Disclose travel bills of Chief and members, CIC orders NGT

Refusing to accept the National Green Tribunal’s contention that it does not have adequate infrastructure to deal with RTI applications, the Central Information Commission has ordered that the tribunal must disclose the travel and tour expenses incurred for its chairman and other members. The Commission also issued a show cause notice to the officer in the Tribunal and asked why the...

UP Government gets rebuked by SC but Court accepts road map for tree planting in Taj Zone

The Supreme Court came down heavily on Government of Uttar Pradesh regarding the planting of trees around Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) and asked, "Why have you been sleeping for more than 10 years? Till the time we were driven to direct CBI probe nothing was done."The Bench consisting of T S Thakur and C Nagappan however accepted the road map that the State of UP offered to the Court. As per...

DHCBA calls for abstention from work on May 8th and 11th, protests against passing of Delhi High Court Act (Amendment) Bill, 2014 in isolation in RajyaSabha

Though a resolution passed by the Delhi High Court Bar Association, the Association has called upon its members to abstain from working on May 8th and 11th to protest against the passing of Delhi High Court Act (Amendment) Bill, 2014 in isolation in RajyaSabha, without the Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of Courts and Commercial Courts Bill 2015.The Association has...

Delhi HC expresses concerns over intellectual property rights surrender by Government

The Delhi High Court today issued notice to the Centre to explain the legality of agreements that it has entered with social media companies. The Division Bench consisting of Justices B.D. Ahmed & Sanjeev Sachdeva also asked the Centre whether Government Authorities are not aware about legality of usages of technology which is developing very fast and whether the is government not able...

Juvenile Justice Bill passed in Lokha Sabha

After the Cabinet gave its approval to the Juvenile Justice Bill, 2014 in April this year, the Lok Sabha today passed the Bill. The Bill provides for trial of juveniles aged between 16 and 18 years to be tried as adults for heinous crimes.However, the Bill was passed only after the government agreed to delete clause 7, which stated that "any person, who is apprehended after completing the age...

Supreme Court expresses concerns over adoption rackets

Hearing a public interest litigation seeking to ban inter country adoption, the bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and N V Ramana expressed its concerns over child trafficking and said that it was it was time to crack the whip on the adoption rackets.Appearing for the Petitioner, Senior advocate Shekhar Naphade submitted, "Government has no time to look into the issue. We have a case where a girl...

Amendments to Whistle Blowers Act get Cabinet’s approval

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the amendments that the Government is planning to make to the Whistle Blowers Act. The Act provides for safeguards against disclosure of information that may "affect the sovereignty, integrity and security of the country."Reportedly, the cabinet also okayed amendments that are similar to safeguards relating to disclosures that have already been...

SC expresses concerns over lack of publicity and awareness or fear regarding female foeticide in India

Hearing a writ petition filed by Voluntary Health Ass. Of Punjab, the Supreme Court expressed concerns regarding lack of awareness or fear regarding female foeticide in the country. The Bench consisting of Justices Dipak Misra and Prafulla C Pant also said that the directions given by the Apex Court with respect to spreading awareness about female foeticide need to be followed by all states...

Lok Sabha passes GST Bill

The 122nd Constitution Amendment Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The Bill paves the way for Goods and Services Tax in India, after it has been made law.The Bill aims to tax both services and goods, with goods to be taxed by Centre and services to be taxed by States. GST will also subsume services tax, excise duties, stamp duties, entry tax and central sales tax.The government...

Rajya Sabha passes The Repealing and Amending Bills, 2014 and 2015

Following the recent trend, the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed The Repealing and Amending Bills, 2014 and 2015 though a voice vote. Both the bills aim to repeal obsolete laws.The 2015 bill contains 36 redundant laws and three acts in its first schedule, i.e. The Indian Fisheries Act, 1897, The Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1947, and The Sugar Undertakings (Taking Over of Management) Act,...

AP High Court returns appeal to Session Court as Ramalinga Raju appeals against conviction in the Satyam scam case [Read the Judgment]

The founder of Satyam, B Ramalinga Raju and nine others have moved to the Sessions Court in Hyderabad to appeal against their conviction the Satyam scam case. Earlier, the High Court had declined to hear the appeals, holding that the appeal was not maintainable before the High Court and accordingly returned the appeals.The High Court in its order had said, “The  Registry  is  directed ...

Supreme Court refuses to restrain BCI, SCBA from taking action against Mr. ML Sharma

Hearing the petition filed by the Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association (SCWLA) against lawyers who made controversial remarks in the BBC documentary on December 16 gang rape, the Supreme Court yesterday refused to restrain BCI, SCBA from taking action against the lawyers to appear in the BBC Documentary, India’s Daughter.Advocate ML Sharma, who was the defense lawyer in the December 16...