The Bench and the Bar

Protesting the transfer order of Delhi high court justice Rajiv Shakdher to the Madras high court, prominent senior advocates in Delhi have written to the Supreme Court collegium requesting it to reverse the order.

Three defence lawyers of Kanhaiya Kumar spoken to by Legally Indiasaid it was nearly impossible that lawyers beat Kumar for three hours, as they had boasted in a sting recording by India Today.

Former Madras high court judge Justice CS Karnan, who had objected to his transfer to the Calcutta high court earlier this month by vowing to pass a suo motu order staying his own transfer, with the Supreme Court then effectively stripping him of judicial powers, has struck conciliatory tones.

In a two-page letter sent to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) TS Thakur, with whom he met on 16 February, the two apex court judges who’d ruled against him, justices JS Khehar and R Banumathi, and several politicians, according to a number of reports, he wrote:

Justice Karnan admitted that the order was a result of his “mental frustration resulting in the loss of his mental balance”. He cited two incidents that had actually disturbed him and resulted in passing of the judicial order. “One was an incident that occurred during a marriage reception when a brother judge kicked me and later apologised. In another incident, the same judge allegedly removed the armchair reservation slip on my chair, threw it on the ground and trampled it with his feet. The same was noticed by a brother and sister judge who silently ridiculed me.”

“Now I am constrained to point out these past unfortunate happenings only because I maintain a very social outlook in the mainstream of the society and owe my allegiance to the high reputation of our prestigious court.”

“Hereinafter, I will still continue to foster a harmonious attitude to one and all, and will appreciate your kind reciprocation and oblige.”

The Maharashtra Government may well regret its decision to seek custody of alleged Maoist activist, Prof G Saibaba – who is suffering from 90 per cent disability and moves in a wheel chair due to post polio paralysis - at the Nagpur Central Jail during the trial against him.

A year ago, then chief justice of India H.L. Dattu constituted a bench that would only hear tax cases, recognizing the need to reduce the pile of pending cases in the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court has today issued notice to Central Government on a petition filed on behalf of well-known public interest lawyer, Prashant Bhushan regarding non-issue of full-validity passport to him. (Prashant Bhushan v Union of India & Anr). The Supreme Court has asked the government to file its reply within three weeks.

The Supreme Court was urged today to initiate contempt of court proceedings against three lawyers who were caught in an India Today sting operation claiming that they had beaten JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar for three hours in police custody and would inflict more harm on him.

The case involving the legality of the lightweight, intra-city, four-wheeled travel vehicle, known as quadricycles, took an interesting turn yesterday before the bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI), TS Thakur and Justice UU Lalit, with heavyweight senior lawyers being hired by both the petitioners and the respondents.

The Bar Council of India (BCI) told the Supreme Court today that it unanimously agreed that advocates’ alleged assault of journalists and senior advocates outside of Patiala House district court last week was “really shameful” and a “very unfortunate... incident” that should not be tolerated, according to its affidavit published by Live Law, but that those attacks should be dealt with separately from the alleged attacks on the ‘unlawful assembly’ of JNU students who “need[ed] to be opposed strongly” and “strongly condemned”.

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking construction of Lord Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.

The Supreme Court today issued notice to filmstar Salman Khan on the Maharashtra government’s petition challenging a Bombay high court verdict acquitting him in a 2002 accident case.

The Supreme Court today transferred to the Delhi high court JNU Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar's petition seeking bail and security.

An apex court bench of Justice J Chelameswar and Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre, while transferring Kanhaiya's petition, asked the high court to hear it expeditiously.

The court also recorded the statement of Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar that the lawyers representing Kanhaiya Kumar before the high court and media personnel be provided with full security.

The court directed its secretary general to forthwith transfer Kanhaiya's writ petition and related papers to the high court.

Kanhaiya Kumar's lawyers are likely to mention it for an early hearing before the high court on Friday afternoon.

Not impossible that Delhi HC cannot hear the matter; SC not an appropriate forum and case is not at a right stage to hear the bail: SC

tweeted @CNN-IBN.

Senior counsel Soli Sorabjee, Raju Ramachandran, and advocate Vrinda Grover are all acting for Kumar. Read the petition here.

India’s 156-year-old, colonial-era sedition law - used against arrested Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union President Kanhaiya Kumar - has been discarded by the UK (where punishment once included chopping ears), Scotland, South Korea and Indonesia.

The Supreme Court today cleared the decks for the revocation of President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh as it vacated its own order of status quo that it had passed yesterday.

JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, arrested for sedition, on Thursday moved the Supreme Court for bail as students rallied in support across the country and the opposition took the row to President Pranab Mukherjee.

Just before noon on 17 February, when the bench comprising justices J Chelameswar and AM Sapre was hearing ND Jayaprakash’s petition against the Ministry of Home Affairs and Delhi Police, seeking protection to the accused, his counsel and journalists in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) sedition case at the Metropolitan court, advocate Rajiv Yadav shouted the beginning of the “national song” vande mataram (I praise thee, mother), disturbing the court proceedings.