Legal

Alleged involvement in a crime is no ground to demolish properties, the Supreme Court said on Thursday.

Observing that such demolition threats are inconceivable in a country where the law is supreme, the court said it cannot be oblivious to such actions that may be seen as "running a bulldozer over the laws of the land". A Bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Sudhanshu Dhulia and S V N Bhatti said, "In a country where actions of the State are governed by the rule of law, the transgression by a family member cannot invite action against other members of the family or their legally-constructed residence. Alleged involvement in crime is no ground for the demolition of a property."

"Moreover, the alleged crime has to be proved through due legal process in a court of law. The court cannot be oblivious to such demolition threats inconceivable in a nation where law is supreme. Otherwise, such actions may be seen as running a bulldozer over the laws of the land," it added. The Bench issued a notice to the Gujarat government and the civic body of Kathlal in Kheda district of the state on a plea of one Javedali M Saiyed seeking protection from the proposed demolition.

The court sought the response of the state and the civic body within four weeks.

"In the meantime, status quo in respect of the petitioner's property is to be maintained by all concerned," it ordered.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to deliver on Friday its verdict on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's petitions seeking bail and challenging his arrest by the CBI in the excise policy 'scam'.

As per the cause list of September 13 uploaded on the apex court website, a Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant is slated to pronounce the verdict.

The Bench, also comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, had on September 5 reserved its verdict on the pleas. Kejriwal has filed two separate petitions challenging the denial of bail and against his arrest by the CBI in the corruption case filed by the central agency.

The AAP chief was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on June 26.

He has challenged in the apex court the Delhi High Court's August 5 order which upheld his arrest in the corruption case.

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a National Green Tribunal direction restricting the number of people to 30 in 'dhol-tasha' groups involved in the Ganapati festival, including idol immersion rituals, in Pune.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra also issued a notice to state authorities on it.

In a brief hearing, lawyer Amit Pai said that 'dhol-tasha' has had a very "deep cultural significance" in Pune for over a hundred years and it was started by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. He added that the August 30 direction of the NGT will affect such groups.

"Issue notice... pending next day of listing, there shall be a stay of operation of direction number 4 (on the number of persons in dhol-tasha groups). Let them do their 'dhol tasha'. It is the heart of Pune," the bench said.

The NGT had directed the Pune Police to ensure that the total number of 'dhol-tasha-zanj' members in each group did not exceed 30.

Madrassas are "unsuitable" places for children to receive "proper education" and the education imparted there is "not comprehensive" and is against the provisions of the Right to Education Act, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has told the Supreme Court.

The child rights body told the top court that children, who are not in a formal schooling system, are deprived of their fundamental right to elementary education, including entitlements such as midday meal, uniform etc. The NCPCR said madrassas merely teaching from a few NCERT books in the curriculum is a "mere guise" in the name of imparting education and does not ensure that the children are receiving formal and quality education.

It said most of the madrassas fail to provide a holistic environment to students, including planning social events, or extracurricular activities for 'experiential learning. In a breather to about 17 lakh madrassa students, the apex court on April 5 had stayed an order of the Allahabad High Court that scrapped the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 calling it "unconstitutional" and violative of the principle of secularism.

Observing that the issues raised in the petitions merit closer reflection, a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud had issued notices to the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government and others on the pleas against the high court order. The top court said had the high court "prima facie" misconstrued the provisions of the Act, which does not provide for any religious instruction.

The High Court had on March 22 declared the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, "unconstitutional" and violative of the principle of secularism, and asked the state government to accommodate students in the formal schooling system.

The high court had declared the law ultra vires on a writ petition filed by advocate Anshuman Singh Rathore.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to deliver on Friday its verdict on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's petitions seeking bail and challenging his arrest by the CBI in the excise policy "scam".

As per the cause list of September 13 uploaded on the apex court website, a bench headed by Justice Surya Kant is slated to pronounce the verdict.

Low-cost airline SpiceJet moved the Supreme Court on Thursday, challenging a Delhi High Court verdict grounding three of its aircraft engines for defaulting on payments to lessors.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud asked the counsel for the airline to send an e-mail seeking an urgent hearing of its plea against the high court verdict of September 11. A division Bench of the Delhi High Court held that the carrier had violated an agreed interim arrangement for payment of dues and upheld an order of a single judge bench asking the low-cost airline to ground the three engines for defaulting on the payments.

