Tag: plea

SC agrees to hear plea seeking rules for menstrual pain leave next week

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear next week a plea seeking a direction to all the states to frame rules for menstrual pain leaves for female students and working women at their respective work places.
The plea was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, which said it would be listed on February 24.
The petition, filed by Delhi resident Shailendra Mani Tripathi, has also sought a direction to the Centre and all the states for compliance of section 14 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.
Section 14 of the Act deals with appointment of inspectors and says appropriate government may appoint such officers and may define the local limits of jurisdiction within which they shall exercise their functions under this law.
The plea, which was mentioned for urgent listing by petitioner’s advocate Vishal Tiwari, said countries like the United Kingdom, China, Wales, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea, Spain and Zambia are already providing menstrual pain leave in one form or the other.
It said only women are empowered to propagate the human race with their special ability of creation and during different stages of maternity, she undergoes a number of physical and mental hardships, be it menstruation, pregnancy, miscarriage or any other related medical complications.
The plea said the 1961 Act makes provisions for almost all the problems faced by women that can be understood by several of its provisions which have made it mandatory for employers to grant paid leave to women employees for certain number of days during pregnancy, in case of miscarriage, for tubectomy operation and also in cases of medical complications arising out of these stages of maternity.
“Ironically, the most disappointing aspect in the direction of respecting the rights of working women, is that in spite of a provision under section 14 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, that there will be an inspector for a particular area to monitor the implementation of such great provisions, no government in India has created the post of inspectors, forget about the appointment of such inspectors,” the plea claimed.

It said the provisions of law under the 1961 Act are one of the “greatest steps” taken by Parliament to recognise and respect motherhood and maternity of working women.
“Definitely even today also, in several organisations including government organisations these provisions are not being implemented in their true spirit and with the same legislative intent with which it was enacted but at the same time one of the biggest aspects of this whole issue or one of the very basic problems related to maternity which are faced by every woman has been completely ignored by the legislature in this very good law and also by the executive while making rules, specifically the leave rules,” the petition said.
It said the central civil services (CCS) leave rules have made provisions like child care leave for women for a period of 730 days during her entire service period to take care of her first two children till they attain the age of 18 years.
The plea said this rule has also given 15 days of paternity leave to male employees to take care of a child which is another great step of a welfare state in recognising the rights and problems of working women.
“In spite of making all the above mentioned provisions in law to take care of women in difficult stages of her maternity, the very first stage of the maternity, the menstrual period, has been knowingly or unknowingly ignored by society, the legislature and other stake holders in society except few organisations and state governments,” it alleged.
The plea said Bihar is the only state which has been providing two days of special menstrual pain leave to women since 1992.
It said there are some Indian companies that offer paid period leaves which include Zomato, Byju’s and Swiggy.
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#agrees #hear #plea #seeking #rules #menstrual #pain #leave #week
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 15, 2023
ED counsel cites Vidyasagar while opposing Partha Chatterjee’s bail plea

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Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) counsel on Tuesday drew the reference of iconic educationist and social reformer from Bengal, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, while opposing the bail plea of former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee in connection with the multi-crore teachers’ recruitment scam in the state.
“Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was born on September 26, 1820. He advanced the education system of Bengal during his time by 100 years. Partha Chatterjee’s birthday is on October 6, 1952. He pushed West Bengal’s education system backwards by a hundred years,” ED counsel Phiroze Edulji said during the hearing at the special PMLA court on Tuesday.
He also claimed that the ED has secured information that Partha Chatterjee received Rs 10 lakh from arrested Trinamool Congress youth leader Kuntal Ghosh as a share of the scam proceeds.
“ED is investigating the matter further,” he said.
Claiming that no money has been recovered from the residence of Partha Chatterjee, his counsel claimed that his client has been arrested because of political vendetta. Chatterjee’s counsel also moved two parallel pleas, the first related to bail and the second related to his relief from the case.
However, the judge hearing the matter questioned how can the plea for bail and the plea for relief from the case be placed in a parallel manner. Thereafter, Chatterjee’s counsel withdrew the second plea.
Meanwhile, opposing the bail plea, the ED counsel said that how influential Chatterjee is is evident from the fact that during his arrest by the central agency in July last year, he had mentioned the mobile number of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as his emergency contact number.
“This proves how influential he is. Hence if his bail plea is granted, there is every possibility that attempts will be made to tamper with evidence and influence the witnesses,” the ED counsel said.

