Supreme Court Archives - Page 12 of 17 - Lokmarg

Lakhimpur Kheri Violence: SC Grants 8-Week Bail To Ashish Mishra

By LokMarg 25th January 2023

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim bail for eight weeks to Ashish Mishra in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case with conditions that he will not stay in Uttar Pradesh and the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi during this period.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and J K Maheshwari also imposed various other conditions including that Mishra will leave Uttar Pradesh within a week of his release.

The top court also directed Mishra to inform the concerned court about his location. The Supreme Court also clarified that any attempt by Mishra or his family to influence witnesses and attempt to delay the trial may lead to the cancellation of his bail. The court has also directed Mishra to mark his attendance at the concerned police station of his location.

Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, moved Supreme Court challenging Allahabad High Court which denied bail to him on July 26, 2022, in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. The bail was rejected by the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court.

Mishra is facing a case of murder for the incident on October 3, 2021, in which eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri as he allegedly ran over the farmers who were protesting against the Centre’s three farm laws.

He was arrested on October 9 and was later granted bail in February 2022.

Mishra again moved to the High Court as the Court’s earlier order dated February 10, 2022, was set aside by the Supreme Court in April 2022 and had ordered fresh consideration of his bail plea.

The top court had said that the order of the Allahabad High Court cannot be sustained and had to be set aside and the bail bonds of the respondent/accused are cancelled. The Court had directed Ashish Mishra to surrender within a week.

Family members of the victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident moved the Supreme Court challenging the Allahabad High Court order, which granted bail to Ashish Mishra. The top court cancelled the bail plea of Mishra.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had appointed a committee headed by retired Punjab and Haryana high court judge Rakesh Kumar Jain to monitor the probe into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. (ANI)

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Munda Slams Owaisi Remarks On BBC Doc, Says SC’s Decision To Be Respected

By LokMarg 23rd January 2023

Union Minister Arjun Munda on Monday slammed AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi over UK’s British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)’s documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that he should respect the Supreme Court which gave a clean chit to the then Gujarat Chief Minister.

Hitting out at PM Modi over the Centre’s move to block the BBC documentary about the 2002 Gujarat riots, Owaisi questioned whether the Prime Minister would also block the upcoming movie on Godse, who assassinated MK Gandhi.
“Modi government has banned BBC interviews on Twitter and YouTube in India. We ask PM Modi whether someone from outside the earth or from the sky killed the people in the Gujarat riots?” he said.

Slamming Owaisi’s statement on PM Modi regarding the documentary, Munda said, “The country is growing under the leadership of PM Modi. But it is sad to see that people pelt more stones at the tree which bears more fruits. The country is in a stable condition and is moving forward just because of our Prime Minister.”

Citing the Supreme Court judgement on the Gujarat riots, the Minister said that the decision of the top court should be accepted by all.

“In many cases, the Supreme Court has made it clear, taking into account all the factors in its decision, it has explained what kind of people were responsible for the Gujarat riots. The Supreme Court has also clearly stated those who are innocent. What the Supreme Court has said should be respected because all things that happen in this country, the courts interpret them and give justice,” Munda said.

UK’s British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) aired a two-part series attacking PM Modi’s tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister during the Gujarat riots of 2002. The documentary sparked outrage and was removed from select platforms.

In a strong rebuttal to the BBC documentary on Modi, more than 300 eminent Indians including retired judges, retired bureaucrats, and retired armed forces veterans signed a statement slamming the British national broadcaster for showing “unrelenting prejudice” toward India and its leader. (ANI)

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Goddess Kaali Poster: SC Protects Manimekalai From Coercive Steps

By LokMarg 20th January 2023

The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim protection from any coercive steps to filmmaker Leena Manimekalai in multiple FIRs lodged against her over the poster of her documentary film showing goddess ‘Kaali’ smoking a cigarette.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha issued notice to the States and directed that no coercive steps shall be taken against the filmmaker either on the basis of the FIRs which had already been lodged or on the basis of FIRs which may be lodged in relation to the ‘Kaali’ poster row.
The apex court took into note that at this stage, the lodging of FIRs in multiple states may cause serious prejudice to the filmmaker and issued notice to the states on a plea for consolidation of all FIRs in one place.

“Issue notice to the respondents. List on February 17, 2023. No coercive steps shall be taken against the petitioner either on the basis of FIRs or pursuant to any FIR which may have been lodged or may be lodged in relation to the same matter,” the apex court stated in its order.

Manimekalai has approached the filed top court seeking protection and quashing of the multiple FIRs registered against her in various States.

The poster of the documentary depicts the Hindu goddess ‘Kaali’ smoking a cigarette in a poster.

The plea also sought clubbing of all the FIRs registered against her in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand over the poster.

