Thorat & Associate's

The Tamil Nadu government has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against Governor Dr R.N. Ravi, alleging that the latter was obstructing the ability of the State Legislative Assembly to carry out its duties by excessively delaying the consideration of bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly.  The state government sought a specified timeline for the Governor, by which he should dispose of all pending Bills, files, and Government orders forwarded by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Filed by Advocate Sabarish Subramanian, the petitioner submitted that the Governor’s inaction had caused a ‘constitutional deadlock’ between the Constitutional head of the state and the elected government of the state. It further sought to declare as unconstitutional, the Governor’s inaction regarding the consideration and assent of Bills passed and forwarded by the Tamil Nadu Assembly and non-consideration of files, Government Orders and policies forwarded by the state for his signature. The petit

A Mumbai court on Monday received a complaint against the Chief minister of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for showing her disrespect for the national anthem. The complaint was filed against Banerjee by BJP Mumbai Secretary Vivekanand Gupta who claimed that during an event at Yashwantrao Chavan Auditorium in Mumbai, Ms. Banerjee began singing the the National Anthem while sitting and only stood for two verses of the anthem after which she left the venue abruptly. The Metropolitan magistrate  SB Kale said that the complaint is dismissed. A detailed order is yet to be uploaded. The complainant submitted that the behaviour of Mamta Banerjee’s was an insult and disrespect to the National Anthem and an offence punishable under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act of 1971. He filed a complaint before the Mazgaon Metropolitan Magistrate who issued an order summoning Banerjee to appear on March 2, 2022. Banerjee challenged the same before the Sessions Court whic

Rakesh Kumar, judicial member of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), on Monday tendered his resignation in the wake of the Supreme Court issuing a contempt notice against him for passing a verdict defying an interim order of the Apex Court. Appearing for Kumar, Senior Advocate P.S. Patwalia, apprised the Apex Court about the development, just before the Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud decided to dictate the order in the case. Earlier on October 18, the Apex Court had issued showcause notice to NCLAT, asking why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them over a verdict in violation of a status quo order passed by the Supreme Court. The Bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra issued showcause notices to Judicial Member Rakesh Kumar and Technical member Dr Alok Srivastava over NCLAT’s October 13 judgement, which ignored a status quo order passed by the Apex Court. It further

The Supreme Court refused to grant bail on Monday to Leena Paulose, wife of alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar, who was arrested for her alleged involvement in an extortion case worth Rs 200 crore.  The order was passed by the Bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Bela M. Trivedi on the grounds that there was no material before it to show that there was any change of circumstances since the bail plea was last rejected by the Delhi High Court. On July 11, the Delhi High Court had denied bail to Leena in the case. The single-judge Bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma had further refused to grant bail to co-accused Kamlesh Kothari and B Mohan Raj. The High Court in its investigation found that the accused was prima facie involved in the offence and there was no infirmity in the trial court order that rejected their bail applications. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police had filed a charge sheet against Leena Paulose under Sections 170, 186, 384, 386, 388, 419, 420,

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant bail to former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in two cases filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) related to the Delhi Excise Policy case. The verdict was delivered by the Bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice SVN Bhatti. On October 17, the Bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice S.V.N. Bhatti had reserved its verdict on the bail applications of Sisodia in relation to the cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act The Bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice SVN Bhatti had reserved its verdict on two separate bail petitions, which were filed by the Aam Aadmi Party leader. The bench took this decision after hearing Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, counsel of Manish Sisodia, and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who represented the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The Supreme

A day ahead of the crucial hearing on the validity of Electoral Bonds, Attorney General of India R Venkataramani told the Supreme court that voters did not have a general “right to know”. The Attorney General also added that the judicial review of the Scheme must be avoided since the matter was within the domain of the Parliament. A Constitution bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud along with Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra will hear the bunch of petitions which challenged the validity of the Centre’s electoral bonds scheme as a source of political funding from October 31 The matter of electoral bonds concerns with the legal validity of the scheme that facilitates anonymous donations to political parties. Attorney General R Venkataramani while posting his views on the same cautioned the SC not to enter into the policy domain for regulating electoral bonds. The Attorney General added that the scheme did not imping

