Supreme Court to State Governments: Make milk adulteration punishable with life imprisonment

While hearing a public suit which said samples collected by the Food Safety and Standards Act in 2011 disclosed large-scale sale of adulterated milk across the country, a Supreme Court bench of Justice KS Radhakrishnan and Justice AK Sikri urged the state governments to make necessary amendments to their laws to make production and marketing of adulterated milk, which is injurious to...

Bill to raise retirement age of high court judges to 65, to be tabled in winter session of Parliament

The winter session of Parliament will see the Law Ministry move a Constitution Amendment Bill to increase the retirement age of high court judges to 65 years from 62 years. If the bill is passed, the retirement age of high court judges will be at par with that of Supreme Court judges.At a recent meeting of the advisory council of the national mission for justice delivery, Law Minister Kapil...

Dismissed employee after acquittal cannot seek re-employment, rules SC

A Supreme Court bench of Justices K S Radhakrishnan and A K Sikri while setting aside the decisions of the Calcutta High Court and the West Bengal Administrative Tribunal which had asked the Kolkata police to reinstate dismissed cop Sankar Ghosh after his acquittal by a criminal court in a case of dacoity, ruled that an employee, sacked following disciplinary proceedings, cannot...

Regulate the sale of Acid: SC’s ultimatum to States and UTs

Supreme Court today set a deadline of March 31, 2014 for all the States and Union Territories to put in place a regulator regime that will contain the menace of acid attacks.The Court had given a direction as earlier as on 6.2.2013 to the Union Home Secretary and the Secretary, Ministry of Chemical & Fertilizers to convene a meeting of the Chief Secretaries/concerned Secretaries of the...

Suit cannot be rejected by trial courts for non-payment of court fee alone, says Supreme Court

A Supreme Court Bench of Justices S.J. Mukhopadhaya and V. Gopala Gowda has ruled that trial courts cannot reject a civil suit relating to property dispute for non-payment of court fees alone and that Article 39A of the Constitution [Directive Principles] is equally applicable to the district judiciary, and it is for the courts to ensure that justice is administered to people irrespective...

Response of states sought by Supreme Court on media briefing of criminal cases

While hearing a PIL filed in 2008 in the wake of media coverage of Aarushi and Hemraj double murder case in Noida in which the dentist couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar are facing trial for the murder of their daughter and servant, a Supreme Court bench of Justices B.S. Chauhan and S.A. Bobde issued notices to all states and the union territories (UT) asking about the mechanism followed by...

Intern Sexual harassment Case-Delhi Police violates Lalita Kumari; Will the Supreme Court initiate contempt ?

The Delhi Police says they would proceed in accordance with the directions of the Supreme Court in the NUJS intern sexual harassment case, in which former Supreme Court Judge and present WB Human Right Commission Chairman Justice A.K.Ganguly is allegedly involved.According to Hindu report ‘Delhi Police would proceed in accordance with the directions of the Supreme Court in connection...

Supreme Court issues notice to Centre on Delhi gangrape victim’s plea

Besides issuing notice to the Centre, a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice B S Chauhan also asked the Ministry of Women and Child development to file its response within four weeks on the issue of ascertaining the 'minority of an offender' in heinous cases, on a plea of the father of the December 16 gangrape victim that the juvenility of an accused needs to be determined by a criminal...

RTI applicant if denied information is entitled compensation under Consumer Protection Act

The Ernakulam Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (comprising its President A. Rajesh and members Sheen Jose and V.K. Beena Kumari) has passed a landmark order on a petition filed by D.B. Binu, General Secretary, Human Rights Defence Forum, holding that if an RTI applicant is denied information, it will be considered as deficiency in service and the applicant will be entitled to compensation...

Recommendation to Supreme Court to direct installation of CCTVs in all jails, lock-ups

An application has been filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of the amicus curiae in the matter D.K Basu vs. State of West Bengal & Ors., wherein the amicus curiae submitted that despite repeated judgments and directions passed by the apex court in a Writ Petition instituted on 20.08.1986, laying down various guidelines for prevention of custodial violence and custodial deaths,...

Book Release : "Choosing Hammurabi"

Justice Deepak Verma released the book "Choosing Hammurabi" edited by Advocate Santosh Paul and published by LexisNexis which debates on judicial appointment. Baroness  Usha Prashar, Chairperson of  UK's First Judicial Appointments Commission and  Member House of Lords, Fali Nariman, T.R.Andhiyarujina, former Solicitor General of India, P.H. Parekh, President, Confederation of...

Supreme Court issues notice to Centre, asking to frame guidelines to regulate TV content

A Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi issued notices to ministries of Information and Broadcasting, Law and Justice and Communications & Information Technology, asking the three central ministries and others including Press Council of India (PCI) to reply to a PIL filed by Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, a registered public charitable trust, through...