SC Dismisses PIL For Action Against Political Parties And Candidates For Misusing Religion For Electoral Gains

Supreme Court of India on Monday dismissed a PIL seeking directions to the Centre and the Election Commission of India to take strict action against political parties and candidates engaging in misusing religion for electoral gains to ensure free and fair elections."We are not inclined. Dismissed," the bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul said.The PIL brought by BJP...

SC Allows Nagaland Student’s Plea For Admission To Medical College Under Central Pool Quota Despite Expiry Of Admission Cut-off Date

The Supreme Court, on Monday, allowed a petition filed by a student from Nagaland, directing AN Magadh Medical College, Gaya, Bihar to admit her under the Central Pool Quota despite expiry of the last date for admissions.The judgment was rendered by a Bench comprising Justice SA Bobde and Justice L Nageswara Rao on the petition filed by one Ms. Akumsenla Jamir. While Ms. Jamir was represented...

Four New Judges Take Oath In Delhi High Court

Four new Delhi High Court judges, including a woman, were sworn in Monday, taking the working strength of the court to 38.The four judges--Justices Jyoti Singh, Prateek Jalan, Anup Jairam Bhambhani and Sanjeev Narula--were administered oath by Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajendra Menon.The Delhi High Court has an approved strength of 60, but was facing a shortage of 26 judges before these...

SC Adjourns Hearing Of Petition Challenging Validity Of SC/ST Amendment Act To Nov 20

The Supreme Court bench of Justices A. K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan on Monday adjourned to November 20, being a Non-Miscellaneous Day, the hearing on a string of petitions challenging the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act of 2018.Regarding it as a “minor modification”, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta requested for time until Friday to file...

Madras HC Closes Contempt Proceedings Against BJP Leader H Raja After His Unconditional Apology

The Madras High Court closed the suo moto contempt proceedings against BJP national secretary H Raja for his alleged derogatory remarks against judiciary, after he tendered his unconditional apology in the Court on Monday.Raja appeared in person before a division bench of Justices C T Selvam and M Nirmal Kumar as per an earlier direction of the court.Raja, in his affidavit, stated that he...

High Courts Weekly Round-Up

Allahabad High CourtLucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Thursday upheld the death penalty awarded to a 31-year-old man convicted of raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl. The judgment was delivered by a Bench comprising Justice RR Awasthi and Justice Mahendra Dayal. Bombay High CourtThe Bombay High Court recently came to the rescue of an elderly couple residing with their son and...

Tax Appeals Are To Be Filed Before The Bench Allotted To The District Where Dispute Arose: Bombay HC [Read Order]

The Bombay High Court recently examined an important question of law that whether tax appeals against orders from different tribunals can be heard at the principal bench of the high court even though the dispute arose in a district which comes under other benches like Nagpur, Aurangabad or Goa.A division bench of Justice MS Sanklecha and Justice Riyaz Chagla held that under the appellate...

Delhi HC Acquits 3 Accused Of Raping Pregnant, Visually Challenged Women [Read Judgment]

The Delhi High Court recently acquitted three men, accused of kidnapping and raping a visually challenged pregnant woman, opining that there existed no medical or forensic evidence to connect the three to the crime.The judgment was rendered by a bench comprising Justice S. Muralidhar and Justice Vinod Goel on appeals filed by the three convicts, challenging their conviction by the trial court...

Malegaon Blast: NIA Court Refuses To Drop UAPA Charges Against Col. Shrikant Purohit

A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Saturday reportedly rejected the petition filed by Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit, one of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.Col. Purohit had approached the NIA court demanding that charges against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) be dropped. Special NIA court judge Vinod Padalkar rejected his plea, terming...

#MeToo Movement Only For Victims, Shouldn't Be Misused: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court said Friday the #MeToo campaign was only for the victims, and it should not be misused by anyone to manipulate a victim to level allegations of sexual harassment against anybody to settle "their own scores".The remarks were made by Justice Shahrukh Kathawalla when hearing an application filed by director Vikas Bahl seeking a direction to his former partners and...

Govt School Ward Who Once Mulled Suicide Gets Justice & Praises From DCPCR

Amit (name changed), a student of Class X in Government Boys Senior Secondary School, Qadipur, had once contemplated committing suicide for ‘failing’ in Class X CBSE exam despite having cleared the same.Almost a year later, he earned praises from the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) for showing courage to secure for himself the right to study while exposing...

Delhi Court Frames Molestation Charges Against R K Pachauri

A Delhi court Saturday framed molestation charges against former TERI chief R K Pachauri in a case of alleged sexual harassment lodged by his former colleague.Metropolitan Magistrate Charu Gupta put Pachauri on trial for the offence punishable under sections 354 (outraging modesty), 354 A (making physical contact, unwelcome and sexually coloured remarks) and 509 (teasing and using vulgar...