The single judge Bench of the High Court had on August 14 directed SpiceJet to ground three engines by August 16 and hand them over to their lessors - Team France 01 SAS and Sunbird France 02 SAS.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave the Uttarakhand government two months to submit a concrete proposal for the rehabilitation of 50,000 people who face displacement after railway land they have allegedly occupied illegally for decades in Haldwani is cleared of encroachments.

The Uttarakhand government told a bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Ujjal Bhuyan that a joint meeting of the state, railways, and other stakeholders was held and the process of identifying the land required for a public sector transport project is in progress. The top court was hearing a plea filed by the railways seeking vacation of its January 5 last year order staying an order of the Uttarakhand High Court for removal of encroachments from around 30 acres of land claimed by the railways in Haldwani.

An interlocutory application by the Centre sought a strip of land to be made available urgently to facilitate railway operations as a retaining wall protecting the tracks had collapsed during the floods last year.

A Delhi court on Wednesday granted bail to AAP leader Durgesh Pathak in a corruption case related to the alleged excise scam.

Special Judge Kaveri Baweja also extended the judicial custody of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till September 25 in the case.

The Delhi High Court has introduced a new section on its website called "Humour in Court," aimed at sharing amusing courtroom moments.

Launched on Wednesday, this initiative is part of a broader set of IT upgrades, which also include the Delhi High Court WhatsApp Services and the Delhi High Court e-Museum.

The Court is inviting contributions from lawyers and litigants who have experienced humorous incidents in courtrooms. Submissions can be sent to delhihighcourt@nic.in.

A Delhi court is likely to pronounce on October 5 its order on the regular bail plea of Lok Sabha MP Engineer Rashid in a terror funding case.

Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh deferred the order on his regular bail application on Wednesday to enable him to campaign in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.

Elections are scheduled to be held for the 90-member legislative Assembly of the Union territory in three phases from September 18 to October 1. The results will be declared on October 8.

The Hindu side in the Gyanvapi mosque case on Wednesday requested a court to allow the ASI to dig in the premises for a survey, a lawyer said.

The judge fixed the next date of hearing as September 18 on the petition demanding ASI survey of the remaining parts of the Gyanvapi complex, the lawyer said.

Civil Judge Senior Division Fast Track Court Jugal Shambhu fixed the fresh date after hearing the Hindu side, said advocate Madan Mohan Yadav, representing the Hindu side in the case.

The Patna High Court on Wednesday commuted the capital punishment awarded to four convicts in the 2013 serial blasts case to 30 years of imprisonment.

The explosions took place at the Gandhi Maidan during an election rally addressed by Narendra Modi, who was then the Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP's prime ministerial candidate.

A division Bench headed by Justice Ashutosh Kumar also upheld the life imprisonment awarded to two other convicts by the Special NIA court.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the stand of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) on a petition by wrestler Bajrang Punia challenging his suspension.

Justice Sanjeev Narula issued notice to the agency on the plea which has been filed ahead of the Senior World Wrestling Championships to be held in Albania in October.

As the senior counsel appearing for the athlete pressed for an interim relief, the judge remarked that no formal application has been filed for the same. "This is a classic case of hounding someone...World Championship is round the corner. I have to practice," senior advocate Rajiv Dutta said.

The court, however, questioned Punia on his refusal to submit a sample for the testing, asking, "how will they let you play if you don't test".

Punia's counsel asserted that there were issues concerning the use of an "outdated kit" and he has sought answers from authorities. The counsel for NADA said a disciplinary panel has been constituted, which is looking into the issue, and Punia was not being "targeted".

The court orally said that Punia should agitate his grievances before the panel and listed the matter for further hearing in October.

On June 21, the National Anti-Doping Agency suspended Punia for a second time and issued the formal "notice of charge", rendering him ineligible to train and participate in competitions.

The Madras High Court has directed the Additional Public Prosecutor to secure instructions from authorities and file an affidavit regarding the availability of prohibited narcotic and drug-related substances in prisons.

The court issued the directive after a petition filed by A Saranya, seeking a direction to transfer her mother S Mythili from the Special Prison for Women, Trichy, to the Special Prison for Women, Vellore.

The court ruled that prisoners should not be transferred until the appeal period has expired or until the outcome of the appeal is known. The court also noted that the petitioner raised allegations against jail warders and that the convict prisoner was in possession of snuff inside the prison.

The court emphasised that all prisoners should be treated equally and in accordance with prison rules, as any partiality would create unrest and contribute to prison offences.

The court also stated that prisoners who committed misconduct or offences were liable to be punished under the prison manual by following due procedures. The Additional Public Prosecutor is required to secure instructions and file an affidavit.