The filmmaker has also sought a stay of the criminal proceedings emanating from these FIRs.

Manimekalai has said her attempt as a creative filmmaker was not to offend the religious sentiment of anyone but to depict the image of a radically inclusive goddess.

She said she also received open calls for violence against her, her crew, and her family, after she tweeted a poster of her film, Kaali.

Manimekalai has challenged the proceedings against her in the district courts of Hazratganj in Lucknow, Ratlam, Bhopal, and Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Haridwar in Uttarakhand, and Delhi. (ANI)

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SC To Modify Cumbersome Guidelines On ‘Living Will’

By LokMarg 17th January 2023

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said agreed to modify its 2018 guidelines on “living will”, an advance medical directive on end-of-life treatment.

A five-judge Constitution bench of Justices KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and Justice CT Ravikumar observed that the legislature is much more endowed with “skills and sources of knowledge” to enact a relevant law for terminally ill patients choosing to stop treatment.
The bench said it will limit itself to improving the guidelines it had laid down on “living will”.

There can only be a little tweaking of the guidelines or else it will become a review of its own 2018 judgement, it added.

The top court’s order notwithstanding, people wanting to get a “living will” registered have been facing problems due to cumbersome guidelines.

The apex court was informed that the procedure under the Supreme Court guidelines had become unworkable due to the involvement of multiple stakeholders in the process.

The Constitution bench was considering a plea seeking modification of the guidelines for living will/advance medical directive issued by it in 2018.

Senior advocate Arvind Datar told the bench that as per the apex court’s directions, a medical board has to first declare that the patient has no scope of recovery or is brain dead.

He added that the procedure then enumerates that the district collector has to constitute an independent medical board to obtain a second opinion, after which the matter is referred to a judicial magistrate, first class.

Datar suggested in a living will, there can be two witnesses and the role of the judicial magistrate can be done away with.

The hearing will resume on Wednesday.

On March 9, 2018, the apex court had in its judgment recognized that a terminally ill patient or a person in a persistent vegetative state may execute an advance medical directive or a “living will” to refuse medical treatment, holding the right to live with dignity also included “smoothening” the process of dying.

The judgment of the apex court had come on a PIL filed by NGO Common Cause seeking recognition of the “living will” made by terminally-ill patients for passive euthanasia.

The top court had laid down principles related to the procedure for execution of advance directives and spelt out guidelines and safeguards to give effect to passive euthanasia in both circumstances where there are advance directives and where there are none.

It had said that directives and guidelines shall remain in force till Parliament brings legislation in the field. (ANI)

Joshimath: No Development At The Cost Of Human Life, Plea Seeks SC Intervention

By LokMarg 7th January 2023

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court to immediately intervene to assist the reparation work of Uttarakhand and to provide urgent relief to the people of Joshimath facing extremities and danger to their life and property.

The plea filed by Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, a religious leader, seeks direction to declare the current incidents of land sliding, subsidence, land sinking, land burst, and cracks in the land and properties as National disaster and direct the National Disaster Management Authority to actively support the residents of Joshimath in this tough time.
The petition seeks to provide immediate financial assistance and compensation to the people of Uttarakhand losing their houses and lands on account of land sliding, land sinking, subsidence, and cracking of houses and properties.

“In the name of and/or for the cause of development the respondents have no right to push the people in the mouth of death and the religious sacred town in extinction and thereby infringe the fundamental right of the people of the Joshimath including the petitioner as well as inmates of his Monastery guaranteed under article 21, 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India,” it stated.

The entire mess of environmental, ecological, and geological disturbances occurred due to large-scale manly intervention in the form of Industrialisation, urbanization, and destruction of natural resources by the Union and State government in the State of Uttarakhand, the petition said.

It further said, “No development is needed at the cost of human life and their ecosystem and if anything such is happening it is the duty of the State and Union government to stop the same immediately at war level.”

It said the petition was filed to secure the life and personal liberty of the people of Joshimath town in the Chamoli District of Uttarakhand, wherein the life of the people is lurching large due to imminent and sudden cases of land subsidence, land sliding, the sudden eruption of water, cracking of houses and subsidence and cracking of agriculture plots resulted on account of man-made activities which given rise to recurrent natural calamities which were earlier very rare.

“Issue direction to the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to provide insurance coverage to the residents of Joshimath and to duly compensate the affected residents from the disaster caused by land sliding, land sinking, land burst, subsidence resulting into cracking of houses and lands,” it said.

Direct NTPC and Border Road Organisation (BRO) to rehabilitate the affected citizens of Joshimath at safer and suitable places convenient to them, it added.

