It will be court's opinion versus the legislative power to enact law, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said as it posted the pleas challenging the appointment of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners under the 2023 law on February 4.
A press conference addressed by Aam Aadmi Party leader Prashant Bhushan was on Monday disrupted by a man in New Delhi, protesting his comment on presence of army in Jammu and Kashmir.
The apex court in November 2009, had issued contempt notice to Bhushan and Tejpal for allegedly casting aspersions on some sitting and former top court judges in an interview to a news magazine.
Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, an Allahabad High Court judge, is set to appear before the Supreme Court Collegium to explain his controversial statements made at a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) function. The Supreme Court has sought a report from the Allahabad High Court after news reports surfaced regarding Justice Yadav's remarks, which were widely condemned as "hate speech". The judge's statements, made at a VHP event, sparked outrage from various quarters, including opposition leaders and lawyers. The Bar Association of India has also condemned the judge's remarks and called for an apology.
All 26 victims were men.
The Supreme Court will hear a plea seeking an independent selection process for the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on March 17. The PIL, filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, argues that the current system of appointment solely by the executive and the prime minister violates the Constitution and undermines the CAG's independence. The petition calls for a transparent process involving the prime minister, Leader of the Opposition, and Chief Justice of India. The PIL contends that the CAG's role as a watchdog over government finances requires a fair and non-arbitrary appointment procedure.
He tried to control damage by tweeting later that his remarks had been distorted and he had no intention of hurting religious sentiments.
The Supreme Court of India has asked petitioners in two Public Interest Litigations (PILs) to make representations to the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding their demand for uploading polling booth-wise voter turnout data on the ECI website. The PILs, filed by TMC MP Mahua Moitra and NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, seek a direction for the ECI to upload the data within 48 hours of the conclusion of polling in Lok Sabha and assembly elections. The ECI, represented by senior advocate Maninder Singh, expressed willingness to deliberate on the matter and suggested a meeting with the petitioners to address their concerns. The court has adjourned the hearing to the week of July 28.
As the top court reserved its verdict on the sentence to be awarded to Bhushan, Justice Arun Mishra, who presided over a three-judge bench, at the fag end of the nearly three hour-long hearing also asked why he cannot seek an apology and what was wrong in using this word.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday deprecated the practice of announcing freebies prior to elections, and said people were not willing to work as they were getting free ration and money.
Vicky Nanjappa and Sharat Pradhan ask a few intellectuals on the campaign against the Bhushans and what happens next.
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Friday said he will file a contempt of court case against Amar Singh and police officials in connection with the controversial CD purportedly featuring his father and prominent jurist Shanti Bhushan.
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on threatened to resign and lashed out at its founder-members Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, moments before they were sacked from the National Executive, accusing them of engaging in "anti-party" activities.
While Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh demanded resignation of father-son duo Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan from the Lokpal Bill drafting committee, the civil society members raised doubts over the forensic test report.
'We are living in an undeclared Emergency.' 'Declared Emergency was easier to handle.' 'Nobody knows where an undeclared Emergency will take the country.'
Amid the turmoil in Team Anna on the issue, the Congress on Friday condemned Prashant Bhushan's advocacy of plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir, declaring that the state was an integral part of India and there can be "no second thought" in the matter.
Former Law minister Shanti Bhushan, co-chairman of the joint committee to draft the Lok Pal bill, and his son Prashant Bhushan, also a member of the committee, are likely to be in a new controversy, just a day before the first Lok Pal joint draft committee meeting.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday pledged to protect the rights of 'eligible candidates' who lost their jobs after a recent Supreme Court verdict, evoking mixed responses from the affected teachers, thousands of whom turned up to hear the leader speak but remained dangling between hope and despair after she finished.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, who will appear before a court for breaching prohibitory orders while protesting outside the residences of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi in August last year, on Tuesday said he will not seek bail and would prefer going to jail.
Supreme Court lawyer and Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan was attacked on Wednesday evening for his remarks on Kashmir. Police have identified two right-wing groups behind the incident.