Thereafter, the court rejected Chatterjee’s bail plea.
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#counsel #cites #Vidyasagar #opposing #Partha #Chatterjees #bail #plea
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 14, 2023
Court junks Nirav Modi sister’s plea for ED intervention in US bankruptcy matter

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Mumbai: A special court on Monday rejected a plea of Purvi Mehta, sister of fugitive diamond trader and PNB scam accused Nirav Modi, seeking a direction to the Enforcement Directorate to intervene in bankruptcy proceedings underway against him in the United States where she has been made a defendant.
In the plea, filed in April last year before the special court for cases under the Fugitive Economics Offenders (FEO) Act, Mehta (47) had said the ED should be directed to intervene in the case before a US court and seek injunction at least with respect to assets concerning her.
She has turned an approver in the bank fraud case filed under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Special judge S M Menjoge, after hearing prosecution and defence sides, rejected Mehta’s plea, saying there was no provision in the FEO Act by which the relief sought by her can be granted.
This court cannot prevent any person from prosecuting any matter either in India or outside the country, the judge observed.
Nirav Modi, a key accused in the Rs 13,000-crore scam at state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB), was declared a fugitive economic offender in December 2019. The 51-year-old diamantaire is currently lodged in a UK prison.
In June 2020, a special PMLA court in Mumbai ordered confiscation of his properties which the ED claimed had been bought using proceeds of crime.
In her plea, Mehta, who has turned an approver in the PMLA case against Nirav Modi and others, said she had been made a defendant in bankruptcy proceedings against her brother in a US court.

It means her properties are also being considered by the US court and its proceedings overlap with those in India related to her, Mehta’s plea had said.
The ED should be directed to intervene in the case before the US court, and seek an injunction at least with respect to assets concerning her, said the plea.
Lawyers representing PNB, which is the victim of the multi-crore fraud, submitted before the court that Mehta’s plea was not maintainable.
The ED also strongly objected to her plea, saying Mehta’s properties had been already attached as per provisions of the FEO Act.
There was no provision in the FEO Act to direct the central agency to intervene in US court proceedings, it told the court.
The special court, while rejecting Mehta’s plea, pointed out that she’s an approver in the PMLA case and not in this matter (filed under the FEO Act) and therefore she cannot claim be an interested party.
Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, owners of prominent jewellery firms, are accused of cheating the nationalized bank to the tune of Rs 13,000 crore by fraudulently obtaining Letters of Undertaking which act as bank guarantee while taking loans in foreign countries.
Purvi Mehta and her husband Maiank Mehta were made approvers in the bank fraud case in January 2021 on condition of making full and true disclosure before the PMLA court.
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#Court #junks #Nirav #Modi #sisters #plea #intervention #bankruptcy #matter
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 13, 2023
SC dismisses plea challenging delimitation exercise in J&K

