Court Cases

President Joe Biden has pardoned his son, Hunter, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family members. The Democratic president had previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence after his convictions in the two cases in Delaware and California. The move comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges, and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House. It caps a long-running legal saga for the president's son, who publicly disclosed he was under federal investigation in December 2020 a month after Joe Biden's 2020 victory. In June, as Hunter was facing trial in the gun case in Delaware, Biden ruled out a pardon or clemency for his son in an interview with ABC

Docket explosion is preventing the delivery of quality judgments as well as timely justice in the country, Supreme Court judge Justice Hrishikesh Roy said on Saturday. Justice Roy made the remarks after inaugurating a two-day zonal conference on 'Court Dockets: Explosion and Exclusion' organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Judicial Academy under the aegis of the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, at the SKICC here. Several judges from the Supreme Court, Chief Justice of the High Court of J-K and Ladakh, Justice Tashi Rabstan, and ex-Supreme Court judge and Director of National Judicial Academy, Justice Anirudhha Bose, attended the conference, among other legal representatives from the region. Emphasising that docket explosion is preventing the delivery of quality judgments and timely justice, Justice Roy said in his inaugural address, "It is a significant concern in a developing country like India, which is the world's largest democracy, with millions of court cases pending at differen

Federal prosecutors moved on Monday to abandon the classified documents case against President-elect Donald Trump in light of longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. The announcement in an appeals court filing in Florida came shortly after a similar filing was made by prosecutors in Washington, DC, where they asked to dismiss the case accusing Trump of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. The move amounts to a predictable but nonetheless stunning conclusion to a criminal case that just one year ago had been seen as the most perilous legal threat that he faced. It reflects the practical consequences of Trump's victory, ensuring he enters office free from scrutiny over his hoarding of top secret documents and conduct that prosecutors said had jeopardised national scrutiny. The dismissal had been foreshadowed in recent weeks by the revelation that special counsel Jack Smith was evaluating how to wind down both that case

A Delhi court will resume on November 26 recording statement of one of six female wrestlers who have accused former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasiya posted the matter for further proceedings after recording statement of one of the complainants in the case on November 14. The proceedings took place in-chamber. The court had on May 21 framed charges of sexual harassment and using force to outrage women's modesty against Singh in the case. Singh had pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. The judge had also framed the charge of criminal intimidation against Singh. The court further framed charge of criminal intimidation against co-accused and former WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar in the case.

A federal judge in Boston threw out a lawsuit filed by Peter Doelger, 87, and his wife, Yoon, accusing the firm of keeping him in an inappropriate investment

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Monday delivered his most thorough public defence to date since his indictment on federal bribery charges, insisting the case was a "test" that would not distract him from governing as he deflected specific questions about the investigation for more than an hour on Tuesday. Yet even as the mayor began to address reporters alone beneath a City Hall rotunda, a potential witness in one of the sprawling investigations was wrapping up his own news briefing steps away, complaining he had been the victim of a corrupt "shakedown". The whiplash-inducing morning at City Hall reflected the deepening tumult that has gripped the Democrat's administration in recent weeks, raising questions about whether Adams can continue managing the nation's largest city while shuttling between court appearances and contending with an exodus of top deputies. As he stepped to the podium, a smiling Adams began his comments with a favourite quip, "This is going in my book." But i

A case was registered on Saturday against Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and others on the directions of a court here, following a complaint relating to the now-scrapped electoral bonds scheme. Accorsing to police, an FIR was registered under sections 384 (punishment for extortion) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) against Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, ED officials, office-bearers of the BJP at state and national level, based on the order of a special court. The complaint was lodged by Adarsh R Iyer, Co-President of 'Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath' (JSP) alleging that the accused "committed extortion under the guise and garb of electoral bonds and benefitted to the tune of 8,000 and more crore of rupees." The complainant further alleged that Sitharaman through the clandestine aid and support of ED officials facilitated extortion of thousands of crores of rupees for the benefit of others .

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said the probe into the killing of Badlapur sexual assault case accused Akshay Shinde in a shoot-out should be carried out in a fair and impartial manner. The shoot-out could have been avoided if the police had tried to overpower Shinde first, the HC said, adding it was very hard to believe that he managed to seize a pistol from a police officer and open fire. Why the accused was shot in the head, and not on hand or legs first? the court asked. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan said if it finds that the probe is not being done properly, then it would be constrained to pass appropriate orders. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on October 3, by when the police would have to take a decision on the complaint submitted by Shinde's father, seeking an FIR against the police officers concerned. "The investigation has to be done fairly and impartially. If we find that this is not done, then we would be ...

