Page 15 - D Y Chandrachud

No SC benches to be available during two-week winter break: CJI Chandrachud

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Friday said no Supreme Court bench will be available from December 17 till January 1 during the ensuing winter vacations. The CJI's announcement made in the apex court assumes significance in the wake of Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju's statement in Rajya Sabha on Thursday in which he said there was a feeling among the people that long court vacations were not very convenient for justice seekers. "There will be no benches available from tomorrow till January 1," Justice Chandrachud informed the lawyers present in the courtroom at the outset. Friday is the last working day of the top court before it goes on a two-week winter break. The apex court will reopen on January 2. The issue regarding court vacations has been raised earlier also but judges, including former CJI N V Ramana, had said there is a misconception that judges stay in ultimate comfort and enjoy their holidays. Delivering the inaugural Justice SB Sinha Memorial Lecture on 'Li

Personal liberty is precious, inalienable right, no case is small: SC

The right to personal liberty is a precious and an inalienable right and by attending to grievances alleging its violation the Supreme Court performs its plain constitutional duty, obligation and function; no more and no less, a bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud-led said on Friday. The observation came two days after Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Supreme Court should not be hearing "bail applications and frivolous PILs" when pendency of cases is so high. "What are we here for if we do not listen to our conscience?" the bench, also comprising Justice P S Narasimha, said while dealing with the plea of a man from Uttar Pradesh called Iqram who was to suffer a jail term of 18 years in nine minor cases of theft of electrical equipment of the state electricity department. No case is small for the Supreme Court, the bench said. The top court set aside an Allahabad High Court order and directed that Iqram's jail term of two years each in nine cases would run ...

SC collegium recommends 3 chief justices, 2 judges of HCs for elevation

The five judges who have been recommended by the six-member Collegium led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud for elevation as apex court judges include three chief justices and two judges of different high courts. The Collegium's recommendations, if accepted by the Centre, will raise the total number of judges in the apex court to 33 against the sanctioned strength of 34, including the CJI. The five judges whose names have been recommended are Justice Pankaj Mithal, Justice Sanjay Karol, Justice P V Sanjay Kumar, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice Manoj Misra. Of them, the senior-most is Justice Pankaj Mithal who took over as Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court on October 14 this year. Born on June 17, 1961, Justice Mithal is a 1982 commerce graduate from Allahabad University. He completed his LLB in 1985 from Meerut College and enrolled as an advocate in the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh the same year. He started practising in Allahabad High Court in 1985 and served

CJI Chandrachud inaugurates 10 district court digitisation hubs in Odisha

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Monday virtually inaugurated 10 district court digitisation hubs (DCDH) in Odisha, and said that modernisation of judiciary is the need of the hour. With Monday's inauguration, a total of 15 DCDHs have now become functional in the state, with each catering to a neighbouring district, thus covering all 30 district courts. Appreciating the information and communication technology (ICT) measures adopted by the Orissa High Court under the leadership of its Chief Justice S Muralidhar, he said, "Digitisation should be accompanied by a push for e-filing of cases." He also said that the Orissa High Court, with its digitisation initiatives, is now a "role model" for all other high courts of the country. "Very soon, the Orissa High Court would be mentoring the entire judiciary of the nation in the field of digitisation," he added.

State must encourage families to report sexual abuse, says CJI Chandrachud

Sexual abuse of children remains a hidden problem as there is a culture of silence and therefore the state must encourage families to report abuse even where the perpetrator is a family member, Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said on Saturday. Speaking at a two-day national programme on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the CJI said it is an unfortunate fact that the criminal justice system functions in a way that sometimes compounds the victims' trauma and the executive must therefore join hands with the judiciary to prevent this from happening. "The long-lasting implications of child sexual abuse make it imperative for the state and other stakeholders to create awareness regarding the prevention of child sexual abuse and its timely recognition and the remedy available in law. Children must be taught the difference between safe touch and unsafe touch. While this was previously couched as good touch and bad touch, child rights activists have urged parents to

Must create multitude of equitable ways for different groups: CJI

'In order to make sure that we are providing equal access to justice, attention must be paid to the design and administration of the judicial set-up'

Power of people was undone, world doesn't know of any such instance: V-P

Dhankhar said the doctrine of separation of powers is fundamental to "our governance"

Supreme Court constitutes all-women Bench to hear transfer petitions

The bench has 32 matters listed before it, starting with 10 transfer petitions involving matrimonial disputes and followed by 10 bail matters

Institution thrives with time only when it functions democratically: CJI

He said that the representation of the marginalised communities must be enhanced in the legal profession

