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12 May 2016
SCOI Reports

The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce on Friday its verdict on a batch of petitions including by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy challenging the constitutional validity of sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code providing for criminal defamation.

12 May 2016
SCOI Reports

Prashant Bhushan, acting for the NGO Angel Trust, has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court that more stringent punishments should be levied against those convicted of cruelty against animals, particularly in the pet shops industry.

12 May 2016
SCOI Reports

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rapped Haryana, Gujarat and Bihar on the drought issue and directed the Centre to convene an urgent meeting with their chief secretaries to assess the drought situations in these states.

10 May 2016
SCOI Reports

As the Supreme Court's three-Judge bench comprising justices Anil R Dave, Shiva Kirti Singh and Adarsh Kumar Goel, began hearing the NEET case on 6 May at 2 pm at the packed Court No 2, senior advocates, Vikas Singh and Rajeev Dhavan made brief submissions first.

06 May 2016
SCOI Reports

The Supreme Court today cleared the decks for ousted Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat to prove his legislative majority in the state assembly on Tuesday, but nine disqualified rebel Congress legislators won't be allowed to vote.

The top court said it would monitor the voting that is to take place at 11 a.m. The entire proceedings of the house will be videographed, the court said.

The two-judge division bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Shiva Kirti Singh also ordered that President's Rule in the hill state will be kept in abeyance from 10.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the house proceedings.

The order came after the central government informed the court that it was ready to conduct a floor test in Uttarakhand only if it is done under the top court's supervision.

"There should be one agenda (for the short session in the assembly). It should only be a test of strength between the two political alliances in the assembly," Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the court, appearing for the central government.

Rohatgi told reporters that the voting record and the videographed proceeding would be handed over to the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Uttarakhand has been under President's Rule since 27 March after the central government dismissed the Congress government led by Rawat, citing constitutional crisis in the hill state.

The central government invoked the controversial Article 356 to remove Rawat saying his government was in minority after nine Congress legislators rebelled.

President's Rule was lifted for a few hours in the state following an Uttarakhand High Court order on 21 April. It was reimposed by the Supreme Court a day later.

Uttarakhand was plunged into political crisis after nine Congress legislators, including former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, whom Rawat replaced, rebelled and turned to the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The crisis peaked on 18 March when the assembly passed a finance bill by voice vote even as the opposition, backed by the rebel Congress members, demanded recorded voting. The BJP cried foul after Speaker Govind Kunjwal declined.

Rawat was then asked by Governor KK Paul to prove his majority on 28 March. Two days ahead of the voting, Speaker Kunjwal disqualified the Congress rebels.

In the 70-member house, the Congress has 27 legislators, excluding the rebels who won't be allowed to take part in the trust vote on Tuesday. The BJP has 28 members. There are six from other parties who have earlier voiced their support for the Congress government.

Rawat would need at least 32 members to support him in the house whose strength has been reduced to 61 after the disqualification of nine members.

Disqualified "rightly or wrongly", the Supreme Court said, the nine Congress members cannot vote in Tuesday's floor test.

05 May 2016
SCOI Reports

As the hearing of the state Governments in the ongoing NEET [National Eligibility cum Entrance Test] case began this afternoon at Court 2, the Additional Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, who is the counsel for the Gujarat Government, was the first one to argue.

05 May 2016
SCOI Reports

"Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice K M Joseph, who recently delivered the strongly-worded judgment quashing President’s Rule in the state, [will be transferred] to the High Court of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. News of his transfer evoked a strong reaction in legal and other circles, with senior advocate Indira Jaising putting out a series of tweets questioning the collegium’s move," reported the Indian Express.

04 May 2016
SCOI Reports

The Supreme Court collegium has recommended four names for elevation to the Supreme Court.

03 May 2016
SCOI Reports

At Court No 3 before noon today, the going was tough for the special leave petitions (SLPs), in direct proportion to the persistence of the counsel with their pleas.

03 May 2016
SCOI Reports

Shortly before lunch the matter of the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) appointment came up in Court 3 with Prashant Bhushan, counsel for petitioner, making the submissions of why the CVC's appointment was dubious.

02 May 2016
SCOI Reports

In the ongoing hearing of petitions seeking the right to worship for women devotees of the Sabarimala temple before a Justice Dipak Misra-led three-judge bench this afternoon at Court No.4, senior counsel KK Venugopal, while arguing for the temple board, said women could not be recruited to be fielded in the frontline of armed forces, because they lack courage.

30 April 2016
SCOI Reports

The Supreme Court on Saturday refused to give more time to taxi operators in the National Capital Region (NCR) to switch from diesel to the cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG).

The deadline for the change, which has been extended twice, is Saturday.

A number of cab operators and their associations urged the court for an extension of the deadline, but a bench comprising Chief Justice TS Thakur, Justice AK Sikri and Justice R Banumati refused the request.

The apex court had initially asked the diesel cab operators in the NCR to switch over to CNG by 1 March. That deadline was later extended to 31 March and then to 30 April.

The matter related to steps to be taken to curb alarming increase in air pollution in the national capital.

30 April 2016
SCOI Reports

"On NEET 2016 you made a good order Sir! Just make it better," careers coach Mahesh Sarma writes in an open letter to Supreme Court Justice Anil R Dave, who ordered last week that all students who want to take under-graduate medical courses would have to take National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET).

29 April 2016
SCOI Reports

Pay to play: A good idea as far as rich corporates and litigation go?So, Chief Justice of India (CJI) TS Thakur today lectured senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi…

29 April 2016
SCOI Reports

Gopal SubramaniumAsking the Supreme Court to quash a resolution of Parliament is not a simple thing. That too in the face of eminent voices in the legal fraternity disapproving of such a plea.

28 April 2016
SCOI Reports

Tense moments were witnessed when Justice Ranjan Gogoi, sitting with Pinaki Chandra Ghose, was dictating order in the Supreme Court’s room 7 at 3:30pm earlier today, in the contempt petition against the Union of India, and the Delhi and Tamil Nadu Governments in the political advertisements case.