GK/Current Affairs for Judiciary (31st May-6 June, 2020)

Current Legal Affairs

  • Imputations (against court) and gradings damage the institution: Supreme Court judge
    • Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul cautioned that “imputations” against the court and its “grading… damages the very institution”.
    • He touched upon what he called the “after me the deluge” thought process among some people who used to be a part of the judiciary.
  • Caste slurs on pvt call not an offence under SC/ST Act: HC
    • Use of caste-based remarks during a phone call, away from public view, is not an offence under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
    • The ruling was made by the Punjab & Haryana High Court.
    • The court said that merely uttering such wrong words in the absence of any public view does not show any intention or mens rea to humiliate the complainant.
  • Manu Sharma, serving life term for Jessica Lall murder, now a free man
    • Manu Sharma (43) is out of the jail after the Delhi L-G approved his premature release.
    • He was serving a life sentence for the murder of model Jessica Lall in a restaurant in 1999.
    • His release was recommended by the Sentence Review Board in May, 2020.
  • SC stays HC proceedings over Navlakha’s plea
    • The Supreme Court stayed the proceedings before the Delhi High Court in connection with a bail application filed by activist Gautam Navlakha.
    • He is facing charges under UAPA for alleged Maoist links following the violence in Bhima Koregaon.
  • SC seeks Govt response on pleas over denial of ILP to Assam
    • Declining to stay the operation of a Presidential order, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre and said it will hear the matter again after two weeks.
    • The petitioners claimed that the order deprived Assam the powers to notify its district as “inner line areas” and limit the applicability of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
    • The petitioners’ counsel told the bench that the Adaptation of Laws (Amendment) Order, 2019 deserved to be stayed.
    • It was issued by the President to amend Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.
    • The bench said it will also have to hear what the other side (government) has to say on the matter.
  • Remove party colours from panchayat buildings, SC tells Andhra govt
    • The Supreme Court gave the Jaganmohan Reddy government four weeks’ time to comply with an Andhra Pradesh High Court order.
    • The said order had asked it to remove the colours of the ruling YSR Congress Party painted on Grama Panchayat buildings in the state.
  • SC questions interest charged in loan repayment moratorium
    • The Supreme Court questioned the decision of banks to continue charging interest on loan amounts despite the moratorium on repayment.
    • It was announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in view of the national lockdown to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
    • The court will hear the case on 12 June, 2020 again.
  • SC signal to Centre, states: 15 days to transport all stranded migrant workers
    • The Supreme Court said that it intends to give the Centre and states 15 days to complete the process of transporting all stranded migrant workers to their home states.
    • It also asked states to give information on “how they will provide employment and other kinds of relief” to the returnees.
    • The bench was hearing a suo moto petition on the issue of migrant workers.
  • SC asks pvt hospitals: Will you treat Covid at Ayushman Bharat rates
    • The Supreme Court asked private hospitals if they were ready to charge Covid-19 patients rates fixed under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
    • The bench was hearing a petition which sought “cost related regulations for treatment of COVID-19 patients at private/corporate hospitals”.