are that an advertisement was issued on 03.01.2020 inviting bids for grant of mining leases in District Hamirpur. The petit

CJI Chandrachud calls elections core of Indian democratic set-up, protected by judges reflecting constitutional values

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Chief Justice DY Chandrachud has termed the elections as forming the core of the Indian constitutional democracy, while the judiciary played a vital role in this democratic set-up, reflecting a sense of constitutional values. Addressing the University of Oxford institution on Tuesday on the topic, ‘The humanising role adjudicators can play in a society,’ the top judge of the Indian Supreme Court said that the judiciary reflected a sense of tradition and the future of a good society. Referring to a question related to the general elections in India, the results of which were declared yesterday, the CJI said that judges were not elected in the country and there was a reason behind this. They reflected a sense of continuity of conditions and constitutional values. Highlighting the role of technology in injecting greater transparency into the judicial system, CJI Chandrachud said that the judiciary was an instrument of justice that brought order and certainty, while combating the dehum

Vijayabharathi Sayani takes charge as Acting Chairperson of NHRC

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Vijayabharathi Sayani, a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has been appointed as the Acting Chairperson of the Commission. Sayani took the charge after the term of former Supreme Court judge Justice Arun Mishra ended on June 1. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs notified the appointment on June 3. The notification said the President, under Section 7(1) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, was pleased to authorise Vijaya Bharathi Sayani, Member, National Human Rights Commission, to act as the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, with effect from June 2, 2024, until the appointment of a new Chairperson in the NHRC to fill such vacancy. Sayani was appointed as an NHRC member in December 2023 and had earlier practiced as an advocate before the Telangana High Court. She served in various capacities for numerous professional and social organizations, including the Anjani Matha Seva Trust, the Samvardhinee Nyas and Pragna Bharati, all of whic

National Green Tribunal takes suo motu cognisance of rising levels of ground level ozone in Delhi

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The National Green Tribunal (NGT) suo motu cognisance of the matter relating to the rising levels of ground level ozone in Delhi, with many areas exceeding the eight hour standard. The Petition is registered suo-moto on the basis of the news item dated 22.04.2024. The news item states that it has become a prominent pollutant in Delhi’s air as shown in an analysis of Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) data.  As per the news item, Ground-level ozone can cause many health problems and ozone levels are predicted to rise further in the coming days.  As per the article, Ozone is produced from the complex interaction between nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are emitted from vehicles, power plants, factories, and other combustion sources. These undergo cyclic reactions in the presence of sunlight to generate ground-level ozone.  The news items quotes a 2023 analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) which stated that ozone is a highly rea

Allahabad High Court grants bail to Sanny Panchal in dowry death case

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The Allahabad High Court has allowed the bail application of Sanny Panchal, accused in the dowry murder case registered at Ghaziabad Loni police station. A Single Bench of Justice Sameer Jain passed this order while hearing a Criminal Misc Bail Application filed by Sanny Panchal. The application has been filed seeking release of the applicant on bail in Case under Sections 498A, 304B, 506 I.P.C and 3/4 Dowry Prohibition Act, Police Station- Loni, District- Ghaziabad, during pendency of the trial in the court below. Counsel for the applicant submitted that this is the second bail application filed on behalf of applicant and his first bail application has been dismissed by the court vide order dated 28.07.2023. He filed the second bill on the ground that in the present matter applicant who is however husband of the deceased is in jail since 16.12.2020 i.e for last almost three and a half years and till date out of 14 witnesses of the charge sheet only one prosecution witness i.e inf

Supreme Court refuses to grant relief to YSR Congress in plea challenging postal ballot norms

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The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant any relief to the YSR Congress Party on its plea against new rules for counting of postal ballots in Andhra Pradesh.  The Bench comprising Justice Arvind Kumar and Justice Sandeep Mehta stated that there was no need to interfere with the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s decision to decline relief to the political party since an election petition could be filed in the matter. The top court ruled that in the facts and circumstances of the case, the bench refused to interfere.  The YSR Congress Party approached the top court challenging the validity of relaxed norms to recognise the counting of postal ballots in Andhra Pradesh. The party asserted that the Election Commission of India (ECI) relaxed the norms in Andhra Pradesh. Particularly, the mandatory requirement of name and designation of the attesting officer to be mentioned in Form 13A as per the Rules was dispensed with. After the relaxation, only the specimen signatures of all such office

Supreme Court directs Centre to hold stakeholders meet to address Delhi’s demand for more water

