The Supreme Court of India has dismissed a plea seeking directions to states to take immediate action against mob lynching and cow vigilantism, particularly against Muslims. The court stated that it was not feasible to "micro-manage" such incidents from Delhi and referred to its 2018 verdict, which issued guidelines to address mob violence and cow vigilantism. The court also noted that the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) criminalizes mob lynching as a separate offence. The plea argued that there was "gross non-compliance" with the 2018 directions, but the court maintained that authorities were bound by its previous rulings.
'It was a disaster on his part to give an oral remark which allowed ascertainment of the religious character of places of worship.' 'This disrupted the social harmony of the country.'
The US is currently Earth's most powerful country and a certain latitude of understanding -- a world view -- is popularly expected from its leadership. From a country identified with freedom, constitution, debate, democracy and the likes of Abraham Lincoln even as it had the most powerful military around, the US, following Trump's actions, seemed repositioned as militarily powerful with other qualities secondary, observes Shyam G Menon.
As votes for the Delhi assembly polls were counted on Saturday, latest data of the Election Commission showed that NOTA option got 0.57 per cent vote share as compared to 0.55 pet cent of the Bahujan Samaj Party and 0.01 per cent of Communist Party of India-Marxist.
On the eve of counting of votes for the Delhi Assembly elections, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal accused the Election Commission (EC) of refusing to upload Form 17C, which contains details of votes polled per booth in each Assembly segment. In response, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has launched a website where it has uploaded Form 17C data for all the Assembly seats. Kejriwal stated that ensuring such transparency should have been the responsibility of the apex poll body. The office of the chief electoral officer responded by saying that the rule requiring presiding officers to furnish Form 17C to polling agents was complied with on the day of polling.
World Champion D Gukesh began his campaign at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tour with a mixed bag of results, including three draws and a lone loss, signaling that he is adapting to the new format.
India's forex reserves rose $1.05 billion to $630.61 billion for the week ended January 31, the RBI said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had increased by $5.57 billion to $629.56 billion.
The Delhi government is embroiled in multiple litigations with the Lieutenant Governor in the Supreme Court including its plea challenging the Centre's law establishing pre-eminence of the LG over the elected dispensation in controlling services in the national capital.
The Supreme Court of India has ruled that family members of an accused in domestic violence cases cannot be implicated without specific charges. The court emphasized the need for sensitivity in handling such cases, noting that emotions run high in matrimonial disputes and there may be a tendency to indiscriminately implicate family members. The court stressed that criminalizing domestic disputes without specific allegations and credible evidence could have disastrous consequences for the institution of family.
The Supreme Court of India has ruled that informing an accused of the grounds for their arrest is not a formality but a mandatory constitutional requirement. The court declared the arrest of Vihaan Kumar, who was accused of financial fraud, as unconstitutional and ordered his immediate release. The ruling emphasizes the importance of procedural safeguards in criminal law and highlights the fundamental rights of arrested individuals. The court also expressed disapproval of the police's treatment of Kumar, including handcuffing and chaining him while he was in the hospital.
Siddaramaiah, his wife, brother-in-law B M Mallikarjun Swamy, Devaraju -- from whom Swamy had purchased a land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others have been named in the FIR registered by the Lokayukta police establishment, located in Mysuru on September 27, following the order of the Special Court that exclusively deals with criminal cases related to former and elected MPs/MLAs.
The Tamil Nadu government has argued in the Supreme Court that Governor R N Ravi's repeated withholding of assent to bills passed by the state legislative assembly would lead to the failure of the democratic system in India. The top court has questioned the delay by the Governor in granting assent to several bills passed by the state assembly and asked why governors should wait for parties to move the court with their grievances. The court has also said that the Governor cannot refer bills passed by the legislature and re-adopted by it for presidential assent.
Terming as 'unfortunate' the January 29 stampede at Maha Kumbh where at least 30 people were killed, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) for guidelines over safety of devotees and asked the petitioner to move the Allahabad high court instead.
