Scribes who lost job after Bhushan's 'Essar leaks' have right to be heard: Supreme Court

The supreme court today agreed to give a hearing and accept detailed statements from several journalists who were asked by their organizations to quit after their names surfaced in “Essar leaks”.The court had earlier sought the responses of the Centre, CBI and the Essar group on a plea by noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan for a court-monitored probe into the “revelations” of the...

SC slams Maharashtra govt for not allowing reopening of dance bars despite its order

The Supreme Court today slammed the Maharashtra government for not complying its October 15 order to lift the ban on dance bars across the state and ordered it to grant licenses to 60 applicants before it within two weeks.“We remind that the state is obliged by law to enforce the order without any deviation. An order passed by court has to be respected..issue licenses to bars in two...

Relief for BS Yeddyurappa as Karnataka HC sets aside sanction order and asks Governor to reconsider it [Read Judgment]

We are of the opinion that, as the complaint was a private complaint, great care, caution and proper application of mind was necessary, particularly having regard to the uneasy relationship between the then Chief Minister (the petitioner) and the then Governor, the bench said.Relief for Former Chief Minister of Karnataka, B.S. Yeddyurappa as High Court set aside, the order of sanction...

Writ appeal not maintainable against Single bench Judgment refusing to order further investigation: Orissa HC [Read Judgment]

If the relief asked for in a writ petition is against exercise of power under criminal law or the proceeding would be a criminal proceeding, or the proceeding if carried to its conclusion ultimately may result in sentence of death or imprisonment or fine or forfeiture of property, such writ petition should be treated as filed against a proceeding under criminal jurisdiction. In such a case,...

Nirbhaya Rape case: Nirbhaya’s parents demand revelation of juvenile’s identity; Delhi Police may book juvenile under National Security Act

On December 15 this year, the juvenile offender in the December 16 Delhi gang-rape case is scheduled to walk free after spending three years in the juvenile home. The authorities as well as Nirbhaya’s parents are obviously not very thrilled.The Delhi Police is deliberating on charging him under the National Security Act in order to keep him in jail. In September this year, an...

PIL alleges Foreign Funding law being misused to target NGOs, demands independent body; Delhi HC issues notice [Read Petition]

A Delhi High Court Bench headed by the Chief Justice has directed the Centre to reply on a Writ Petition seeking constitution of quasi-judicial tribunal to administer enforcement of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 in order to avoid the misuse of FCRA.The Petition has been filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms, and Dr. E.A.S. Sarma, former Secretary to the Government...

LexisNexis acquires legal analytics platform, Lex Machina

Legal Research Company, LexisNexis announced on Monday that it has acquired Lex Machina, a legal analytics platform.Lex Machina emerged from Stanford in 2010 and is backed by leading venture firms and angel investors, including the former CEO of Thomson Reuters, the former general counsel of Apple and Oracle, and the co-founder of Yahoo!It is the creator of award-winning Legal Analytics®,...

Manipal University, being ‘Deemed to be University’, not under purview of RTI: Karnataka HC [Read Order]

In a recent ruling, the High Court of Karnataka has held that Manipal University does not come under the purview of the Right to Information Act. Overturning the decision of the Central Information Commission, Justice Anand Byarareddy observed that Manipal University, being a deemed university as recognized under the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 and ‘not established under the act...

Gujarat HC former judge M R Calla elected President of Retired Judges’ body of India

In the two-day Annual General Meeting of the Association of Retired Judges of Supreme Court and High Courts of India, Justice M R Calla, retired judge of the Rajasthan and Gujarat high courts, has been unanimously elected as President of the association. The retired high court judges Justices S K Dubey and Bhaskar Rao were elected as Vice Presidents. Justice A K Srivastav was elected as...

Is bribing an RTI applicant a crime? CIC directs compensation of Rs. 10,000 to the applicant [Read Order]

Adjudicating a peculiar situation where a public servant was offered bribe not to file RTI requests, CIC Prof M Sridhar Acharyulu awarded compensation of Rs 10,000 to appellant.Prof. Sridhar noted that considering the definition of bribe under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the act may not amount to illegal gratification. However, he considered it to be a “serious attempt to block...

The anxiety to get into ‘a disposal’ against one’s name should not lead the Judge to ignore the well settled cannons of justice; Calcutta HC slams Judge for granting Bail to Madan Mitra in Saradha Scam

In a huge set-back to Trinamool Congress leader and former minister Madan Mitra, a Division Bench of Calcutta High Court comprising Justice Nishita Mhatre and Justice Tapash Mookherjee on Thursday cancelled his bail. Mr. Mitra who was arrested by CBI on December 12, 2014, for alleged involvement in the Saradha scam, was granted bail by Alipore court on October 31.The Court rejected Mr....

Additional Sessions Judge allows Dr. Pachauri to visit TERI head office and Gurgaon branch

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) Director General Dr. R.K. Pachauri, has been permitted by the Court to enter the Head Office as well as Gurgaon branch of TERI. Additional Sessions Judge Raj Kumar Tripathi allowed Mr. Pachauri’s application yesterday, seeking modification of the earlier orders.In July this year, Judge R.K. Tripathi had amended the direction that restricted the...