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A court in Majalgaon in Beed on Monday ordered seizure of the district collector's car to recover compensation to be paid to three farmers for giving their land for an irrigation project. Land was acquired in 1998 in Wadwani tehsil from farmers Shivaji Toge, Santosh Toge and Babu Moge for an irrigation project, their lawyer Baburao Tidke said. "They had approached Majalgaon court claiming the compensation given to them was inadequate. The court had enhanced the compensation in an order of October 29, 2015. The amount was only partially disbursed, with the administration yet to pay a cumulative sum of Rs 29.50 lakh," Tidke said. "The court today ordered seizure of the collector's car to recover this amount. Warrant has been issued for the auction of the car once it is seized. The collector handed the car keys to us when we went there with the warrant," he said. When contacted, Beed Resident Deputy Collector Shivkumar Swami said, "I cannot talk on the issue as it is not with me.
The ambitious phase three of the e-Courts project, which seeks to establish digital, online and paperless lower courts in the country, has been allocated Rs 1,500 crore in the Union Budget. The funds for the project have been allocated under the National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms. As part of the National e-Governance Plan, the e-Courts project is under implementation since 2007 for ICT enablement of the Indian judiciary. The second phase of the project concluded in 2023. The third phase of the e-Courts project, beginning 2023, is aimed at ushering in a regime of maximum ease of justice by moving towards digital, online and paperless courts through digitisation of the entire court records, including legacy records. It will put in place intelligent smart systems, enabling data-based decision-making for judges and registries while scheduling or prioritising cases. The main objective of the third phase is to create a unified technology platform for the judiciary t
A special court here has pointed out several critical fundamental lapses in the arrest of an ED official by the Central Bureau of Investigation over alleged bribery after ordering his immediate release. Rejecting the CBI's plea for transit remand of Vishal Deep, assistant director of Enforcement Directorate's Shimla unit, special judge B Y Phad has said that the allegations against him are not well founded. The CBI's Chandigarh unit arrested Deep from Mumbai on Tuesday on corruption charges stemming from the ED's probe against Himalayan group of professional institutions. The CBI claimed Deep demanded Rs 1.1 crore bribe from Himalayan group of professional institutions chairman Rajnish Bansal for not arresting him in a money laundering case being probed by the ED. The court gave the relief to Deep on Wednesday and a detailed copy of the order was made available subsequently. In his order, the special judge noted that the prosecution's failure to produce the case diary shakes its .
Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Wednesday emphasised the importance of preemptive communication in court processes and suggested that lawyers submit advance letters for case withdrawals rather than relying on oral submissions during hearings. The CJI has been taking several procedural steps to streamline the judicial process in the top court. On November 12, he said no oral submissions for urgent listing and hearing of cases would be permitted and urged lawyers to either send emails or written letters for it. On Wednesday, the CJI suggested lawyers file advance letters for case withdrawals rather than making oral submissions while hearing a transfer petition in a family dispute case. The counsel in the case informed the bench that the parties had resolved their differences and wished to withdraw the transfer petition. Granting the withdrawal, the CJI remarked that advance notice would enhance court efficiency. "If you have any such requests, you can always give a letter to
Bar Associations in Ghaziabad held separate sit-ins over the recent police baton charge against them in the district judge's court as the strike by city advocates continued for the second day on Tuesday. All four entry gates of the court were locked by the protesting lawyers, allowing only one gate to remain open exclusively for judges, magistrates, and judicial staff. "Litigants arriving at the district court had to navigate a detour, with approximately 12,000 cases postponed due to the strike," according to a senior judicial officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity. On October 29, a clash erupted between police and lawyers at the Ghaziabad district court in Uttar Pradesh following a heated argument between a judge and a lawyer. On Tuesday, both the Bar Association of Ghaziabad and the District Bar Association were participating in the strike, holding separate sit-ins within the court compound to demand the suspension of District Judge Anil Kumar and disciplinary action ...
Institutional trust in courts and their credibility is the very basis of a thriving constitutional order, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandcrachud said on Wednesday. The CJI was speaking at the Bhutan Distinguished Speakers' Forum, a part of the Jigme Singye Wangchuck Lecture Series, on the subject of 'Judicial Legitimacy through accessibility, transparency and technology: the Indian experience'. Dealing with the issue of public trust, the CJI said that courts do not directly hold resources as trustees of people. But as public functionaries, the courts are vested with the responsibility to give effect to equity, and judicial bodies are not directly in charge of the manner in which resources are distributed, he said. "However, it does fall upon us to adjudicate the fairness of that distribution, should it be questioned," the CJI said. "Yet the courts of the country do require public trust and legitimacy. Institutional trust in the constitutional and other courts of the country
A local court here has acquitted seven accused in the Muzaffarnagar riots case due to lack of evidence, a counsel said on Sunday. The Special Investigation Team has filed charge sheets in 175 of 510 riot cases, but only 21 people have been convicted in three cases so far. More than 60 people were killed and over 40,000 people displaced in the communal riots of 2013 in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts. Bittu, Praveen, Bablu, Pankaj, Pintu, Narender, and Anil were acquitted on Sunday. Additional District and Sessions Judge Kanishk Kumar said the prosecution failed to prove its story in the case. Defence counsel Rahul Chaudhry said the complainant and other witnesses did not support the prosecution's story and turned hostile. According to the FIR filed in the matter, rioters barged into the Bahawdi village house of one Shakir and robbed cash and jewellery. The incident occurred under the Phugana Police Station jurisdiction on September 8, 2013. The SIT had filed a charge sheet a
The Supreme Court on Friday said it will lay down the law on the issue of high courts revoking orders dictated in open courts after the top court came across a case in which the Madras HC quashed a money laundering case against a former IPS officer and later modified its direction and reheard the matter. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih stayed the proceedings in a money laundering case against former IPS officer M S Jaffer Sait registered in connection with an alleged illegal allotment of a Tamil Nadu Housing Board plot. The top court posted the matter for hearing on November 22. The apex court was hearing a plea filed by Sait, who contended that his case was reheard within days after allowing his plea for quashing of the proceedings in the matter. The SC bench had earlier sought report from from the Madras High Court's Registrar General on the issue. On September 30, after inspecting the report from the HC, the top court had called the decision of the h
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Monday moved a sessions court against an order summoning her in a defamation case filed by a BJP leader over her claim that several AAP MLAs were approached by the saffron party with offers of cash to bring down the AAP government. The chief minister moved an application before Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Gogne, who issued notice to BJP leader Praveen Shankar Kapoor on her plea. Atishi approached the sessions court through her lawyer against an order passed by a magisterial court on May 28 summoning her in the criminal case filed by Kapoor, a BJP spokesperson, accusing her and former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal of defaming him. The sessions court directed Kapoor to file his response to Atishi's application by October 7, when the court will hear the arguments in the matter. The magisterial court had on May 28 refused to summon Kejriwal as an accused in the case. It had later on July 23 granted bail to Atishi after she appeared before the court in ..
