Delhi HC dismisses Supreme Court Registrar's Appeal against CIC order to give information relating to Cases in which Judgments were reserved after final Arguments [Read the Judgment]

In a landmark Judgment Delhi High Court dismissed an Appeal filed by Supreme Court Registrar against an order by Central Information Commission directing the Supreme Court Registry to furnish information regarding pending cases which had been heard and orders were reserved. In the impugned order the CIC had also directed that if the information sought was centrally not available, the...

Judicial Conscience of India, Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer breathes his last

Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, the man who is considered as the “judicial conscience of India”, the one responsible for “humanizing law in India”, breathed his last in the Medical Trust Hospital in Kochi on Thursday. He was ailing from acute diarrheal disease and respiratory problems.According to Medical updates issued by the hospital, he had been put on a liquid diet through a...

Jethmalani claims conflict of interest as Solicitor General seeks to appear for SIT on black money, SC asks Solicitor General for letter of authorisation

The Supreme Court today witnessed an unusual event of sorts as the Apex Court denied the Solicitor General to appear for the SIT in the Black Money case.The Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India HL Dattu also had Justices Madan B Lokur and A K Sikri, who asked the Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar about the letter authorising him to appear for the SIT.The issue arose as Senior Advocate Anil...

CJI announces constitution of "Social Justice Bench"; would function from 12th December

In an unparalleled stride, the Chief Justice of India, H.L. Dattu has ordered the constitution of a Special Bench titled as the "Social Justice Bench", to deal specially with the matters relating to society and its members, to secure social justice, one of the ideals of the Indian Constitution.The Bench, comprising of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice U.U. Lalit would function from...

SC grants a week to Centre to clear stand on Section 66A and 74 of IT Act; warns stay of Operations of Provisions

A Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice J. Chelameswar and Justice S.A. Bobde warned the centre on Tuesday to clarify its stand over certain provisions of the Information technology Act which are often called up by authorities to gag free speech on social media.Refusing to grant two weeks for filing the affidavit as requested by Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, the Bench...

Where a vehicle was subject of a Hypothecation Agreement and without an Insurance Policy, the financier is not liable to pay the claim in the event of an accident; The person in control and possession of the vehicle should be construed as the owner and not alone the registered owner; SC

A three judge Bench of the Supreme Court clarified the legal position that where a vehicle was subject of an agreement of hypothecation and the person who was in possession and control of the vehicle without the requisite insurance, he alone was liable and not the financier to pay the claim in the event of an accident. The Court said that the intention of the legislature is clear that...

A person having Criminal antecedent cannot be recruited to the Police even if he is acquitted or discharged: SC [Read the Judgment]

Hearing an appeal which arose due to a judgment of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the Supreme Court today answered the question "whether the refusal by the competent authority to give compassionate appointment in police service on the ground of criminal antecedents of a candidate who is acquitted for want of evidence or who is discharged from the criminal case on account of compounding can...

Breaking; Prashant Bhushan files criminal complaints against Justice Prasad with CBI and CVC; seeks immediate registration of FIR under Prevention of Corruption Act

Activist and lawyer, Prashant Bhushan, in a letter to the Central Vigilance Commission, has complained “for investigation concerning abuse of office & criminal misconduct by Justice C K Prasad, former Judge of Supreme Court.” He has requested that the matter should be investigated thoroughly and impartially by CBI after registering an FIR. He has also sent a similar complaint to...

Attorney General suggests new Arbitration and Conciliation Act with timely and cost effective settlements

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi has advocated the repeal of Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996, advising a new law with emphasis on timely settlement of business disputes and fixing greater onus on arbitrators against delay. The move is being seen as facilitating the Government’s plan to provide a business-friendly environment for foreign investors. Rohatgi had been approached by the...

Supreme Court directs all States and UTs to implement victim compensation scheme, immediately

Hearing a matter relating to abduction and killing of two businessmen for a ransom of Rs. 50 lac, in Haryana, the Supreme Court has ordered interim compensation of Rs. 10 lac for their family.Earlier the High Court had rejected the family’s demand for compensation after which the matter reached the Apex Court. The Supreme Court also upheld the life term awarded to two convicts, and directed...

Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2014 gets approval from Parliamentary committee, pecuniary jurisdiction of civil courts to become Rs. 2 crore

Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2014, introduced by the UPA government in Rajya Sabha in February 2014, has received the nod from the Standing Committee. The Bill aims to raise the pecuniary jurisdiction of civil courts in Delhi from Rs. 20 lakhs to Rs. 2 crore.The Delhi High Court was witnessing tremendous work pressure and the amendment bill seeks to share the workload amongst the...

Leprosy remains a stigma because of apathy shown by authorities: Supreme Court

A Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice U.U. Lalit urged the States to take the issue of leprosy on a priority basis, as it is curable now. It observed, “Yet, because of apathy shown by the concerned authorities, it still remains a stigmatic disease in the society. It is inconceivable as it affects the human dignity and the basic concept of...