The Calcutta High Court has imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on a lawyer, who intended to show ‘red eyes’ and abuse the court. The single-judge Bench of Justice Bibek Chaudhuri recently passed the orders on a writ appeal. Perusing an earlier order in the matter of October 16, 2023, the single-judge Bench noted that Justice Bibek Chaudhuri had ruled that the writ petition would be heard by Justice Suvra Ghosh and hence, the Court ordered that the said direction may be followed as it was claimed that substantially it was heard by Justice Ghosh. The High Court further noted that the Advocate appearing for the petitioners intended to show his red eyes and abuse the Court. Taking note of the insulting demeanour shown by the lawyer, the Bench imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on him and directed him to deposit the amount with the High Court Legal Aid Services Authorities. The post Calcutta High Court imposes cost of Rs 50,000 on lawyer intending to abuse, show ‘red eyes’ to court appeared first

Following in the footsteps of the Supreme Court, which went paperless in July this year, the Telangana High Court will go paperless on November 1. An official notice issued in this connection recently said that aII parties in person and advocates were directed to email a soft copy of the case or petitions being filed before the first court to the designated email address tshc.ch1@gmail.com . The notification further said that after mailing the soft copy, the advocates and parties were directed to submit a hard copy of the same before the New Filing Section, with an endorsement of having filed the soft copy. Earlier on July 3, 2023, as the Supreme Court reopened after the summer vacations, the premises wore a new look, boasting of courtrooms equipped with digital screens, Wi-Fi connectivity, upgraded video conferencing facilities and enhanced inter-court connectivity. The futuristic upgrades, implemented as part of green initiatives under the dynamic vision of Chief Justice of Indi

Former MLA Mukhtar Ansari has been convicted by an MP/MLA court in a Gangster Case registered by the State Police in 2010. The Former MLA has been accused of plotting a conspiracy to kill a teacher Kapil Dev Singh,who was murdered in 2009. The MLA has been sentenced to 10 years in jail and a fine of Rs. 5 lakh. As per the information Mukhtar Ansari,is a former five-time MLA, who is presently lodged in the Banda district jail. This is his 6th conviction in the last 13 months. A Varanasi court in June,convicted him in connection with the murder of Awadhesh Rai murder case(1991) who was Congress leader and brother of Former MLA Ajay Rai, and was gunned down in broad daylight outside Ajay Rai’s house in Varanasi in 1991. This year in April,Ansari was convicted in another Gangster Act case, lodged against him for his involvement in the kidnapping of Vishwa Hindu Parishad office-bearer Nandkishore Rungta in the year 1996 and also in the murder of Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Krishnanand

The Calcutta High Court has ruled that mere demand by a wife to live separately with husband  cannot be said to be a cruelty of such degree which would invite the marital tie to be severed. Dismissing a husband’s petition for divorce, the Division Bench of Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Prasenjit Biswas last week observed that there may be circumstances for such demand which cannot be said to be unreasonable. It said both husband and wife have reciprocal obligations to understand the emotions and the circumstances that gave rise to such a demand. Two individuals brought up in different environments may at times have conflicting views, but those were always regarded as vagaries of life as well as normal wear and tear of the marital relationship, it added. Noting that every conflict between the spouses may not amount to tantamount to cruelty, the Division Bench said the same was decided on a high degree of evidence A marital relationship depended on the trust and confidence rep

