The Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna has assured bar leaders that he will consider their demand for withdrawal of the collegium's recommendation to transfer Delhi High Court's Justice Yashwant Varma. The decision came after representatives of six bar associations of different high courts met with the CJI and other collegium members. The bar associations are protesting the proposed repatriation of Justice Varma to his parent high court, alleging that the evidence in a fire incident at his residence was tampered with. The bar associations have also raised concerns about the non-registration of an FIR in the incident.
The current situation in Kerala politics is perhaps best described as a case of the state's traditional two front politics now seeing a third front (the BJP) muscling in with the potential outcome being either a messy three front affair or a renewed endorsement of the two front pattern but with one of the old fronts compromised or quashed, observes Shyam G Menon.
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has decided to dissolve the advisory committee of a temple in the Kollam district where the RSS 'Gana Geetham' (prayer song) was sung during a musical concert.
The Supreme Court has directed the CBI to conduct a pan-India investigation into digital arrest scams and questioned the RBI about its lack of AI usage in detecting and freezing accounts used by cybercriminals.
A court of chief judicial magistrate granted the police 60 days to carry out the probe and directed it to provide progress reports every three weeks, public prosecutor K Balachandra Menon said.
A group of retired judges has criticized Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks about opposition vice-presidential candidate B Sudershan Reddy and the Salwa Judum judgement, calling them 'unfortunate'.
A private marketing firm in Kerala has been accused of subjecting its underperforming employees to degrading treatment, including making them walk on their knees like chained dogs and lick coins from the floor. The state Labour department has ordered a probe into the alleged inhuman workplace harassment after disturbing visuals were aired by local television channels. The incident has sparked outrage and prompted investigations by the Labour department, the State Human Rights Commission, and the Kerala State Youth Commission.
Her lawyers told the court that it was impossible to get informed written consent of the husband and if the matter was delayed any further, the worst may happen.
The Supreme Court's opinion on the presidential reference can impact on any number of cases if and when governors, if not the President, take a literary view of the Supreme Court's 'ppinion' on their 'discretionary powers' without reference to the rider on 'reasonable time', points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Kerala high court on Thursday held that freedom of speech and expression available to the press and media could not trample on the right to dignity, reputation and privacy available to the citizen, especially when reporting about criminal investigations or cases pending before various courts.
Therefore, a couple that lives together by virtue of an agreement cannot claim it to be a marriage nor seek a divorce based on that, the high court said.
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain for a third time a petition challenging the CBFC certification granted to controversial movie The Kerala Story, saying courts must be very careful while staying exhibition of films.
The Bombay High Court has dismissed the petitions of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) challenging arbitral awards of over Rs 538 crore (Rs 5,038 million) in favour of the now-defunct Indian Premier League franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala.
The Deepa Thoon controversy, if not allowed to die a natural death, could take the election focus away from the anti-incumbency impacting the DMK and into the secular space. Stalin would love to have it that way, all over again, after the three past elections, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by the Kerala government against the state high court verdict rejecting the pleas challenging the Centre's decision to lease out Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to Adani Enterprises Ltd.
Can a culture survive as a way of life, even as the language and writing at its core, alter with time? Can we be rational and Malayalee or do we have to necessarily be religious and proudly cultural to be Malayalee? asks Shyam G Menon.
He was disqualified as Lok Sabha member on January 25, days after a sessions court at Kavaratti had convicted him and three others on charges of attempting to murder P Salih and sentenced all the three to rigourous imprisonment for 10 years.
Kodikunnil Suresh, the Opposition's pick for the Lok Sabha speaker who will go up against the Bharatiya Janata Party's Om Birla, is a Congress veteran, an eight-term MP and one whose election in 2009 was declared invalid by the Kerala high court before being restored by the Supreme Court.
The Congress in Kerala on Friday approached the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the decision of Doordarshan to telecast the controversial movie The Kerala Story, saying it was a 'tacit effort' to divide society on religious grounds to further the electoral prospects of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Supreme Court has requested the Election Commission to respond to petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The court has also asked the Madras and Calcutta High Courts to keep proceedings on similar petitions in abeyance.
