Current Legal Affairs

 

• HC distances itself from PSA arrests, says not right forum
  • A single-judge benchof the Jammu and Kashmir High Court dismissed a petition against preventive custody under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
  • The judge made two remarks that are likely to hold implications for the 300-odd such petitions pending in court.
  • He stated that preventive detention under PSA is based on “suspicion or anticipation and not on proof”.
  • He also remarked that “subjective satisfaction” of detaining authority to detain a person or not “is not open to objective assessment by a court”.

 

• States not bound to give reservation in jobs, promotions: SC
  • The Supreme Court ruled that states are not bound to provide reservation in appointments in government jobs.
  • It also stated that there is no fundamental right to reservation in promotions.

 

• Denying command posts retrograde step: women officers to SC
  • Women army officers who moved the Supreme Court for a permanent commission have countered objections raised by the centre.
  • The centre objected against giving them command posts in the ten command support arms where they are currently working.
  • Women army officers stated that denying them the posts will be an “extremely retrograde step” and “will inflict irreparable injury” to their dignity.
  • The court has already reserved its verdict in the case.

 

• Decriminalise laws, change criminal penalties to civil penalties: CII to govt
  • To improve business environment and remove obsolete laws, industry body CII made some suggestions.
  • It suggested the government to decriminalise several provisions in business facing laws.
  • It argued that “offences which are of a technical nature or those that do not affect public interest prejudicially should be considered to be decriminalised”.
  • The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has recommended 12 alternate ways to work towards decriminalisation of laws and amend legislations to change criminal penalties to civil penalties.

 

• Supreme Court upholds changes to SC/ST atrocities law
  • The Supreme Court upheld a 2018 amendment made to SC/ST atrocities law.
  • It barred persons accused of committing atrocities against those belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from getting anticipatory bail.
  • However, the bench also held that a High Court would also have an “inherent power” to grant anticipatory bail in cases in which prima facie an offence under the anti-atrocities law is not made out.
  • The two-judge bench held that a High Court, in “exceptional cases”, could quash cases to prevent the misuse of the anti-atrocities law.

 

• ‘Review court can refer questions to larger bench’
  • A nine judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the five-judge Sabarimala Review Bench.
  • The decision was to refer questionsto a larger Bench on the ambit and scope of religious freedom practised by multiple faiths across the country.

 

• SC seeks police view on Shaheen Bagh
  • The Supreme Court drew the attention of people agitating against the CAAand NRC to the inconvenience caused when protests were held on public thoroughfares for days.
  • The bench said that protests could not be carried on indefinitely in a common area.
  • However, the Supreme Court refused to pass any interim directions urgently in the Public Interest Litigation seeking the removal of the Shaheen Bagh protesters.

 

• K. unveils laws to stop early release of terrorists
  • Britain will end the automatic early release of convicted terrorists under new fast-tracked legislation to be introduced to Parliament.
  • The emergency measureswill mean convicted terrorists cannot be released before the end of their sentence without an assessment of whether they are still a risk.
  • They will have to serve at least two-thirds of their sentence before being assessed.

 

• Pak court accepts Saeed’s plea to club 6 terror financing cases
  • An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan accepted a plea by JamatudDawa chief Hafiz Saeed.
  • It sought to club all six terror financing cases against him and his aides.
  • It also sought to announce the verdict on completion of the trial.
  • The anti-terrorism court had indicted Saeed and others on December 11 in terror financing case in day-to-day hearings.

 

• Sudan agrees to hand over Bashir to ICC
  • Sudan has agreed to hand over ousted autocrat Omar-al-Bashir and others to International Criminal Court (ICC), for alleged war crimes in Darfur.

 

• Bill to include more tribes in ST category
  • The Lok Sabha passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill by voice vote.
  • It seeks to include Parivara and Talawara communities in the ST category.
  • The Siddi tribes of Belagavi and Dharwad in Karnataka would also be included in the category, apart from those living in Uttar Kannada.’

 

• CBI gives clean chit to Rakesh Asthana in case of bribery
  • The CBI filed a chargesheet in a case of alleged bribery against its former second in command Rakesh Asthana and others, giving a clean chit to him and others.
  • FIR was lodged in October 2018 amid his turf war with the CBI chief.

