Tag: hear

Godhra train burning case: SC to hear pleas of Gujarat govt, convicts on Monday

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday bail pleas of several convicts serving life imprisonment in the 2002 Godhra train burning case.
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala is scheduled to hear along with the bail applications a batch of pleas of the convicts challenging their convictions.
On March 24, the top court had said it will dispose of the bail applications of the convicts on the next date of hearing of the matter.

It had taken note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Gujarat government, that he has to verify certain factual details with regard to some convicts.
The top court had, however, extended the bail granted to one of the convicts on the ground that his wife was suffering from cancer. Mehta had supported the extension of bail on medical grounds.
Earlier on March 17, the top court had said it will hear on March 24 the appeal of the Gujarat government and the bail pleas of several accused in the case.
On February 20, the state government had told the top court that it will be seeking death penalty to 11 convicts whose sentences in the 2002 Godhra train burning case were commuted to life imprisonment by the Gujarat High Court.
“We will be seriously pressing for award of death penalty to the convicts whose death penalties were commuted into life imprisonment (by the Gujarat High Court). This is the rarest of rare cases where 59 people, including women and children, were burnt alive,” the solicitor general had said.

“It is consistent everywhere that the bogie (coach) was locked from outside. Fifty-nine died, including ladies and children,” he had added.
Giving details on the court case, the law officer had said 11 convicts were sentenced to death by a trial court and 20 others granted life term in the case.
The high court upheld total 31 convictions in the case and commuted the death penalties of the 11 convicts to life term, Mehta had said.
On February 27, 2002, 59 people were killed when the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express was burnt at Gujarat’s Godhra, triggering riots in the state.
The state government has come in appeal against the commutation of death penalty into life term for 11 convicts, Mehta had said. Several accused, he added, have filed pleas against the high court upholding their convictions in the case.
The top court has granted bail to two convicts in the case so far. Seven other bail pleas are pending adjudication in the matter.
The bench noted that a large number of bail applications have been filed before it in the case and said, “It has been agreed that the AORs (advocates-on-record) on behalf of applicants along with advocate Swati Ghildiyal, standing counsel for Gujarat, shall prepare a comprehensive chart with all relevant details. List after three weeks.”
The Supreme Court had on January 30 sought the Gujarat government’s response on the bail pleas of some of the convicts sentenced to life imprisonment in the case.
The court issued notice to the state government on the bail pleas of Abdul Raheman Dhantia alias Kankatto and Abdul Sattar Ibrahim Gaddi Asla, among others.
The state government, on the other hand, said it was not “merely a stone pelting” case as the convicts had bolted a coach of the Sabarmati Express, leading to the death of several passengers on the train.
On December 15, last year, the top court granted bail to one Faruk, who was serving life sentence in the case and noted that he had been in jail for 17 years.
Faruk, along with several others, was convicted for pelting stones at a coach of the train.
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#Godhra #train #burning #case #hear #pleas #Gujarat #govt #convicts #Monday
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 9, 2023
Delhi HC to hear Monday Sharjeel Imam’s bail plea in sedition case

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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court will on Monday hear a plea by JNU student Sharjeel Imam seeking bail in connection with a 2020 riots case involving allegations of sedition.
The case, which assails a January 24, 2022 order by the trial court dismissing Imam’s bail application in the matter, is listed for hearing before a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh.
On January 30, the court had sought to know the stand of the city police as to whether Imam’s plea for bail could be remanded back to the trial court for adjudication as there was no ground mentioned in the lower court’s order rejecting the relief.

The bench had said since section 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code has been kept in abeyance following the directions of the Supreme Court, it will have to examine the trial court’s bail rejection order while keeping in mind the other sections framed against Imam.
Last year, the trial court had framed charges against Imam under sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity), l53B (imputations prejudicial to national integration), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the IPC and section 13 (punishment for unlawful activities) of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
As per the prosecution, Imam had allegedly made speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia on December 13, 2019 and at the Aligarh Muslim University on December 16, 2019, where he allegedly threatened to cut off Assam and the rest of the northeast from India.
In his petition before the high court, Imam has said the trial court “failed to recognise” that pursuant to the directions of the top court, the basis for dismissal of his earlier bail plea, i.e. the charge of sedition no longer existed and therefore relief must be granted to him.
On May 11, 2022, the Supreme Court had stayed till further orders the registration of FIRs, probes, and coercive measures for the offence of sedition across the country by the Centre and the states until an appropriate forum of the government re-examines the colonial-era penal law.

