"The observations were unwarranted… ie no such observations should have been made": Comments by one SC Bench against the observation of another Bench of equal strength

A two judge Bench comprising Justice B.S Chauhan and Justice S.A.Bobde of the Supreme Court has used unusually strong words while dealing with certain observations of another two judge bench of the same court which was deciding a similar issue. The jurists and lawyers point out that such language in the judgment is used only when a superior court deals with a judgment of a subordinate court or...

Courts warned against showing leniency towards rape convicts by SC; Katju's 2011 Judgment no longer a precedent

A three Judge Bench of the Supreme Court has ruled that compromise between rape survivor and rape convict cannot be a ground to reduce sentence of imprisonment.Further, even an offer of marriage by the accused to rape survivor should not persuade courts to reduce sentence of rape convicts, the Supreme Court noted. The courts can reduce sentence in rape cases under exceptional...

Lok Sabha passes Food Security Bill

The Lok Sabha passed the Food Security Bill on Monday amidst a bitter debate between the ruling and the opposition parties.The Bill has been through a long and protracted passage in Lok Sabha with opposition parties asking for a vote on amendments such as further reducing the rack rates for cheap food grain and making the law's coverage universal. According to the government, universal...

Man should not be punished for having consensual sex with girl below 18, observes Delhi Court

A Court in Delhi has said that if a man who has consensual sex with a minor girl cannot be booked under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.While setting free a 22-year-old man from West Bengal accused of abducting and raping a 15-year-old girl whom he later married, the court said that according to evidence, the two got married voluntarily with consent and no case was...

Delhi HC directs Google, Facebook to appoint a grievance officer and disclose their grievance redressal mechanism

The Delhi High Court on Friday directed Google and Facebook to appoint a grievance officer to deal with complaints and disclose their grievance redressal mechanism by publishing the same on their web-pages within two weeks.A Division Bench comprising of acting Chief Justice B D Ahmed and Justice Vibhu Bakhru said, “We direct Google Inc and Facebook Inc to display the name of grievance...

Madras HC refers children’s custody issue to country of habitat

The Madras High Court has ruled that the custody of minor children can be decided only by courts in their country of habitat.The Bench comprising Justices V Dhanapalan and C T Selvam disposed of a dispute between an Indian origin doctor-couple who are permanent residents of Australia over the custody of their Australia-born children and observed that it would be appropriate to allow the courts...

SC seeks response from the Centre on PIL against former CJI, K G Balakrishnan

The Supreme Court today sought response from the Centre on a PIL seeking the removal of former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr. Justice K G Balakrishnan as Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission. The Court also asked Solicitor General to appear in the matter. The matter will be heard after three weeks.A Bench headed by Justice B S Chauhan and Justice S A Bobde asked the Government...

SC refers again the question of constitutional validity of Articles 15(5) and 21-A of the Constitution to a Constitution Bench

A three Judge Bench of the Supreme Court consisting Chief Justice P Sathasivam, Justices Ranjana Prakash Desai and Ranjan Gogoi on Friday referred the question of constitutional validity of Articles 15(5) and 21-A of the Constitution in so far as it relates to unaided educational institutions and the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and the Right...

Accused cannot be told who the whistle blower is, rules SC

The Apex Court has ruled that identity of persons who tip off anti-corruption agencies about corrupt deals of bureaucrats cannot be revealed to the accused facing prosecution under Prevention of Corruption Act.The verdict has come in a matter of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Maharashtra which investigated a case of disproportionate assets against a public servant on the basis of a complaint...

Centre approves the Bill for replacing Collegium System

The Central Government has approved the much delayed Bill seeking to replace the existing controversial collegium system of appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts with a Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC).The JAC will have a say in appointment and transfer of judges of the Supreme Court and all the 24 high courts. It will be headed by the Chief Justice of India, two...

SC gives stern warning to AOR for lending name for petty amount; Court to examine conduct for one year

In a suo motu contempt proceedings [Suo Motu Contempt Petition No: 312 of 2013] initiated against Advocate on Record (AOR), Rameshwar Prasad Goyal, the Apex Court has come down heavily on the practise of AORs' lending signature for petty amounts.In the instant case, Goyal filed an application for restoration of an appeal which was earlier dismissed by the Court, as none appeared to...

Execution of rape-cum-murder convicts stayed by SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the execution of two death row convicts in Karnataka which was scheduled for today. Their plea was tagged by the Bench with other cases in which the apex court had stayed the execution of other death row convicts.The accused had been sentenced to death for brutally raping and murdering a teenaged girl in 2001. The two were sentenced to death by a trial...