Supreme Court Issues Guidelines To High Courts To Monitor Early Disposal Of Cases Against MPs/MLAs

The Supreme Court on Thursday (November 9) issued a slew of directions to monitor the early disposal of pending criminal cases against Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies.A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra observed that it was difficult for the Supreme Court to lay down uniform guidelines...

'Aggrieved Woman' Not Covering LGBTQIA Persons : Supreme Court Refuses Plea To Make Its Sexual Harassment Regulations Gender-Neutral

In a significant legal development, the Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea seeking amendments in Gender Sensitization and Sexual Harassment of Women at the Supreme Court of India (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Regulations, 2013 for making the same to be gender neutral. The amendments were sought in view to bring the constitutional rights of other persons such as LGBTQIA+...

Supreme Court Asks Madras High Court To Consider Amending Rules To Ensure Cause Title Of Criminal Appeal Reflects State’s Name

The Supreme Court recently directed the Madras High Court to consider amending the High Court Rules to include the name of the state in the cause title of criminal cases.A bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice Sanjay Karol was considering a criminal special leave petition against a Madras High Court order, when it observed that the SLPs arising from the State of Tamil Nadu do not...

Heralding E-Revolution Of Judiciary : CJI DY Chandrachud's Administrative Reforms In One Year

As Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud completes one year as the head of the Indian judiciary, it is worthwhile to have a look at some of the notable administrative and infrastructural reforms ushered in by him during this term.The period since he took the office as the 50th Chief Justice of India on November 9, 2022 has witnessed several path breaking initiatives that include adoption...

PNB Regulations | Bank Can't Withhold PF & Gratuity Without Proving Actual Loss Caused By Employee : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of an employee(appellant), directing the Punjab National Bank (PNB) to release the provident fund (PF) and gratuity due to him who was compulsorily retired. The court held that as per the Punjab National Bank (Officers’) Service Regulations, 1979(1979 Regulations), the bank could withhold the PF amount only when any loss is proved to be caused to it...

Supreme Court Declines Tamil Nadu's Plea To Allow It To Appoint Archakas To Agamic Temples, Refuses To Vacate Status Quo

The State of Tamil Nadu urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday to vacate the status quo ordered by it relating to the appointment of Archakas (poojari/priest) in Agamic Temples in the State. However, the State's plea was declined by the Apex Court. In August 2022, a division bench of the Madras High Court had read down the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious Institutions Employees (Conditions of...

Kerala Govt Approaches Supreme Court Challenging HC Judgment Refusing To Fix Timeline For Governor's Assent To Bills

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court by the Kerala Government against the judgment of the High Court that had dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a lawyer challenging the action of the Governor of Kerala, Arif Mohammed Khan withholding bills passed by the State legislature indefinitely, and without adopting the course envisaged under Article 200 of the Constitution. In...

S.65B Evidence Act Certificate Can Be Produced At Any Stage Of Trial: Supreme Court Allows Prosecution Plea In 2008 Bangalore Blasts Case

The Supreme Court reiterated that a certificate under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act to prove electronic evidence can be produced at any stage of the trial.A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Rajesh Bindal set aside a judgment of the Karnataka High Court which refused to allow the prosecution to produce Section 65B Certificate in the trial relating to the 2008 Bangalore...

Stubble Burning | Punjab Preservation Of Subsoil Water Act Creating Problems, Need Relook : Supreme Court Tells Punjab Govt

In relation to the issue of stubble burning and its consequent effects on the air quality in Delhi, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Punjab Government to have a relook into the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009.A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia observed that though the objective of the Act was to preserve subsoil whatever, the adherence to...

Ludicrous That Smog Towers Aren't Working: Supreme Court Summons Chairperson Of Delhi Pollution Control Committee

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 7) summoned the Chairperson of Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) on next date of its hearing in air pollution matter (November 10).During the hearing, Senior Advocate Aparajitha Singh (Amicus), pointed out the aspect of smog towers being non-functional. Following the same, the Bench marked in its order:“It is stated that the smog tower which...

Plea Alleges Interference By Calcutta HC Judge & Spouse In Criminal Investigation; Supreme Court Seeks West Bengal Police's Report

The Supreme Court on Monday (November 6) sought a report from the West Bengal government with respect to an ongoing criminal investigation, which has allegedly suffered interference by Calcutta High Court judge Amrita Sinha and her husband. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti was hearing a criminal writ petition alleging that the lawyer-husband of the sitting high court...

Section 27 Evidence Act | Recovery Of A Weapon From An Open Place Accessible To All Not Reliable : Supreme Court

The Court recently held that incriminatory objects, when discovered in places accessible to the public, cannot be solely relied upon to establish the guilt of the accused persons. It is pertinent to note that for admissibility under section 27, of the Evidence Act, the fact discovered must be a direct consequence of information received from a person in custody.The Court relied on Nikhil...