The Calcutta High Court said that having fundamental right to speech does not give one the right to tarnish the reputation of someone in society. A division bench comprising of Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Prasenjit Biswas clarified that the freedom of speech and expression is not absolute, even though it is regarded not only as a Constitutional right but a right inhered in every human. The bench very clearly stated that merely having a fundamental right of right to freedom of speech and expression does not permit right to tarnish the image or reputation of another individual. The bench said that the reputation of a person is of utmost importance in society and any attempt to tarnish such reputation must be restrained. “The order that was given on October 18 said that it the reputation of a person is one of the primary factor which weighs in the society and any attempt either by a spoken word or publication or letters circulated through internet portal on the basis of an unsu

The Bombay High Court has issued a notice on three defamation suits filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kirit Somaiya claiming Rs 100 crore in damages from Lokshahi news channel, Ambadas Danve (leader of opposition from Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray faction) and YouTuber Anil Thatte. The single-judge Bench of Justice SM Modak granted four weeks time to the respondents for file their responses. The suit has been posted by the High Court for hearing after four weeks on ad-interim reliefs. Advocate Hrishikesh Mundargi appeared for Somaiya. In his suit, Somaiya alleged that Marathi news channel Lokshahi, owned by the Swaraj Marathi Broadcasting company, had run an explicit video on him. The suit also mentioned the YouTube channel ‘Gaganbhedi,’ run by Thatte, which published the same videos. maligning his public image. Somaiya had also filed a complaint with the Mumbai police cyber cell, which registered an FIR. The Mumbai Police crime branch was earlier tasked to conduct an inquiry

The Manipur High Court has ruled that casting of votes was a part of the voter’s right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. The single-judge Bench of Acting Chief Justice M.V. Muralidaran recently observed that a voter’s right to know the antecedents, including criminal past of the candidates contesting election for MP or MLA, was the most fundamental and basic right for the survival of democracy. He said Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India provided for freedom of speech and expression. A voters’ speech or expression in case of election would include casting of votes, since the electorate speak out or express themselves by exercising their right to franchise. Justice Muralidharan said a voter may think over before making his choice of electing law breakers as law makers. The High Court made these observations on October 13, while rejecting a plea by Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Thounaojam Shyamkumar against petitions seek

A Delhi court on Wednesday discharged 11 people accused of vandalising a sweet shop and killing a 22-year-old-boy by setting him ablaze during the North-East Delhi riots of 2020. Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala of Karkardooma Courts discharged the accused on the grounds that their mere presence in the mob during different points of time and their involvement in other incidents of riots could not be a basis to make them vicariously liable for the incident which resulted in the death of Dilbar Negi. As per the case, Negi used to work as a waiter in Anil Sweet Corner. According to statements of public witnesses, the rioters ransacked the building where the deceased was hiding. They killed him and burnt his body along with the building. Perusing the statement of prosecution witnesses, the court observed that not all of the accused were directly related to the alleged incident of Negi’s killing. However, the judge framed charges of murder, rioting and unlawful assembly ag

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to direct the Delhi Police to grant permission for holding of All India Muslim Mahapanchayat at Ramlila Maidan ground on October 29. The single-judge Bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad noted that posters of the event had communal overtones and the event could not be permitted at a time when various festivals were being celebrated. Disposing of the petition filed by an organisation named Mission Save Constitution, the High Court said that even though the event has been styled as a platform for education of people, its posters did have communal overtones and it was being proposed to be held in the Old Delhi area, which was in any case not unknown to have communal clashes. The petitioner organisation, founded by Advocate Mehmood Pracha, contended that it was earlier granted permission by the Delhi Police for the event, the NoC was later withdrawn.  The organisation then moved the High Court challenging the Delhi Police’s stand. The High Cou

The Supreme Court has come down heavily on the Rajasthan High Court for entertaining a civil writ petition seeking consolidation of all First Information Reports against an accused, who was denied interim relief under Section 482 CrPC in the plea seeking quashing of FIR. The Bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Pankaj Mithal passed the order on a petition challenging the Rajasthan High Court order, which granted the respondents protection from any coercive action. As per the plea, six FIRs were registered against the respondents at the appellant’s behest, along with two other FIRs filed by other informants. The respondents then filed a Criminal Miscellaneous petition under Section 482 CrPC before the Rajasthan High Court, seeking to quash the FIRs. However, these petitions were heard by a Single Judge, who denied them interim relief. On May 5, 2023, the respondents filed a civil writ petition, requesting the consolidation of all eight FIRs into a single case, which was allowed

