Tag: declines

SC declines to hear plea against automatic disqualification of convicted MPs, MLAs

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to entertain a plea challenging the validity of the provision mandating “blanket and automatic” disqualification of legislators upon conviction and sentence.
Counsel for petitioner Aabha Muralidharan, contended before Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud that the provision restrains a lawmaker from freely discharging the duties cast upon him/her by the voters of the constituency.
The bench, also comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala, told counsel that the court is not inclined to entertain the petition and “let the aggrieved party come before us”.

The bench asked the counsel, “How are you as an individual affected? When you are disqualified due to the provision, then we can look into it” and asked the lawyer to either withdraw your petition or it will dismiss it.
The plea prayed that automatic disqualification under Section 8A(3) of the Representation of People Act, 1951, should be declared as ultra vires of the Constitution, for being arbitrary, illegal, and violative of fundamental right to equality.
The petitioner, a social worker from Kerala’s Malappuram, sought a direction that automatic disqualification did not exist under Section 8A(3) of the Act, while citing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as an MP by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
The plea said: “The grounds for disqualification ought to be specific with the nature of offences as specified under the Code for Criminal Procedure and not in a blanket form, as is currently in force under Section 8(3) of the RP Act”.
The plea contended that interpretation provided by the apex court in Lily Thomas case (2013) requires re-examination, to the effect of adjudicating the provisions of disqualification under Chapter III of the Act. “The operations of Lily Thomas case are being blatantly misused for wreaking personal vengeance against the political parties,” said the plea.

“If the offence under SectionA499 and 500 of the IPC, which just technically has a maximum punishment of 2 years is not removed singularly from the sweeping effect of the judgement in Lily Thomas, it will have a chilling effect on the right of representation of the citizens.”
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 5, 2023
‘Sensitive issue’, SC declines to commute Balwant Singh Rajoana’s death penalty

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to grant relief on a plea filed by Balwant Singh Rajoana, seeking commutation of his death penalty in the 1995 assassination case of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and others, in view of over 10 years delay in deciding a mercy petition, saying “it is within the domain of the executive to take a call on such sensitive issues”.
A bench comprising justices B.R. Gavai, Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol said the petitioner himself never submitted any mercy petition and the alleged mercy petition of 2012 was filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
“We may also record here that the three decisions relied upon by Mukul Rohatgi in support of his submission regarding inordinate delay in disposal of the mercy petition and resultantly commutation in such cases having been granted by this court, do not help the petitioner in view of the facts and situation being different in those three cases and in the present case,” said the bench.

Justice Nath, who authored the judgment on behalf of the bench, said: “We also find that the Ministry of Home Affairs, upon material consideration of various reports from its different branches, has come to the conclusion that the consideration may be deferred as it could have an impact of compromising the security of the nation or creating law and order situation.”
The bench said it would not be within its domain to delve upon the decision of the competent authority to defer taking of any decision at present.
“It is within the domain of the executive to take a call on such sensitive issues. As such, this court does not deem it appropriate to issue any further directions,” it said.
The bench noted that the stand of the Ministry of Home Affairs to defer the decision on the mercy petition of the petitioner “actually amounts to a decision declining to grant the same for the present”.
The top court, in its judgment on Rajoana’s plea, said, “It is, however, directed that the competent authority, in due course of time, would again as and when it is deemed necessary, may deal with the mercy petition, and take a further decision. The writ petition is disposed of accordingly with the aforesaid observations.”

