Tag: PIL

PIL in Kerala HC against ‘The Kerala Story’ film; court to hear it on May 5

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Kochi: A public interest litigation (PIL) was moved in the Kerala High Court on Tuesday against certain statements in the teaser and trailer of controversial Hindi film, ‘The Kerala Story’, and seeking that the court set aside the certificate for public display given to the movie by the censor board.
The high court, after hearing brief arguments, listed the matter for hearing on May 5, the day the film is scheduled to be released.
A bench of Justices N Nagaresh and C P Mohammed Nias also gave time to Deputy Solicitor General of India (DSGI) Manu S, appearing for the Centre and the censor board, to obtain the CBFC’s stand on the PIL before the next date of hearing.

The plea was moved by a lawyer, Anoop V R, who contended that the movie “falsely portrayed” certain facts which had resulted in “insulting” the people of Kerala, and sought a stay on the movie’s impending release.
“‘The Kerala Story’ claims to be inspired from true events. However, the statements in the teaser and trailer of the movie are far distant from the truth,” the petition said.
It contended that it was necessary to stay the release of the movie in its present form and remove “all the incorrect and unverified statements or scenes derogatory to the Muslim community and the state of Kerala”.
The petitioner, in the PIL, urged the court to direct the movie’s director Sudipto Sen, its producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah and the production company Sunshine Pictures to redact or remove, prior to the film’s release, certain statements, particularly the ones that say that the film was inspired by true stories and that 32,000 women from Kerala were converted to Islam and joined the Islamic State (IS).
It also urged the court to prohibit screening of the film without expunging the portions which allegedly have characteristics of hate speech and to set aside the ‘A’ certificate granted to the movie by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

The petition was opposed by the Centre and CBFC, with DSGI Manu S arguing that the Supreme Court has held in many cases that once the certification was granted by the censor board, the same could not be interfered with by courts.
The DSGI contended that according to the SC verdict regarding the movie ‘Padmavati’, even the fear of a possible deterioration of law-and-order was not a relevant consideration once the CBFC had cleared a movie.
The film’s distributor too opposed the PIL saying that filing it at the last moment was “ill motivated”.
‘The Kerala Story’, starring Adah Sharma, is set to be released in cinemas on May 5 and is portrayed as “unearthing” the events behind “approximately 32,000 women” allegedly going missing from Kerala.
According to the CPI(M) and the Congress in Kerala, the film falsely claims that 32,000 women got converted and radicalised and were deployed in terror missions in India and the world.
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#PIL #Kerala #Kerala #Story #film #court #hear
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 2, 2023
Delhi HC reserves order on PIL against sealing of school on public land

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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday reserved its order on a petition seeking protection of the interests of kids enrolled in schools on public property that have been mortgaged and could be sold at auctions by banks due to debt default.
Filed in a form of Public Interest Litigation (PIL), it was listed before the division of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad.
The bench, after hearing the arguments on behalf of the petitioners and the respondents, reserved its order on the petition.

“We will pass appropriate orders. Arguments heard and order reserved,” the bench said.
In the PIL, NGO Justice for All has requested that the court to protect the fundamental right to education guaranteed to over 900 students attending Laxmi Public School in Karkardooma as well as other students attending similar schools whose land has been mortgaged and could one day be sold at auction or sealed due to loan default.
Additionally, it asks the court to issue directives for an investigation into the mortgaged status of Laxmi Public School’s leasehold property.
The land parcel belonged to the government and was given to Laxmi Educational Society under the Government Grants Act for the purpose of operating a school, according to standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi and advocate Arun Panwar, who were representing the Delhi government.
The society was not permitted to deal with the land further under the Transfer of Property Act.

