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Judicial Service
In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Monday held that visually impaired persons cannot be denied opportunity of employment in judicial services. A bench comprising justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan had reserved the judgement on six petitions, including a suo motu (on its own) case, on December 3, last year over non-grant of quota to such candidates in judicial services in a few states. Pronouncing the verdict, Justice Mahadevan said that persons with disabilities must not face any discrimination in their pursuit of judicial service recruitments and that the State must provide them affirmative action to ensure an inclusive framework. "Any indirect discrimination that results in the exclusion of persons with disabilities, whether through cutoff or procedural barriers must be interfered with in order to uphold substantive equality," the judge said. The judgement said no candidate can be denied consideration solely on account of their disability. The top court also set
The Centre on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that it recently notified the Unified Pension Scheme which might address the concerns of judicial officers. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih heard the submission made by the Centre's counsel. Attorney general R Venkataramani and solicitor general Tushar Mehta appeared for the Centre and apprised the bench about the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). The matter relates to the applicability of the New Pension Scheme to the officers of the district judiciary. "It is the submission of the attorney general as well as the solicitor general that the Unified Pension Scheme may address concerns of all the employees, including the judicial officers," observed the bench. The court therefore found it appropriate to defer the matter for some time to experience how the Unified Pension Scheme worked and then take a call on the issues at hand. The matter would be heard after 12 weeks. The case raises concerns over the disburse
The Maharashtra government has set up a single-member committee of retired high court judge M L Tahaliyani for a judicial inquiry into the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed district, officials said on Thursday. Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, was abducted, allegedly tortured, and murdered on December 9. Preliminary investigations indicated that Deshmukh had tried to resist an extortion attempt on an energy company operating a windmill project in the area. Police have arrested several persons in connection with the murder case. Walmik Karad, an associate of Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Deshmukh, has been arrested in a related extortion case and the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the sarpanch's murder on Wednesday took him into seven-day custody. The judicial committee will determine whether any individual or organisation was responsible for Deshmukh's death, as per the government order issued on Wednesday. It will also assess the adequacy
Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said district judiciary is the "backbone of the judiciary" and thus a crucial component of the rule of law and calling it subordinate must be stopped. Referring to the increasing number of women joining the district judiciary in the past few years, he highlighted that judges, despite being professionals, are affected by their own "brush with reality" and their mental health may suffer as a consequence. Speaking at the 'National Conference of the District Judiciary', which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here, Justice Chandrachud said district judiciary is the first point of contact for a citizen in search of justice. "The district judiciary is a crucial component of the rule of law," he said, adding, "Data on the NJDG (National Judicial Data Grid) reveals a basic truth - the district judiciary is not just the first but is also the final point of contact for citizens". The CJI said the reasons may be numerous -
Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Saturday termed the district judiciary the "backbone of the judiciary" and said it is a crucial component of the rule of law. Speaking at the 'National Conference of the District Judiciary', which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here, the CJI said it was necessary to stop calling district judiciary subordinate. "The district judiciary is the first point of contact for a citizen in search of justice. The district judiciary is a crucial component of the rule of law," Justice Chandrachud said. He said the quality of work and the conditions in which the judiciary provides justice to citizens determine whether they have confidence in the judicial system. "The district judiciary is therefore called upon to shoulder tremendous responsibility and is aptly described as the 'backbone of the judiciary'. The spine is the core of the nervous system," the CJI said. "To sustain the spine of the legal system, we must stop calling the
Over 200 proposals sent by various high court collegiums for high court judgeship are at various stages of processing, the Lok Sabha was told on Friday. In a written reply, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also cited an opinion of the Supreme Court Collegium that expression of views by a candidate does not disentitle him or her to hold a constitutional office so long as the person proposed for judgeship is a person of competence, merit and integrity. There have been instances in the past where the government had either held back or returned to the collegium for consideration names of persons who had expressed their views on various issues as advocates. Meghwal told the House that the government, as an important stakeholder in the process of appointment of Judges in the high courts and as laid down in the Memorandum of Procedure, provides inputs which mainly contain information on the suitability, competence and integrity of the candidates under consideration for appointment to high ..