The bench noted that after the communication of the Ministry of Home Affairs on September 27, 2019, the proposal for considering the commutation of the death sentence of the petitioner was started.
“A decision was taken to keep the same pending till disposal of the pending appeals before this court, filed by the co-accused as well as by the CBI, as according to the competent authority, it would have a bearing and it could be relevant for taking a final decision on the said proposal of commutation,” said the bench.
However, after the directions issued on December 2, 2020 and May 2, 2022, the matter was again considered by the competent authority and it was decided to defer the question of commutation in view of the reasons given in the affidavit filed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, observed the bench.
“Thus, it cannot be alleged that there has been an inordinate delay in disposal of the mercy petition,” said Justice Nath.
Former Chief Minister of Punjab Beant Singh, along with 16 others, lost their lives while a dozen others were injured in a bomb blast in August 1995. Rajoana was arrested on January 27, 1996. Rajoana, along with eight others, who had hatched a conspiracy and had executed the bomb blast, were put to trial.
In July 2007, the trial court convicted Rajoana along with co-accused Jagtar Singh Hawara, Gurmeet Singh, Lakhwinder Singh, Shamsher Singh and Nasib Singh. The petitioner along with co-accused Jagtar Singh Hawara were awarded death sentence.
In death reference, the high court vide judgment dated December 10, 2010 confirmed the conviction and sentence of the petitioner. However, while confirming the conviction of co-accused Jagtar Singh, it commuted the death sentence into life imprisonment.
The other co-accused preferred to appeal before the top court. However, Rajoana did not file any appeal after the judgment of the high court.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 3, 2023
Chief Justice John Roberts declines to appear at Senate judiciary hearing

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John Roberts, the US supreme court chief justice, has declined to testify at a forthcoming hearing before the Senate judiciary committee that is expected to focus on judicial ethics.
The committee’s Democratic chairman, Dick Durbin, had asked the chief justice to appear before the panel to address potential reforms to ethical rules governing the justices. The senator cited “a steady stream of revelations regarding justices falling short of the ethical standards”.
Roberts’ brief response, issued by a supreme court spokesperson, said he would “respectfully decline” the invitation. In a letter to Durbin, Roberts said such appearances by chief justices were exceedingly rare given concerns about the separation of powers between the branches of US government and the “importance of preserving judicial independence”.
Durbin had earlier asked Roberts to investigate ties between Justice Clarence Thomas and a wealthy Republican donor.
Thomas, the longest-serving of the court’s nine justices, has been under pressure after published reports by the news outlet ProPublica detailing his relationship with Harlan Crow, including real estate purchases and luxury travel paid for by the billionaire Dallas businessman.
In a statement on Tuesday, Durbin said: “I am surprised that the chief justice’s recounting of existing legal standards of ethics suggests current law is adequate and ignores the obvious. The actions of one justice, including trips on yachts and private jets, were not reported to the public. That same justice failed to disclose the sale of properties he partly owned to a party with interests before the supreme court.”
The Senate judiciary committee would proceed with a 2 May hearing as planned, according to Durbin.
“It is time for Congress to accept its responsibility to establish an enforceable code of ethics for the supreme court, the only agency of our government without it,” Durbin said.

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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 26, 2023
Roberts declines to appear at Senate’s Supreme Court ethics hearing

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But a Durbin spokesperson told POLITICO Tuesday that Roberts declined to appear for the hearing. Durbin has previously said he plans for the hearing to proceed even if Roberts declined to appear.
“I am surprised that the Chief Justice’s recounting of existing legal standards of ethics suggests current law is adequate and ignores the obvious. The actions of one Justice, including trips on yachts and private jets, were not reported to the public. That same Justice failed to disclose the sale of properties he partly owned to a party with interests before the Supreme Court,” Durbin said in the statement.
He added: “It is time for Congress to accept its responsibility to establish an enforceable code of ethics for the Supreme Court, the only agency of our government without it.”
In a letter to Durbin explaining his reasons for declining, Roberts wrote that a chief justice’s testimony before Congress “is exceedingly rare, as one might expect in light of separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence.”
Durbin, who is also the majority whip, has previously suggested the committee cannot subpoena Roberts because of the absence of Sen. Dianne Feinstein , a longtime Judiciary Committee member who has been away from the Senate for months while being treated for shingles.
The ProPublica report detailed two decades of Thomas’ relationship with Crow, which included trips on Crow’s private jet and yacht, as well as visits to Crow’s lavish properties.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 26, 2023
‘Lived together only for 40 days’: SC declines to dissolve marriage of couple

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court has declined to use its plenary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to quash a marriage — where the parties had met on Facebook in December 2019 and got married in December 2020 as per Christian rites and customs at a Mangaluru church, noting that parties have lived together only for 40 days.
A bench of Justices Rajesh Bindal and Aravind Kumar said: “We do not find this to be a fit case for exercise of power under Article 142 of the Constitution of India as good sense may prevail on the parties. They had lived together only for 40 days. It takes time to settle down in marriage.”
The plea was filed by Mangaluru doctor and CEO of a global health organisation to use the court’s extraordinary power under the Constitution to dissolve his marriage with a permanent resident of Canada. He contended that there is an irretrievable breakdown of marriage and this court should exercise its jurisdiction under Article 142 to dissolve the marriage.