The Delhi government’s goal was to safeguard kids and advance education, and this land was never made accessible to the bank as any other land to be purchased from any institution, Tripathi submitted.
According to the petition, numerous institutions originally bought land for cheap before borrowing money from banks to build five-star facilities.
It claimed that this led to the commercialisation of education and increased competition for expensive education and that these institutions put children’s education at danger by mortgaging the property.
The petition was disputed by the legal counsel for the society and the school, who argued that it was a publicity stunt and that the petitioner had submitted the plea without any support or evidence, and that it should be dismissed with costs.
Things have advanced to the point where the school will be auctioned off to pay back a loan and business regulations are being implemented on school property, which is otherwise public land set aside for public institutions, the petition argues.
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#Delhi #reserves #order #PIL #sealing #school #public #land
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 1, 2023
SC junks PIL seeking FIR against Vijayvargiya over his remarks on women’s attire

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a PIL seeking registration of an FIR against senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya and others over his controversial remark on clumsily attired women.
A bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna rejected the plea which sought a mechanism at the central and state level to deal with people making such remarks.
The bench said if the petitioner, Delhi resident Anjale Patel, and others had grievances over the statement, they could approach an appropriate forum including the lower court.

On April 6, Vijayvargiya, a BJP general secretary, had said “badly dressed” women looked like “Shurpnakha”. In Ramayana, Shurpnakha is the sister of demon king Ravan.
Vijayvargiya came under fierce attack from women’s groups who called his comments, made at a function in Indore, “sexist and misogynistic”.
Advocate Satya Mitra, appearing for the petitioner, sought registration of an FIR against the BJP leader under section 354 (outraging the modesty of woman) and section 500 (punishment for defamation).
He said there should be a mechanism, either at the Centre or state level or both, to deal with and take action against those making such statements.
The bench said although it is dismissing the petition, it should not be construed that it is approving the statement.

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#junks #PIL #seeking #FIR #Vijayvargiya #remarks #womens #attire
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 21, 2023
Gujarat HC to hear PIL seeking ban on mosque loudspeakers

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Ahmedabad: A plea seeking a ban on the use of loudspeakers at mosques in Gujarat will be taken up by a division bench of the Gujarat High Court on June 19, an official said on Wednesday.
The plea has been filed by a doctor, Dharmendra Prajapati.
The Gujarat government has not responded to a high court notice issued over a year ago regarding the public interest litigation (PIL).

The court directed the advocate-general on Wednesday to file the government’s reply by June 12.
Prajapati, who resides in Sector 5C in Gandhinagar, claimed that Muslim individuals come to pray at different times and use loudspeakers, causing disturbance to the nearby residents.
He claims that the use of loudspeakers during Muslims’ prayer times infringes on his fundamental rights.
He has cited an Allahabad High Court judgment that rejected a request to allow the Muslim call for prayer to be sounded with amplifying devices in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district.
Prajapati also submitted a written complaint to the Gandhinagar ‘mamlatdar’ in June 2020, which was forwarded to the Sector 7 police station.

However, no action was taken in response.
The petitioner also claimed that the use of loudspeakers during prayer times violates noise pollution rules, which prescribe a permissible noise level of 80 decibels.
He has sought direction from the appropriate authority to ban the use of loudspeakers in mosques across the state.
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#Gujarat #hear #PIL #seeking #ban #mosque #loudspeakers
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 19, 2023
HC junks PIL challenging UP govt’s move to hold religious events during Navratri

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Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a PIL challenging the state government’s decision allocating Rs 1 lakh to each district to hold religious events during Navratri and Ram Navami festivals and pay honorarium to artistes.
Upholding the Yogi Adityanath government’s decision to pay honorarium to the performers at the programmes organised at temples, the Lucknow bench of high Court has held that this does not amount to indulgence of the state in propagation of any religion or religious denomination.
In fact it is a simple secular activity of the state while it indulges in publicising the developmental work undertaken by the state, the court said.