Raking up the controversial CD issue, expelled Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh on Tuesday asked why the Delhi police was not taking action against lawyers Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan. "Since the Delhi police says that the CD -- in which Shanti Bhushan purportedly offered to manage a judge through his lawyer son Prashant -- is genuine, then their place is in Tihar jail and not next to Anna Hazare," he said.
Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and four other leaders of India Against Corruption on Monday accused the police of harassing their supporters, who participated in the protest on August 26 against coal block allocation. Kejriwal, Bhushan, Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai, Kumar Vishwas and Sanjay Singh went to the Parliament Street police station on Monday morning and met additional commissioner K C Dwivedi.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has criticized the government's decision to appoint Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) in the middle of the night, arguing that it is "disrespectful" and "discourteous" given the ongoing Supreme Court challenge to the selection process. Gandhi presented a dissent note to the selection committee, stating that the process violates the Supreme Court order and undermines the integrity of the electoral process.
The Supreme Court of India expressed concerns about the long-term sustainability of providing free rations to migrant workers, emphasizing the need for job creation and capacity building instead. The court's remarks came during a hearing on the ongoing issue of providing relief to migrant workers, a matter that gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The court questioned the government's reliance on freebies and stressed the importance of creating opportunities for migrant workers to become self-sufficient. The debate highlighted the challenges of balancing immediate relief with long-term economic solutions for vulnerable populations.
Activists Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan were among four persons named by Delhi police in its FIRs for "provoking" protesters during demonstration in the capital on the coal block allocation issue.
The Congress on Friday said there was "nothing illegal, malafide or unethical" in the business dealings of Robert Vadra with realty major DLF and accused BJP of unleashing its "B-team" India Against Corruption to "regurgitate" the old allegations.
Justice Vishwanathan said he was in "the Common Cause (the NGO which had filed the PIL in coal scam cases). This case was of the ED (Enforcement Directorate), but still...".
'He was the best court craftsman that I have ever seen who could modulate his arguments in accordance with the judge and the mood.'
The Central Information Commission has directed the Delhi Police and Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh to make public forensic reports in the alleged doctored CD case carrying conversation among lawyers Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan, Amar Singh and Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The matter is pending for a long time and it be listed before the appropriate bench on September 10, the bench said in a hearing conducted through video conferencing.
If Prashant Bhushan were to be allowed to go scot-free, it would open the floodgates for abuse of the courts, argues Virendra Kapoor.
Bhushan is facing contempt proceedings for his interview to Tehelka magazine in which he made the insinuations against Justice Kapadia in 2009 as well as some other judges and previous CJIs.
Amidst rumblings within the state Bharatiya Janata Party seeking a change of leadership in strife-torn Manipur, Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Sunday tendered his resignation to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla at the Raj Bhavan in Imphal.
The NGO challenges the validity of a provision of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.
The party sent the suspension notices to Uttar Pradesh leaders Rakesh Sinha and Vishal Sharma Lathe for openly coming out in support of Yadav and Bhushan.
The team members reached Ralegan Siddhi on Sunday morning and are expected to brief Hazare about the discussions held at the meeting held at Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.
The Supreme Court of India has sought a response from the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding pleas seeking verification of burnt memory and symbol loading units in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The court directed the ECI to refrain from erasing or reloading data during the verification process and to explain the procedure adopted for verification. The bench also expressed concerns over the high cost of verification and directed the ECI to reduce the fee. The court's directive comes following its previous judgement where it allowed aggrieved candidates to seek verification of EVMs.
Hours after the attack on Wednesday morning on the Aam Aadmi Party headquarters in Kaushambi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal questioned the miscreants' motive and wondered whether they wanted to kill him and Prashant Bhushan because of the latter's remarks on Kashmir.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday said that three of its senior leaders -- Yogendra Yadav and Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan -- were working to ensure the party's defeat in the recently held assembly elections in Delhi, and therefore, this was justification enough to expel them from the Political Affairs Committee.
Kashmiri Pandits should be brought back and their views taken into consideration said advocate, social activist Prashant Bhushan, who is also a core committee member in Anna Haraze's team on Saturday, at the San Francisco Bay Area.