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'Attempt To Transform Civil Dispute Into Criminal Matter', Supreme Court Quashes Workplace Harassment Case
The Supreme Court on January 24 quashed a workplace harassment case filed by a female employee against her colleagues, observing that the allegations arose from employment disputes that had been exaggerated into a criminal matter.The Court noted that the proceedings against the appellants were a deliberate “attempt to reclassify the nature of the proceedings from non-cognizable to cognizable or to transform a civil dispute into a criminal matter, potentially aimed at pressurizing the appellants...
Chandigarh Mayor Seeks Mayoral Elections By 'Show Of Hands', Cites Last Year Fiasco; Supreme Court Considers Appointing Independent Observer
Chandigarh Mayor Kuldeep Kumar (Aam Aadmi Party) has approached the Supreme Court praying that the Chandigarh Mayoral Elections scheduled for January 30 be held by 'show of hands' instead of 'secret ballot' to ensure fairness in the process.A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh heard the matter today and called for the response of the UT administration on the appointment of an Independent Observer to conduct "free and fair" elections. On its part, the bench expressed inclination to...
Supreme Court Disposes Of 2009 PIL Against Mayawati Statues, Asks All Parties To Follow ECI Directions On Use Of Public Funds
The Supreme Court on January 15 disposed of a 2009 Public Interest Litigation which was filed against the construction of statues of Former UP Chief Minister Mayawati, her mentor Kanshi Ram and elephants - her party Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)'s symbol - at parks in Lucknow and Noida with taxpayers' money when she was chief minister between 2007 and 2012.A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma disposed of the petition in light of the subsequent developments including the...
Supreme Court Reserves Treasurer Post For Women In Bengaluru Advocates' Association; Suggests 30% Women Reservation In General Council
As an interim measure, for the purposes of Bengaluru Advocates' Association elections scheduled for February 2, 2025, the Supreme Court today directed that the post of Treasurer be exclusively earmarked for women candidates. It further said that the High-Powered Committee and the Chief Returning Officer may consider desirability of reserving atleast 30% of other Governing Council posts for women lawyers, to ensure their adequate representation.A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh...
Fake Lawyers' Issue : Supreme Court Says Verification Of Advocates Must Be Expedited, Seeks BCI Report In 8 Weeks
The Supreme Court on Thursday (January 24) expressed serious concern over the delays in the verification of advocates' law degrees and enrolment by the Bar Councils.The bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan was hearing a transfer petition by the BCI. The CJI, referring to the long pending degree verification procedure opined : "It is a very serious thing. The verification drive must be expedited. There has to be a timeline for this" Senior Advocate R...
'Badly Drafted Petition' : Supreme Court Dismisses PIL Challenging TDS System Of Income Tax Act
The Supreme Court today (January 24) refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation challenging the provisions of the Income Tax Act which impose an obligation on private employers to deduct tax at source (TDS) on the salaries paid by them.A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said that the petition filed by BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay was "badly drafted" and asked him to approach the High Court"This is a very badly drafted petition. You move the...
Did NOIDA Authorities Pay Excess Compensation To Landowners? Whether NOIDA Lacks Transparency? Supreme Court Asks SIT To Probe
The Supreme Court on Thursday (January 23) constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate whether the officers of the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) paid excess land acquisition compensation to certain land owners.The Court also asked the SIT to examine "whether the overall functioning of NOIDA lacks transparency, fairness and commitment to the cause of public interest."A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice NK Singh passed the order while...
Order VII Rule 11 CPC | Plaint With Multiple Reliefs Cannot Be Rejected Just Because Some Reliefs Are Barred : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court observed that when a Plaint includes multiple reliefs, it cannot be rejected solely because one of the reliefs is barred by law, as long as the other reliefs remain valid. According to the Court, the plaint cannot be partially rejected under Order VII Rule 11 of CPC.“If the civil court is of the view that one relief (say relief A) is not barred by law but is of the view that Relief B is barred by law, the civil court must not make any observations to the effect that...
S. 16 Arbitration Act | Challenge To Arbitral Tribunal's Jurisdiction Impermissible After Submitting Statement Of Defence : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court affirmed the principle that the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal cannot be challenged after the submission of the statement of defence. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan was hearing a case in which the respondent had objected to the jurisdiction of the Arbitral Tribunal after submitting its statement of defence. The Arbitral Tribunal rejected the...