Need to make litigation process citizen-centric, tech must be adopted: CJI

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said technology must be augmented with institutional reforms to resolve issues of access to justice, and it is essential to simplify the litigation process and make it "citizen centric". He also said the judiciary has been adopting technology to improve the working of courts and it is of "supreme importance" that courts are remodelled to reach out to citizens instead of them reaching out to courts in their quest for justice. Speaking at the Constitution Day celebrations at the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) said judges across the country must reflect upon the constitutional vision of securing justice, equality and liberty. He said it is important that representation of marginalised communities and women in the legal profession and judiciary is increased. Justice Chandrachud also spoke about the e-initiatives -- virtual justice clock, justIS mobile app 2.0, digital court and s3WaaS websites of district courts -- tha

SC dismisses Tata Power's appeal against MERC awarding project to Adani

After several power outages in Mumbai, the MERC in 2013 gave its approval to the detailed project report of the Aarey-Kudus electricity transmission project of Reliance Energy

Supreme Court to set up separate special Bench to hear tax matters

Abhishek Rastogi said the Bench would be useful to expedite the matters and would also ensure that a lot of matters on the same issue were clubbed and placed in one single Bench

Judges at grassroots hesitant to grant bail for fear of being targeted: CJI

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Saturday said Judges at the grassroots are reluctant to grant bail due to the sense of fear of being targeted for granting bail in heinous cases

When lawyers strike, consumer of justice suffers, not judges: CJI

Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on Saturday said when lawyers strike, the consumer of justice suffers, the person for whom justice is meant, and not the judges or the lawyers.

Need to learn to trust district judiciary, says CJI D Y Chandrachud

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Saturday stressed the need to learn to trust the district judiciary, saying it would truly answer the needs of common citizens who seek access to justice. Justice Chandrachud, the 50th CJI, said the district judiciary is as important in the affairs of the nation's judicial system as is the Supreme Court and high courts. Speaking at a function organised by the Bar Council of India (BCI) to felicitate him on being appointed as the CJI, Justice Chandrachud talked about the use of technology in judiciary, district judiciary, judicial infrastructure, legal education and women in the judicial system. The CJI said an independent bar is inextricably linked with the independence of judiciary and the reason for that is as judges "we have no personal defence or a platform to defend ourselves". Justice Chandrachud said district judiciary is the first point of interface between the judiciary and common citizen. "So the process of dispensing justice is

All SC benches to hear 10 matrimonial cases, 10 bail pleas every day: CJI

Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Friday said the Supreme Court, in its full court meeting, has decided that all the 13 benches will hear 10 transfer petitions pertaining to matrimonial disputes and equal number of bail petitions daily in a bid to lessen the pendency of cases. At the start of the proceedings, the bench said the decision has been taken at a meeting of all apex court judges. "After a full court meeting, we have decided that each Bench will take up 10 transfer petitions, which are family matters, followed by 10 bail matters every day to dispose of all such matters before the winter vacation," the CJI said, adding bail matters needed to be given primacy as they pertained to personal liberty. The bench said as of now there were 3,000 petitions pending in the top court pertaining to matrimonial cases where parties are seeking transfer of cases to a place of their liking. The bench said if every bench takes up 10 transfer cases every day then 13 benches will be able to dec

Constitutional offices not open to denigration by activists: Delhi HC

Dismissing a PIL challenging the appointment of Justice D Y Chandrachud as the Chief Justice of India, the Delhi High Court has said offices held by the constitutional functionaries in public trust are not open to denigration by self-styled warriors of public interest on the basis of superficial allegations. The court said the instant petition is "full of surmises, conjectures and wishful thinking", and revolted against the dignity of the constitutional office and has to be "crushed at the threshold in the strongest terms". The PIL was dismissed on November 11 and the detailed order was made public on Tuesday. "It has now become fashion to approach the court by making scandalous allegations against the judges," the court has observed in the order. It said Article 124 (Establishment and constitution of Supreme Court) of the Constitution has been followed in the matter of the appointment of the CJI and On November 11, a bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma had dismisse

Need to change the face of district judiciary 'first and foremost': CJI

Chief Justice of India Justice DY Chandrachud says there is a need to change the face of the district judiciary

SC asks Centre to file affidavit on pleas against Places of Worship Act

The bench said it will consider the plea made by Swamy on the next date of hearing

Compassion, empathy sustains judicial institutions: CJI Chandrachud

Citing colonial era, he said sometimes law and justice don't necessarily follow the same linear trajectory