The apex court also dismissed a plea by the wife to transfer the divorce proceedings filed by her husband from Mangaluru to a court in Mumbai.
“Though, at present, considering the financial condition of the parties on the basis of material which has come on record, we do not find that any ground is made out for issuing direction to the respondent (husband) to pay the expenses to the petitioner for travelling to Mangaluru. However, still in case she feels like seeking reimbursement of expenses, she shall be at liberty to file an application before the court concerned, which may be examined on its own merits,” it said.
The bench noted that both the parties are well-educated and engaged in their own jobs and professions. She can travel to Mangaluru to attend the hearing of the case and can also seek exemption from appearance whenever required, it said.
“In our view no case is made out for transfer of the petition from Mangaluru, Karnataka to Mumbai, Maharashtra,” the bench said. The court pointed out the wife is a permanent resident of Canada and she must be travelling abroad regularly.
The top court noted that a number of transfer petitions are filed in matrimonial cases, primarily by the wives for transfer of matrimonial proceedings, initiated by the husband.

“This court normally has been accepting the prayer made while showing leniency towards ladies. In Anindita Das vs Srijit Das (2006), this court observed that may be this leniency was being misused by women. Hence, each and every case has to be considered on its own merits,” the bench said.
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#Lived #days #declines #dissolve #marriage #couple
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 20, 2023
Infosys shares fall over 9%; mcap declines by Rs 59349 cr post-Q4 earning report

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New Delhi: Shares of Infosys on Monday tanked more than 9 per cent, wiping out Rs 59,349.66 crore from its market valuation after the company reported lower-than-expected growth in the fourth quarter net profit and gave a weak 4-7 per cent revenue growth guidance for FY24.
The stock tumbled 9.40 per cent to settle at Rs 1,258.10 on the BSE. During the day, it plunged 12.21 per cent to Rs 1,219 — its 52-week low mark.
On the NSE, it fell 9.37 per cent to finish at Rs 1,259.

Infosys was the biggest drag on both the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty.
The company’s market valuation also declined by Rs 59,349.66 crore to Rs 5,21,930.34 crore.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 520.25 points or 0.86 per cent to finish at 59,910.75, pulled down by Infosys and weak trends in other IT counters.
“The real damage was done by the frontline IT stocks with Infosys coming under severe hammering after its corporate earnings failed to meet street estimates. Besides disappointing results, worries of weak IT spending by multinational giants on gloomy economic conditions and recessionary fears have weighed heavily on the sector over the past few months,” Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail) at Kotak Securities Ltd, said.
Other IT firms also faced heavy drubbing, with Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro falling in the range of 1-5.25 per cent.

The IT index tanked 4.77 per cent to settle at 26,887.72.
“The worse-than-expected Q4 results from Infosys with only 4-7 per cent revenue growth for FY24 will drag down IT stocks impacting the Nifty,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.
On Thursday, Infosys reported lower-than-expected growth in the fourth quarter net profit and gave a weak 4-7 per cent revenue growth guidance for FY24 amid the tightening of IT budgets by clients following turmoil in the US banking sector.
Infosys’ latest report card was a disappointment on several fronts – the company missed revenue guidance for FY23 hit by “unplanned project ramp downs and decision-making delays by some clients”, the company said.
With global macroeconomic uncertainties looming, it has given a subdued 4-7 per cent revenue growth forecast for FY24, with top management cautioning that “the environment remains uncertain”.
The company had last given single-digit revenue guidance in FY19.
India’s second-biggest software services firm posted a 7.8 per cent year-on-year growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 6,128 crore for the March quarter. But the profit fell 7 per cent when compared to the preceding December quarter.
Revenue growth in constant currency for FY23 came in at 15.4 per cent, lower than the guidance. Notably, during the Q3 earnings announcement in January this year, Infosys — which competes in the market with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro and other IT firms — had raised FY23 revenue guidance to 16-16.5 per cent (against the previously projected band of 15-16 per cent).
Infosys’ Q4 year-on-year growth was 8.8 per cent and the sequential decline was 3.2 per cent in constant currency terms.
Revenue rose 16 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of FY23 to Rs 37,441 crore but declined 2.3 per cent when compared to December 2022 quarter.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 17, 2023
SC declines another plea against renaming Aurangabad city