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Srinagar, Feb 13: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea challenging the delimitation of Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, but clarified that “nothing in this judgment shall be construed as giving our imprimatur to the exercise of powers under Article 370 of the Constitution in August 2019”.
In its verdict, the division bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Abhay S. Oka said that there is absolutely no merit in any of the contentions raised by the petitioners.
“We may, however, clarify that the findings rendered in the judgment are on the footing that the exercise of power made in the year 2019 under clauses (1) and (3) of Article 370 of the Constitution is valid. We are aware that the issue of the validity of the exercise of the said powers is the subject matter of petitions pending before this Court. Therefore, we have not dealt with the issue of validity. Nothing stated in this judgment shall be construed as giving our imprimatur to the exercise of powers under clauses (1) and (3) of Article 370 of the Constitution,” the Court said.
Two Srinagar residents- Haji Abdul Gani Khan and Muhammad Ayub Matto- had filed a plea in the Apex Court last year to challenge the constitution of delimitation commission and the exercise of redrawing boundaries of Assembly and Parliamentary segments carried out by it.
The Supreme Court said the Article 170 is not applicable to the Legislatures of Union Territories.
“Hence, as far as the Legislative Assembly of the Union territory of J & K is concerned, Article 170 will have no application as it forms a part of Chapter III of Part VI which deals with only the State Legislature. It has no application to the Legislatures of Union Territories. The reason is that the Legislative Assemblies of the concerned Union Territories will be governed by the law made by the Parliament in accordance with Article 239A and not by the provisions of Chapter III of Part VI. As Article 170 is not applicable to the Legislature of the Union Territory of J & K, the main thrust of the argument that certain provisions of the J&K Reorganisation Act and actions taken thereunder are in conflict with Article 170 and in particular Clause (3) thereof is clearly misconceived and deserves to be rejected,” the Court said.
The petitioners had contended that the delimitation exercise was in violation of the scheme of the Constitution of India, especially Article 170(3), which had frozen delimitation till the first census after 2026.
On the petitioners contention that the act of increasing the number of seats from 107 to 114, is violative of Articles 81, 82, 170, 330 and 332 of the Constitution of India, the Court said that none of these provisions deal with the Legislature of any Union territory.

“Article 82 deals with the readjustment and allocation of seats of the House of Parliament after the census and Article 170 deals with legislatures of the States. None of these provisions deal with the Legislature of any Union territory. Article 330 deals with the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People. Article 332 deals with the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assemblies of the States. Both these provisions do not deal with reservation of seats for the House of legislature of Union Territories. In any case, even assuming that Article 332 can be applied to the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Legislatures of Union territories, it is not shown how the act of increasing the total number of seats in the legislature will offend Article 332, so long as the reservation is maintained as per the formula provided under Article 332,” reads the judgment, a copy of which is in possession of news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO)—(KNO)
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#dismisses #plea #challenging #delimitation #exercise
( With inputs from : roshankashmir.net )

February 13, 2023
Delhi HC adjourns hearing bail plea of Satyendar Jain and his aides

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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday adjourned hearing in bail plea of jailed Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain and co-accused Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case.
On February 8, advocate Sushil Kumar Gupta appearing for Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain, the two aides of the Minister had concluded his submissions before a bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma.
He had contended that in the present case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is just investigating the predicate offence and not the money laundering case, and that the ED had presumptively established a case of disproportionate assets (DA), but this could not be their case because the agency must first establish the existence of a scheduled offence.
Citing the Vijay Madan Lal Judgment of the apex court, Gupta had argued that the role that the ED has given to his clients (Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain) in the current case should be different from the CBI case, but the ED has accused them under the same rules.
He had further argued that the “proceeds of crime is the core” that needed to be established in the present case by the ED to have a case against his clients.
Earlier, Gupta, on behalf of his clients, had said: “We have been roped in because the company, as per the Enforcement Directorate, belonged to Satyendar Jain.”
He had added: “We are stating that it is our company, not Satyendar Jain’s.”
The Jains’ counsel had said that Satyendar Jain has nothing to do with the company and that all the companies belong to them.