The income tax department has hiked the minimum threshold for filing appeals by the department in tribunal, high courts and the Supreme Court. As per a circular by the CBDT, tax authorities can file appeals before the ITAT, high courts and Supreme Court, if the disputed tax demand exceeds Rs 60 lakh, Rs 2 crore and Rs 5 crore, respectively. In 2019, the government had set the threshold for filing appeals at Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) at Rs 50 crore, high courts (Rs 1 crore) and Supreme Court (Rs 2 crore). The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) also said that monetary limit with regard to filing appeals/SLP (Special Leave Petition) shall be applicable to all cases including those relating to TDS/TCS. It further said that SLPs/appeals pending before Supreme Court, high courts, and tribunals that are below the prescribed threshold should be withdrawn. "As a step towards management of litigation, it has been decided by the Board to revise the monetary limits for filing of
A Delhi court Friday ordered framing of charges for murder and other offences against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in a case related to alleged murder of three people in the north Delhi's Pul Bangash area during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Special CBI judge Rakesh Siyal said there was sufficient evidence against him to put him on trial. "Sufficient ground is there to proceed against the accused person," the judge said. A witness had earlier submitted in the charge sheet that Tytler came out of a white Ambassador car in front of the Gurdwara Pul Bangash on November 1, 1984 and instigated a mob by saying "Kill the Sikhs, they have killed our mother," following which three people were killed. The court ordered framing of charges for several offences, including unlawful assembly, rioting, promoting enmity between different groups, house trespass and theft. The court has listed the matter for September 13 for formally framing the charges.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday informed a Delhi court it has obtained sanction to prosecute Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak in a corruption case related to the alleged excise scam. The submission was made before Special Judge Kaveri Baweja, who posted the matter for hearing on August 27. Kejriwal's judicial custody in the case is scheduled to end on August 27. The court had on August 12 granted 15 days to the CBI to get the requisite sanctions to prosecute Kejriwal and Pathak in the case. The CBI had earlier got the sanctions to investigate them in the case.
A Delhi court will decide next week whether to allow Rau's IAS Study Circle to access the premises of its Old Rajender Nagar building, where three UPSC aspirants died in July after rainwater flooded its basement. Chief Judicial Magistrate Nishant Garg on Wednesday posted the matter for August 28 after hearing the arguments of the advocates appearing in the case. In an application, Rau's IAS Study Circle CEO Abhishek Gupta sought the relief, claiming that it was required to ensure the smooth running of classes. "Arguments on the application have been heard including arguments on behalf of Ld. counsel for the victim. Put up on August 28, 2024 for orders," the judge said. During the arguments, senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Gupta, submitted that access to the building was required so that the students could continue their studies. She claimed that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cannot prohibit access to the building. "They (CBI) can prosecute me (Gupta), but
A Delhi court is likely to pronounce on August 23 its order on the bail applications of four jailed co-owners of a coaching centre basement where three civil service aspirants drowned last month. Principal District and Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna on Saturday reserved the order after hearing arguments from the CBI as well as the accused -? Parvinder Singh, Tajinder Singh, Harvinder Singh and Sarbjit Singh. During the arguments, the accused told the court that the incident was an "act of god" which could have been avoided had the civic agencies performed their duties. "It was an act of god which happened and it could have been avoided had the civic agencies performed their onerous duties which they have miserably failed to do," the advocate for the accused had told the judge. The counsel submitted that the basement was not a library but a waiting area for the students before their classes commenced. He claimed that a fire department inspection was done at the premises a few da
More than five crore cases are pending in various courts across India, with a maximum of over 1.18 core in the subordinate courts of Uttar Pradesh, according to the government's written reply in the Lok Sabha. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said while 84,045 cases are pending in the Supreme Court, 60,11,678 were pending in the various high courts. District and subordinate courts are the biggest contributors, with 4,53,51,913 cases pending with them, according to the minister. Meghwal said several reasons lead to the pendency of cases, including the availability of physical infrastructure and supporting court staff, the complexity of facts involved, the nature of evidence, and the cooperation of stakeholders, including the bar, investigation agencies, witnesses and litigants. Proper application of rules and procedures also plays a key role, he said. Other factors that lead to delays in the disposal of cases include lack of prescribed time frame by courts for disposal of various kin