 

• SC’s order on quota in promotions challenged
  • Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad moved the Supreme Court for a review of its February 7 judgment.
  • The judgment reiterated the settled law that an individual cannot claim reservation in promotion as a fundamental right.
  • Aazad argued that the February 7 judgment would further oppress the marginalised sections of the society.

 

• SC backs move to demolish restaurants near Hampi site
  • The Supreme Court confirmed the decision taken by Karnataka government authorities.
  • The decision pertained to demolition of restaurants, hotels, guest houses and other buildings constructed in Virupapura Gaddi, located in west of the Hampi World Heritage site.
  • The bench concluded that the constructions were in violation of the Mysore Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1961.

 

• Government can seek fresh execution dates, says SC
  • The Supreme Court allowed the Union government to approach the trial court.
  • The Union wants to approach it for issuance of a fresh date for the execution of the death sentence of the Nirbhaya gang rape convicts.

 

• Pak jails Jamat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed for terror financing
  • Hafiz Saeed has been sentenced to jail in Pakistan for five-and-a-half years on terror financing charges.
  • Saeed was found guilty of “being part of a banned terrorist outfit” and for “having illegal property” by an anti-terrorism court in Lahore.

 

• Rohingya can’t be kept in jail after serving term: HC
  • Once Rohingya refugees complete their jail term after being caught as illegal immigrants, they cannot be kept in prison, the Calcutta High Court has said.
  • The court observed that the government could shift them to a safe place and continue to monitor them, but jail was not the place to lodge them.
• High Court dismisses petition seeking voting rights for prisoners
  • The Delhi High Court rejected a petition seeking voting rights for prisoners.
  • It noted that the right to cast vote was neither a fundamental right nor a common law right and was only provided by a statute.

 

• Live-streaming of case hearing allowed by HC
  • The Calcutta High Court allowed live-streaming of a hearing in a case of a Parsi woman, saying the proceedings would have ramifications for the community across the country.
  • The woman had moved the Calcutta High Court seeking an order permitting her children to enter the Fire temple, the Zoroastrian community’s place of worship.
  • The woman’s children were not being allowed to enter the temple as she had married outside the community.
  • The Parsi Zoroastrian Association of Kolkata had earlier prayed for live-streaming of the court-proceedings before the High court which was rejected by the Division bench.

 

• Court offers lawyer to Nirbhaya convict
  • A Delhi court offered Pawan Gupta an advocate, noting that a condemned convict is entitled to legal aid.
  • He is one of the four death row convicts in the December 16, 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case.

 

• Cabinet clears Major Ports Authority Bill
  • The Union Cabinet approved the Major Ports Authority Bill, 2020.
  • It will be introduced in the Budget session of the Parliament.
  • It will replace the existing regulations under a 1963 law.

 

• Bill to regulate pesticide business gets green light
  • The Union Cabinet approved the Pesticides Management Bill, 2020.
  • The government claims that it will regulate the business of pesticides and compensate farmers in case of losses from the use of spurious agro-chemicals.

 

• A child cannot be put behind bars, rules SC
  • The apex court made clear that the police have no right to detain children in conflict with law in a lockup or a jail.
  • A juvenile in conflict with law, if apprehended, has to be placed immediately under the care of the special juvenile police unit or a designated child welfare officer.
  • The child has to be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).
  • The order came after the court’s attention was drawn by the recent media reports about “children being detained in police custody and tortured in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh”.

 

• SC hears plea for ex-judge’s reinstatement
  • The Supreme Court considered the plea for reinstatement by a former district judge from Madhya Pradesh.
  • She had resigned after she had raised sexual harassment allegations against a judge of the state High Court.

 

• Direct tax Bill to include DRTs in ambit
  • The Union Cabinet approved changes in the ‘Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Bill, 2020’ with a view to increase its scope to cover litigation pending in various debt recovery tribunals (DRTs).
  • The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha with the aim of reducing litigation related to direct taxes.

 

• SC reserves judgment on plea by Nirbhaya case convict
  • The Supreme Court reserved its judgment on a plea by the Nirbhaya case convict, Vinay Sharma, against the rejection of his mercy petition.