Special Judge Vikas Dhull had denied the two bail on November 17 last year.
Earlier, Satyendar Jain’s counsel N. Hariharan had asked how is the minister involved in the present case and how is he related to it as the money belonged to Ankush and Vaibhav Jain, which came back to their account without any premium.
“My (Satyendar Jain’s) assets before and after the cheque period remained the same,” he had said.
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#Delhi #adjourns #hearing #bail #plea #Satyendar #Jain #aides
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 13, 2023
Supreme Court Dismisses Plea Challenging Delimitation In JK

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SRINAGAR: The Supreme Court Monday dismissed a petition challenging the delimitation of Assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, according to Bar and Bench.
Dismissing the plea filed by two Kashmir residents — Abdul Gani Khan and Muhammad Ayub Matto — the bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and AS Oka said that it has not ruled upon the validity of the Jammu & Kashmir Re-organisation Act, 2019, which is pending before the Supreme Court among the batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution.
Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of an Assembly or Lok Sabha seat to represent changes in population over time. A commission set up by the Centre submitted its final report for the delimitation in Jammu and Kashmir in May last year.
In December, the apex court reserved its judgment on a plea challenging constitution of the commission. The petitioners had argued that under the 2019 Act, only the Election Commission is empowered to conduct the delimitation exercise. However, the Centre stated that the J&K Reorganisation Act of 2019 mandates the commission to do it, reported Bar and Bench .

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#Supreme #Court #Dismisses #Plea #Challenging #Delimitation
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

February 13, 2023
SC to hear plea alleging delay in clearing names recommended by Collegium

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday two pleas on the issue of alleged delay by the Centre in clearing names recommended by the Collegium for appointment of judges to the apex court and the high courts.
While hearing the matter on February 3, a bench headed by Justice S K Kaul had expressed displeasure over the delay in clearing recommendations for the transfer of high court judges, calling it a “very serious issue”.
Attorney General R Venkataramani had on February 3 assured the top court that the Collegium’s recommendation of December last year for the elevation of five judges to the apex court will be cleared soon.
On February 6, five judges – Justices Pankaj Mithal, Sanjay Karol, P V Sanjay Kumar, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Manoj Misra – were administered the oath of office as apex court judges.
Two new top court judges – Justices Rajesh Bindal and Aravind Kumar – will be administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on February 13.
Once these two judges will take oath, the top court will achieve its full strength of 34 judges, including the CJI, after a gap of nine months.
Meanwhile, four judges, including two who will retire later this month, were on Sunday appointed as chief justices of high courts.
The appointment of judges through the Collegium system has become a major flashpoint between the Supreme Court and the Centre with the mechanism drawing criticism from different quarters.

During the February 3 hearing in the apex court, advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for one of the petitioners, had flagged the issue of names reiterated by the Collegium not being cleared by the government.
During the earlier hearing in the matter on January 6, the attorney general told the apex court that all efforts were being made to “conform” to the timelines laid down by it for processing the names recommended by the Collegium for appointment of judges to constitutional courts.
One of the pleas in the apex court has alleged “wilful disobedience” of the time frame laid down in its April 20, 2021 to facilitate the timely appointment of judges.
In the order, the court had said the Centre should appoint judges within three-four weeks if the Collegium reiterates its recommendations unanimously.
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#hear #plea #alleging #delay #clearing #names #recommended #Collegium
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 12, 2023
Plea in Kerala HC seeking to declare circumcision on children as non-bailable offence

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Kochi: A plea was filed in the Kerala High Court on Friday seeking to declare the practice of non-therapeutic circumcision on children as illegal and a non-bailable offense.
The plea, filed by an organisation called Non-Religious Citizens, also seeks a directive to the Union government to consider legislation prohibiting the practice of male circumcision. It alleged that the practice of circumcision is a human rights violation against children.
The petitioners, claiming to be social activists in Kerala, contended before the court that circumcision leads to several health problems including trauma besides other risks.
The plea said the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted by the General Assembly of the UN to which India is a member and signatory, by virtue of its provisions emphasize that all children have the right to live in a secure, loving environment, free from any form of harm, assaults, abuse, and discrimination.
“Each member of the covenant is duty-bound to ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms recognized in the covenant is violated has an effective remedy,” it said.
The practice of circumcision is compelled to be done on the children, not as their choice but they are being compelled to be followed only because of the unilateral decision taken by the parents, wherein the child is having no option, the plea said.
“This is a clear violation of the provisions of the international treaties…,” the plea said.
Alleging that several incidents of deaths of infants have happened in the country due to the practice of circumcision, the plea said the practice of this ritual is cruel, inhuman and barbarous, and it violates the valuable fundamental right, “right to life”, of the children postulated under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

