Accused Cannot Be Convicted Of Rape On Basis Of Sole Testimony Of Prosecutrix Unless Her Testimony Is Of "Sterling" Quality: SC [Read Judgment]

The Supreme Court has held that the conviction of an accused in Rape Cases cannot be done on the basis of sole testimony of the Prosecutrix unless she passes the test of "Sterling Witness".The Judgment rendered by a Bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan & M.R. Shah has held that in order to convict an accused on the basis of solitary evidence of the Prosecutrix, the evidence must...

Nirbhaya Case : Justice Banumathi Faints While Dictating Order In Centre's Plea; Matter Adjourned Till Feb 20

Just as the hearing in the Centre's plea for separate hanging of death row convicts in the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case wrapped up for the day, the Supreme Court bench comprising of Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan and AS Bopanna, was on the verge of adjourning the matter till the Patiala House court took it up next.However, just before dictating the order Justice Banumathi took...

Over 300 Persons Had Been In Detention For Over 3 Years:Amicus Curiae Prashant Bhushan Tells SC in Assam Detention Centre Case

The Supreme Court today sought a response from the Central government on a note prepared by Amicus Curiae Advocate Prashant Bhushan regarding those who have been detained across 6 detention centres in Assam, after having been declared foreigners by the Foreigners' Tribunals.In May 2019 the apex court had ordered for the release of all those declared foreigners who had spent more than 3 years...

Bidar Court Grants Bail To Headmistress & Mother Of Student Who Were Booked For Sedition Over Anti-CAA Play

A Sessions Court in Bidar, Karnataka on Friday granted bail to Fareeda Begum, head mistress of Shaheen Primary and High School and Nazbunnisa, the mother of a student, who were arrested over sedition charges for a play against CAA.They were under custody since their arrest on January 30.They bail is subject to them executing a personal bond for Rupees One Lakh with two sureties for the...

Centre Frames New Rules For Tribunals, Following SC Striking Down 2017 Rules [Read Rules]

The Union Ministry of Finance has framed new rules prescribing uniform norms for the appointment and service conditions of members to various Tribunals.The Rules titled 'Tribunal, Appellate Tribunal and other Authorities (Qualifications, Experience and other Conditions of Service of Members) Rules, 2020' are made in exercise of powers under Section 184 of the Finance Act 2017.These rules...

Justice S C Dharmadhikari, Second Senior Bombay HC Judge, Resigns

In a surprising development, Justice Satyaranjan Dharmadhikari, senior most judge of the Bombay High Court after Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog, has resigned.Justice Dharmadhikari broke the news in open court on Friday to Advocate Mathew Nedumpara stating that today was his last day in office.Speaking to journalists briefly in his chamber, Justice Dharmadhikari said that he had resigned due...

Bidar School Sedition Row : Karnataka HC Issues Notice On Plea For Action Against Police For Interrogating Minor Students Over Anti-CAA Play

The High Court of Karnataka on Friday issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation petition seeking action against the police authorities for illegally interrogating minor students of the Shaheen Education Society, Bidar, in connection to a play concerning the Citizenship Amendment Act.Declining to pass interim directions to restrain police from carrying on the interrogation of students,...

Appointment Of Public Prosecutors: SC Frames Issues For Final Hearing [Read Order]

A Supreme Court Bench of Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose has framed the questions for final hearing on the issue concerning the appointment of Public Prosecutors/Assistant Public Prosecutors.The Writ Petition was filed by All India Prosecutors Association and another.The Bench has framed the following issues;1. Whether the word 'may' in sub-section 1 of Section 25A of the...

"These Petitions Should Actually Be Placed Before Union Finance Minister": Bombay HC Pulls Up Ministry For Its Failure To Provide Infra For DRTs [Read Order]

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday came down heavily upon the central government for failing to provide adequate infrastructure and manpower to the Debt Recovery Tribunals in the state of Maharashtra. The division bench comprising Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Bharati Dangre noted that due to such debilitate infrastructure, disposal of cases had been affected...

100% ST Reservations For Teacher Posts In Scheduled Areas: SC Constitution Bench Reserves Judgment

The Supreme 5-judge Bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra on Thursday reserved its judgment on whether in schools in Scheduled Areas, 100 % reservation in the posts of teachers can be made in favour of members of Scheduled Tribes. "Your Lordships asked a very important question, a question which teases economists across the world- Trickle-down! I think it can be answered with the...

Supreme Court's Six Mandatory Directions To Political Parties To End Criminalisation Of Politics[Read Judgment]

A two Judge Bench of Supreme Court on Thursday delivered a Judgment on the contempt petitions regarding the criminalisation of politics in India and the non-compliance of the directions of a Constitution Bench of Supreme Court in Public Interest Foundation and Ors. v. Union of India and Anr. (2019) 3 SCC 224.The Bench comprising of Justice RF Nariman and Justice Ravindra Bhat observed that...

[CAA Protests] 'Section 144 Order Imposed In Bengaluru In December Illegal' : Karnataka HC [Read Judgment]

The prohibitory orders imposed in Bengaluru under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on December 18 in view of CAA Protest are "illegal" and "cannot stand scrutiny of law", held the High Court of Karnataka on Thursday.But the bench headed by CJ A S Oka refused to set aside the order, noting that the same has "worked itself out". Thus, the Court allowed the petitions filed by...