SC issues Notice On A Plea For Declaring Leader Of Single Largest Party As Leader Of Opposition In Appointment Committees

The Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice SK Kaul has issued notice on a PIL seeking declaration that wherever the appointing committee includes the Leader of the Opposition, the same may be read to mean the leader of the single largest opposition party in that House.The statutory appointing committees for the appointments of CBI Director, CVC, CIC etc has the Leader...

SC Dismisses Plea Challenging Dissolution Of J-K Assembly By Governor

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a PIL challenging the dissolution of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly by Governor Satya Pal Malik."We are not inclined to interfere (with the decision of the Governor)," a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul said.The bench was hearing a PIL filed by BJP leader Gagan Bhagat, who was an MLA before the Assembly was dissolved.The...

Delhi HC Issues Notice On PIL Seeking Entry Of Women Into Nizamuddin Dargah [Read Petition]

Delhi High Court on Monday issued notice to Delhi Government and Hazarat Nizammudin Aulia Trust, on a Public Interest Litigation  which seeks permission for women's entry  into the sanctum sanctorum of Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah.The plea was moved by a group of female law students from Pune, who on visiting the holy shrine in Delhi were aggrieved with ban on women entry.The Bench headed by...

Matters Of Train Timings/Connectivity Can’t Be Adjudicated In PIL: SC Sets Aside U’khand HC Order [Read Order]

“It is our considered view that matters of train timings and providing new train connectivity between two locations are essentially matters of policy, to be decided by the competent authority on a consideration of host of relevant facts and circumstances and further that such matters are not appropriate for adjudication in a P.I.L.”Setting aside a Uttarakhand High Court order, the...

Supreme Court Weekly Round-Up

Article 226 Can’t Be Used For Deciding Disputes For Which Civil And Criminal Remedies Are Available [Roshina T V. Abdul Azeez K.T.& Ors]The Supreme Court observed that a regular suit, and not a writ petition, is the appropriate remedy for settlement of the disputes relating to property rights between private persons.Even Heinous/Brutal Crimes May Not Be Rarest Of Rare [Sukhlal V. State...

Constitutional Morality A Dangerous Weapon, It Will Die With Its Birth: KK Venugopal

Attorney General KK Venugopal on Saturday reportedly expressed apprehensions about the use of Constitutional morality for testing the validity of laws.Speaking at the Second J Dadachanji Memorial Debate organised by ILA Pasrich & Company, Mr. Venugopal warned that this approach could have very dangerous repercussions.He began by tracing the history of “conflict” between the judiciary...

Improved Dialogue Between CJI & Centre May Have Fast Tracked Judicial Appointments, Says Justice Kurian Joseph

Speaking at a public event at New Delhi on December 7 organised by The LeafLet , former Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph said that improved dialogue between the Chief Justice of India and Centre could have fast tracked judicial appointments.On asked why certain recent recommendations of the Supreme Court collegium (of which Justice Joseph is a member) have been cleared by the...

NRI Voting Rights: Bill To Come Up In Rajya Sabha In Upcoming Section, Centre Tells SC

The Centre on Friday informed the Supreme Court that a bill to amend electoral law to allow NRIs to vote through postal or e-ballots has been passed by Lok Sabha and is likely to come up in Rajya Sabha in the upcoming Winter Session.The government told this to a bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta which was hearing a batch of petitions filed by Nagender Chindam, chairman...

Sanitation Facilities In WB Courts Alarming: Amicus Curiae Submits To SC [Read Order]

Sanitation facilities in court complexes in the State of West Bengal are “alarming”, the Supreme Court was informed by amicus curiae Senior Counsel Shyam Divan on Thursday.In view of the submission, the bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice KM Joseph ordered Chief Secretary of the State government to have the matter examined in respect of...

Even Heinous/Brutal Crimes May Not Be Rarest Of Rare: SC [Read Judgment]

 “Time and again, this Court has categorically held that life imprisonment is the rule and death penalty is the exception and even when the crime is heinous or brutal, it may not still fall under the category of rarest of rare.”The Supreme Court, reiterating the principle that life imprisonment is the rule and death penalty is the exception, has observed that even when a crime is heinous...

Was He Insane? SC Calls For Report From State To Know How Death Convict Behaved In Jail Since His Arrest In 2012 Till Date [Read Order]

“Before we proceed further, we would like to find out as to how the petitioner has behaved after his arrest, in jail, during the intervening period i.e. from 2012 till date.”The Supreme Court has called for a report from the state about behavior shown by a death convict since his arrest till date.Santosh Maruti Mane was sentenced to death by the Trial Court for killing nine persons.  As...

Section 114 Evidence Act: Presumption Of Continuity Can Be Drawn Not Only Forward But Backward Also: SC [Read Order]

‘Court can presume that such state of affairs might have existed in past also unless discontinuity is proved.’The Supreme Court has observed that presumption of continuity as envisaged in Section 114 of the Indian Evidence Act can be drawn backward also.Under Section 114 of the Evidence Act, there is a presumption of continuance of a state of affairs once shown to have prevailed. The...