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#Plea #Kerala #seeking #declarecircumcisionon #children #nonbailable #offence
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 11, 2023
‘Sorry, it can’t be done’, SC declines to modify order on Google’s plea

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea by Google seeking modification of the court’s January 19 order, and asked the tech giant to raise its objections before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
In January, the apex court had declined to entertain a plea by Google challenging an NCLAT order, which refused to stay operation of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) order imposing Rs 1,337.76 crore fine on the tech giant.
During the hearing on Friday, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud, made it clear to senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing Google, that no clarification is required in this matter.
Singh pressed that there is a need to add or clarify the January order.
The bench, also comprising justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala, said the court would not make any changes and he can “go and argue everything before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal”.
The counsel for the Competition Commission of India (CCI) also opposed any changes to the order, saying there must be no interference with its operative part. The bench said the order was dictated in an open court and there was no point in modifying it.
The bench told Singh, “Sorry, it can’t be done. We will not do it.”
The CCI counsel said the appeal of Google LLC is listed for hearing next week before the NCLAT and they can raise these issues before it.

In its January 19 order, the top court had granted a week’s time to Google to deposit 10 per cent of Rs 1,337 crore penalty imposed on it by the CCI.
The top court had said that the findings of the CCI cannot be regarded as contrary to the weight of the record, at the interlocutory stage.
In the January 19 order, the top court had added that at the present stage, since the appeal is pending before NCLAT, “we are desisting from entering a finding on the merits of the rival submissions which have been urged on behalf of the contesting parties”.
“Any expression of opinion of this court on the merits would affect the proceedings which are pending before the NCLAT. It would suffice to note that the findings which have been arrived at by the CCI cannot be held at the interlocutory stage to be either without jurisdiction or suffering from a manifest error which would have necessitated interference in appeal,” the top court said in its order.
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#declines #modify #order #Googles #plea
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 10, 2023
SC hearing on plea to restrain Gowri from taking oath as HC judge sees twists and turns

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New Delhi: The high-profile hearing on pleas seeking to restrain Justice Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri from taking oath as a judge of the Madras High Court saw several twists and turns in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, with rumours doing the rounds that the matter could be heard around 9.15 am, just an hour before her swearing in.
As soon as it was known that the swearing in of Gowri and four others as additional judges of the high court was scheduled at 10.35 am, the lawyers appearing for the petitioners in the apex court tried to get the matter, which was slated to be heard by a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and MM Sundresh as item number 38 on Tuesday, listed before that.
At around 8.50 am, rumours started spreading that the matter could be heard by a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, after which the petitioners’ lawyers, including senior advocates Raju Ramachandran and Anand Grover, were seen waiting in the CJI’s courtroom.
Soon after, the cause list on the apex court’s website showed that the two petitions were listed for hearing before a special bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and BR Gavai at 10.30 am as item number 301.
The lawyers, who were waiting in the CJI’s courtroom, rushed to court number seven, where the special bench was to assemble.
At around 10.25 am, five minutes before the scheduled court time, Justices Khanna and Gavai came to the dais and the hearing commenced.
After hearing the arguments for around 25 minutes, the bench said, “We are not entertaining the writ petition. Reasons will follow.”
Minutes before the apex court dismissed the pleas against Gowri’s appointment, she was administered the oath of office as an additional judge by the Madras High Court’s Acting Chief Justice, T Raja, at around 10:48 am.

The top court was hearing two pleas, including one moved by three Madras High Court lawyers, that opposed Gowri’s appointment as an additional judge.
A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud had on Monday posted the plea of the three lawyers on February 10 but later, advanced it to February 7 after Ramachandran mentioned it again, saying the Centre has notified Gowri’s appointment.
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#hearing #plea #restrain #Gowri #oath #judge #sees #twists #turns
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 7, 2023