Lawyers cannot file writ petition seeking appointment as judges, rules the Madras HC

The Madras High Court has ruled that advocates cannot file writ petitions seeking a direction to the collegium of judges to consider their names for appointment as judges of the High court.Dismissing a petition filed by advocate P. Subburaj on the ground of of maintainability, a Division Bench comprising of justices N. Paul Vasanthakumar and P. Devadass said the lawyer had no enforceable...

NGT expresses dissatisfaction over Delhi Govt's inaction against illegal borewells; summons senior officials of Delhi Jal Board

Unhappy over Delhi government not initiating proper action against illegal and unauthorised borewells operating in the national capital, the National Green Tribunal has sought the presence of senior officials of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on the next date of hearing.A Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar passed the order, saying the report submitted by Delhi government on the...

Solicitor General opposes CBI’s proposal to drop charges against Lalu Prasad

The Solicitor General, Mohan Parasaran has opposed the CBI’s proposal to drop charges against the former Bihar CM and ex-Union Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav  in three fodder scam cases. The Solicitor-General Mohan has advised the Union government that the issue should be decided by the trial court.The Solicitor-General said: “In my view, this matter requires to be decided only before...

SC stays execution of death penalty of 2 convicts in Delhi gang rape case till March 31

The Supreme Court on Saturday stayed till March 31 the execution of death penalty of two of the four convicts in the Delhi gang rape and murder case, a couple of days after the Delhi High Court upheld the punishment awarded to them by the trial court. The order was passed by a Bench of the Apex Court, comprising Justices Ranjana Prakash Desai and Shiva Kirti SinghThe order came after two...

Can a Dying Declaration be split up to segregate the case of one accused from the case of other?

The Supreme Court on Friday said it was difficult to sever the dying declaration of deceased Asha Devi so as to uphold the conviction granted to the accused by the Courts below, and on this basis gave the benefit of doubt to all the accused who had been charged with killing their daughter-in-law, and thereby reversed the verdicts given by the Trial Court and the High Court of Punjab...

PIL alleges violation of NCR Plan; SC seeks response of the Haryana Government

A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court alleging that the Haryana government is developing an industrial model township (IMT) on 3,364 acres of land in villages in Sonepat district in complete violation of the National Capital Region Plan. When the PIL came up for consideration on Friday, the Supreme Court sought the state government’s response as also the response of the...

For diluting offence of murder, intoxication cannot be a ground, says Supreme Court

A Supreme Court bench comprising justices K S Radhakrishnan and VikramajitSen said while upholding the conviction and life sentence awarded by the trial court and confirmed by the Bombay High Court to Bhagwan Tukaram Dange for burning to death his wife under the influence of liquor, ruled that intoxication of a person cannot be a ground for reducing the offence of murder in unintended...

PIL in Bombay HC seeks establishment of more fast-track courts for trying crimes against women

The Bombay High Court today directed the Maharashtra Government to file a reply within a month to a public interest litigation seeking establishment of more fast-track courts for hearing cases related to the crimes against the women.The direction was passed by a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Justices Abhay Oka and Amjad Sayed in response to a public interest...

SC upholds Allahabad HC’s judgment directing CBI probe into misappropriation of funds under MGNREGA in 7 districts of U.P

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the judgment of the Allahabad high court directing a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe into alleged misappropriation of funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme in seven districts of Uttar Pradesh.A Bench headed by chief justice P. Sathasivam dismissed a batch of petitions including that filed by the...

SC dismisses Nokia appeal challenging Delhi HC order

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the appeal filed by the Indian arm of the Finnish handset maker Nokia, challenging a Delhi High Court order regarding the transfer of the company’s assets to software giant Microsoft.Nokia India, which is currently caught in a Rs. 21,000-crore tax dispute with the authorities, needs to transfer its India assets to software giant Microsoft as part of...

Bombay High Court dismisses ‘Tehelka’ co-founder Tejpal’s bail application

The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday rejected the bail application of Tehelka co-founder TarunTejpal, accused of raping a junior colleague at the magazine's ThinkFest last year.Mr. Tejpal has been in the jail for 104 days, including initial 10 days of police custody and subsequently in judicial custody in South Goa since his arrest on November 30 2013.Mr Tejpal's earlier...

Supreme Court issues notice to Centre and Election Commission in a PIL challenging filing of nominations by candidates from more than one constituency

The Supreme Court on Friday, sought to know the response of Centre and Election Commission on a PIL seeking to declare as "null and void" the nomination papers of any candidate contesting election from more than one constituency. A Bench of the Apex Court comprised of Chief Justice P. Sathasivam and N V Ramana, issued notices to Centre and the Election Commission on the petition which...