Chhattisgarh money laundering case: SC pulls ED, says don't create fear

From pulling up ED in Chhattisgarh money laundering case to questioning the source of power of Delhi-LG while nominating 10 aldermen, here are the important cases of the day

The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard some crucial cases during which the court directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to not create an "atmosphere of fear", after the Chhattisgarh government alleged that the probe agency is "running amok" and is trying to implicate Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Rs 2,000 crore liquor scam in the state.

The court also said, asked about the "source of power" of the Lieutenant Governor under the Constitution and the law to nominate 10 aldermen to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) without the aid and advice of the elected government.

Apart from these cases, here is a list of some of the other important cases heard by the court:

- The court agreed to hear in July, after the summer vacation, a plea of several Gujarat judicial officers whose promotions were stayed by it on the ground that the high court and the state government followed the policy of giving precedence to seniority over merit for promotion.

- It rapped alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar for filing a plea seeking extension of time to meet and consult his lawyers in the Mandoli jail here.

- The apex court transferred to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court a plea alleging that over 20 people detained under the public safety law have been shifted out of the union territory prisons to jails in various states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

- It transferred a 2011 PIL to the Kerala High Court for monitoring the state government's action in providing “medical and palliative care” to the victims of toxic pesticide Endosulfan in Kasargod district

Here is a list of cases heard in the Delhi High Court:

- The court upheld the life term awarded to a man for kidnapping and murdering a two-year-old girl in Delhi in 2016.

- The High Court sought the response of Delhi government, CBSE and NHRC on a petition challenging certain provisions of the Right to Education Act, 2009 for being "arbitrary and irrational" and seeking a common syllabus and curriculum for students of classes 1 to 8 across the country, including madrasas and vedic pathshalas.

- It has expressed concern over incidents wherein innocent people are cheated with the promise of providing government jobs and refused to grant anticipatory bail to a woman accused of posing as a senior police officer and giving fake training to victims of such a fraud.

- The court said the issue of introducing legal studies as a subject in schools falls within the domain of authorities dealing with academic policy-making, which includes considering the subjects to be offered to students as well as standards and quality of education.

- It would hear on May 24 a plea by Jesus and Mary College challenging a notification by Delhi University insisting on admissions under minority quota solely on the basis of Common University Entrance Test scores, without any interviews.