On Monday, the Supreme Court took a firm stance against the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker, urging him to establish a clear timeline for the hearing of disqualification petitions involving 56 MLAs, including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, within the next week. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud issued strong directives to Speaker Rahul Narwekar, highlighting that the top court had been requesting a resolution to this matter for a period spanning four months. These disqualification petitions had been filed by both factions of the Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray, respectively, against each other. The bench emphasized that there were a total of 34 petitions, with both sides seeking the disqualification of 56 MLAs.
In a surprising development in the Adani-Hindenburg case, a petition submitted to the Supreme Court alleges that the court-appointed committee investigating allegations against the Adani Group in response to a report by the US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research also faces a conflict of interest. The petitioner is requesting the court to establish a new committee. This request comes shortly after similar allegations were made in court regarding a conflict of interest on the part of market regulator Sebi in its probe against Adani. Currently, the six-member court-appointed committee comprises individuals such as industrialist OP Bhatt, Justice JP Devadhar, veteran banker KV Kamath, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, and lawyer Somasekhar Sundaresan, with former Supreme Court judge Justice AM Sapre serving as the committee's head.
On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to hear Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's petition challenging the summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money-laundering case. The court advised him to approach the High Court regarding this matter. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Hemant Soren, withdrew the plea after the bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi declined to entertain it. The bench questioned why Soren had not initially approached the Jharkhand High Court. Rohatgi agreed that he could seek relief from the High Court but pointed out that there were related issues pending before the Supreme Court, describing it as a case of political "witchhunt."
Additionally, on Monday, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding a bail plea filed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Anubrata Mondal, who had been arrested in connection with an alleged cattle smuggling case. During a brief hearing, a bench consisting of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi issued a notice to the investigating agency and requested its response to the plea. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Mondal, informed the bench of five chargesheets being filed and emphasized that he was the sole individual in custody, having spent 14 months in jail, while the main kingpin had been granted bail.
Furthermore, the ongoing ban on the sale of Lord Ganesha idols crafted from Plaster of Paris in Tamil Nadu will persist. The Supreme Court, on Monday, declined to intervene with an order issued by the Madras High Court that prohibited the sale of such idols. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud refused to interfere with the Madras High Court's order, stating, "You could have used natural clay. Sorry, we can't interfere. We will pass a detailed order." This case revolved around a plea challenging a division bench order from the Madras High Court that had stayed a single judge's ruling permitting the sale of Ganesh idols constructed with Plaster of Paris.
Finally, a Kolkata court issued an arrest warrant against Bollywood actress Zareen Khan concerning an alleged cheating case. The case had been registered against her in 2018. The investigating officer had submitted the charge sheet against the actress before the Sealdah court in Kolkata. However, Zareen Khan neither applied for bail nor appeared in court. Consequently, the court issued an arrest warrant.
