Legopolis

Article 370: AG directed to look into suspension of Jammu and Kashmir lecturer for arguing against abrogation in Supreme Court The Supreme Court on Monday directed Attorney General R. Venkataramani to look into the decision of the Jammu and Kashmir Education Department to suspend a lecturer, who had argued in the Article 370 matter before the Constitution Bench last week. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the matter before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud.  While terming the development as ‘unfair,’ Sibal contended that Zahoor Ahmad Bhat had taken leave for two days to appear in the matter and when he went back, he was suspended.  Noting that the suspension order passed on August 25 made a reference of Bhat’s appearance in the case, Sibal said he was sure the AG would make ‘use of his good offices’ to look into the matter. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta contended that he followed up the story after reading about it in the newspapers. He furth...

The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition filed by a group of teachers in Homeopathic Medical Colleges in Kerala seeking increase of their retirement age from 55 years to 60 years at par with the teachers of other Medical Colleges. The Bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Rajesh Bindal refused to entertain the petition on the grounds that the age of retirement was purely a policy matter, which fell under the domain of the state government. The petitioners had moved the Apex Court in 2010 against the Kerala High Court verdict, which refused to grant them relief in the matter. In April 2012, while the appeal was pending in the Supreme Court, the Government of Kerala enhanced the age of superannuation of teaching staff in Homeopathic Colleges to 60 years. The state government further enhanced the retirement age of teachers in Ayurvedic and Dental Colleges in 2012. The appellants, therefore, sought an alternate relief for retrospective application of the 2012 Government Order to t...

In a move aimed at upholding the principles of dignity, impartiality and fairness, the Supreme Court has given its nod to the implementation of a groundbreaking “Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)” regarding the appearance of government officials in court proceedings. The centre, through the Solicitor General of India, had proposed the SOP draft, seeking to reshape the way courts interact with government officials during legal proceedings. The centre claims the SOP to be beneficial for fostering a congenial and conducive environment between the judiciary and the government, and further improving the overall quality of compliance with judicial orders by the government, which would minimize the scope of contempt of court.  According to the SOP, government officials shouldn’t be called until necessary, and if they are, they must receive advance notice of the summons and be given the option to appear in court virtually. The bench, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachu...

In the wake of the G20 Summit to be held in Delhi on September 9 and 10, the Supreme Court has issued a circular, declaring September 8 as a court holiday. As per the circular, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud has declared September 8, 2023 as holiday for the Supreme Court and its Registry and September 9, 2023 as holiday for the Registry of the Supreme Court, considering the office memorandum (OM) issued by the Department of Personnel and Training under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India, on August 24. The office memorandum issued by the Central government on August 24 said, “Recognising the magnitude of this event and the substantial logistical arrangements involved, it has been decided to keep the Central government offices located in Delhi closed from September 8, 2023, to September 10, 2023, on the occasion of G20 summit to be held in Delhi.” It further said that the event will be attended by a number of heads of state and go...

The Allahabad High Court while rejecting an anticipatory bail application held that while invoking judicial precedents to decide a case with similar facts and circumstances, it was important to understand the relationship between logic and experience and reiterated that they cannot be applied mechanically. A Single Bench of Justice Krishan Pahal passed this order while hearing a Criminal Misc Anticipatory Bail Application filed by Kusum Devi and Another. The anticipatory bail application has been filed on behalf of the applicants in Case under Section 306 IPC at Police Station- Naini, District Prayagraj with a prayer to enlarge them on anticipatory bail. The deceased, who happens to be the husband of the informant, is stated to be a Marine Engineer and had left his job and started doing the contract job at Prayagraj as his father had fallen ill and was bedridden, but the said money earned used to be transferred to the account of his ailing father, as such his family was dependent o...

The Supreme Court will hear on October 17, an application filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the bail granted to former Bihar Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President Lalu Prasad Yadav in a fodder scam case. The Bench of Justice A.S. Bopanna and Justice M.M. Sundresh on Friday observed that the matter should be heard on a ‘non-miscellaneous day’ and listed the batch of petitions challenging the Jharkhand High Court order for hearing for October 17.  The top court of the country further turned down the CBI’s request for an earlier date in September.  Appearing for the national agency, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju contended that the sentences imposed on Yadav should run consecutively and not concurrently. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the RJD chief, apprised the Apex Court that the septuagenarian recently had a kidney transplant and was recuperating at home.  Sibal said the 75-year-old had already spen...

The High Court of Telangana has reportedly suspended a special sessions judge, who directed the State Police to register a first information report (FIR) against Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. The High Court observed that the actions of judge K. Jaya Kumar were driven by undue haste since he acted without a preliminary enquiry and without recording the complainant’s statement. As per a media report, the suspension was initiated after a complaint was filed with the High Court by a senior official from the Election Commission. Jaya Kumar is a special judge hearing cases concerning Members of Parliament and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MPs and MLAs). The Sessions Judge had ordered the registration of an FIR against the CEC based on a private complaint alleging that Telangana Excise Minister V. Srinivas Goud, an MLA from Mahabubnagar, had concealed certain facts in his election affidavit. An FIR was lodged on August 11 against Goud, CEC and several other officials a...