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The Supreme Court today directed the Centre to hold a meeting of stakeholders to address the AAP led Delhi government’s demand for supply of additional water from Himachal Pradesh through Haryana. A Vacation Bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice KV Viswanathan passed the verdict after hearing the Delhi government’s plea seeking directions to Haryana to facilitate supply of water to the national capital from Himachal Pradesh. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta asked the Court why there cannot be a joint meeting of all the stakeholders. To this, the Solicitor General submitted that the issue is already being considered by the Upper Yamuna River Board. Nonetheless, he also pointed to the alleged misuse of water in the national capital. He added that the Delhi government has to rein in leakages, underlining that water loss is more than 52 percent because of the tanker mafia. Representing the Delhi government, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi contended

YSR Congress moves Supreme Court against relaxation of postal ballot counting norms by ECI in Andhra Pradesh

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The YSR Congress Party has moved the Supreme Court against the relaxation of postal ballot norms by the Election Commission of India in Andhra Pradesh. The plea assails the Andhra Pradesh High Court order of June 1, where YSR Congress’ writ petition over the same issue was dismissed, with liberty to raise the contentions through an election petition. It is contended that the counting of votes scheduled on June 4, 2024 take place in accordance with the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 and ECI’s instructions (of 2023). Reportedly, the matter will be heard today by a vacation bench comprising Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Sandeep Mehta. The matter relates to the validity of about 5 lakh votes cast in Andhra Pradesh through postal ballots, a system of voting for certain categories of persons who are unable to go to polling stations to cast their vote. According to 1961 Rules, the postal ballots are to be submitted with 3 covers – called Forms 13A, 13B and 13C.  Form 13A is a decla

Delhi Excise Policy case: CM Arvind Kejriwal sent to judicial custody till June 5 after surrender

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A Delhi court on Sunday remanded Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to judicial custody till June 5, hours after his surrender on expiry of his interim bail in the Delhi Liquor Policy scam case. The national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today surrendered before the Tihar Jail authorities on expiry of his 21-day interim bail. After his surrender, Kejriwal was produced before Magistrate Sanjeev Aggarwal through a virtual conference. On June 1, the Enforcement Directorate had opposed Kejriwal’s application seeking interim bail for a week on medical grounds. Appearing before Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Courts, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta contended that Kejriwal made misleading claims in his press conference on Friday where he said that he would surrender on June 2 on his own. The SG said that several facts about Kejriwal were being suppressed, including those about his “health conditions”. The ED Counsel contended that the court cannot ‘modify’ the

Congress moves Madras High Court against PM Modi’s meditation in Kanyakumari, terms it misuse of position to canvass votes

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The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) has filed an application in the Madras High Court seeking directions to the Election Commission of India to take necessary steps to prevent alleged misuse of position by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his meditation at the Vivekananda Rock in Kanyakumari from May 30 to June 1, 2024. The Prime Minister is observing a 45-hour-long Dhyan (meditation) at the Vivekananda Rock starting on the evening of May 30, 2024. As part of the PM’s visit, security has been tightened at the site and entry of tourists has been restricted during these days. The petition alleged that while no one could object to the PM’s visit to Vivekananda Rock, his visit during the silent period on the final polling day of the seventh phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2024 was an attempt to ‘whip up’ Hindu sentiments and for ‘canvassing’ votes by misusing his official position. It submitted that the seventh phase polling was scheduled to be held on June 1, 2024. The cooling pe

Supreme Court reconstitutes Gender Sensitisation Committee, appoints Justice Hima Kohli as Chairperson

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The Supreme Court has reconstituted its Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee and nominated Justice Hima Kohli as its Chairperson.  As per the Apex Court order issued on May 31, Justice Hima Kohli has been nominated as chairperson, while Justice B.V. Nagarathna has been chosen as one of the members. Additional Registrar Dr. Sukhda Pritam has been appointed as the member-secretary of the committee. Clause 4(2) of the Gender Sensitisation & Sexual Harassment of Women at the Supreme Court of India (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Regulations, 2013, confers power on the Chief Justice of India to constitute this committee with not more than 13 members. In total, the present committee consists of 11 members and one chairperson. The Apex Court has appointed Senior Advocates Meenakshi Arora and Mahalakshmi Pavani, who are also Senior Members of the Supreme Court Bar Association,  as members of the committee. Clause 4(2)(b) requires two advocates with 20 years

Punjab and Haryana HC quashes Haryana govt policy of granting extra marks under socio-economic criteria to job aspirants

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The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently held as unconstitutional the socioeconomic criteria framed by the Haryana government to grant additional marks to certain classes of candidates in state government jobs. The court observed that the criteria is violative of Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution. The criteria states that candidates without any family member with a govt job would get 5 marks, whose father is not alive and some other parameters get a maximum of 20 marks under the policy.Notably, such additional marks were only for Haryana domicile candidates but later Haryana extended benefit of this criteria to candidates from other states as well. A division bench of Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Sudeepti Sharma pronounced these orders while allowing a bunch of petitions. The bench further ordered the state to prepare a fresh merit list solely on the basis of the marks obtained in the common eligibility test (CET) for Group-C and D posts.The judgment was pro