The high court directed the state government to "immediately implement" its Tuesday's judgement to transfer a case on the attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials at Sandeshkhali to the CBI and hand over custody of the main accused Sheikh to the central agency.
The hate speech case is related to a Hindu Yuva Vahini event organised in Delhi under the leadership of Suresh Chavhanke, the editor of 'Sudarshan News', in December 2021.
"Everyday fringe elements are making speeches to vilify others including on TV and public forums," the bench said.
The Supreme Court has directed the Maharashtra state election commission to notify local body elections in the state within four weeks. The court also ruled that the contentious issue of OBC reservation in local body polls will be as it existed prior to the 2022 Banthia Commission report. The court accepted the commission's report, which recommended a census to fix exact data on OBCs and reserve 27 per cent seats for the category in local body polls in Maharashtra. The bench on Tuesday fixed a timeline for concluding the local body polls and asked the state panel to conclude it in four months. The outcome of Maharashtra local body elections would be subject to decisions in pending petitions before the apex court.
The PIL has also sought contempt action against Uddhav's wife Rashmi Thackeray, editor of Saamana.
The joint petition, filed by senior journalist N Ram, former Union minister Arun Shourie, and lawyer Prashant Bhushan, submitted that the impugned sub-section is unconstitutional as it is incompatible with preambular values and basic features of the Constitution.
Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra has once again found himself at the center of a controversy, this time for his comments about Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Kamra has been a controversial figure for years, with his comedy often targeting politicians and other public figures. This latest incident has led to a backlash from Shinde's supporters, who have vandalized the venue of Kamra's show. Kamra has a history of making controversial remarks, including heckling a TV anchor on a flight and making comments about the judiciary.
The apex court had in January held the man guilty of contempt for his failure to bring back his son to India in terms of a court order.
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 Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking action against Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for his claims about his wife's recovery from stage 4 cancer, emphasizing the right to free speech. The court stated that Sidhu's claims were merely opinions and could be countered by others through free speech, not legal action. The petitioner argued that Sidhu's claims about the efficacy of certain dietary remedies could mislead the public, but the court asserted that if Sidhu's wife, a doctor herself, felt better with a specific diet, it was her prerogative. The court further suggested that the petitioner focus on issues like alcohol and cigarette consumption if truly concerned about public interest.
A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra was informed by senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, who was representing the petitioners, that they want to withdraw the plea as several petitions on the same issue are pending before the apex court and they don't want 'this to be entangled' with them.
The pleas came up for hearing before a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan which heard the submissions of advocate Nishant R Katneshwarkar, who appeared for one of the petitioners and claimed that Kamra had posted several tweets scandalous to the judiciary.
A team of CBI officials reached CID headquarters Bhawani Bhawan in Kolkata before 4 pm. But the handover from the state agency took place at around 6:48 pm, despite the Calcutta high court setting a deadline of 4.15 pm.
The state government, citing law and order issues due to protests by certain groups in the event of the RSS taking out a route march on Gandhi Jayanthi (Oct 2), refused permission.
Bhushan on August 31 was directed to deposit the fine with the Supreme Court registry by September 15 and failure to comply would entail a three-month jail term and debarment from law practice for three years.
The plea was filed a day after Attorney General K K Venugopal granted consent for initiation of criminal contempt proceedings against Kamra, saying the tweets are in bad taste and it is time that people understand that attacking the apex court brazenly will attract punishment under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1972.
The Supreme Court on Friday said if it finds that authorities in Gujarat acted in contempt of its order on demolition of properties, it will ask them to restore the structures.
The court said the remarks made by Gandhi were far from true and he should have refrained from those and could have been careful.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who is a member of the newly constituted 10 member draft committee of the Lokpal Bill along with his father Shanti Bhushan, has decided to move a criminal contempt petition in the Supreme Court on Monday."I am moving a criminal contempt petition in the Supreme Court against those who have brought out a controversial CD against my father Shanti Bhushan with the intention of maligning his name," Prashant Bushan said.
The Bombay high court on Wednesday said it does not pay heed to remarks made by political leaders and others against the judiciary and remarked that the shoulders of the court are broad enough and as long as the court's conscience is clean, people can say whatever they want to.
Attorney General K K Venugopal had granted consent for initiation of criminal contempt proceedings against Kamra, saying the tweets were in "bad taste".
'Politicians can do symbolism by changing the names of places and museums.' 'Judges need not be seen to be craving for approval from the public.'
A plea claimed that Bhaskar had made "derogatory and scandalous" statements against the courts in the country and mentioned the Ayodhya case judgement.
The apex court on August 31 last year directed the two Sahara group companies to refund the money to their investors within three months with 15 per cent interest per annum.
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a plea alleging contempt of its order on demolition of properties by the authorities in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
The matter was mentioned for urgent hearing before a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha, which took it up on board.
The Bombay high court on Tuesday directed the Union ministries of Law and Judiciary and information and broadcasting to file its reply on a contempt petition against MNS chief Raj Thackeray.
Kamra in his reply had defended the alleged scandalous tweets against the judiciary, saying India would be reduced to a "country of incarcerated artists and flourishing lapdogs" if powerful people and institutions show inability to "tolerate rebuke or criticism".
The top law officer was of the view that the "prima facie" conduct of the chief minister and his principal advisor was 'contumacious', but declined consent saying Reddy had sent the letter to Chief Justice of India S A Bobde who was seized of the matter.
Observing that politicians like Raj Thackeray do not deserve any importance, the Bombay high court on Monday refused to hear a contempt petition filed against the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief while hinting that media make such leaders big by giving them publicity.
In more than one way, it's a setback for the DMK and Chief Minister Stalin in political terms. The electoral fall-out, if any, will have to wait until the next summer, only when assembly elections are due in the state, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The bench was hearing an application filed by the Foundation for Media Professionals seeking the publication of the review orders passed by a special committee headed by the Union Home secretary on internet restrictions in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
'Considering the fact that the Attorney General for India has already declined to grant his consent in the present matter for the reasons detailed in the said letter...the present request made to me is misconceived,' Mehta said in his letter addressed to lawyer Anuj Saxena.
The Supreme Court Friday set aside a Madras High Court direction that the Centre must seek the top court's approval before implementing 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker sections in all-India quota seats of medical colleges.
Employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) continued their strike for the 15th day on Thursday over the demand for merger of the cash-strapped corporation with the state government, despite an appeal from Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to cooperate with the government in its effort to resolve their issues.
The government on Wednesday directed online travel aggregators to process pending refunds related to air ticket bookings during the coronavirus lockdown period by the third week of November. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, there was a nationwide lockdown for varying periods starting from March 25, 2020, and scheduled commercial flight services were also suspended for a certain period. On Wednesday, the consumer affairs ministry held a meeting with online travel aggregators to discuss issues prejudicial to consumer interest in the travel sector.
The WFI remains suspended by the ministry and IOA has refused to re-introduce the ad-hoc panel, leaving the sport and the future of wrestlers in limbo.
Everyone is concerned about the safety of their lives, the Delhi high court observed on Thursday while hearing a plea related to earthquake preparedness in the national capital.
Threatened with contempt action against the Indian Army and its chief Manoj Mukund Naravane by the Supreme Court over non-compliance of its earlier orders, the defence force agreed on Friday to grant permanent commission to all of its eligible women officers.
The apex court also forthwith restrained him from undertaking judicial and administrative work.