Direct Centre, National Disaster Management Authority, Uttarakhand to take effective and proactive steps to protect the spiritual and religious and cultural places of Hindus including Sikhs at Joshimath; especially the Jyotirmath and adjoining sacred shrines/temples wherein deities are being worshipped since time immemorial, it urged the court.

“Direct the respondents to immediately stop construction and building work of the Tapovan Vishnugad Hydro Electric, Project tunnel and not to begin again till the high-level committee of geologists, hydrologists, and engineers constituted by this court,” it added. (ANI)

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Rahul Will Be Invited For Ram Temple Darshan: Fadnavis

By LokMarg 7th January 2023

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asks questions that he should have raised 10 years ago.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference he attended in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, the Maharashtra deputy CM said, “It seems Rahul Gandhi is recalling old issues all of a sudden. He is asking questions that he ought to have raised 10 years ago. Perhaps, he is not aware that the construction of the Ram temple (in Ayodhya) is going on with full vigour. He, too, will be invited for a darshan (visit) once the temple is complete.”

Earlier, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had responded to Rahul’s “tareekh nahi bataenge” jibe at the BJP, saying the Ram temple in Ayodhya will be ready on January 1, 2024.

Addressing a rally in South Tripura on Thursday, Shah said, “The Congress hindered the construction of the Ram temple by placing legal obstacles. It was only after the Supreme Court cleared the decks for construction of the Ram temple that work on the project began in right earnest under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi-ji presided over the ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ (ground-breaking ceremony) for the temple.”

Invoking Rahul’s jibe at the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Shah retorted, “During the 2019 election campaign, Rahul Gandhi used to say ‘mandir wahi banaenge…taarikh nahi bataenge’ (they will make the temple in Ayodhya, but won’t give the date)’. Today, I would like inform Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders that a sky-high Ram temple will be ready for the people in Ayodhya on January 1, 2024.” (ANI)

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CJI Chandrachud Brings Daughters To SC

By LokMarg 6th January 2023

Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on Friday came to the Supreme Court with his two foster daughters and gave them a tour of the courtroom and his chamber.

CJI Chandrachud, who reached the court premises around 10 am today, took his daughters to CJI courtroom number one through the visitor’s gallery before the scheduled court time of 10.30 am.
“See, this is where I sit,” he told his daughters, both differently-abled.

The CJI took his daughters to his chamber while explaining about his workplace and showed them the place where the judges sit and where the lawyers argue their cases.

CJI Chandrachud entered the courtroom along with his daughters from the public gallery, he then took both of them to the CJI court and showed them how the court functions. (ANI)

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Thousands Can’t Be Uprooted Overnight: SC On Eviction In Haldwani

By LokMarg 5th January 2023

Thousands can’t be uprooted overnight, the Supreme Court on Thursday said while putting a stay on the Uttarakhand High Court’s decision ordering the State authorities to remove encroachments from railway land in Haldwani’s Banbhoolpura area.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Abhay S Oka issued notices to the Indian Railways and Uttarakhand government on the pleas.
“There cannot be uprooting of 50,000 people overnight,” said the bench, adding that there has to be segregation of people who have no right on the land and the need for rehabilitation while recognizing the need for railways.

Noting that people are living there for decades, the bench said there should be measures for rehabilitation since the issue involves a human angle.

Posting the case for hearing on February 7, the bench said that it has put to the Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati that full rehabilitation of the persons in the area is needed.

“Issue notice. In the meantime, there shall be a stay of the directions passed in the impugned order. There should also restrain any more construction or development on the land,” said the bench in its order.

During the hearing, the apex court said, “What is troubling us is how do you deal with a situation where people bought the land in the auction and took possession after 1947 and acquired title. You (railways) may acquire the land but what to do now? People live for 60-70 years some rehabilitation has to be done. There must be a culmination to the issue and we do not encourage what is going on.”

ASG Bhati for Indian Railways said that this strip of land belongs to the railways. Their claim is that it is their land, they are not asking for rehabilitation.

The top court said that maybe all of them cannot be painted with the same brush, and there may be different categories. “But there are people for whom a human angle needs to be considered. Someone will have to examine their documents,” it added.

Bhati said that Kathgodam Railway station does not have any space for expansion and there are 4365 unauthorized occupants.

The Uttarakhand High Court had on December 20 ordered the removal of encroachments from railway land in the Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani after giving notice to the residents one week in advance.

Led by Congress MLA from Haldwani, Sumit Hridayesh, residents of the area approached the Supreme Court on Monday challenging the High Court’s order. Another petition was also filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan.

A total of 4,365 encroachments will be removed from the area. Those facing eviction have been living on the land for many decades.

Residents have been protesting against the removal of encroachments from railway land in compliance with a High Court order.

