Category: LEGAL NEWS

Two Sikh bodies today made unsuccessful attempts in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court to stall the release of the movie ‘Nanak Shah Fakir’, which would hit theatres across the nation tomorrow. Both the top court and the high court rejected the respective pleas of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) to accord urgent hearing. But later, the Supreme Court listed the matter for hearing on April 16 and the high court for April 22. As the apex court began its…

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The Chief Justice of India (CJI) is the “first among equals” and occupies a unique position having the “exclusive prerogative” to allocate cases and set up benches to hear cases, the Supreme Court ruled today. The verdict assumed significance as it came in the backdrop of the January 12 unprecedented press conference of senior-most judges including Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph raising the issue of improper allocation of cases. Significantly, senior advocate and former law minister Shanti Bhushan has also recently filed a PIL…

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The Supreme Court today refused to extend the last date for the filing of nominations for panchayat polls in West Bengal, saying it could not interfere with the election process. The top court, however, granted liberty to all candidates to approach the West Bengal State Election Commission for appropriate relief. “We have not interfered with the election process but we have granted liberty to all candidates to approach State Election Commission today itself for necessary relief,” a bench of Justices R K Agrawal and A M Sapre said. The BJP…

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A wife is not a “chattel” or an “object” and she cannot be forced to reside with her husband even if the man desires to live with her, the Supreme Court has said. The apex court observed this while hearing a matter in which a woman, who lodged a criminal case against her husband alleging cruelty, said that she do not want to live with him while the man maintained that he wants to reside with her. “She is not a chattel. You (man) cannot force her. She does not…

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Actor Salman Khan was today granted bail by a district and sessions court here in the 1998 black buck poaching case in which he has been sentenced to five years in jail. District and Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi allowed Khan’s plea for bail and suspension of sentence so that he can file an appeal against his conviction and sentencing. Khan, who had spent two nights in the Jodhpur Central Jail after his sentencing on Thursday, granted bail on a bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of like amount,…

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A district and sessions judge, who was supposed to pronounce order on Salman Khan’s application for bail and suspension of sentence in 1998 black buck poaching case, has been transferred as part of a reshuffle. In a late night development, Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi has been transferred to Sirohi, as per an order of the Rajasthan High Court. Chandra Kumar Songara will be replacing him in Jodhpur’s sessions court. Joshi is among 134 judges transferred by the Registrar General of the High Court. The actor, who was on Thursday…

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The Congress’ West Bengal unit chief Adhir Chowdhury today moved the Calcutta High Court seeking deployment of central forces for three-tier panchayat polls to be held in the state next month. He also sought the court’s direction to the State Election Commission to take steps for free and fair polls and to ensure that opposition candidates can file their nomination papers peacefully. The state Congress president appeared before the court in person owing to an ongoing ‘cease work’ strike by lawyers and pleaded for an early hearing as the panchayat…

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The Supreme Court today refused to order a CBI probe into cases of fuel adulteration, saying that the law was already in place to enable the authorities to take action against such malpractices. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra noted that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has filed an affidavit stating the steps taken by public sector oil companies to conduct regular checks on the quality and quantity of petrol and diesel being supplied by retail outlets to the public at large. “It has been stated…

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A Jodhpur court today convicted Bollywood star Salman Khan for killing two blackbucks in October 1998 but acquitted his colleagues Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre, a prosecution lawyer said. A fifth person, Dushyant Singh, a local from the area, has also been acquitted, Mahipal Bishnoi, the prosecution counsel, told reporters. Salman was found guilty of killing the blackbucks, from the antelope family, in Kankani village near Jodhpur on the night of October 1, 1998 during the shooting of the film “Hum Saath Saath Hain”. While the media…

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A local court here has dismissed a sedition case lodged against Samajwadi Party leader Mohd Azam Khan for allegedly making controversial remarks on Kashmir. Chief Judicial Magistrate Amarjeet Singh dismissed the case yesterday and rejected the final report filed by the police in the matter. The case was registered against Khan by Bajrang Dal leader Ujjawal Gupta for his alleged controversial comments on Kashmir on December 21, 2010. The investigating officer had filed a final report in the case on May 5, 2012, against which Gupta had moved a protest…

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