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#Delhi #hear #Monday #Sharjeel #Imams #bail #plea #sedition #case
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 9, 2023
Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute: Mathura court suspends its earlier order, to hear case on April 11

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Mathura: A fast-track court here on Wednesday suspended its earlier order directing for a report from the revenue department on Shahi Masjid Idgah adjoining the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple here and fixed April 11 as the next date of hearing in the case.
“Civil Judge Senior Division of Fast Track Court, Niraj Gaund, has suspended the proceedings regarding sending Amin (a revenue department official) to Shahi Masjid Idgah for carrying out measurements,” District Government Counsel Sanjai Gaur said.
In the suit Bal Krishna and others versus Intezamia Committee and others, the fast-track court had on March 29 ordered for a report by Amin.

After hearing the arguments of defense counsel, the court said it would first hear the petitioner’s counsel who was not present in the court on Wednesday and fixed April 11 as the next date of hearing.
Defense counsel Niraj Sharma presented a ruling of the Allahabad High Court and another ruling of the Supreme Court regarding giving priority for hearing on maintainability of the suit, which the court accepted.
Bal Krishna through Hindu Sena chief Vishnu Gupta and others had filed a suit in the court of Civil Judge Senior Division (III) on December 8 last year for shifting of Shahi Masjid Idgah which they claim has been constructed on a part of 13.37 acre land of Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust.
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#Krishna #JanmabhoomiShahi #Idgah #dispute #Mathura #court #suspends #earlier #order #hear #case #April
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 5, 2023
‘Misuse’ of central probe agencies: SC to hear plea of 14 Oppn parties on April 5

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Wednesday a plea filed by 14 parties, led by the Congress, alleging arbitrary use of central probe agencies against opposition leaders and seeking guidelines for the future.
According to the list of businesses uploaded on the apex court website, the plea of opposition parties would be heard on April 5 by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud.
Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala are also part of the bench.

The joint plea was mentioned for urgent hearing on March 24 by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi.
“I am asking for the guidelines for the future. This is a remarkable convergence of 14 parties against the misuse of the agencies, both CBI and ED,” Singhvi had said and claimed that 95 percent of cases of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are against the leaders of opposition parties.
The senior lawyer referred to the rise in the number of cases filed by the CBI and ED after the NDA government came to power in 2014.
“Second statistics, pre-2014 and post-2014: there is a humongous jump in cases. The rate of conviction is four to five percent. We are asking for pre-arrest guidelines and post-arrest bail guidelines,” Singhvi had said.
The plea alleged there is an alarming rise in the use of coercive criminal processes against opposition political leaders and other citizens exercising their fundamental right to dissent.

“Investigating agencies such as CBI and ED are being increasingly deployed in a selective and targeted manner with a view to completely crush political dissent and upend the fundamental premises of a representative democracy,” a statement issued on behalf of a petitioner alleged.
The plea filed through lawyer Shadan Farasat cited some statistics and said they demonstrated a “shocking and unconstitutional state of affairs”.
Besides the Congress, the parties that are part of the joint move are the DMK, RJD, BRS, Trinamool Congress, AAP, NCP, Shiv Sena (UBT), JMM, JD(U), CPI(M), CPI, Samajwadi Party, and the J&K National Conference, the statement said.
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#Misuse #central #probe #agencies #hear #plea #Oppn #parties #April
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 2, 2023
SC agrees to hear plea against Delhi HC verdict on ‘Agnipath’ scheme

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a plea challenging a Delhi High Court judgment that upheld the Centre’s Agnipath scheme for recruitment into the armed forces.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, which was initially reluctant to entertain the plea, asked the petitioner to approach the high court seeking a review of its decision.
The petitioner’s counsel said the plea relates to a halt in recruitment.
The court then asked the lawyer to submit a note and posted the matter for hearing on April 10.
“Counsel for the contesting parties shall file their brief notes of submissions at least two days before the next date of listing, which shall be e-mailed,” the bench said.
The high court had, on February 27, said the Agnipath scheme was formulated in the national interest, with a laudable objective of maintaining national security.
The court had dismissed a batch of petitions assailing the validity of the scheme while terming it a “well-thought” policy decision of the Centre.
Besides the pleas challenging the Agnipath scheme, the court had also rejected a bunch of petitions relating to the recruitment process in the armed forces under certain previous advertisements while clarifying that such candidates do not have a right to seek recruitment.