The Allahabad High while allowing the petition filed challenging the order dated 23.02.2019 passed by the Additional Commissioner, State Tax, Mathura as well as the order dated 16.05.2018 passed by the Assistant Commissioner, State Tax, Mobile Squad, Mathura under section 129(3) of the UP GST Act, has held that intention to evade tax cannot be attributed on movement of assesse’s goods from one unit to another. A Single Bench of Justice Piyush Agrawal passed this order while hearing a petition filed by M/S Vacmet India Ltd. The facts of the case are that the petitioner is a Company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and deals in production of polyester films, BOPP films, specialty coated films and metallized paper, etc in India. On 14.05.2018, while the goods were transported from manufacturing unit of the petitioner at Agra to its unit at Kosi Kalan, Mathura, the vehicle was intercepted and detention order in Form GST MOV 06 under section 129(1) UP GST Act was passed on the g

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Monday paid homage to the father of Indian Constitution, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar at Brandeis University in the United States. Delivering the keynote address at the Sixth International Conference on the Unfinished Legacy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar organised by the Brandeis University, the CJI said Dr Ambedkar’s constitutionalism aimed at creating a robust framework of checks and balances, where the constitution would serve as a bulwark against potential abuses of power, ensuring the protection of the rights of all citizens. Speaking on the topic “Reformation Beyond Representation: The Social Life of the Constitution in Remedying Historical Wrongs,” the CJI said that recognising these historical injustices underscored the crucial role of legal reform and the need for a just and inclusive legal system to address the past wrongs and work towards a more equitable society. He said reformation beyond representation entailed ensuring that marginalised and u

Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud will attend the third SDR Comparative Constitutional Law Discussion in the United States as an esteemed guest on Monday. The inaugural discussion in the series was held in October 2020 on the occasion of 150 years of celebration of Georgetown Law. This year’s event will be co-hosted by The Society for Democratic Rights (SDR), New Delhi and the Georgetown University Law Center, Washington DC. For the first time, the conversation will be held physically at the Georgetown University Law Center, Washington DC, US. CJI Chandrachud, along with Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court Stephen Breyer (Retd), will attend the historic event as esteemed guests. They will speak on ‘Perspectives From The Supreme Courts Of India And The United States’. The Chief Justice of the largest democracy in the world, for the first time, will be on an open public platform with a Justice of the United States Supreme Court. The event will mark the globa

The Punjab & Haryana High Court recently has instructed the state police for issuing protection to a same sex lesbian live-in couple. The bench of Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi ordered the Barnala districts’ Senior Superintendent of for examining the representation by the petitioners and pass appropriate directions. Advocate Jasmeet Singh represented lesbian couple. Advocate Kirat Singh Sidhu appeared State. The Court said that at present they deem it appropriate to direct the Senior Superintendent of Police, District Barnala to look into the matter and pass an appropriate order on the representation allegedly filed by the petitioners before him on 07.08.2023. A plea was put before the Court for protection of the couple due to objections by their family members to their relationship. The petitioner counsel stated that that marriage is not a prerequisite for ensuring the safety of a couple in a ‘live-in relationship’ since safeguarding life and liberty holds the utmost importance

A Public Interest Litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of Rule 5(4)(a) and Rule 5(4)(b) of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014. Filed by the father of minor Kavish Garg on his behalf, the petition sought stay on Rule 5(4)(a) and Rule 5(4)(b) on the grounds that they were ultra vires of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994. It further said the impugned rules were made in excess of the power conferred by THOTA and were in direct conflict with Section 3(1) and Section 3(4) of the Act. As per the plea, these Impugned Rules were in violation of Articles 13, 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India because they violated the right to bodily integrity of deceased organ donors. Filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India by Advocate-on-Record (AoR) Ajit Sharma, the petition contended that while THOTA required that donor’s wish be respected after his/ her death in so far as donation of his/

