Sheila Dikshit seeks quashing of FIR; asserts Constitutional Immunity for criminal complaints against Governors

Former Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, who is currently the Governor of Kerala, today approached the the Delhi High Court for quashing an FIR against her in a graft case, submitting that such proceedings cannot be continued against a Governor.Advocate M. Pracha, appearing for Dikshit, reportedly relied on Article 361(2) of the Constitution of India according to which, "no...

Apex Court grants 3 months to CBI to furnish Balance Sheet details of all NGOs

A Supreme Court  bench headed by Justice H.L. Dattu, has reportedly provided three months time to CBI to furnish balance sheet filing details regarding all registered NGOs. CBI submitted that most of the NGOs are not filing IT returns and that the Agency needs more time to compile the details.It submitted that all states haven’t provided requisite information yet. While Gujarat and Tamil...

LinkedIn Profiles do not constitute as ‘Hearsay Evidence’

In a recent ruling by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in the case GE Energy Parts Inc v Addl Director of Income Tax ITA ruled that “LinkedIn profiles are not in the nature of hearsay” and these details are akin to admission made by a person.The ITAT had taken this view while examining the admissibility of additional evidence.The Tribunal is a final fact finding body and, therefore,...

Supreme Court website gets messy, Lawyers Complain

As part of the ongoing reforms, Supreme Court tried to improve its website, with a new look and design during the long court holidays, but the new website has come out too messy to handle. The earlier  website, though esthetically poor, was at least helpful in navigating the litigants and lawyers to their cases. The new site is a complete failure and Lawyers and litigants have...

US Scholar of Indian Constitution Padma Shri Granville Austin passes away

Independent historian and chief authority on the Indian Constitution, Granville Austin passed away this afternoon in Washington, D.C.Austin studied American literature at Dartmouth College, after which he obtained his directorate in Indian history from Oxford. He describes him as an ‘independent scholar’ having been a fellow or consultant with entities as diverse as the U.S....

Dissolution and Delhi Assembly; Constitution Bench of SC will examine the Issue on August 5th

The AamAadmi Party's petition seeking dissolution of the Delhi Assembly and fresh elections was referred to a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court while making it clear that lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung was free to take a call on government formation and set the matter for hearing on 5th of August, 2014.A bench of Chief Justice R M Lodha and Justices Madan B Lokur and...

More judges for Delhi High Court not possible without Infrastructural Developments

Infrastructure has always been a hurdle for any kind of development to reduce the ever increasing backlog of cases. The centre has come to this realization now, with the Delhi High Court informing the Government that its ambitious plan to increase the strength of judges to 60 would require a proportionate improvement in infrastructure, staff and other facilities.TOI quotes a source who...

Supreme Court commutes death sentence of 26-year old murderer of two [Read the Judgment]

Commuting the death sentence of a 26 year old accused, Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice H.L. Dattu, Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice M.Y. Eqbal noted the mitigating circumstances involved in the case and noted that the case doesn't fall in the "rarest of rare category" even though the accused has committed a heinous crime.The appeal was filed by the accused, Santosh Kumar Singh,...

Supreme Court denies bail to Asaram Bapu

The Supreme Court has denied bail to controversial Godman Asaram Bapu's in a rape case lodged against him in Gujarat but agreed to hear his petition for bail in another rape case filed in Jodhpur in Rajasthan. Asaram is facing trial along with his wife Lakshmi, daughter Bharti and his four women followers in a rape case filed by a Surat-based woman. He had earlier been denied interim relief...

Jayalalithaa’s Income Tax Criminal case may soon be compounded

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa embroiled in a tax evasion case along with her friend Sasikala has moved the Director General of the Income Tax Department to compound the offence against them.The Department had in 1996-97 initiated criminal proceedings against Jayalalithaa and Sasikala for allegedly not filing their income tax returns in their individual capacity for...

SC Urges SEBI to place Safeguards Verifying Sahara Sale Transactions; Income Tax Department Approaches SC demanding 4,800-crore from Sahara

The Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice T.S. Thakur, Justice Anil Dave and Justice A.K. Sikri today said that the court needs to monitor the sale transactions being undertaken by Sahara to prevent any mischief. The judges added that since they have no expertise in the field, experts should be employed by SEBI in order to scrutinize all dealings. SEBI was also urged to put safeguards...

A person, not a relative of the husband, may not be prosecuted under Section 304B IPC: Supreme Court [Read the Judgment]

Observing that a person, not a relative of the husband, may not be prosecuted for offence under Section 304B IPC, a Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice Chandramauli Kr. Prasad and Justice P.C. Ghose upheld the quashing of a trial court order summoning the respondent under section 304B. The bench added that this does not mean that such a person cannot be prosecuted for any other offence...