Dismissing the pleas relating to the previous advertisements, the high court had said the Agnipath scheme is in “public interest” and the aspirants cannot claim any right to seek recruitment on account of their participation in the processes initiated under notifications issued prior to the introduction of the new policy.
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#agrees #hear #plea #Delhi #verdict #Agnipath #scheme
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 27, 2023
Bilkis Bano case: SC to hear pleas against premature release of 11 convicts today

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear a batch of pleas on Monday challenging the release of 11 convicts who had gang-raped Bilkis Bano and murdered her family members during the 2002 Godhra riots.
The Gujarat government had granted remission to 11 convicts on August 10 last year following which they walked free on August 15, 2022.
A bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna will hear the case on March 27.
On March 22, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that he will constitute a bench to hear pleas. “I will have a bench constituted. Need to break two benches for it. Will look at it this evening,” he said after advocate Shobha Gupta, appearing for Bano, mentioned the plea for an early listing of the case.
Earlier also advocate Gupta mentioned the matter for urgent hearing and said that a new bench needs to be constituted by the CJI as Justice Bela M Trivedi recused from hearing the plea.
A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi earlier had ordered that matter be listed before the bench, in which Justice Trivedi is not a part of as she had recused herself from hearing the case.
Besides filing a petition against the pre-mature release of convicts, Bano had also filed a review petition seeking a review of its earlier order by which it had asked the Gujarat government to consider the plea for the remission of one of the convicts.
The review petition was dismissed.

Some PILs were filed seeking directions to revoke the remission granted to 11 convicts.
The pleas were filed by the National Federation of Indian Women, whose General Secretary is Annie Raja, Member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Subhashini Ali, journalist Revati Laul, social activist and professor Roop Rekha Verma and TMC MP Mahua Moitra.
Gujarat government in its affidavit had defended remission granted to convicts saying they completed 14 years of sentence in prison and their “behaviour was found to be good”.
The State government said it has considered the cases of all 11 convicts as per the policy of 1992 and remission was granted on August 10, 2022, and the Central government also approved the pre-mature release of convicts.
It is pertinent to note that the remission was not granted under the circular governing grant of remission to prisoners as part of the celebration of “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, it had said.
The affidavit stated, “State government considered all the opinions and decided to release 11 prisoners since they have completed 14 years and above in prisons and their behaviour was found to be good.”
The government had also questioned the locus standi of petitioners who filed the PIL challenging the decision saying they are outsiders to the case.
The pleas said they have challenged the order of competent authority of the government of Gujarat by way of which 11 persons who were accused in a set of heinous offences committed in Gujarat were allowed to walk free on August 15, 2022, pursuant to remission being extended to them.
The remission in this heinous case would be entirely against public interest and would shock the collective public conscience, as also be entirely against the interests of the victim (whose family has publicly made statements worrying for her safety), pleas stated.
The Gujarat government released the 11 convicts, who were sentenced to life imprisonment, on August 15. All the 11 life-term convicts in the case were released as per the remission policy prevalent in Gujarat at the time of their conviction in 2008.
In March 2002 during the post-Godhra riots, Bano was gang-raped and left to die with 14 members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter. She was five months pregnant when rioters attacked her family in Vadodara.
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#Bilkis #Bano #case #hear #pleas #premature #release #convicts #today
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 27, 2023
Delhi excise policy scam: SC to hear Kavitha’s plea against ED summons