The petition highlighted that the petitioners are poor people who have been lawful residents of Mohalla Nai Basti, Haldwani district for more than 70 years.

The petition stated that the names of local residents are entered in the municipal records of the house tax register and that they have been paying house tax regularly for years.

There are five government schools, one hospital, and two overhead water tanks in the area. It is further stated that “the long settled physical possession of the petitioners and their ancestors, some even prior to the date of Indian independence, has been recognized by State and its agencies and they have been given gas and water connections and even Aadhaar card numbers accepting their residential addresses.” (ANI)

Encroachers In Haldwani Will Be Removed Soon: Nainital DM

By LokMarg 4th January 2023

Illegal occupants on encroachments near the railway station in Haldwani’s Banbhoolpura will be removed in the coming days as per the order of the Honourable Supreme Court, said Nainital District Magistrate Dhiraj Singh Garbiyal on Wednesday.

Stating that the preparations are in full swing, he said, “We have already made a demand for the required force. We have made the demand for magistrates and paramilitary forces as well. In the coming days, the occupants will be removed.”

The DM further said, “The occupants are on the land of the Railways. On the approx 70 acres of land, there are about 4365 illegal residents.”

“It is no more a matter of discussion because the order has come from the Supreme Court. We will have to remove the occupants as per the directions of the order. We may face a situation related to law and order for which we have demanded adequate force,” he added.

With the officials carrying out an inspection following an order of the Uttarakhand High Court against encroachments near Haldwani railway station, residents of Banbhulpura held a candle march on Tuesday to register their protest and press for their demands.

A congregational prayer ‘Ijtemai dua’ was performed in line number 17 Banbhulpura area of Haldwani in view of eviction notices being served on people. Thousands of children, women, and elders participated in the prayer “for relief”. (ANI)

Punjab Refusing To Accept SC’s Decision: Khattar

By LokMarg 4th January 2023

In order to amicably resolve the issue of the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, a meeting of both Haryana and Punjab Chief Ministers was held under the chairmanship of Union Water Resources Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Wednesday at Shram Shakti Bhawan in the national capital.

Speaking to the media persons after the meeting, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar accused the Punjab government of not bringing up the issue of the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal on the agenda for discussion.
Khattar said that the Punjab government is only talking about the availability of water.

“We had a third meeting with the Punjab government on the SYL issue and are yet to find an amicable solution. They aren’t ready to bring the issue of SYL on agenda and are only talking about the availability of water. We’ll apprise the SC about it,” said Haryana CM Khattar.

However, Mann said that they want to save the Sutlej river and they will fight in Supreme Court.

“We want to save the Sutlej river. We have clearly stated that we don’t have water. Hence, we can’t give water to any state. We will fight in Supreme Court,” said the Punjab CM.

Notably, the SYL agreement was signed between Punjab and Haryana 42 years ago in the year 1981, but due to non-compliance, the dispute between the two states increased. For effective allocation of water, the SYL canal was to be constructed and the two states were required to construct their portions within their territories.

While Haryana constructed its portion of the canal, after the initial phase, Punjab stopped the work, leading to multiple cases against it.

In 2004, the Punjab government had passed a law that unilaterally cancelled the SYL agreement and other such pacts; however, in 2016, the apex court struck down this law. Later, Punjab went ahead and returned the acquired land–on which the canal was to be constructed–to the landowners.

On the issue of SYL, both states have to file a reply in court on January 19, which is why this mediation meeting was called on Wednesday, which remained inconclusive.

During its September 6, 2022, hearing, the Supreme Court bench observed that natural resources have to be shared, particularly in view of the security scenario in Punjab.

“Water is a natural resource and living beings must learn to share it, whether it is individual or state. The matter cannot be looked at from the point of view of only one city or state. It’s the natural wealth to be shared and how it is to be shared is a mechanism to be worked out,” Justice Kaul said.

Attorney General for India KK Venugopal appearing for the Ministry, said that the Centre is trying to bring together the states of Punjab and Haryana.

Venugopal further said that Punjab is not cooperating in the matter. “The Centre had written a letter to the new Chief Minister of Punjab in April but there was no response,” he said.

To this, the bench directed all the parties to cooperate. “Either they sit and talk or the Court will order the execution of the decree. These issues should not be allowed to fester… It will allow forces that may not be amicable to the country to act and interfere,” observed the top court.

On July 28, 2020, the top court had asked the Chief Ministers of both states to make an attempt to resolve the issue amicably.

The Ministry had earlier held several meetings which were attended by Chief Secretaries of the two states but remained inconclusive.

Earlier, a meeting was held between CM Punjab Bhagwant Mann and CM Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar at Haryana CM’s residence in October, but Mann refused to construct the canal saying that there was no water surplus in Punjab. (ANI)