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a petition challenging the Maharashtra government’s decision to rename Aurangabad city as ‘Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar’.
A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala declined to entertain the plea saying a similar matter is pending before the Bombay High Court.
“The Bombay High Court is currently seized of the proceedings which now stands to April 24. We are not inclined to entertain this special leave petition,” the bench said.

“Whether we like it or not, this lies in the democratic arms of the government,” said CJI Chandrachud.
“Who are we to change the name of a road or a place? It is for the elected executive to decide,” he added.
On March 24, the apex court declined to entertain a similar plea as the High Court is seized of the matter.
In a letter dated March 4, 2020, the Aurangabad divisional commissioner proposed that the city’s name be changed to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.
Last month, the central government approved the renaming of Maharashtra’s Aurangabad and Osmanabad districts as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv, respectively.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis welcomed the decision and said that the state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has “demonstrated” its resolve.
“‘Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’ of Aurangabad, ‘Dharashiv’ of Osmanabad! The central government approves the decision of the state government! Hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modiji and Union Minister Hon. Many thanks to Amitbhai Shah! The government under the leadership of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde ji has ‘demonstrated’…!” he said in a tweet.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 5, 2023
Adani issue: Sebi chief declines to comment, says matter sub-judice

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Mumbai: Sebi Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch on Wednesday said the regulator will not comment on the Adani issue and that the matter is sub-judice.
In the wake of a report by the New York based short-seller Hindenburg Research on the Adani group in January, there was a steep fall in the shares of the ten listed Adani group companies and some of them lost over 85 per cent of their market value.
The allegations made by the short seller were rejected by the Adani group.
On March 2, the Supreme Court set up a six-member expert committee to look into the Adani matter.
The apex court also directed the markets regulator to investigate whether there was violation of Sebi rules and any manipulation of stock prices as alleged by the brokerage.
“We never comment on entity-specific matters as a policy, and on top of that, the matter is before the Supreme Court. We never comment on sub-judice matters,” said Buch addressing the media after a board meeting of Sebi.
“We will follow the advice of the apex court. We are duty-bound to follow whatever the highest court of the land has said,” she added.
It was Buch’s first press conference after the Hindenburg Research report on the Adani group.

Further, she said the apex court has also instructed the regulator to precisely give the update to the committee and it will be inappropriate to comment on the matter.
The group has rejected the allegations made by Hindenburg Research.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 29, 2023
Arizona court declines most of Kari Lake’s appeal over governor’s race

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In her challenge, the former TV anchor focused on problems with ballot printers at some polling places in Maricopa County, home to more than 60% of the state’s voters.
The defective printers produced ballots that were too light to be read by the on-site tabulators at polling places. Lines backed up in some areas amid the confusion. Lake alleged ballot printer problems were the result of intentional misconduct.
County officials say everyone had a chance to vote, and all ballots were counted because those affected by the printers were taken to more sophisticated counters at election headquarters.
In mid-February, the Arizona Court of Appeal rejected Lake’s assertions, concluding she presented no evidence that voters whose ballots were unreadable by tabulators at polling places were not able to vote.
The appeals court noted that even a witness called to testify on Lake’s behalf confirmed ballots that couldn’t initially be read at polling places may ultimately have been counted. And while a pollster testified that the polling place problems disenfranchised enough voters to change the election’s outcome, the appeals court said his conclusion was baseless.
Lake’s attorneys also said the chain of custody for ballots was broken at an off-site facility where a contractor scans mail-in ballots to prepare them for processing. The lawyers asserted that workers put their own mail-in ballots into the pile rather than returning them through normal channels, and that paperwork documenting ballot transfers was missing. The county disputes the claims.
Hobbs’ attorneys have said Lake was trying to sow distrust in Arizona’s election results and offered no proof to back up her allegations.
Lake faced extremely long odds in her challenge, which required proving misconduct specifically intended to deny her victory and that it resulted in the wrong woman being declared the winner.

