The Supreme Court of India has sought the government's response on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that challenges the appointment process of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), arguing it's unconstitutional. The PIL, filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, claims the current process, solely through executive appointment by the Prime Minister, undermines the CAG's independence and violates constitutional principles. The court, while acknowledging the importance of institutional trust, questioned the extent to which it should intervene in the appointment process and whether this would constitute rewriting constitutional provisions. The PIL suggests the CAG's appointment should be similar to other independent bodies, with a selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, and Chief Justice of India. The case has implications for the independence and transparency of India's audit system.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday asked the Railways to examine the fixing of maximum passengers and sale of platform tickets -- issues raised in a public interest litigation (PIL) over the recent stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station.
According to the PIL, the 'Ghar Ghar Guarantee Scheme' involves the distribution of guarantee cards that promise various financial and material benefits in exchange of votes.
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 bench was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Bombay HC lawyer
The Delhi high court has imposed costs of Rs 1 lakh on a man who made Lord Hanuman his co-litigant in a plea concerning the possession of a private land having a temple of the deity.
Terming as 'unfortunate' the January 29 stampede at Maha Kumbh where at least 30 people were killed, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) for guidelines over safety of devotees and asked the petitioner to move the Allahabad high court instead.
Amid opposition call for his resignation over the Beed sarpanch murder case, Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde on Wednesday said he is ready to quit if asked by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis or deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
The Lucknow bench of the court said the persons concerned may file their responses to the notices within 15 days and directed the state authorities to consider the said replies and a pass reasoned order on those.
A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan remarked that the petition was "totally misconceived" and that the court cannot grant "extraordinary interim bail" to a person holding a high office.
The Madhya Pradesh high court on Monday issued notices to actor Kangana Ranaut, the Centre, censor board and others on a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the screening of her upcoming Hindi film Emergency on the ground it contains scenes that violate fundamental rights of Sikhs.
The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday struck down a public interest litigation seeking directions for covering of statues of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi in various parts of Uttar Pradesh as they may help Congress "derive" political mileage during the assembly polls.
Member of Parliament from Karnataka Rajeev Chandrashekar has offered to bear 50 per cent of the cost of filing Public Interest Litigations for anyone with a legitimate one.
The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to give an urgent hearing to a public interest litigation seeking apex court-monitored probe by a special investigation team or central vigilance commission into the alleged kickbacks in the Rs 3600-crore VVIP chopper deal.
An interested person is not entitled to file a public interest litigation, the Supreme Court has said while dismissing a plea against an order of the Karnataka high court which had rejected a petition on the issue related to pension to state information commissioners.
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.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta took note of the submissions of lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGOs 'Common Cause' and the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, that the plea needed to be listed for hearing at the earliest.
A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Kamal Khata took suo motu cognizance of the tragic incident and initiated a public interest litigation on the issue.
'Whoever is doing it (threats to airlines), they are actually carrying out a recce.' 'This is the manner in which terrorists strike.'
He further opined that though as public functionaries, courts were vested with the responsibility to give effect to equity, these judicial bodies were not directly in charge of the manner in which resources were to be distributed.
On Monday, Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, mentioned an interim application before a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice J B Pardiwala.
The petitioners also sought action against beneficiaries of the alleged commission of Rs 640 crore in the deal.
The petition, filed by Bajrang Dal leader Shaktisinh Zala, claimed that "noise pollution" caused by azan when played through loudspeakers affects people's, especially children's health and causes inconvenience otherwise.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday questioned the justification behind reducing and waiving police protection charges levied during cricket matches in Maharashtra with a retrospective effect from the year 2011, and said "something is amiss".
The Bombay High Court on Thursday said if parents can buy their children cricket gear then they can buy bottled water too.
The Supreme Court Registry is learnt to have refused to accept the Centre's plea seeking modification of its 2012 verdict in the 2G spectrum case which had said the State was duty bound to adopt the auction route while transferring or alienating the country's natural resources.
The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to soft drink majors Pepsico and Coca Cola on a petition seeking that there should be a disclosure by the companies about the ingredients and chemical composition of the product.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and S Ravindra Bhat considered lawyer ML Sharma's submission that a direction for issuing a letters rogatory to collect fresh evidence relating to the deal be issued.
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea seeking a single 'constitutional religion' in the country, asking the petitioner can he prevent people from following their respective religious faiths.
'By extending the definition of 'personal' to include institutions and not just individuals, the State has equipped itself with a tool to block access to most kinds of information.'
The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre on a Public Interest Litigation challenging the legality of the government's decision to privatise public sector oil firms Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation.
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.
While dismissing a public interest litigation that challenged the sanctity of the oath taken by members of the legislative assembly in the name of certain persons instead of as mandated in the Constitution, the high court has said that Buddha, Basaveshwara and Ambedkar are considered as divine incarnations which is the same meaning the Constitution employs to denote 'God'.
The bench said it would be difficult for the poll panel to mobilise manpower for uploading the voter turnout data on its website.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea challenging the Delhi high court order which had rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to halt Central Vista construction work in view of the COVID pandemic.
The PIL also seeks a direction to the Election Commission to invoke its powers to freeze the election symbols and cancel the registration of such political parties.
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in its investigation against Indiabulls Housing Finance has found the mortgage financier non-compliant with regards to unavailability of certain information on its website as well as its internal policy. Thereby, it has directed the company to take corrective measures and inform the stock exchanges in a months' time. Several public interest litigations (PILs) and FIRs were filed against Indiabulls Housing Finance back in 2019, alleging irregularities, siphoning of funds, and other violations committed by the promoters of the company.
'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 high court, which refused to prepone the date of hearing of the petition, said an endeavour shall be made to hear and dispose of the petition on April 10.
