High Court corrects the Trial Court which erroneously imposed ‘milder’ punishment to ‘child rapist’ [Read the Judgment]

In a double whammy to the appellant who was convicted by Trial court for raping a six year old, the Punjab and Haryana High Court not only upheld his conviction, but also ameliorated the error committed by Trial court which had resulted in awarding imprisonment for a lesser term. Justice R.P Nagrath, exercising his Suo Motu Revisional Jurisdiction, held “The charge framed against the...

Scheduled Caste Migrants to Pondicherry not eligible for reservation, says Madras High Court [Read the Judgment]

The Madras High Court , in a recent decision in The Pondicherry Scheduled Caste People's Welfare Association Vs. Union of India has held that the Scheduled Caste candidates who migrated from other states cannot demand right of reservation even though they had lived in the Union territory of Pondicherry for five years. Justice M.M. Sundresh held “merely because a person residesfor...

Why cannot CBI take over DMAT scam too like Vyapam ? SC asks MP Govt.

CBI feels the medical admission scam of bigger magnitude than VyapamThe Supreme Court took up for hearing on Friday a petition filed by whistleblower Anand Rai through lawyer Prashant Bhushan seeking a CBI probe on the line of Vyapam scam into irregularities in Dental and Medical Admission Test (DMAT) to fill management and government seats in private medical colleges.A bench of chief justice H...

Bombay High Court quashes Maggi Ban order by FSSAI; orders Re-test [Read Jt]

Bombay High Court today, has quashed the ban on Nestle Maggi noodles imposed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, as it found that there were blatant violation of Principles of natural justicewhile imposing the ban. Nestle (India) had challenged the nationwide ban imposed by the Food Authority on its popular product Maggi Instant Noodles before the Bombay High Court. The...

A Citizen has the Right to have different Ideology, Belief and Point of view and it is the duty of State to protect it: Bombay HC [Read Jt]

"A dissenting view or expression cannot be always said to be against sovereignty of the nation.The terms 'against the nation' and 'against the government' are two different terms.”In a relief to Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand, Justice Mridula Bhatkar of the Bombay High Court has granted anticipatory bail to the couple, in connection with the case of alleged violation of the...

Mechanical rejection of applications by PSC undesirable - Courts can interfere if injustice is meted out to candidate : Kerala HC [Read Jt]

In a recent judgment in a Writ appeal, Kerala Public Service Commission vs Roshini K.S, Kerala High Court has held that mechanical rejection of applications by Public service commission is undesirable and the courts can interfere if justice is meted out to candidate. The court held that “whether an infraction of a condition in the advertisement shall entail rejection of candidature depends...

Participating in Protest in front of a liqour shop cannot make one guilty of Criminal Offence, instead it is a Fundamental Right and Fundamental Duty; Madras HC [Read the Judgment]

The Madras High Court has directed the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to enrol a law student ,whose application was rejected on the ground of the pendency of a criminal case against him. The Court held that the mere fact that an individual is part of a group, which stood before a TASMAC shop and shouted slogans, cannot make them guilty of a criminal offence, the Madras High...

SC smells political vendetta on the part of CBI in pushing for Maran’s arrest; grants him protection till Sept 14

The Supreme Court on today accorded urgent hearing to former Union Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran’s petition challenging cancellation of his anticipatory bail by the Madras High Court in the illegal telephone exchange case and granted him interim protection till September 14.A bench of  justices T S Thakur,  V Gopala Gowda and R Bhanumathi issued notice to the central bureau...

Three Additional Judges of Gauhati HC to get a term re-extension

The Law Ministry has reportedly decided to re-extend the services of three Additional Judges of the Gauhati High Court, out of the 22 Additional Judges of various High Courts set to retire in the next two months. The move comes as a measure in the wake of the impending Supreme Court decision on the Constitutional validity of the National Judicial Appointments Commission.As per a TOI Report,...

2008 Malegaon blasts case : PIL filed in SC accusing Union Govt of interfering

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court by activist and columnist Harsh Mander through Senior Advocate Indira Jaising accusing the Union government of trying to interfere with the functioning of the public prosecutor in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case by exerting "pressure" on her to "go soft" on the accused.According to a Zee News report, the PIL alleges...

There should not be a sentence imposed which foreclosed the options of Remission and Commutation; Andhyarujina [Sriharan-Summary of Arguments;Day-8]

(The Centre on the Death Penalty at National Law University, Delhi will be posting daily reports of the arguments in the Constitution Bench matter in Union of India v. Sriharan)[We would like to thank Dr.Anup Surendranath and Centre on the Death Penalty at National Law University, Delhi for this initiative. We also would like to thank the Law and Other Things Blog where it is...

SC allows replacement of "old and worn out" tarpaulin sheet at makeshift Ayodhya temple

A Supreme Court Bench comprising Justice T.S. Thakur, Justice V.R. Gopala Gowda and Justice R. Banumathi has ordered the replacement of "old and worn out" tarpaulin sheet, ropes and other material with new ones at the makeshift Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.The task of replacement will be undertaken and completed under the supervision of the two observers who have been visiting...