Hobbs took office as governor on Jan. 2.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 23, 2023
Thackeray group suggests disqualification proceedings against Shinde camp, SC declines

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday rejected the suggestion of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena to decide the disqualification proceedings pending against Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and MLAs belonging to his camp, saying it cannot assume the role of the Speaker as doing so will have “serious ramifications”.
The Thackeray faction had on Tuesday insisted that the court decide the disqualification proceedings as that was the only way to “uphold the democratic spirit of the Constitution”.
“Right or wrong, this is the system we have assumed as ‘We the People’. Can a court try to breach this system? Should the court enter into that area? This is an area which is worrying us,” the court observed on Wednesday.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, which was hearing a batch of pleas related to the June 2022 Maharashtra political crisis, told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction, that ultimately it is the Speaker of the House, who has to decide whether the rebellion by the Shinde bloc attracted the provisions of the anti-disqualification law.
“You are saying whatever has to be done has to be done at the behest of the party. Your argument is that they (Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde camp) have acted contrary to the interest of the party.
“They have appointed their own whip and leader of the party and their behavior and conduct invited disqualification but all of this leads us to one area that it is the Speaker of the House who is to decide whether there is any disqualification or not. That’s an area we are unable to breach,” the court said.
The five-judge bench, also comprising Justices MR Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha, said it understood the arguments of Sibal that in parliamentary democracy, the political party is supreme.
“So far so good. It’s a very significant point you (Sibal) have made that they (Shinde faction) are elected representatives of Shiv Sena party and their behavior must be dictated by the party. Now, the question is, should the court enter into the area of Speaker and, if it assumes the role of Speaker, then it will have very serious ramification.

“Right or wrong, this is the system we have assumed as ‘We the People’. Now, will the court try and breach this system that is worrying us,” it said.
Sibal, assisted by advocate Amit Anand Tiwari, said this court has held that illegality cannot be allowed to be continued even for a day.
He said all these acts (by Shinde camp) were perpetuated by two orders of this court dated June 27, 2022 by which this court kept in abeyance their disqualification proceedings before the Deputy Speaker, and of June 29, 2022 by which the court refused to stay the direction of the Maharashtra governor to the 31-month-old Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to take a floor test in the assembly to prove its majority.
He submitted the top court should be worried because if this becomes a precedent, it can happen in other cases too.
The bench said if such a situation arises because of a judicial order, then it is a duty of the court to rectify that situation.
“Now, assuming that if we do so and place ourselves in a situation before June 27, 2022, then we would have said that let the Speaker decide and your argument would have been till the Speaker decided their disqualification, there should not be a trust vote.
“It would be very difficult to retrace our steps back in this scenario as the question would arise which Speaker or that Speaker,” the bench said.
Sibal said this was exactly what was done in the 2016 Nabam Rebia case, where the court set the clock back and ordered status quo ante by restoring the Arunachal Pradesh government.
The bench said, “Mr. Sibal you want Nabam Rebia (judgement to be followed) when it suits you and you don’t want it when it does not suit you. Today, we have a Speaker in a democratically elected house and after that can we now say that let the then deputy speaker take a call on disqualification. Sorry, it will be very difficult to retrace our steps back.”
Sibal submitted all these developments took place after the court order which allowed the status quo to be changed.
The bench said those two orders were passed after hearing arguments from both the sides and that retracing the steps would mean invalidating the trust vote which took place subsequently.
He said Parliament, in its wisdom, has used the term ‘Political Party’ under the provisions of Para 2(1)(b) of the Tenth Schedule, wherein a member attracts disqualification for going against the wishes or directions of the political party.
“Democracy only thrives when the institutions uphold the sanctity of the Constitution. In this case, the governor did not stop them (Eknath Shinde faction) or chose not to stop them. He never asked them who you represent or which party you represent. Unless Nabam Rebia is overruled, these situations are bound to happen.
“Governors are actively playing a role which is disturbing the polity of the state. I leave this court to find answers to these issues,” he said.
The hearing remained inclusive and will continue on Thursday.
On Tuesday, the top court had told the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena that the Speaker of a House functions like a tribunal in matters related to defection under the anti-defection law.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 22, 2023