Supreme Court Weekly Round Up

The Supreme Court observed that right to appeal before the Foreigners' Tribunal against non-inclusion in National Register of Citizens is available only in those cases, where the Tribunal has not already adjudicated upon and decided the issue as to whether the person is an Indian National or a foreigner.

Accused Can't Be Indefinitely Kept In Jail For His Inability To Produce Registered Surety For Reasons Beyond His Control [Wasim Ahmed V. State of West Bengal]

The Supreme Court observed that an accused cannot be indefinitely kept in jail for his inability to produce registered surety for reasons beyond his control. The bench comprising Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Sanjiv Khanna directed the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Calcutta, to consider modifying the orders passed in the bail plea of one Wasim Ahmed, without insisting on registered surety.

Brother In Law Can Be Ordered To Pay Maintenance To Widow Under Domestic Violence Act [Ajay Kumar V. Lata@ Sharuti & Ors.]

The Supreme Court observed that a brother in law can be ordered to pay maintenance to a widow. In this case, the lady and her deceased husband were residing at a house which constitutes ancestral Hindu Joint Family Property.The deceased husband and the brother in law jointly carried on a business of a kiryana store.

Other important orders and proceedings

• Refused to entertain a plea challenging the appointment of two retired bureaucrats as observers in West Bengal for the Lok Sabha polls. A vacation bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and M R Shah said it was not inclined to entertain the petition as polling was already over.
• On the Centre's plea, the Supreme Court stayed the Delhi High Court interim order disallowing the retrospective applicability of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act from July 1, 2015.
• The vacation bench of the Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed seeking 100% verification of the Voter Verified Paper Audited Trails(VVPAT) with the Electronic Voting Machines(EVM).
• Vacation bench headed by Justice MR Shah issued notice in a writ petition filed by a BJP leader seeking protection from arrest, taking note of the ongoing lawyers' strike in West Bengal. Interestingly, another bench comprising of Justice Arun Mishra, Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai and Justice Surya Kant did not entertain a writ petition filed by former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar who had sought protection from arrest.
• Declined to entertain erstwhile Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar's plea for an extension of the immunity from arrest in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam case. The vacation bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra was of the view that the petition was not maintainable in the top court and asked Kumar to move the competent court in the state of West Bengal to decide his application for anticipatory bail.
• Termed as "extraordinary" the situation in West Bengal where lawyers are observing strike since April 29 impacting the fundamental right of life and liberty of citizens to even seek bail from courts. It directed that the petitioners, arrested for and alleged IPL betting racket, be produced before the Calcutta High Court in connection with their bail pleas.
• Admissions to law courses in Delhi government's Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) for the 2019-20 academic session will be only through national level Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), the Supreme Court said. A vacation bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and M R Shah said this while hearing a petition filed by the GGSIPU challenging the Delhi High Court order which had stayed the operation of an order and circular issued in February mandating the varsity to take admission in law courses through CLAT.