A very eventful week marked the days at the Supreme Court before it closed for a 6 week long summer vacation..The Uttarakhand Assembly case, and judgments pertaining to criminal defamation and call drops hogged the limelight this week. The appeal in contempt against Senior Advocate Yatin Oza saw a very interesting hearing though the main media largely refrained from reporting it. The week came to a close with the court getting 4 new judges – Justices AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and L Nageswara Rao..Here is a flashback of the events this past week at the Supreme Court of India..May 9.Uttarakhand: No interim relief for disqualified MLAs, floor test ordered without them.The Court refused to grant any interim relief for 9 disqualified MLAs of Uttarakhand. A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh issued notice in the appeal filed by the 9 MLAs against the judgment of Uttarakhand High Court but refused any interim relief..Senior Advocate Aryama Sundaram appeared for the MLAs..These 9 MLAs had not offered their support for an Appropriation Bill in the Assembly which had ultimately led to Presidential rule in the State..The Uttarakhand High Court had pronounced it’s judgment at 10.15 am on that day. Immediately thereafter, the matter was mentioned by Sundaram before the Chief Justice at 10.30 am for urgent listing. The Chief Justice directed Sundaram to approach the Bench hearing the matter..Subsequently, the matter was heard at 1.15 pm and 4 pm by the Bench presided by Justice Dipak Misra which refused interim relief. With the decision of the court refusing stay, the Floor test would go on to happen without the 9 MLAs..NEET: Finality finally; Phase 1 students can appear for phase 2.The Court finally put to rest all speculation surrounding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for this academic year. It ordered that candidates who had appeared for phase I of the exam will be allowed to appear for phase II. However, this would be subject to them giving up candidature of phase I..The Court also gave the CBSE and the MCI the freedom to change the date for holding phase II..Interestingly, the Committee comprising former Chief Justice RM Lodha appointed to supervise the functioning of MCI will oversee phase-II of NEET. Further, the Court also made it clear that Common Entrance Tests conducted by different States will not be allowed..May 10.Complete verification of lawyers before June 30, SC to State Bar Councils.The Supreme Court directed all state Bar Councils to complete the verification process of advocates and to submit their report to the BCI by June 30. Elections to various Bar Councils have been delayed as a result of the verification not happening..A Bench comprising Justices Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Amitava Roy directed the same in a case filed by one Ajayinder Sangwan..Senior Advocate KK Venugopal appeared for the BCI, while Senior Advocate Shyam Divan appeared for the petitioner..Goa Advocate General is now Additional Solicitor General at Supreme Court.Senior counsel Atamaram Nadkarni, Goa’s Advocate General since 2012, was appointed Additional Solicitor General in the Supreme Court of India..Completing his masters in law from Bombay, Nadkarni started off working in the chambers of a retired High Court judge, before moving back to Goa in 1996..After the NDA government came to power at the Centre in 2014, Nadkarni has regularly been seen at the Supreme Court..May 11.TRAI’s call drop penalty regulations struck down.The Court struck down the regulations framed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) which prescribed a penalty for call drops on telecom operators..In the judgment delivered by Justices Kurian Joseph and Rohinton Fali Nariman, the Court held that the regulations were arbitrary in nature..The Cellular Operators Association of India had assailed the Telecom Consumers Protection (Ninth Amendment) Regulations, 2015 which had made it mandatory for telecom operators to compensate subscribers for the first three calls dropped per day at the rate of Rs.1 per dropped call. The COAI had contended that the regulations are arbitrary and violative of Article 14..Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for the petitioners, whereas Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi appeared for TRAI and the Department of Telecommunications..Big B’s Crorepati income can be assessed under S. 263 of IT Act.The Court held that the income received by Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan as anchor of quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati can be subject to re-assessment in exercise of revisional powers under Section 263 of the Income Tax Act..The court set aside the judgment of the Bombay High Court, which had ruled in favour of Bachchan. The judgment was delivered by a Bench comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and PC Pant. Senior Advocate Shyam Divan appeared for Amitabh Bachchan, while Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar represented the Income Tax Department..Four of sixteen accused acquitted in 1993 Rajdhani blasts case.The Court acquitted four of the sixteen accused in the 1993 Rajdhani train blasts case..The judgment was delivered by a Bench comprising Justices FMI Kalifulla and UU Lalit. Senior Advocates Sanjay Hegde, RS Sodhi, Ratnakar Dash and advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan had appeared for the accused. Advocate PK Dey had appeared for the Central Bureau of Investigation..The case dates back to 1993, when trains including a Rajdhani Express were targeted by the accused exactly one year after the Babri Masjid demolition. In 2004, the TADA court had found the accused guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment..Uttarakhand: Rawat wins floor test .After a long-drawn tussle, the central government informed the court that it will revoke President’s rule in the State of Uttarakhand. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the Supreme Court that Harish Rawat could assume office as Chief Minister once the Centre issues its order revoking President’s rule. The result of the floor test held the previous day in the Uttarakhand Assembly was placed before the court, and the court recorded the same in its order. Harish Rawat secured 33 out of the 61 votes..A Bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh accepted the same and directed the Centre to place the order of revocation of the ‘356 rule’ before it on May 13..The Court also made it clear that the issues of justiciability of imposition of President’s rule by the Centre remains open and will be decided by the Court..Oasis in a desert: The Supreme Court’s directions on drought management.The Court pulled up the Centre and several State governments for failing to adequately deal with droughts..A bench comprising Madan Lokur and NV Ramana JJ. issued a number of directions to the Centre in a PIL filed by NGO Swaraj Abhiyan. The NGO was represented by Prashant Bhushan..May 12.SC issues notice in PIL for doubling judges strength.The Court issued notice to the Central government in a PIL that seeks directions to double the number of judges in the country..Notice was issued by a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India TS Thakur and Justice R Banumathi in a petition filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay..Upadhyay has contended that the right to fair trial and speedy justice guaranteed under Article 21 is not adequately safeguarded due to shortage of judges and slow trial of cases..Sibal, Singhvi appear for Yatin Oza before agitated Justice Dipak Misra.Justice Dipak Misra took strong exception to certain remarks by Senior Advocate Yatin Oza against the Gujarat High Court. The comments in question were part of Oza’s letter written to the Chief Justice of India TS Thakur concerning the transfer of a sitting judge of Gujarat High Court..Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared for Oza while Senior Advocate Harin Raval, appeared for the Respondent, Khemchand Rajaram Khosti..Spicejet under fire for offloading passenger with cerebral palsy.In a strongly worded judgment, the Supreme Court today ordered Spicejet Limited to pay Rs. 10 lakh as damages to Jeeja Ghosh, a passenger suffering from cerebral palsy..Ghosh was forcibly de-boarded while flying from Kolkata to Goa in 2012..The judgment was delivered by a Bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and RK Agarwal..May 13.Criminal defamation is reasonable restriction on free speech, IPC CrPC provisions upheld.In a batch of petitions filed by different individuals including Subramanian Swamy, Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal, the Court upheld the constitutional validity of provisions relating to criminal defamation..The judgment was delivered by a Bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and PC Pant..The bench held that the IPC and CrPC provisions relating to criminal defamation are only reasonable restrictions contemplated by Article 19 (2). It said that though the freedom of speech and expression is sacrosanct, there can be reasonable restrictions in the interest of the society and State. It stated,.“Notwithstanding the expansive ambit of freedom of speech and expression, it is not absolute. The concept of social interest has to be borne in mind when considering reasonableness of a restriction”..Swamy had appeared in-person while a host of Senior Advocates represented the various petitioners. These senior counsel include the likes of KK Venugopal, PP Rao, Rajeev Dhavan, Arvind Datar, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Anup Bhambani, Siddharth Luthra, V Giri, Sanjay Hegde, HS Phoolka and K Radhakrishnan..Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and Additional Solicitor General PS Narasimha had represented the Central government. Jayalalithaa was represented by L Nageswara Rao. Senior Advocates K Parasaran and TR Andhyarujina served as Amicus Curiae..Four new judges, six week long vacation.The Court closed for the summer vacation. It will now reopen on June 29, after a vacation of nearly six weeks..Three different vacation Benches will be sitting during this period – first one from May 16 to May 29, second from May 30 to June 12 and a third from June 13 to June 28..In addition to those cases listed before the vacation Benches, some cases will be heard during the summer vacation..These include the Jayalalithaa disproportionate assets case which has been listed for June 1 and the case pertaining to two finger test and marital rape which has been posted for May 18..The final day before the vacation was one of the most eventful one with four new judges assuming office. Justices DY Chandruchud, Ashok Bhushan, AM Khanwilkar and L Nageswara Rao were sworn in today taking the strength of Supreme Court judges to 29.