The Supreme Court of India censured the Assam government for keeping persons declared foreigners in detention centers indefinitely and not deporting them. The court questioned the state's explanation for not sending nationality verification forms to the Ministry of External Affairs, stating that detainees should be deported immediately once identified as foreigners. The court directed the Assam government to initiate the deportation process of 63 declared foreign nationals whose nationality was known and file a status report in two weeks. The court also directed the Centre to provide details of those deported and how it plans to deal with detainees whose nationality is unknown.
"Are you waiting for some muhurat," the Supreme Court remarked on Tuesday as it came down heavily on the Assam government for keeping people declared as foreigners in detention centres indefinitely rather than deporting them.
The push for a two-tier system gained traction following Australia's blockbuster series against India, which set attendance records.
India's forex reserves increased $5.57 billion to $629.56 billion in the week ended January 24, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall kitty had dropped $1.89 billion to $623.98 billion.
Zakia Jafri, the wife of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the 2002 Gujarat riots, died on Saturday in Ahmedabad at the age of 86. Ehsan Jafri was among 69 persons who were killed inside Gulbarg Society, a Muslim neighbourhood in Ahmedabad, on February 28, 2002, a day after coaches of the Sabarmati Express train were burnt in Godhra, resulting in the deaths of 59 'karsevaks' returning from Ayodhya. The incident triggered horrific rioting across the state. Zakia Jafri hit the national headlines as she waged a legal battle all the way to the Supreme Court in a bid to hold top political leaders accountable for the large conspiracy for the riots post the Godhra train burning episode. Her son Tanveer Jafri said that his mother was visiting his sister's house in Ahmedabad when she complained of feeling uneasy. The doctor who was called in declared her dead at around 11:30 am. Social activist Teesta Setalvad, who was co-complainant in Jafri's protest petition in the Supreme Court, posted on X that Zakia Jafri was a compassionate leader of the human rights community.
'Residence-based reservation in PG medical courses is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.'
Instant 'triple talaq', also known as 'talaq-e-biddat', is an instant divorce whereby a Muslim man can legally divorce his wife by pronouncing 'talaq' three times in one go.
The Supreme Court has said police cannot serve notices to accused persons through WhatsApp or other electronic modes under the Criminal Procedure Code or Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
The BJP won the Chandigarh mayoral election on Thursday, defeating the AAP-Congress alliance. Harpreet Kaur Babla of the BJP was elected as the new mayor, while the AAP-Congress alliance won the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The victory of the BJP candidate indicated that cross-voting took place during polling. The Supreme Court had previously overturned the result of the 2023 mayoral poll, which had seen the BJP candidate win despite allegations of tampering with ballots. The court had ordered prosecution of the returning officer for the poll, Anil Masih, a BJP leader, for his "misdemeanour." The court had also declared defeated AAP-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar as the new city mayor. This latest victory is a significant win for the BJP in the city and represents a setback for the AAP-Congress alliance.
The Supreme Court of India has sought the Indian government's response to a petition filed by a Muslim woman seeking to be governed by the Indian succession law instead of Shariat. The woman, Safiya P.M., argues that she does not believe in Shariat and wants to be governed by secular law, including the Indian Succession Act of 1925. The court has asked the government to file a counter affidavit within four weeks.
The Supreme Court of India has laid down guidelines for courts when ordering DNA tests to ascertain paternity. The court emphasized the need to balance the interests of all parties involved, including the child, parents, and other stakeholders. It also recognized the potential for infringement of privacy and the social stigma associated with illegitimate children. The court stressed that DNA tests should only be ordered when existing evidence is insufficient and when such tests are in the best interests of all parties involved.
This was Rana's last legal chance not to be extradited to India. Earlier, he lost a legal battle in several federal courts, including the US Court of Appeals for the North Circuit in San Francisco.
India's forex reserves dropped by $1.88 billion to $623.98 billion in the week ended January 17, the RBI said on Friday. Earlier, the overall kitty declined by $8.71 billion to $625.87 billion in the week ended January 10, the Reserve Bank of India said.
The Supreme Court of India has ordered the burial of a pastor whose body has been lying in a mortuary since January 7th, after a dispute arose regarding the location of his burial. The court issued a split verdict, with one judge ruling for burial on the family's private land and the other for a designated place away from the village. The decision was made due to the prolonged delay in the burial and the potential for unrest. The court ordered the state government to provide security to prevent any further incidents.