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea by K Kavitha, Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader and daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, seeking protection from arrest and challenging the summons by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case arising out of the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
A bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi is scheduled to hear the plea by Kavitha.
On March 15, the top court agreed to hear her plea seeking protection from arrest and challenging the summons issued by the ED.
On March 11, the 44-year-old BRS leader was deposed before the ED to record her statement and was summoned again on March 16 for questioning.
She was last quizzed for about 10 hours on March 21, which was her third day of deposition before the Enforcement Directorate.
The BRS leader has denied all allegations against her.
According to official sources, Kavitha, during her questioning by the ED, was confronted with the statements made by Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandran Pillai, who has been arrested in the case, apart from those of a few others allegedly involved in the case.
Kavitha’s statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Pillai was arrested by the ED earlier. He has moved a city court accusing the ED of forging his statements.
The ED had said Pillai “represented the south group”, an alleged liquor cartel linked to Kavitha and others that paid kickbacks amounting to about Rs 100 crore to the Aam Aadmi Party to gain a larger share of the market in the national capital under the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2020-21.
The “south group”, according to the ED, comprises Sarath Reddy (promoter of Aurobindo Pharma), Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (YSR Congress MP from Ongole in Andhra Pradesh), his son Raghav Magunta, Kavitha, and others.
The ED had also alleged in Pillai’s remand papers that he “represented the benami investments” of Kavitha, who has also been questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the case.
The ED has so far arrested 12 people in the case, including former Delhi deputy chief minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia.
It has recorded the statement of Butchi Babu, a chartered accountant allegedly linked to Kavitha, where he said “there was a political understanding between K Kavitha and the chief minister (Arvind Kejriwal) and the deputy chief minister (Sisodia). In that process, K Kavitha also met Vijay Nair on March 19-20, 2021.”
Nair was arrested in the case by both ED and CBI. Butchi Babu has been arrested by CBI.
According to Butchi Babu’s statement, Nair was “trying to impress Kavitha with what he could do in the (excise) policy”.
“Vijay Nair was acting on behalf of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia,” the statement recorded by the ED said.
It is alleged that the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licenses to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP.
The policy was subsequently scrapped and the Delhi lieutenant governor recommended a CBI probe, following which the ED registered the case under the PMLA.
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#Delhi #excise #policy #scam #hear #Kavithas #plea #summons
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 26, 2023
Delhi excise policy case: Court to hear Sisodia’s bail plea in money laundering case on April 5

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New Delhi: A court on Saturday adjourned till April 5 the hearing on the bail plea of AAP leader Manish Sisodia, who has been arrested by the ED in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in implementing the now-scrapped excise policy in Delhi.
Special Judge MK Nagpal adjourned the hearing after Sisodia’s counsel sought more time to prepare a detailed response to ED’s submission on the bail plea.
Sisodia moved the bail plea on Tuesday and the court sought the Enforcement Directorate’s response by March 25.
On Wednesday, after seven days of questioning by the ED, the court sent him to 14-day judicial custody.
On Friday, the court reserved its order on a separate bail plea moved by Sisodia in the excise policy case lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Special Judge Nagapal said the court will pronounce its order on the bail plea in the CBI case on March 31.
The ED arrested the former Delhi deputy chief minister on March 9 at Tihar jail, where he was lodged in connection with the case being probed by the CBI.
The CBI arrested him on February 26.

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#Delhi #excise #policy #case #Court #hear #Sisodias #bail #plea #money #laundering #case #April
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 25, 2023
Godhra train case: SC to hear pleas of Gujarat govt, convicts on Apr 10

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said it will dispose of the bail pleas of several convicts serving life imprisonment in the 2002 Godhra train burning case on April 10.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Gujarat government, that he has to verify certain factual details with regard to some convicts.
The bench, also comprising justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, considered the submissions of the law officer and adjourned the hearing to April 10, and said it will “dispose of” the pending bail pleas of the convicts on that day.
The bench, meanwhile, extended the bail granted to one of the convicts earlier on the ground that his wife was suffering from cancer.
“His wife is suffering from cancer. My consent may be recorded,” said the law officer while supporting the extension of bail.
Earlier on March 17, the top court had said it will hear on March 24 the appeal of the Gujarat government and the bail pleas of several accused in the case.
On February 20, the state government had told the top court that it will be seeking award of death penalty to 11 convicts whose sentences in the 2002 Godhra train burning case were commuted to life imprisonment by the Gujarat High Court.
“We will be seriously pressing for award of death penalty to the convicts whose death penalties were commuted into life imprisonment (by the Gujarat High Court). This is the rarest of rare cases where 59 people, including women and children, were burnt alive,” the solicitor general had said.