A bench of Justices D K Upadhyaya and O P Shukla dismissed the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Motilal Yadav challenging the state government’s March 10, 2023 decision whereby it had allocated Rs 1 lakh to each district on the occasion of Ram Navami.
The court’s order was passed on March 22 but was uploaded on its website on Tuesday only.
In its order, the bench also observed, “If the state spends some money out of the taxes collected by it from the citizens and appropriates some amount for providing some conveniences or facilities to any religious denomination, it will not be violative of Article 27 of the Constitution of India.”
“We have to always keep in mind that there exits a clear line of distinction between a secular activity and religious activity which may be undertaken by the State, like providing conveniences and facilities and indulgence of a State in maintenance and propagation of religion or religious denomination,” added the bench.
Saying that the petitioner had misunderstood the state government’s order, the bench observed, “The Government order does not make any provision for payment of any amount to any person, be it a priest in a temple or anyone else associated with the activities of the temple; rather, the amount is to be paid to the performers or artisans who may be performing on such occasions.”

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#junks #PIL #challenging #govts #move #hold #religious #events #Navratri
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 12, 2023
PIL filed against ace cricketers, actors for ‘encouraging’ gambling

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Patna: A social activist in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in a district court against former Indian cricket captain and BCCI president Saurav Ganguly, cricketers Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, actor Aamir Khan and others, accusing them of encouraging gambling.
In the petition moved in the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court, Tammanah Hashmi claimed that these sportsmen and actors are playing with the present and future of youths by making them involve themselves in gambling through various online games related to the IPL.
“They are misleading the youths of the country and forcing them to get involved in gambling. They are luring them with attractive prizes but it can also make a youth become addicted to gambling,” he said.

“The cricket and film icons are promoting various gaming shows and encouraging people to make teams of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Some of them have won the prizes but it also has consequences of people becoming an addict of gambling as well,” he said.
The next hearing of this case is scheduled on April 22.
Hashmi has filed several PILs against prominent persons on various issues in the past.
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#PIL #filed #ace #cricketers #actors #encouraging #gambling
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 12, 2023
Bengal Ram Navami clashes: PIL filed at Calcutta HC seeking CBI probe

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Kolkata: As tension over clashes in West Bengal’s Howrah district over a Ram Navami procession continued on Friday, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed at the Calcutta High Court seeking a CBI probe into the matter.
The clashes which were mainly at Sandhyabazar area of Shibpur in Howrah district on Thursday, spread to adjacent Kazipara area this morning. A group of people started pelting stones towards the high-rises in the area. A couple of vehicles were vandalised and torched.
Even the vehicle of the state cooperation minister Arup Roy, which was passing through the area then, was not spared. The window-screen of the vehicle was totally smashed. However, the minister was not present in the vehicle.
Finally, a huge contingent of police force, accompanied by the personnel of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), reached the spot. They resorted to massive lathicharge to bring the unruly mob under control. Some of the policemen also suffered injuries in the clashes. Till the filing of the report, the total number of arrests in this connection was 36. Though the situation has been brought under control, tension prevails in these pockets.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave a strong message and said that her administration will not tolerate such rowdy activities. “I have asked the police to take strong action,” she said. Admitting that there had been complaints of inaction or delayed action by police, the chief minister said that these complaints will also be looked into. At the same time, she claimed that Thursday’s clashes mainly happened because of the last moment change in route of the procession.
On Friday, Leader of Opposition in state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari filed a PIL at the division bench of Calcutta High Court’s Acting Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, seeking a CBI probe in Thursday’s clashes.
The PIL has been admitted and the hearing in the matter will be on April 3. Besides seeking a CBI probe in the matter, the leader of the Opposition had also sought deployment of central armed forces in the troubled pockets on this count.
In the PIL he also claimed that the deployment of central armed forces had been necessary as the state police had failed miserably to bring the situation under control.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 31, 2023
Delhi HC grants six weeks to RBI to respond to PIL on Uniform Banking Code