A very eventful week marked the days at the Supreme Court before it closed for a 6 week long summer vacation..The Uttarakhand Assembly case, and judgments pertaining to criminal defamation and call drops hogged the limelight this week. The appeal in contempt against Senior Advocate Yatin Oza saw a very interesting hearing though the main media largely refrained from reporting it. The week came to a close with the court getting 4 new judges – Justices AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and L Nageswara Rao..Here is a flashback of the events this past week at the Supreme Court of India..May 9.Uttarakhand: No interim relief for disqualified MLAs, floor test ordered without them.The Court refused to grant any interim relief for 9 disqualified MLAs of Uttarakhand. A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh issued notice in the appeal filed by the 9 MLAs against the judgment of Uttarakhand High Court but refused any interim relief..Senior Advocate Aryama Sundaram appeared for the MLAs..These 9 MLAs had not offered their support for an Appropriation Bill in the Assembly which had ultimately led to Presidential rule in the State..The Uttarakhand High Court had pronounced it’s judgment at 10.15 am on that day. Immediately thereafter, the matter was mentioned by Sundaram before the Chief Justice at 10.30 am for urgent listing. The Chief Justice directed Sundaram to approach the Bench hearing the matter..Subsequently, the matter was heard at 1.15 pm and 4 pm by the Bench presided by Justice Dipak Misra which refused interim relief. With the decision of the court refusing stay, the Floor test would go on to happen without the 9 MLAs..NEET: Finality finally; Phase 1 students can appear for phase 2.The Court finally put to rest all speculation surrounding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for this academic year. It ordered that candidates who had appeared for phase I of the exam will be allowed to appear for phase II. However, this would be subject to them giving up candidature of phase I..The Court also gave the CBSE and the MCI the freedom to change the date for holding phase II..Interestingly, the Committee comprising former Chief Justice RM Lodha appointed to supervise the functioning of MCI will oversee phase-II of NEET. Further, the Court also made it clear that Common Entrance Tests conducted by different States will not be allowed..May 10.Complete verification of lawyers before June 30, SC to State Bar Councils.The Supreme Court directed all state Bar Councils to complete the verification process of advocates and to submit their report to the BCI by June 30. Elections to various Bar Councils have been delayed as a result of the verification not happening..A Bench comprising Justices Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Amitava Roy directed the same in a case filed by one Ajayinder Sangwan..Senior Advocate KK Venugopal appeared for the BCI, while Senior Advocate Shyam Divan appeared for the petitioner..Goa Advocate General is now Additional Solicitor General at Supreme Court.Senior counsel Atamaram Nadkarni, Goa’s Advocate General since 2012, was appointed Additional Solicitor General in the Supreme Court of India..Completing his masters in law from Bombay, Nadkarni started off working in the chambers of a retired High Court judge, before moving back to Goa in 1996..After the NDA government came to power at the Centre in 2014, Nadkarni has regularly been seen at the Supreme Court..May 11.TRAI’s call drop penalty regulations struck down.The Court struck down the regulations framed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) which prescribed a penalty for call drops on telecom operators..In the judgment delivered by Justices Kurian Joseph and Rohinton Fali Nariman, the Court held that the regulations were arbitrary in nature..The Cellular Operators Association of India had assailed the Telecom Consumers Protection (Ninth Amendment) Regulations, 2015 which had made it mandatory for telecom operators to compensate subscribers for the first three calls dropped per day at the rate of Rs.1 per dropped call. The COAI had contended that the regulations are arbitrary and violative of Article 14..Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for the petitioners, whereas Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi appeared for TRAI and the Department of Telecommunications..Big B’s Crorepati income can be assessed under S. 263 of IT Act.The Court held that the income received by Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan as anchor of quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati can be subject to re-assessment in exercise of revisional powers under Section 263 of the Income Tax Act..The court set aside the judgment of the Bombay High Court, which had ruled in favour of Bachchan. The judgment was delivered by a Bench comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and PC Pant. Senior Advocate Shyam Divan appeared for Amitabh Bachchan, while Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar represented the Income Tax Department..Four of sixteen accused acquitted in 1993 Rajdhani blasts case.The Court acquitted four of the sixteen accused in the 1993 Rajdhani train blasts case..The judgment was delivered by a Bench comprising Justices FMI Kalifulla and UU Lalit. Senior Advocates Sanjay Hegde, RS Sodhi, Ratnakar Dash and advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan had appeared for the accused. Advocate PK Dey had appeared for the Central Bureau of Investigation..The case dates back to 1993, when trains including a Rajdhani Express were targeted by the accused exactly one year after the Babri Masjid demolition. In 2004, the TADA court had found the accused guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment..Uttarakhand: Rawat wins floor test .After a long-drawn tussle, the central government informed the court that it will revoke President’s rule in the State of Uttarakhand. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the Supreme Court that Harish Rawat could assume office as Chief Minister once the Centre issues its order revoking President’s rule. The result of the floor test held the previous day in the Uttarakhand Assembly was placed before the court, and the court recorded the same in its order. Harish Rawat secured 33 out of the 61 votes..A Bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh accepted the same and directed the Centre to place the order of revocation of the ‘356 rule’ before it on May 13..The Court also made it clear that the issues of justiciability of imposition of President’s rule by the Centre remains open and will be decided by the Court..Oasis in a desert: The Supreme Court’s directions on drought management.The Court pulled up the Centre and several State governments for failing to adequately deal with droughts..A bench comprising Madan Lokur and NV Ramana JJ. issued a number of directions to the Centre in a PIL filed by NGO Swaraj Abhiyan. The NGO was represented by Prashant Bhushan..May 12.SC issues notice in PIL for doubling judges strength.The Court issued notice to the Central government in a PIL that seeks directions to double the number of judges in the country..Notice was issued by a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India TS Thakur and Justice R Banumathi in a petition filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay..Upadhyay has contended that the right to fair trial and speedy justice guaranteed under Article 21 is not adequately safeguarded due to shortage of judges and slow trial of cases..Sibal, Singhvi appear for Yatin Oza before agitated Justice Dipak Misra.Justice Dipak Misra took strong exception to certain remarks by Senior Advocate Yatin Oza against the Gujarat High Court. The comments in question were part of Oza’s letter written to the Chief Justice of India TS Thakur concerning the transfer of a sitting judge of Gujarat High Court..Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared for Oza while Senior Advocate Harin Raval, appeared for the Respondent, Khemchand Rajaram Khosti..Spicejet under fire for offloading passenger with cerebral palsy.In a strongly worded judgment, the Supreme Court today ordered Spicejet Limited to pay Rs. 10 lakh as damages to Jeeja Ghosh, a passenger suffering from cerebral palsy..Ghosh was forcibly de-boarded while flying from Kolkata to Goa in 2012..The judgment was delivered by a Bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and RK Agarwal..May 13.Criminal defamation is reasonable restriction on free speech, IPC CrPC provisions upheld.In a batch of petitions filed by different individuals including Subramanian Swamy, Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal, the Court upheld the constitutional validity of provisions relating to criminal defamation..The judgment was delivered by a Bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and PC Pant..The bench held that the IPC and CrPC provisions relating to criminal defamation are only reasonable restrictions contemplated by Article 19 (2). It said that though the freedom of speech and expression is sacrosanct, there can be reasonable restrictions in the interest of the society and State. It stated,.“Notwithstanding the expansive ambit of freedom of speech and expression, it is not absolute. The concept of social interest has to be borne in mind when considering reasonableness of a restriction”..Swamy had appeared in-person while a host of Senior Advocates represented the various petitioners. These senior counsel include the likes of KK Venugopal, PP Rao, Rajeev Dhavan, Arvind Datar, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Anup Bhambani, Siddharth Luthra, V Giri, Sanjay Hegde, HS Phoolka and K Radhakrishnan..Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and Additional Solicitor General PS Narasimha had represented the Central government. Jayalalithaa was represented by L Nageswara Rao. Senior Advocates K Parasaran and TR Andhyarujina served as Amicus Curiae..Four new judges, six week long vacation.The Court closed for the summer vacation. It will now reopen on June 29, after a vacation of nearly six weeks..Three different vacation Benches will be sitting during this period – first one from May 16 to May 29, second from May 30 to June 12 and a third from June 13 to June 28..In addition to those cases listed before the vacation Benches, some cases will be heard during the summer vacation..These include the Jayalalithaa disproportionate assets case which has been listed for June 1 and the case pertaining to two finger test and marital rape which has been posted for May 18..The final day before the vacation was one of the most eventful one with four new judges assuming office. Justices DY Chandruchud, Ashok Bhushan, AM Khanwilkar and L Nageswara Rao were sworn in today taking the strength of Supreme Court judges to 29.
