Uttrakhand Forest Fires : Supreme Court Seeks Personal Presence Of State Chief Secretary For Explanations

Taking into consideration the importance of controlling fires in the forests of Uttarakhand, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Chief Secretary of the state to personally remain present on May 17The bench of Justices B. R. Gavai, S. V. N. Bhatti and Sandeep Mehta required the Chief Secretary to explain-1. As to why CAMPA Funds(Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and...

HSLSA Holds 2nd National Lok Adalat In Haryana

On 11th May, 2024, Haryana State Legal Services Authority organized its 2nd National Lok Adalat of the year under the guidance of Hon'ble Mr. Justice Arun Palli, Judge, Punjab & Haryana High Court and Executive Chairman, Haryana State Legal Services Authority across the State of Haryana. The National Lok Adalat was organized in 22 Districts and 34 Sub-Divisions of Haryana. Several...

Supreme Court Calls For Report On Environmental Impact Of Construction Of 5-Star Hotel Near Udai Sagar Lake, Rajasthan

In a public interest litigation assailing construction of a 5-star hotel in Udai Sagar lake of Rajasthan, the Supreme Court on May 14 called for a report from the state government on the status of construction as well as its impact on the environment (including the lake).A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta passed the order, listing the matter in September, 2024. The status...

'What About Right Of Child In Womb?' : Supreme Court Rejects Plea To Abort 30-Week Pregnancy

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (May 15) dismissed a petition filed by a woman seeking termination of her pregnancy which crossed 30 weeks of gestational age.A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai, Sandeep Mehta and SVN Bhatti was considering a Special Leave Petition filed against the judgment delivered by the Delhi High Court on May 3 dismissing the woman's plea. When the High Court passed...

Accused Must Be Given Written Grounds Of Arrest In UAPA Cases Too : Supreme Court Extends Ratio Of 'Pankaj Bansal' Judgment

In one of the crucial developments, the Supreme Court (today on May 15), held that the ratio laid down in the judgment in the case Pankaj Bansal v Union of India mandating that grounds of arrest must be supplied to the accused in writing will also apply in the cases registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967. The Bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta made...

'Why Do You Want To Contest From Varanasi?' Supreme Court Rejects Tamil Nadu Farm Activist's Plea To Extend Time To File Nomination

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (May 15) refused to entertain a writ petition filed by Tamil Nadu-based farmers' leader P Ayyakannu who wanted to contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Varanasi constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Disinclined to consider the issue of granting an extension of time to file his nomination, the Court termed the petition as 'Publicity Interest Litigation.' It is...

Srinagar Court Grants Bail to Journalist Asif Sultan In 2019 Central Jail Violence Case

Asif Sultan, a Kashmiri journalist, has been granted bail by the Special Judge Designated Under NIA Act Srinagar in a case related to a 2019 incident of violence by inmates at the Srinagar Central Jail.Sultan was arrested in 2018 under various charges including harboring terrorists. He was granted bail in April 2022 but was immediately booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA), a law that...

Supreme Court To Hear Ex-TN Minister Senthil Balaji's Bail Plea In Money Laundering Case Tomorrow

The Supreme Court today (May 15) adjourned the bail petition filed by former Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji to tomorrow. The MLA and former Minister has challenged a Madras High Court order denying him bail in a money laundering case over the cash-for-jobs allegations.The bench of Justices AS Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan granted the adjournment at the request of the Solicitor General who said...

Supreme Court Allows Abbas Ansari To Attend Private Memorial Service For His Late Father Mukhtar Ansari From June 10-12

The Supreme Court today (May 15) allowed jailed MLA Abbas Ansari to attend the private prayers kept in memory of his late father Mukhtar Ansari on June 10, 2024. Mukhtar Ansari died on March 28 following a cardiac arrest while undergoing a sentence of life imprisonment.The bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan acceded to Ansari's prayer to also spend time with his family...

Prabir Purkayastha's Arrest By Delhi Police & Remand Illegal : Supreme Court Orders NewsClick Editor's Release In UAPA Case

In a major development, the Supreme Court on Wednesday (May 15) declared as illegal NewsClick founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha's arrest by the Delhi police and his remand in a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967.The Court noted that a copy of the remand application was not provided to Purkayastha or his counsel before passing the remand order on October 4,...

On Complaint By Visually Impaired Individual, Court Of CCPD Asks Ola Cabs To Make Its App Accessible To Persons With Disabilities

The Court of Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities has issued a series of recommendations to Ola Cabs aimed at improving accessibility features within their application, following a complaint filed by one Amar Jain, a person with 100% visual impairment.The complaint highlighted various accessibility barriers encountered while accessing the Ola app, including unorganized services,...

Indian Courts Came To Be Re-imagined As Democratic Spaces, Not As Imposing Empires : CJI DY Chandrachud At J20 Summit In Brazil

Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud remarked at the J20 summit in Brazil that the perception of courts in India has evolved from being seen as authoritative 'empires' to becoming inclusive democratic spaces for dialogue."Our courts have come to be reimagined not as imposing 'empires', but as democratic spaces of discourse. COVID-19 pushed the frontiers of our court systems- which...