Disqualification On The Ground of Defection Can Apply Only To Those Motivated By The Lure Of Office Or Bribery, And Not To Disputes Within The Party, SC Told

Defending the conduct of the 11 Members of the O.Panneer Selvam faction of the AIADMK for voting against the Chief Minister’s vote of confidence in February 2017, senior counsel, Guru Krishna Kumar told the Supreme Court bench of Justices A.K.Sikri, Ashok Bhushan and S.Abdul Nazeer, that they did not join the opposition to bring the Government down.Relying on the Supreme Court’s...

Breaking: Centre Seeks Correction Of Factual Errors In Rafale Judgment [Read Application]

After the Supreme Court rendered its verdict on Friday, dismissing a string of PILs for an independent inquiry into the propriety of the decision-making process, pricing and procedure of procurement as followed in the 2015 Rafale deal, the Union of India has moved an application seeking a correction in the language of two sentences in the judgment.The error in the two sentences, the Centre...

‘Bona Fide Need’ Can’t Be Doubted If Landlord Does Other Business During Pendency Of Eviction Petition: SC [Read Judgment]

“It would be inappropriate to expect the son of the respondent – landlord to sit idle without doing any work till the eviction petition is decided on the basis of the bona fide requirement.”The Supreme Court has held that it would be inappropriate to expect that the landowner or his son (for whom the building is required) should sit idle and not to perform any work till the suit...

An ‘Unbelievable’ Chapter in SC’s History Came In For Critical Review In TN Disqualification Case

On October 9, 1998, the then Chief Justice of India,  M.M.Punchhi, authored a judgment in the case of Mayawati v Markandeya Chand and Others. It was his last day in office. The other two on the bench, Justices K.T.Thomas and M.Srinivasan authored separate, and conflicting judgments.  Justice Punchhi, rather than agree with either of them, referred the matter to the Constitution Bench. ...

Criminals Also Entitled To Life Of Dignity; Probability Of Reformation/Rehabilitation To Be Seriously & Earnestly Considered Before Awarding Death Sentence: SC [Read Judgment]

“A trial Judge can take his time and sentence the convict after giving adequate opportunity for the prosecution as well as for the defence to produce material as postulated in Bachan Singh so that the possibility of awarding life sentence is open to the Trial Judge as against the death sentence.”The Supreme Court on Wednesday commuted death sentence awarded to a man convicted for rape...

Breaking: "I Am Not A Religious Fanatic, My Judgment Was Not Politically Motivated", Meghalaya HC Judge Sen Clarifies

After Meghalaya High Court Judge Justice Sudip Ranjan Sen’s controversial communal remarks in a recent Judgment evoked strong reaction from political parties and leaders across the country, Justice Sen on Friday issued a clarification that his judgment was misinterpreted."It has been brought to my attention that the judgment has been mis-interpreted and therefore, it is imperative to remove...

Situation Would Be Chaotic If Policies Of Elected Bodies Are To Be Superceded By Ideals Of Each Individual: SC [Read Judgment]

“The policies formulated and the legislations made, unless they fall foul of the Constitution of India, cannot be interfered with, at the behest of the appellants.”Perspective of individuals may vary, but if the elected bodies which have policy formulation powers, is to be superseded by the ideals of each individual, the situation would be chaotic, the Supreme Court has observed while...

SC Dismisses Curative Petition Against Appointment Of Rakesh Asthana As CBI Special Director

The Supreme Court has dismissed a curative petition against dismissal of NGO Common’s Cause plea challenging appointment of Gujarat cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as Special Director of CBI.The decision, passed by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B Lokur, Justice AK Sikri and Justice AM Sapre, said,“We have gone through the Curative Petition and...

Medical College Bribery Scam: SC Dismisses CJAR’s Curative Petition Against Rejection Of Plea For SIT Probe

The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, dismissed the curative petition filed by NGO Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) against the verdict rejecting its demand for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the medical college bribery scam.The decision, passed by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B Lokur, Justice AK Sikri, Justice Arun...

Non-Mentioning Of Reasons For Withdrawal Of Earlier Complaint Not a Ground To Quash Second Complaint: SC [Read Judgment]

“Mentioning of reasons for withdrawal of an earlier complaint is also not a condition precedent for maintaining a second complaint.”The Supreme Court has held that mentioning of reasons for withdrawal of an earlier complaint is not a condition precedent for maintaining a second complaint.The bench comprising Justice R. Banumathi and Justice Indira Banerjee made this observation in V....

'Bar Must Not Be A Subordinate To Any Authority Even To The Bench': Justice Lokur In His Farewell Speech

Quoting Isaac Newton, Justice Madan B. Lokur humbly attributed his achievements to “standing on the shoulders of giants”, on his final working day as a judge of the apex court.Justice Lokur was speaking at his farewell ceremony organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association at the court premises on Friday.“Chief Justice S. H. Kapadia allowed me to become a member of the E-Committee...

Only Limited Degree Of Judicial Review Possible In Defence Contracts, SC In Rafale Case

The SC bench headed by CJI today dismissed the petitions challenging Rafale deal and seeking court-monitored probe into the allegations of corruption in the deal."We find no reason for any intervention by this Court on sensitive issue of purchase of 36 defence aircrafts by the Indian Govt. Perception of individuals can't be the basis of a fishing & roving enquiry by this Court, especially...