Judiciary

Benefit of the doubt must go to accused: SC

The benefit of the doubt in cases based on a flawed police investigation must favour the accused irrespective of the gravity of the crime, the Supreme Court held in a recent judgment in a 17-year-old case of murder and rioting in Uttar Pradesh. “The accused cannot be expected to relinquish …

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Allow ‘minorities’ into India, says HC

Court asks Centre to bring in a law The Meghalaya High Court has asked the Centre to bring in a law to let people of religious and ethnic minority communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to be given citizenship without any cut-off year or any questions asked. Allowing a writ …

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CJI spotlights the law on death penalty

Persons on death row are priority for the Supreme Court, says Ranjan Gogoi A series of Supreme Court decisions after Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi took over as top judge has seen the Supreme Court veer away from the death penalty and point out lapses in the way justice …

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Deaths in accidents due to potholes are unacceptable: SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday described as “unacceptable” the death of nearly 15,000 people in road accidents caused by potholes in the last five years and said the number was probably more than those killed on the border or by terrorists. This indicates that the authorities concerned are not maintaining …

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India gets first witness protection scheme

The Supreme Court on Wednesday brought in place a witness protection regime in the country noting that one of the main reasons for witnesses turning hostile is that they are not given security by the State. A Bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and S. Abdul Nazeer said Witness Protection Scheme, …

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No step taken to fill posts in information panels: SC

Bench asks Centre and West Bengal, A.P., Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala and Karnataka to submit a status report The Supreme Court has said that posts in the Central Information Commission (CIC) and in State Information Commissions (SICs) are lying vacant and no effective steps have been taken to fill …

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SC for more courts to try MPs, MLAs

To ensure effective trial of pending criminal cases involving former and sitting lawmakers in Bihar and Kerala, the Supreme Court Tuesday directed setting up of special designated courts in each district of these two States to try such cases. Senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, appointed as amicus curiae to assist the …

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SC defers hearing on Rohingya plea

The Supreme Court on Friday deferred its hearing on a plea by Rohingya immigrants against the government’s proposed move to deport their 40,000-strong refugee community back to their native land of Myanmar, where discrimination and possibly summary execution await them.The Rohingya community, which fled to India after violence in the …

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