General Awareness

LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS - October 2022

Oct 2022

Jul 04, 2023

SC Asks Manipur to Submit Fresh Status Report on Violence

Amid allegations of escalation of ethnic violence in Manipur, the Supreme Court directed the state government to file a detailed updated status report on relief, rehabilitation, recovery of arms and law and order situation.
The state government, meanwhile, told a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud that the situation was improving slowly. On behalf of the tribal groups, senior counsel Colin Gonsalves said that he had filed a status report giving details of killings. Despite two assurances of the government, killings had gone up, he alleged.
The Manipur Tribal Forum wanted the top court to direct the Army to take full control of the law and order situation in Churachandpur, Chandel, Kangpokpi, Imphal East, and Imphal West districts of the state. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta requested Gonsalves not to give the violence a communal angle. On behalf of the government, Mehta said the situation was improving slowly and curfew had now been reduced to only five hours. Apart from the police and Manipur Rifles, 114 companies of CAPFs and 114 columns of the Army had been deployed, Mehta told the Bench.

Supreme Court Reopens after Summer Holidays with a Futuristic Look

After the summer break, the Supreme Court reopened with a paperless and technology-enabled set up including free WiFi facilities for advocates, litigants, and others.
Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud announced that the top court has made the facility of free Wi-Fi available in Courts 1-5 and soon it will be enabled in bar rooms as well.
He said that there will no books and papers but it does not mean that they will not rely on books and papers at all.

Jul 03, 2023

Tushar Mehta Re-appointed as Solicitor General for India, six ASGs for Supreme Court Re-appointed

Senior advocate Tushar Mehta was re-appointed as the Solicitor General of India for a term of three years.
Mehta was appointed as Solicitor General on October 10, 2018 and since then he had been granted extension twice.
According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training, besides Mehta, six Additional Solicitors General for the Supreme Court were also re-appointed for a period of three years.
Six ASGs who were re-appointed for the top court are Vikramjit Banerjee, K. M. Nataraj, Balbir Singh, S. V. Raju, N. Venkataraman and Aishwarya Bhati.

Jun 30, 2023

'Sedition Law is Need of Hour,' Says Law Commission Chairman

Sedition law is the need of the hour, Law Commission Chairman Justice Rituraj Awasthi said, adding it was much needed considering the current condition of the country.
Justice Awasthi said that the commission had examined the usage of the law, saying: "From Kashmir to Kerala and from Punjab to Northeast, if you see the situation, you'll see it's required for the integrity of the country."
Earlier this month (June), the 22nd Law Commission of India recommended that the law of sedition be retained with certain changes — a development that came a year after the Supreme Court put on hold all pending proceedings in such cases until the central government completed its re-examination of the provision.

Pressurising Someone to Give Up Demand for Repayment of Money is Not Extortion: Bombay High Court

In a ruling, in June 2023, the Bombay High Court dismissed an extortion case, stating that pressuring someone into giving up their demand for money repayment does not fall within the scope of the offense of extortion as defined under Section 383 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The case involved a dispute between Kailash Agarwal, the owner of the Avighna Group, and Hemant Banker, a businessman from Worli. Agarwal had accused Hemant or his son, Rupin Banker, of employing gangster Vijay Shetty to threaten him into abandoning his demand for the repayment of funds. However, the court deemed this act as pressurising and not extortion under the legal definition.
The division bench comprising Justice Sunil B. Shukre and Justice M.M. Sathaye emphasised that the offense of extortion required not only inducing fear or threats but also dishonestly persuading the person to deliver property or valuable security. As these elements were not present in the case, the court held that no offense of extortion was established.

Jun 29, 2023

SC Collegium Undergoes Changes after Retirement of Two Senior Judges

Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud-led five-judge Collegium underwent a change with the inclusion of Justices B. R. Gavai and Surya Kant, after two senior judges demitted office during the summer break.
Justices K. M. Joseph and Ajay Rastogi, who were part of the Collegium, retired on June 16 and 17, respectively.
Besides the CJI, the revamped Collegium now includes Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B. R. Gavai and Surya Kant.
Interestingly, three members of the revamped Collegium---Justices Khanna, Gavai and Surya Kant-- will over time become the CJI.

Jun 27, 2023

Madras High Court: Caste Has No Role in Appointment of Temple Priests

The Madras High Court held that caste will have no role in the appointment of priests in temples, where the only requirement is for the person to be well-versed, properly trained and qualified to perform the pooja, as per the requirements of the said temple.
In his order, Justice N. Anand Venkatesh said that the appointment of temple priests would be governed by Agama. However, citing past Supreme Court rulings, the order said that the caste of a priest was not integral to religion.
Announcing the decision, justice Venkatesh cited the Supreme Court's verdict in the 2016 All India Adi Saiva Sivachariargal Seva Sangam's versus Government of Tamil Nadu case, where the top court had held that the appointment of a temple priest is a secular function and not about a hereditary right. The top court had held that the religious service by an Archaka is the secular part of the religion and the performance of the religious service is an integral part of the religion.

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