GK/Current Affairs for Judiciary (29th March- 4th April 2020)

  • Migrant movement has to be stopped, govt tells apex court
    • The Centre told the Supreme Court that the mass movement of migrants during the lockdown has to be stopped.
    • It also said that it will be detailing the steps taken in a status report to the court.
    • The bench was hearing two petitions, through video-conferencing, which sought the court’s intervention in the matter.
  • Clear blockade on highway, Kerala HC tells Centre
    • The Kerala High Court directed the Centre to ensure that blockades put up by Karnataka on national highways connecting Kerala are removed.
    • This was being directed in order to facilitate free movement of vehicles carrying people for urgent medical treatment between the two states.
  • Top court asks Michel to move HC for bail
    • The Supreme Court asked VVIP chopper scam case accused Christian Michel James to approach the Delhi High Court with his application for interim bail.
    • The bench said it would be appropriate for the accused to move the HC for any relief.
    • Michel had approached the Supreme Court citing the risk of coronavirus infection in crowded prisons.
    • Currently, he is in a judicial custody in Tihar jail.
  • NIA files case over Kabul gurdwara attack
    • The NIA filed an FIR over the March 25 attack on a gurdwara in Kabul.
    • It is the first case registered by an Indian agency over a terror in attack in foreign soil.
    • The agency has registered the case on the basis of one of the victims being an Indian.
    • The NIA Act was amended last year giving the agency powers to register cases against regarding attacks on foreign shores if the victims were Indian citizens.
  • HC stays Kerala govt order to supply liquor on prescription
    • The Kerala High Court stayed a state government order to supply liquor to people on production of doctor’s prescription on presumption that they are suffering from alcohol withdrawal syndrome.
    • The government order was issued on March 30 after seven men with a history of alcohol dependence committed suicide.
    • All liquor outlets and bars remain shut in the state in view of the lockdown.
  • Centre climbs down on J&K order, reserves all jobs for UT domiciles
    • The Centre amended its earlier order and reserved all jobs in the Union Territory for only its domiciles.
    • This came two days after introducing a new domicile clause redefining residence and recruitment rules for Jammu and Kashmir.
    • The previous order included protections for level 4 jobs with a pay scale not exceeding Rs 25,500.
  • SC to Centre: intervene in road closure between Kasaragod, Mangaluru
    • The Supreme Court asked the Centre to discuss the matter with the states and formulate parameters for passage of patients for urgent medical treatment.
    • The matter is regarding the closure of linking roads between Kasaragod and Mangaluru.
    • This issue has become a bone of contention for the states of Karnataka and Kerala.
  • Officers should not waste time drafting replies, shut ‘PIL shops’: Govt to SC
    • Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court that “professional PIL shops” must be “locked down” until the country and the world emerge from the unprecedented crisis.
    • He said so stating that the preparation of replies to public interest litigation related to the Covid-19 pandemic is consuming precious time of many officers badly needed for coordinating work on the ground.
  • SC quashes Rs 650-crore I-T notice sent to NDTV in 2015
    • The Supreme Court quashed a Rs 650 crore notice sent by the Income Tax Department to NDTV in 2015.
    • The court said that it was beyond the four-year limitation period and thus did not stand scrutiny of law.
    • The said notice had sought reassessment of the company’s income for 2008-09.
    • The I-T Department had alleged that the company was involved in money laundering by round tripping funds from its UK subsidiary.