The observations by a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan came after the Centre apprised it that ongoing wave of the pandemic appears to be 'harsher' than earlier.
The Gujarat high court on Monday allowed the Special Investigation Team to take voice samples of the two accused in the Naroda Gam case for matching it with the audio-video evidence in the case.Justice M R Shah, hearing the SIT's appeal challenging the special riot court's order, allowed the agency to collect voice samples of Babu Bajrangi and former Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Jaydeep Patel, accused in the Naroda Gam case.
"If the states are not complying with the directions and orders of the Central government, you are not helpless. You have to ensure that your order is implemented. "You have got the power under the Disaster Management Act. You can take steps also," the bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre.
The PM said that the Supreme Court has conducted the highest number of hearings via video-conferencing in the world during the coronavirus pandemic.
The bench said the Union Cabinet Secretary will be the convenor of the task force and may nominate an officer not below the rank of Additional Secretary to depute for him, when necessary.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to grant interim protection from arrest to Ali Abbas Zafar, director of the web series Tandav, and others seeking the quashing of FIRs against them for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus, and issued notices Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and other states on their pleas.
The court said the situation is "going out of control" in Gujarat.
In a setback to telecom service providers, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Centre's plea to recover adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of about Rs 92,000 crore from them.
On August 17, the top court had deferred the hearing on Dilawar's plea after it was informed that the Chief Justice of the high court has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 and the functioning was postponed till August 19.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said the country needs to be prepared for the third wave of COVID-19 which experts say could be more harmful, especially for children, and emphasised upon the need to create buffer stock of oxygen.
The apex court said the Annual Confidential Report evaluation criteria for grant of permanent commission to women officers ignored the achievement and laurels brought by them to the Indian Army.
The solicitor general said that the PM CARES Fund is a 'voluntary fund'. "It is a public trust. It is a body where you can make voluntary contributions and no budgetary allocations to the NDRF or SDRF are being touched. What has to be spent will be spent," the law officer said.
The Centre informed the Supreme Court on Monday that a decision is likely in 2-3 days over charging of interest by banks on instalments which were deferred during the moratorium period in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, S K Kaul and M R Shah said that 'with regard to this incident, this court has already taken cognisance. There is no question of multiplying the petitions one by one'.
A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud acknowledged that the Madras high court's remarks were 'harsh', but did not expunge them, saying they do not form part of the judicial order.
The Delhi high court had directed the Centre on Tuesday to show cause as to why contempt should not be initiated against it for failing to comply with its order.
The top court asked the Centre to file a compliance report within four weeks on payment of salaries and quarantine facilities to doctors and healthcare workers and warned that non-compliance would be viewed seriously.
AGR dues calculated by the government for 16 entities add up to Rs 1.69 lakh crore, while telcos' self-assessment place their dues at a mere Rs 37,176 crore.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), in its circular, had asked all employers to make payment of wages to their workers without any deduction for the period their establishments were under closure during the lockdown to contain COVID-19.
Justice J R Vora and Justice M R Shah, in their order on Wednesday, said that as the Chief Minister was not a respondent or a party in the murder case of the former minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Haren Pandya, he had no locus in this case at this stage. Demanding re-investigation in the murder case, petitioner Vitthal Pandya had filed a 200-page appeal in the High Court, expressing his dissatisfaction over the Central Bureau of Investigation probe.
A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra declined to accept the proposal given by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Vodafone, after he mentioned the matter. Rohatgi said they are willing to pay Rs 2,500 crore today (Monday) and another Rs 1,000 crore by Friday but no coercive action be taken against the company. He urged the bank guarantee deposited with the government by Vodafone should also not be encashed.
Various farmers association and individuals have raised objection to Justice Mishra hearing the matter on the grounds that he has already expressed his mind in the judgment pronounced by the apex court in February last year.
The J&K state and the Centre governments sought adjournment on the ground that the current situation is very sensitive.
The High Court has said the matter was sub-judice when it was made public.
The bench termed as "inhuman" the situation where the people are not provided with any protective gear and they are dying during the process of cleaning of sewage and manholes across the country.
A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said the 'drastic order' passed by the high court without hearing the chief minister has taken 'everybody by surprise' as there was no prayer in the plea by the journalists to lodge a first information report against Rawat.
The court has asked UPA not to table the report in Parliament till the court concludes hearing on a petition filed by a relative of a survivor. \n
A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan and comprising justices R S Reddy and M R Shah said that voluntary contribution can always be made to the NDRF as there is no statutory bar under the Disaster Management Act.
The petition mentions that the scope of inquiry of the Banerjee Committee "extends to more than two states."
The top court granted two weeks to the Centre and RBI to file the affidavit and place before it the decisions taken in this regard.
A bench headed by Justice A K Sikri said the pending review petition filed by the Centre against the apex court's March 20, 2018 verdict and the pleas challenging the new amendments made in the SC/ST verdict will be taken up together.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the Centre should implement "as soon as possible" the interest waiver on loans of up to Rs 2 crore under the RBI's moratorium scheme in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, saying the common man's Diwali is in the government's hands.
The government said the mortality rate due to H1N1 virus has fallen to 10 per cent this year.
The Supreme Court asked the Centre and the RBI on Monday to place on record the K V Kamath committee recommendations on debt restructuring in view of Covid-19 related stress on various sectors as well as the notifications and circulars issued so far on loan moratorium.
'We cannot override the CJI's order... This is nonsense'
The CJI said one of his relatives had earlier appeared on behalf of the victim's mother in the case and observed that it would be appropriate that some other bench hear the review plea at 10:30 am.
It also opposed the suggestion that the contributions be transferred to the National Disaster Response Fund.
While in all, 15 entities owe the government Rs 1.47 lakh crore -- Rs 92,642 crore in unpaid licence fee and another Rs 55,054 crore in outstanding spectrum usage charges, it is not immediately clear just how much of that has been sought by the government by midnight.
The top court said that the amount of neutral substance in a mixture has to be included along with the actual weight of the banned substances for determining whether it is a 'small or commercial quantity' under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
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