The Governor and the ruling LDF in the state have been at loggerheads since the Supreme Court verdict quashing the reappointment of Gopinath Ravindran as VC of Kannur University and berating the Left government for its "unwarranted intervention" in the matter.
A 91-year-old man accused of stabbing his 88-year-old wife following accusations of an illicit relationship has been granted bail by the Kerala High Court. The court, in its order, expressed hope for a happy life for the couple, acknowledging their enduring bond and highlighting the importance of love and companionship in old age. The court quoted the late Malayalam poet N N Kakkad's final work, Saphalamee Yathra, a poem that reflects on ageing, love, and quiet companionship.
The display of RSS founder KB Hedgewar's portraits during a temple festival in Kollam district has sparked controversy in Kerala, prompting the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to request a report from its vigilance wing. The images of Hedgewar were reportedly displayed along with the photos of prominent social reformers like Sree Narayana Guru and B R Ambedkar during Kollam Pooram festival here on Tuesday night. TDB sources said the management of Puthiyakavu Temple, a local shrine in the district which does not come under its ambit, is allegedly responsible for the showcasing of the images of the RSS leader during the "kudamattam" as part of the Pooram festivities.
The 71-year-old politician has been asked to depose at the agency office in Kochi on January 12, they said.
The Kerala High Court granted anticipatory bail to veteran actor-cum-director Balachandra Menon in a case accusing him of outraging the modesty of a female actor in 2007 during a film shoot. The court said that men too have "pride and dignity" and not just women. The case was lodged in September this year after the release of the Justice Hema Committee report, which was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case.
This Women's Day Week, we celebrate the groundbreaking achievements of Justice Anna Chandy, Justice M Fathima Beevi and Justice Leila Seth.
Senior advocate Harish Salve mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha.
The court said the accident happened as a result of "the deadly cocktail of callousness, greed and official apathy."
'They will cover up the failures of all the others.'
In a blow to the soft drinks majors Coca-Cola and Pepsi, the Kerala High Court on Friday declined to stay the government order banning the manufacture and sale of their products in the state.
The petitioner, advocate PV Jeevesh, said that while the Centre gave Hindi and Sanskrit titles to those important legislations, the majority of the legal fraternity in South India is not conversant with the two languages.
The social media posts criticising the suo motu initiations of the high court recently drew the ire of Justice Devan Ramachandran, who along with Justice Sophy Thomas, had considered the suo motu PIL on the boat tragedy that occurred on May 7, which claimed 22 lives.
The court said the chancellor's order to withdraw nominations of the members was not based on any reason and "was rather founded on prejudice".
The Adani group on Friday moved the Kerala high court seeking the assistance of central forces to continue with construction at the Vizhinjam seaport in Thiruvananthapuram which was marred by violent protests recently halting the work.
The Kerala High Court has criticized both the ruling front and the opposition in the state for holding public meetings that block public roads and footpaths. The court observed that the December 5 incident, where the CPI(M) held a conference outside the Vanchiyoor court complex in Thiruvananthapuram, was a "clear case of breach of trust" as the government holds the roads as a trustee of the people. The court has directed the police to submit a report by December 16 identifying those involved in the meeting, including those who attended and were seen on-stage in news reports. The court also pointed out that the stage for the meeting was constructed right on top of the pedestrian/zebra crossing, completely blocking the carriageway on one side of the road. This caused traffic snarls and inconvenienced pedestrians, including school children, infants, and elderly persons. The court said that provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and other laws, like the Motor Vehicles Act, would be applicable to the incident.
The Kerala high court has declined to stay the govt order imposing a ban on the Coca-Cola bottling plant at Plachimada from extracting groundwater till June 15.
The Supreme Court on Friday quashed the Kerala high court order granting anticipatory bail to four people, including a former director general of police (DGP), in a case of alleged frame-up of scientist Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 ISRO espionage matter.
The court directed police to provide protection for the "smooth functioning" of the college in order to conduct the admission process.
The plea filed by advocate Ashok Pandey asked whether the conviction of an accused can be stayed by the court of appeal and if, based on it, a Lok Sabha member's disqualification can be revoked.
'In three years, you will have an AI model that will be smarter than the smartest mathematician or the smartest scientist.'