“It is consistent everywhere that the bogei (coach) was locked from outside. Fifty-nine died, including ladies and children,” he had added.
Giving details, the law officer had said 11 convicts were sentenced to death by a trial court and 20 others granted life term in the case.
The high court upheld total 31 convictions in the case and commuted the death penalties of the 11 convicts to life term, Mehta had said.
On February 27, 2002, 59 people were killed when the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express was burnt at Gujarat’s Godhra, triggering riots in the state.
The state government has come in appeal against the commutation of death penalty into life term for 11 convicts, Mehta said. Several accused, he added, have filed pleas against the high court upholding their convictions in the case.
The top court has granted bail to two convicts in the case so far. Seven other bail pleas are pending adjudication in the matter.
The bench noted that a large number of bail applications have been filed before it in the case and said, “It has been agreed that the AORs (advocates-on-record) on behalf of applicants along with advocate Swati Ghildiyal, standing counsel for Gujarat, shall prepare a comprehensive chart with all relevant details. List after three weeks.” The Supreme Court had on January 30 sought the Gujarat government’s response on the bail pleas of some of the convicts sentenced to life imprisonment in the case.
The court issued notice to the state government on the bail pleas of Abdul Raheman Dhantia alias Kankatto and Abdul Sattar Ibrahim Gaddi Asla, among others.
The state government, on the other hand, said it was not “merely a stone pelting” case as the convicts had bolted a coach of the Sabarmati Express, leading to the death of several passengers on the train.
“Some are saying their role was just stone pelting. But when you lock a bogei from outside, light it on fire and then pelt stones, it is not just stone pelting,” the solicitor general had said.
On December 15, last year, the top court granted bail to Faruk, who was serving a life sentence in the case and noted that he had been in jail for 17 years.
Faruk, along with several others, was convicted for pelting stones at a coach of the train.
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#Godhra #train #case #hear #pleas #Gujarat #govt #convicts #Apr
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 24, 2023
Bilkis Bano case: SC constitutes new bench to hear plea against remission to convicts

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on March 27 a batch of pleas challenging the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case that also involves the killing of seven members of her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
A bench of justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna will hear the pleas filed by several political and civil rights activists, and a writ petition filed by Bano.
On March 22, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud directed the matter for urgent listing and agreed to constitute a new bench to hear the batch of pleas.
On January 4, a bench comprising justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi took up the petition filed by Bano and the other pleas. However, Justice Trivedi recused from hearing the case without citing any reason.
Bano had moved the apex court on November 30 last year challenging the “premature” release of 11 lifers by the state government, saying it has “shaken the conscience of society”.
Besides the plea challenging the release of the convicts, the gang-rape survivor had also filed a separate petition seeking a review of the apex court’s May 13, 2022, order on a plea by a convict. The review plea was later dismissed in December last year.
All 11 convicts were granted remission by the Gujarat government and released on August 15 last year.
The victim, in her pending writ petition, has said the state government passed a “mechanical order” completely ignoring the requirement of law as laid down by the Supreme Court.

“The en-masse premature release of the convicts in the much talked about case of Bilkis Bano has shaken the conscience of the society and resulted in a number of agitations across the country,” she has said.
Referring to past verdicts, the plea said en-masse remissions are not permissible and, moreover, such a relief cannot be sought or granted as a matter of right without examining the case of each convict individually based on their peculiar facts and role played by them in the crime.
“The present writ petition challenging the decision of the state/central government granting remission to all the 11 convicts and releasing them prematurely in one of the most gruesome crimes of extreme inhuman violence and brutality,” it said.
The plea, which gave minute details of the crime, said Bano and her grown-up daughters were “shell-shocked with this sudden development”.
“When the nation was celebrating its 76th Independence Day, all the convicts were released prematurely and were garlanded and felicitated in full public glare and sweets were circulated,” it said.
The top court is seized of PILs filed by CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, Revati Laul, an independent journalist, Roop Rekha Verma, who is a former vice chancellor of the Lucknow University, and TMC MP Mahua Moitra against the release of the convicts.
Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing the riots that broke out after the Godhra train burning incident. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed.
The investigation in the case was handed over to the CBI and the trial was transferred to a Maharashtra court by the Supreme Court.
A special CBI court in Mumbai had on January 21, 2008 sentenced the 11 to life imprisonment on charges of gang-rape of Bano and murder of seven members of her family.
Their conviction was later upheld by the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court.
The 11 men convicted in the case walked out of the Godhra sub-jail on August 15, last year, after the Gujarat government allowed their release under its remission policy. They had completed more than 15 years in jail.
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#Bilkis #Bano #case #constitutes #bench #hear #plea #remission #convicts
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 24, 2023