The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that advocates are not liable for deficiency of services under the Consumer Protection Act 1986 and cannot be sued for poor service before consumer courts. A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal said the legal profession is sui generis (unique) and the nature of work is specialised and cannot be compared with other professions. "Advocates have to respect client's autonomy, not entitled to make concessions without express instructions from client and transgress authority. Considerable amount of direct control is with client of advocate. This strengthens our opinion that contract is of personal service and excluded from definition of service under Consumer Protection Act," the bench said. The judgement came on plea filed by bar bodies, such as Bar Council of India, Delhi High Court Bar Association and Bar of Indian Lawyers, and other individuals challenging a 2007 verdict of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), ..
Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said mutual fraternity is necessary to maintain equality in the country. Addressing a state-level 'Hamara Samvidhan Hamara Samman' campaign in Bikaner, the CJI asked how will the country progress if people fight with each other. "We should have respect for each other in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution," he said. Justice Chandrachud said that "human dignity was of supreme importance in the minds of the makers of our Constitution". "Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar, as Chairman of the Drafting Committee, ensured that the Constitution promoted the values of justice, liberty and equality as well as the spirit of fraternity and dignity of the individual," he added. The Chief Justice of India (CJI) said that many efforts are being made to improve the condition of district courts. "We want to sensitize the district courts because this is the first step towards justice. We are making many efforts to improve the condition of the dist
Observing that there is a need to maintain uniformity in service conditions of judicial officers across the country, the Supreme Court has directed the constitution of a two-judge committee in each high court for overseeing the implementation of the orders on pay, pension and other retirement benefits for judicial officers as per the Second National Judicial Pay Commission. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said Judicial independence, which is necessary to preserve the faith and confidence of common citizens in the rule of law, can be ensured and enhanced only so long as judges are able to lead their life with a sense of financial dignity. "The conditions of service while a judge is in service must ensure a dignified existence. The post-retirement conditions of service have a crucial bearing on the dignity and independence of the office of a judge and how it is perceived by society. If the service of the judiciary is to be a viable career option so as to .
Israel's Supreme Court on Monday struck down a key component of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious judicial overhaul, a decision that threatens to reopen the fissures in Israeli society that preceded the country's ongoing war against Hamas. Those divisions were largely been put aside while the country focuses on the war, which was triggered by a bloody cross-border attack by Hamas. Monday's court decision could reignite those tensions, which sparked months of mass protests against the government and had rattled the cohesion of the powerful military. There was no immediate reaction from Netanyahu. In Monday's 8-7 majority decision, the court narrowly voted to overturn a law passed in July that prevents judges from overturning government decisions they deem unreasonable. Opponents had argued that Netanyahu's efforts to remove the standard of reasonability opens the door to corruption and improper appointments of unqualified cronies to important positions. The law was th
President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday suggested the creation of an all-India judicial service which can select brilliant youngsters and nurture their talents from lower levels to higher levels in judiciary. Addressing the Constitution Day celebrations organised by the Supreme Court of India here, she said that the place of the judiciary in the constitutional framework remains "rather unique" and a "more varied representation of India's unique diversity on bench and bar definitely helps serve the cause of justice better". Murmu said one way to hasten this diversification process can be the creation of a system in which judges can be recruited from varied backgrounds through a process which is merit based, competitive and transparent. "There can be an all-India judicial service which can select brilliant youngsters and nurture and promote their talents from lower levels to higher levels," she said. Those who aspire to serve the bench can be selected from across the country to create a .
The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Tuesday announced 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) in the judicial services, and the state-run law colleges and universities. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister. "The cabinet approved amendments in the guidelines of the State Judicial Services, 1951, allowing 10 per cent reservation for EWS category in judicial services and also in state-run law institutes and universities," said Additional Chief Secretary (Cabinet Secretariat) S Siddhartha. A notification with the details will soon be issued by the department concerned, he said. The state cabinet also gave its approval for the construction of 100 veterinary hospitals in the state, Siddhartha said. "A total of 100 first-class veterinary hospitals will be constructed in different districts of the state. Besides, there will be training centers at all these hospitals. For this, Rs 225 crore will be spent in 17 districts," he .