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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday granted six weeks’ time to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for filing response in a plea seeking directions to implement Uniform Banking Code.
Filed as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by Advocate and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, the plea brings up the need for a Uniform Banking Code for foreign exchange transfers to regulate benami transactions and the creation of black money.
A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad granted time to RBI for filing a response.
In the previous hearing, the bench had given notice to RBI and directed that the entire set of documents be given to its standing counsel while taking into account the significance of the matter.
Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma appearing for Centre submitted that the plea raised a serious issue which required detailed examination.
The plea stated that the “immigration rules for Visa are same whether a foreigner comes in Business Class or Economy Class, uses Air India or British Airways and comes from USA or Uganda. Likewise, deposit details in Indian banks, including foreign bank branches for Foreign Exchange Transaction must be in the same format whether it is export payment in a current account or salary, in a savings account or donation, in a charity’s current account or service charges payable in YouTuber’s accounts.”
“Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC) must be issued and all international and Indian banks must send the link through SMS to get FIRC automatically in case the foreign exchange is being deposited in the account as converted INR (Indian rupee),” it stated.
“Moreover, only a person or company should be permitted to send Indian rupees from one bank account to another bank account inside the territory of India through RTGS, NEFT and IMPS and international banks should not be allowed to use these domestic banking transactions tools,” the plea further said.

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#Delhi #grants #weeks #RBI #respond #PIL #Uniform #Banking #Code
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 21, 2023
BJP leader moves PIL seeking compulsory voting in Parliament, Assembly polls

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New Delhi: BJP leader and practicing lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay moved a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday seeking compulsory voting in Parliament and Assembly elections.
With an aim to increase the voters’ turnout, promote political participation, improve the quality of democracy and to secure the right to vote, the petitioner also sought direction from the Law Commission to prepare a report on ‘Compulsory Voting’.
According to his plea, the low voter turnout is a persistent problem in India and compulsory voting can help resolve this, particularly among marginalised communities.
“It ensures that every citizen has a voice and that the government is representative of the people’s wishes. When voter turnout is high, the government is more accountable to the people and is more likely to act in their best interests,” the PIL stated.
“Compulsory voting ensures that the elected representatives are chosen by a larger and more representative group of people. This increases the legitimacy of the government and enhances the quality of democracy,” the plea further stated.
It has been said that when voter turnout is low, the government may not be representative of the people’s wishes, and this can lead to a lack of trust in the democratic process.
“Compulsory voting can help to ensure that the government is truly representative of the people,” it said.
The plea further stated that ‘Compulsory Voting’ is in practice in many countries.

“The Constitution provides for the right to vote as a fundamental right under Article 326. This right is subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by law. Compulsory voting can be implemented as reasonable restriction in the interest of ensuring the smooth functioning of democracy. The Supreme Court has also held that the right to vote is a statutory right, and the government has the power to impose reasonable restrictions on this right,” it added.
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#BJP #leader #moves #PIL #seeking #compulsory #voting #Parliament #Assembly #polls
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 16, 2023
PIL seeking 100 pc govt job reservation for locals in Andamans to be heard on Monday

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Port Blair: A PIL seeking 100 percent government job reservation for the local people in Andaman and Nicobar Islands will be heard on Monday at the Calcutta High Court’s circuit bench here.
Referring to the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, where the respective administrations have decided to reserve 100 percent government jobs for the local people, Andaman and Nicobar Territorial Congress’ Campaign Committee chairman TSG Bhasker had on March 8 filed the public interest litigation, demanding a similar provision for islanders.
Bhasker’s counsel PC Das said, “In last few years, the number of unemployed youth is rising in the archipelago. Lack of private industries and struggling tourism sector, which is yet to recover from the COVID-19 impact, have became a concern among the domiciles of Andaman and Nicobar Islands when it comes to jobs.”
In the midst of these challenges, securing administrative Group C’ and Group B’ (non-gazetted) jobs in Andaman and Nicobar by applicants from other parts of India has aggravated the problem of unemployment in the union territory, he claimed.
Recently, job aspirants of Andaman and Nicobar Islands expressed resentment over a large number of candidates from other parts of the country appearing for examinations for more than 500 ‘Group C’ posts and successfully clearing the tests.
A division bench comprising Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay and Justice Aniruddha Roy will hear the PIL on March 13, he said.
Speaking to the PTI, Bhasker said, “I have full faith in the judiciary and I am hopeful that the verdict will be in favour of the youth of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Due to limited educational support and coaching, our youth finds it difficult to compete with applicants from the mainland in competitive exams.”

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#PIL #seeking #govt #job #reservation #locals #Andamans #heard #Monday
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 12, 2023