On a day when both the West Bengal government and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) moved the Calcutta high court for admission of their appeals seeking capital punishment for RG Kar hospital rape-murder convict Sanjay Roy, a counsel for the victim's parents claimed that the family does not want death penalty for him.
'The critical event signalling a new era for India was Dr Singh's 1991 Budget in which he quoted Victor Hugo to say that no power on earth could stop an idea whose time has come,' recalls T N Ninan.
The Supreme Court of India is set to rule on the case of a pastor whose body has been lying in a mortuary for 15 days due to a dispute over his burial site in a Chhattisgarh village. The court expressed concern over the delay and urged for an amicable settlement, while the Chhattisgarh government insisted on the designated burial area for Christian tribals being 20-30 kilometers away from the family's village. The court will deliver its verdict after hearing arguments from both sides.
The Supreme Court of India has extended its stay on a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Idgah Mosque complex in Mathura, which is located adjacent to the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple. The court deferred the hearing on a plea against the survey to April 1, while the interim order staying the survey will continue to operate. The Hindu side claims that the mosque complex holds signs of a temple that once existed at the site, while the Muslim side contends that the lawsuits filed by the Hindu litigants violate the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act of 1991.
Cricketing legends and captains, past and present, echoed their sentiments, while groundsmen and support staff were honoured.
The West Bengal government has sought permission from the Calcutta High Court to appeal against the Sealdah court order that sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment until death in the RG Kar hospital doctor's rape and murder case. The state government is seeking the death penalty for Roy, the sole convict in the case, and has expressed dissatisfaction with the Sealdah court's verdict, which did not consider the crime "rarest of the rare." The court also ordered Roy to pay a Rs 50,000 fine and directed the state government to pay compensation of Rs 17 lakh to the family of the deceased doctor.
The Supreme Court has sought a report from the Uttar Pradesh Police regarding allegations that Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, influenced witnesses in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. The court directed the Lakhimpur Kheri superintendent of police to file the report after a complaint was made by advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the complainants. Bhushan claimed to have an audio recording of an attempt to influence witnesses and alleged that Mishra attended a public meeting in violation of his bail conditions. Mishra, through his lawyer, denied the allegations and stated that he was being targeted unnecessarily. The court has also asked for the authenticity of the material presented to be verified.
India's forex reserves dropped by $8.71 billion to $625.87 billion in the week ended January 10, the RBI said on Friday. Earlier, the overall kitty dropped by $5.693 billion to $634.58 billion in the week ended January 3, the Reserve Bank of India said.
The Supreme Court of India has ruled that the offence of abetment of suicide should not be invoked mechanically against individuals, emphasizing that the provision should not be used to soothe the feelings of grieving families. The court stressed that the conduct of the accused and the deceased, their interactions, and conversations preceding the death should be examined practically and not divorced from real-life contexts. The judgment came after a plea challenging an order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court that refused to discharge a man from charges under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) related to a suicide case. The Supreme Court emphasized that to prove abetment of suicide, there must be evidence of active instigation or acts facilitating the suicide. In this case, the court found that the appellant's actions, including seeking repayment of a loan, did not constitute instigation to suicide.
Virat Kohli has been named in Delhi's 22-member provisional squad for their next Ranji Trophy game against Saurashtra in Rajkot but doubts remain about his participation after it came to light that he is nursing a niggle.
Maintaining that other persons were also involved in the crime, the parents of the victim have said that they expect that they will also be arrested and tried before the court.
The US Supreme Court has upheld a law requiring TikTok's China-based parent company to divest from the app, paving the way for the popular platform to be banned from the US starting Sunday. The court's decision was unanimous, with the justices citing national security concerns related to TikTok's data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary. While existing users may still access the app, new users will be unable to download it and updates will no longer be available. The decision comes as the Biden administration prepares to hand over the reins to the incoming Trump administration, which is expected to review the situation before making a final determination on TikTok's fate.
The Bharti Kisan Union (Krantikari) has criticized the Punjab government for issuing arrest warrants against 25 farmers and adding an attempt to murder charge in the FIR related to the 2022 prime minister security breach incident. The union claims the farmers were protesting peacefully and had no knowledge of the prime minister's route. They argue the government is acting under pressure from the central government.