Supreme Court Weekly Round Up

1. BREAKING : Supreme Court Stays Andhra Pradesh High Court's Gag Order On Media Reports & Social Media Comments On Amaravati Land Scam FIR [State of Andhra Pradesh V. Dammalapati Srinivas]The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the Andhra Pradesh High Court's gag order on media reporting and social media comments on the contents of the Amaravati land scam FIR. A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and M R Shah passed the stay order on a special leave petition filed by the State of Andhra Pradesh challenging the interim order passed by the High Court on September 15.2. Tej Bahadur Yadav Neither An Elector Nor A Candidate In Varanasi; No Locus To Challenge PM's Election: Supreme Court [Tej Bahadur V. Narendra Modi]The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the petition filed by Ex- BSF Jawan, Tej Bahadur Yadav, challenging the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The judgement was rendered in a Special Leave Petition challenging the Allahabad High Court's dismissal of Bahadur's election petition in December 2019 on the ground of lack of locus standi. The SLP contended that the High Court had failed to appreciate the misuse of provisions under Sections 9 and 33(3) of RPA by the District Election Officer.3. Deprivation For A Single Day Is A Day To Many, Courts Must Ensure That Criminal Law Does Not Become A Weapon For Selective Harassment Of Citizens: SC In Arnab Goswami Judgment [Arnab Ranjan Goswami V. State of Maharashtra]The Supreme Court while pronouncing a detailed reasoning behind the grant of release of Arnab Goswami has observed that that "criminal law should not become a tool for selective harassment of citizens". The judgment was pronounced by a Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Indira Banerjee today and the court remarked, "Deprivation of Liberty for a single day is a day too many.. ". The bench, while elaborating on the importance of human liberty and the role of courts therein added that the case of Goswami was that he had been targeted because his opinions on television are palatable to the authority. The Justice Chandrachud led bench relied on celebrated judgment in State of Rajasthan, Jaipur vs Balchand, and added that in the case, Justice Krishna Iyer pithily reminded us that the basic rule of our criminal justice system is bail, not jail.Also Read: 'Liberty Is Not A Gift For Few': Supreme Court Directs High Courts, District Courts To Monitor Pendency Of Bail ApplicationsAlso Read: A Prima Facie Evaluation Of FIR Does Not Disclose Offence Of Abetment To Suicide Against Arnab Goswami : Supreme Court4. Supreme Court Directs To Constitute National Tribunal Commission For Appointments To Tribunals, Lawyers With 10Yrs Practice Eligible For Appointment As Judicial Members [Madras Bar Association V. Union of India & Anr.]In a notable judgment, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the Central Government to constitute a National Tribunal Commission for the appointment of members in various Tribunals. Till the constitution of the National Tribunal Commission, a separate wing in the Ministry of Finance should be formed to cater to the needs of the Tribunals, ordered a bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao, Hemant Gupta and S Ravindra Bhat. The Court also directed the Centre to amend the rules to make advocates with 10 years practice eligible for appointment as judicial members in Tribunals.5. "De-Sealing Orders Have Led To Frantic Activity Of Misuse & Encroachment In Delhi": Monitoring Committee Tells Supreme Court [MC Mehta V. UOI]The Monitoring Committee appointed by Supreme Court for checking illegal use of residential properties for commercial use and establishments in the capital criticised the the Supreme Court's August 14 de-sealing order. On August 14, top court had ordered de-sealing of residential units in Delhi which had been sealed by the Court-appointed Monitoring Committee. A 3-Judge Bench comprising of Justices Arun Mishra, BR Gavai and Krishna Murari had arrived at this decision upon finding that the Committee had never been authorized to take action against the residential premises that were not being used for commercial purposes.6. Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case: Supreme Court Extends Perarivalan's Parole By A Week [AG Perarivalan V. UOI]The Supreme Court on Friday extended the parole by a week of AG Perarivalan, a convict in the 1991 assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and has directed State of Tamil Nadu to provide an escort for his medical checks. A Bench headed by Justice L. Nageswara Rao was hearing an Application filed by Perarivalan, seeking for extension of his parole, and took into consideration the submissions of Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan who requested the Court to direct the State to extend the same by four weeks in light of Perarivalan's kidney damage.7. Judgment Which Attains Finality Can't Be Challenged In Article 32 Petition: Supreme Court Rejects 1993...

Supreme Court Weekly Round Up

Sanya Talwar

Week Commencing November 22, 2020 to November 29, 2020

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