 

• Travancore royal family upset with AG’s submission in SC
  • The royal family of erstwhile Travancore has taken strong exception to the submission by Attorney General K.K. Venugopal in the Supreme Court.
  • It said that he had committed a mistake by claiming ownership of the wealth of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple here.
  • A press note issued by the royal family said they had never staked claim to the valuables in Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple.

 

• Publish criminal history of candidates, SC orders parties
  • The Supreme Court ordered political parties to publish the entire criminal history of their candidates for the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
  • It also ordered to publish the reasons that goaded them to field suspected criminals over decent people.
  • The information should be published in a local and a national newspaper as well as the parties’ social media handles.
  • It should be mandatorily published either within 48 hours of the selection of candidates or less than two weeks before the first date for filing of nominations, whichever is earlier.
  • A Bench led by Justice Rohinton F. Nariman, in the judgment, ordered political parties to submit compliance reports with the Election Commission of India within 72 hours or risk contempt of court action.
  • The judgment is applicable to parties both at the Central and State levels.

 

• Slapping Sec. 144 during CAA protests ‘illegal’: HC
  • The Karnataka High Court declared as “illegal” the order passed by the Bengaluru City Police Commissioner.
  • The order had imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) from December 19 to 21, 2019.
  • The imposition was made ahead of a series of pro- and anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) rallies.
  • The court held that the order did not stand judicial scrutiny in terms of the parameters laid down by the Supreme Court.

 

• Following SC rap, telcos asked to pay AGR dues immediately
  • The Supreme Court ordered the managing directors and directors of companiesto show cause why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.
  • As they had failed to pay even a “single penny” to the government in adjustment gross revenue (AGR) dues, worth Rs 1.47 lakh crores, despite an October 2019 judgment.

 

• Justice Dharmadhikari of Bombay HC resigns
  • Justice Satyaranjan C Dharmadhikari, the most senior judge after the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, told an advocate appearing before him that he had demitted his office.
  • He cited personal and family reasons behind the resignation.

 

• SC lifts Delhi-NCR construction ban
  • The Supreme Court lifted completely the ban on construction and demolition in Delhi-NCR after putting a stop on such activities for over three months.
  • Revoking its ban of November 4 last year, the bench concluded that the ban has served its purpose.
  • It noted that there has been a significant improvement in the air quality.

 

• SC disposes off DMK’s appeal on disqualification of 11 AIADMK MLAs
  • The Supreme Court disposed of an appeal by the DMK on disqualification of 11 AIADMK MLAs.
  • Disqualification was asked because those MLAs had voted against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappady K. Palaniswami in a confidence motion in 2017.
  • Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde refused to put the Speaker on a deadline.

 

• Nirbhaya case: SC rejects convict’s plea
  • The Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by Nirbhaya case convict Vinay Sharma challenging the rejections of his mercy plea by the President.
  • The Bench, led by Justice Banumathi, found no merit in Sharma’s contention that the mercy plea was rejected because of non-application of mind.

 

• SC issues order on death penalty pleas
  • The Supreme Court admitted an administrative order.
  • While admitting, it said that appeals against confirmation of death penalty by High Courts will be mandatorily listed for hearing before a three-judge Bench within six months of their admission in the top court.

 

• SC seeks J&K reply to plea against Omar’s custody
  • The Supreme Court asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to respond to a petition.
  • It was filed by Sara Abdullah Pilot against the detention of her brother and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

 

• Bharti to make Rs 10,000 cr part payment in AGR dues by Feb 20
  • Bharti Airtel committed to deposit a part payment of Rs 10, 000 crore as part of its adjusted gross revenue-related dues by February 20, 2020.
  • It promised to clear the remaining dues ‘well before’ March 17, the next date of the court hearing on the issue.

 

• SC refuses to extend BS-IV deadline
  • The Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea by automobile dealers for permission to sell and register vehicles following the Bharat Stage-IV standard emission norms beyond April 1, 2020.
  • In 2018, the court had banned the sale and registration of these vehicles beyond this cut-off date.

 

• Karnataka HC stays CCI order against Amazon, Flipkart
  • The Karnataka High Court stayed the Competition Commission of India’s order.
  • The order had directed an investigation into whether Amazon and Flipkart had entered into anti-competitive agreements in violation of the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002.