The Patna High Court closed Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed seeking appropriate action against the respondent Nos 7 and 8 (The Block Development Officer and the then Gramin Awas Assistant ,Ghanshyampur, Darbhanga) for their deliberate inaction in providing assistance under the Prime Minister Housing Scheme to eligible persons and disbursing it to ineligible person. The petitioner also claimed in the petition that these irregularities were pointed out before the District Magistrate, Darbhanga which was not at all considered by the authorities. A Counter affidavit is filed on behalf of the respondents dated 17.8.23. In the counter, it is pointed out that the SDO, Birraul has submitted an enquiry report before the Sub-Divisional Public Grievance Redressal Officer, Biraul, Darbhanga. The S.D.O. has also made a report to the Deputy Development Commissioner (DDC), Darbhanga who issued notice to the Block Development Officer, Ghanshyampur ,also forwarded by DDC, Darbhanga to the S.D

The Popular Front of India (PFI) moved the Supreme Court against the March 21 order of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act Tribunal, which upheld the five-year ban imposed on the Muslim political organisation by the Union government. The Bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Bela M. Trivedi was slated to hear the Special Leave Petition (SLP) on Friday, however, the hearing was deferred following a letter seeking adjournment by the petitioner. On September 27, 2022, the Central government had imposed a ban for five years on PFI, Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CF), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organisation (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and the Rehab Foundation, Kerala under UAPA. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had issued a notification on the night of September 27, 2022, stating that PFI and its affiliates have been found to be involved in subversive activities and

The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to give any relief to Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for his alleged involvement in the Excise Policy scam case. The single-judge Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma rejected Singh’s petition, which challenged both his arrest and judicial remand.  The High Court, while noting that ED was a premier investigator agency of the country, asserted that the court ‘cannot and will not’ be a part of the discussion in absence of material on record which proved the same. The national agency was represented by Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhari and Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju. It said though Singh was a political figure, he had to be placed on an equal footing as any other accused in a criminal case.  The single-judge Bench noted that though every person has a right to protect public image, however, upholding that right could not come in the way of the right of the State to investig

The Allahabad High Court issued notice in a Public Interest Litigation filed highlighting the menace of ever growing stock of the seized vehicles in front of various Police Stations all over the State of Uttar Pradesh. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker and Justice Ashutosh Srivastava passed this order in suo moto PIL. This letter petition, which has been registered as a Public Interest Litigation, seeks to highlight the menace of ever growing stock of the seized vehicles in front of various Police Stations all over the State of Uttar Pradesh, causing encroachment on the public road adjoining the Police Stations and turning them into virtually junk yards on account of no place prescribed for proper storage of such vehicles. The vehicles ending up lying in the Police Stations are the seized vehicles from time to time by the Police either in commission of various offences or abandoned vehicles or vehicles which are recovered during investigation of complaints of th

The Manipur High Court got its seventh Chief Justice on Friday as Justice Siddharth Mridul was sworn-in for the important post. The swearing-in ceremony was held at Raj Bhavan in Imphal. State Governor Anusuiya Uikey administered the oath of office and secrecy to Justice Mridul. The office of the Chief Justice of Manipur High Court fell vacant in February this year, following the elevation of Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar to the Supreme Court.  The Supreme Court Collegium, accordingly, proposed appointment of Justice Mridul as the next Chief Justice on July 5. However, the proposal remained with the Central government for more than three months. Justice MV Muralidharan was currently serving as the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court. On September 27, the Supreme Court expressed concerns at the collegium recommendations remaining pending with the Centre.  The Bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul told the Attorney General for India that the proposal for appointment of Chief Just