 "gavel")
The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard some important cases including the same-sex marriage case. Centre told SC it will constitute a committee headed by the cabinet secretary to examine administrative steps that could be taken for addressing "genuine humane concerns" of same-sex couples without going into the issue of legalising their marriage.
The court was urged not to rush to grant legal validation of same-sex marriage in the country and let Parliament decide the next course of action on grounds that the whole social fabric will be ripped apart and the preparedness of society to accept the change was equally important.
The apex court also made it clear that it has to go by the constitutional mandate while deciding pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriage as, if it goes by popular or segmental morality based on the wishes of young LGBTQIA++ persons to get married, those opposed will thrust "volumes of data" in support of their claims.
Apart from the same-sex marriage case, the court also heard some other crucial cases:
- Can one person be so indispensable? SC asked the government on Wednesday as it questioned it about the third extension of service given to ED Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra despite its express direction that no further extension shall be granted to him.
- It set aside an Andhra Pradesh High Court order which had stayed the SIT probe into alleged irregularities in the land deals in Amaravati during the previous TDP Regime.
- The court declined to commute the death penalty of Balwant Singh Rajoana, who was convicted in the 1995 assassination case of then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, to life imprisonment saying "it is within the domain of the executive to take a call on such sensitive issues".
- It refused to entertain petitions against the controversial Hindi film, 'The Kerala Story', including the one filed by 'Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind', against its release over apprehensions that it may cause hatred and enmity in society and asked the petitioners to approach the appropriate high court.
- The seven women wrestlers, who have levelled allegations of sexual harassment against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, on Wednesday moved SC seeking permission to file an affidavit in a sealed cover.
- One of the PIL petitioners has moved the SC opposing SEBI's plea seeking a six-month extension to complete the probe into allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani group and lapses in regulatory disclosure, saying the market regulator has already got sufficient time to inspect, examine, collect and seize relevant documents.
Here's a list of some of the important cases heard by the Delhi High Court:
- The high court observed that India's external intelligence agency RAW is an exempted organisation under the Right to Information Act and unless the information sought by an RTI applicant relates to human rights or corruption issues, it is not liable to be disclosed.
- Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia approached HC seeking bail in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam.
- The court asked the CBI to file a status report on a plea by Sisodia, arrested in the Delhi excise policy case, seeking interim bail on the ground of his wife's illness.
- It appointed former Karnataka High Court judge P Krishna Bhat as the administrator of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) with immediate effect for conducting elections in the body.
- *The Delhi high court asked the Centre and the Delhi government to present their stand on a plea seeking the recall of all currency notes above Rs 100, restricting cash transactions above Rs 10,000, and linking assets worth more than Rs 50,000 with Aadhaar to check corruption.
- It dismissed a plea by Alemla Jamir, a self-styled "cabinet minister" of Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM arrested in a terror funding case, seeking default bail on the ground that the NIA filed an incomplete charge sheet.
- The court allowed the Centre to carry out an inspection of 123 delisted properties taken over from the Delhi Waqf Board while ensuring minimal disruption in their day-to-day administration by the body.
- Delhi high court sought the stand of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Kashmiri separatist leader Nayeem Khan's challenge to the framing of charges against him in an alleged terror funding case.
- HC directed the authorities to take strict action against the unauthorised fitting of crash guards or bull bars on vehicles as per the Centre's notification.
