2008 Malegaon blasts case : PIL filed in SC accusing Union Govt of interfering

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court by activist and columnist Harsh Mander through Senior Advocate Indira Jaising accusing the Union government of trying to interfere with the functioning of the public prosecutor in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case by exerting "pressure" on her to "go soft" on the accused.According to a Zee News report, the PIL alleges...

Allotment of residential plots to Judges: Gujarat HC refers suo motu PIL to Larger Bench [Read the order]

A division Bench of the Gujarat High Court comprising acting Chief Justice V.M. Sahai and Justice Mohinder Pal has referred the case of allotment of 2008 allotment of residential plots to sitting and retired judges to a larger Bench. The Court framed 10 questions related to the suo motu PIL that it had initiated.The respondent Judges and authorities had asked for time for looking into the...

#Aadhaar cannot be used by Govt. for any purpose other than the PDS Scheme and in particular for the purpose of distribution of food grains, cooking fuel,LPG etc ;SC [Read the Order]

The Supreme Court bench constituting Justices J. Chelameswar, S.A. Bobde and C. Nagappan has decided to refer the challenges to the Aadhar program to a constitution bench, especially to determine the existence of a right to privacy as a fundamental right.The Bench also passed an interim order issuing the following directions;The Union of India shall give wide publicity in  the ...

Rajasthan HC outlaws the Jain practice of fasting unto Death [Read the Judgment]

The Rajasthan High Court on Monday declared (Nikhil Soni vs. Union of India & Ors. Civil Writ Petition No.7414/2006) the practice of 'Santhara' or 'Sullekhana', a Jain ritual of voluntary and systematic fasting to death as illegal, and directed the State to treat it as an offence punishable under section 309 of the Indian Penal Code and its abetment thereof under section 306 of the...

Aadhaar; Constitution Bench will determine the existence of a 'Right to Privacy' as a Fundamental Right [Read the order]

(The Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University, Delhi is posting daily reports of the arguments in the Aadhaar matter).Highlights from the Court’s rulingThe Supreme Court bench constituting Justices J. Chelameswar, S.A. Bobde and C. Nagappan has decided to refer the challenges to the Aadhar program to a constitution bench, especially to determine the existence of...

There should not be a sentence imposed which foreclosed the options of Remission and Commutation; Andhyarujina [Sriharan-Summary of Arguments;Day-8]

(The Centre on the Death Penalty at National Law University, Delhi will be posting daily reports of the arguments in the Constitution Bench matter in Union of India v. Sriharan)[We would like to thank Dr.Anup Surendranath and Centre on the Death Penalty at National Law University, Delhi for this initiative. We also would like to thank the Law and Other Things Blog where it is...

Enrica Lexie; Italy Vs India at ITLOS -1 : Day-1

India and Italy are at loggerheads in International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on the issue of two Marines of the ship ‘Enrica Lexie’ killing fishermen of Kerala. What their respective stand is, on the issue, can be very well understood from their written submissions before the tribunal. Italy submitted their notification before the tribunal on 26th June, this year. As India, did...

SC allows replacement of "old and worn out" tarpaulin sheet at makeshift Ayodhya temple

A Supreme Court Bench comprising Justice T.S. Thakur, Justice V.R. Gopala Gowda and Justice R. Banumathi has ordered the replacement of "old and worn out" tarpaulin sheet, ropes and other material with new ones at the makeshift Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.The task of replacement will be undertaken and completed under the supervision of the two observers who have been visiting...

Madhya Pradesh HC dismisses PIL praying revocation of Sachin Tendulkar’s Bharat Ratna

The Madhya Pradesh High Court today, dismissed a Public Interest Litigation which prayed for revocation of Sachin Tendulkar's Bharat Ratna. V.K Naswah, the petitioner, in his petition had said that Tendulkar exploited the fame associated with the highest civilian award for earning money by endorsing commercial products and therefore it should be taken away.  However, the Division bench...

Supreme Court stays levy of Service Tax on Lawyers

A Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice H.L. Dattu, Justice A.K. Mishra and Justice Amitava Roy has stayed the Bombay High Court’s dismissal of a challenge to the levy of service tax on lawyers.The Court also stayed the Bombay High Court order dated December 15, 2014.  The matter has been tagged with other petitions pending before the Supreme Court.Sub-clause (zzzzm) of clause (105)...

#Porn Ban; If someone wants to watch Porn in the Privacy of their Bedroom, State cannot be a Moral Police or enter Peoples Bedrooms; Centre to SC

The Kamlesh Vaswani matter that has asked the Court to direct the Government to block all pornography over the Internet and was used conveniently by the Government to order the disablement of over 850 website last week came up before the bench headed by the Chief Justice today.Mr. Mukul Rohatgi, the Attorney General of India represented the Union along with ASG Ms. Pinky Anand. He stated...

Relatives who are not immediate ‘legal heirs’ of the victim can also file appeal against acquittal: Delhi High Court

Answering a reference whether a member of the extended family of a murder victim file an appeal challenging the acquittal of the accused, Full Bench of Delhi High court, has held that the word “Victim” would embrace any person who has suffered any loss or injury caused by reason of the act or omission for which the accused person has been charged. The Full bench, comprising of...