Upon Murdoch's death, control of the trust was to be split among his four oldest kids. Instead, he has sought to give voting power to his eldest son, Lachlan

The State is a "single litigant" for the courts and it should come with a unified stand after taking on board all the departments concerned, the Supreme Court has said. The observation by a bench headed by Justice BR Gavai came while noting that there appeared to be some inter-se disputes between the forest and revenue departments of the Mizoram government in a matter pertaining to a May 1965 notification. The apex court noted a single judge of the Gauhati High Court's Aizawl bench, in January 2021, held the notification issued in the Assam Gazette dated May 19, 1965, "notifying the order passed by the chief executive officer, Mizo District Council, declaring forests located within half a mile on either side of the river Tuirial and 15 other rivers to be the Council Reserved Forest, is not sustainable in law". It said the state had preferred an appeal before a division bench of the high court but on November 9, 2022, it sought liberty to withdraw the appeal with the liberty to file

The curative petition was crafted by the apex court in 2002 in the landmark judgment of Rupa Ashok Hurra vs Ashok Hurra

The Supreme Court is set to introduce an AI tool called 'AI Saransh', developed by the National Informatics Centre, which is designed to generate summaries of pleadings

A committee of creditors (CoC) is a group of lenders who make decisions about an insolvent company or borrower in the insolvency resolution process

A key employee who labelled an experimental submersible unsafe prior to its last, fatal voyage was set to testify Tuesday before US Coast Guard investigators. David Lochridge is one of the most anticipated witnesses to appear before a commission trying to determine what caused the Titan to implode en route to the wreckage of the Titanic last year, killing all five on board. Lochridge is former operations director for OceanGate, the company that owned the Titan and brought it on several dives to the Titanic going back to 2021. His testimony will come a day after other witnesses painted a picture of a troubled company that was impatient to get its unconventionally designed craft into the water. The accident set off a worldwide debate about the future of private undersea exploration. Among those killed was Stockton Rush, co-founder of OceanGate. The company, based in Washington state, suspended its operations after the implosion. OceanGate's former engineering director, Tony Nissen,

Former principal of RG Kar hospital Sandip Ghosh and Tala Police Station officer-in-charge Abhijit Mondal were on Sunday produced before a court here on Sunday by the CBI in connection with the rape-murder of a doctor at the medical facility. "We will seek a three-day remand for them in the Sealdah court, an officer said. The CBI, which is probing the case, had on Saturday evening added charges of tampering with evidence against Ghosh, who is currently in judicial custody, and arrested Mondal. Mondal was arrested for allegedly tampering evidence, delay in registering the FIR among other charges, the officer said. The police officer was held after he failed to provide satisfying answers during questioning by the CBI officers on Saturday. The central probe agency had arrested Ghosh on September 2 in a case of financial irregularities at the hospital. A large contingent of security personnel have been deployed outside the Sealdah court, officials said. The body of the postgraduate

Launches 'Humour in Courts' for courtroom jokes

The Hindu side in the Gyanvapi mosque case on Wednesday requested a court here to allow the ASI to dig in the premises for a survey, a lawyer said. The judge fixed the next date of hearing as September 18 on the petition demanding ASI survey of the remaining parts of the Gyanvapi complex, the lawyer said. The representatives of the Muslim side were present in the court and are expected to put forth their views on the matter during the next hearing. Civil Judge Senior Division Fast Track Court Jugal Shambhu fixed the fresh date after hearing the Hindu side, said advocate Madan Mohan Yadav, representing the Hindu side in the case. "The Hindu side completed its argument in the matter. We have also requested to allow the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) to dig in the premises for the survey," said Yadav. Yadav said the Hindu side has argued that the original place of Jyotirlinga is in the middle under the dome of the alleged mosque located in the Gyanvapi complex. Geographical wa

Former employees of the company that owned an experimental submersible that imploded on its way to the wreck of the Titanic are scheduled to testify before a Coast Guard investigatory board at an upcoming hearing. The Titan submersible imploded in the North Atlantic in June 2023, killing all five people on board and setting off a worldwide debate about the future of private undersea exploration. The U.S. Coast Guard quickly convened a high-level investigation into what happened, and that inquiry is set to reach its public hearing phase on Sept. 16. OceanGate, the Washington state company that owned the Titan submersible, suspended operations after the implosion that killed company co-founder Stockton Rush and the others. Witnesses scheduled to appear during the upcoming hearing include Guillermo Sohnlein, who is another co-founder of OceanGate, as well as the company's former engineering director, operations director and scientific director, according to documents provided by the ...

The Supreme Court on Monday held that an accused, who is lodged in custody in a case, is entitled to seek anticipatory bail in another matter as long as he is not arrested in relation to that alleged offence. The apex court said there was no express or implied restriction in the statute that prohibits the sessions court or high courts from deciding an anticipatory bail application in a case, while the applicant was in custody in connection with a different offence. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said the purpose behind incorporating section 438 in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which deals with direction for grant of bail to a person apprehending arrest, was to recognise the importance of "personal liberty and freedom in a free and democratic country". "An accused is entitled to seek anticipatory bail in connection with an offence so long as he is not arrested in relation to that offence. Once he is arrested, the only remedy available to him is to apply for

On June 5, the Delhi High Court sought a status report on the bail plea, which he sought on medical grounds. His bail plea was dismissed by the trial court