The Supreme Court of India on Thursday continued with the 7th-day hearing of the petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 in the context of Jammu and Kashmir; the top court also posed sharp questions to the Gujarat government on the remission of the life sentence of the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case. All this and more in this Thursday wrap of the courts across the country:
Article 370 hearing: The Supreme Court will only examine the issue of violation of the Constitution
The Supreme Court on Thursday said that it will only examine whether there was any violation of the Constitution, and will not go into the issue of whether the move was in the national interest while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution. Day 7 of the day-long hearing before the Constitution Bench saw Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud telling Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave that, "Judicial review will be for the constitutional violation. There is no doubt that if there is such a violation this court will intervene, but are you asking us to judicially review the wisdom underlying the decision to abrogate 370?"
Bilkis Bano case: Supreme Court asks Gujarat govt why remission policy applied selectively
The top court on Thursday posed a volley of questions to the Gujarat government and the Centre over the selective application of the remission policy for convicts serving jail terms. A bench headed by Justice BV Nagarathna fired a series of questions while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the decision of the Gujarat government to grant remission to 11 convicts who had gang-raped Bilkis Bano during the 2002 riots in Gujarat. The Gujarat government reduced the sentences of 11 survivors.
Last name Modi: Jharkhand High Court exempts Rahul Gandhi from personal appearance
On Wednesday, the Jharkhand High Court exempted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from appearing in person before a special court in Ranchi to hear a defamation lawsuit related to the "last name Modi" case. The bench of Judge Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi allows the MP to be represented by his lawyer under certain conditions. However, the court said witnesses questioned in absentia would not be re-examined afterward.
Thematic discussion on the new criminal bill: Top lawyers poke holes in proposed changes
India's NewsTrack program today hosted a roundtable of lawyers on Monday which saw four legal representatives discuss three new criminal law bills introduced by the Home Secretary Amit Shah submitted to Parliament on August 11. Much of the opinion is that the proposed large-scale changes to "remove colonial legacy" were not well thought out, poorly drafted, and could lead to chaos in the system. Justice. While their interpretation of the proposed changes could be seen as subjective, the entire panel could barely count the positives in the proposed Criminal Law Review Bill.
Allahabad High Court refuses bail for man accused of waging war against state
The Supreme Court in Allahabad has denied the bail request of an associate of Lashkar-e-Toiba, accused of waging war against the country and encouraging the purchase of weapons through various WhatsApp groups. Judge Pankaj Bhatia dismissed Inamul Haq's bail application against whom the FIR was registered in the Deoband Police Department of Saharanpur under Section 121-A (making war against the government of India) and 153-A (promoting hostility between different groups on the grounds of religion, etc.) of the IPC.
