Category: Law & Order

  • Supreme Court Delays Death Sentence in Shocking Jharkhand Rape-Murder Case

    Supreme Court Delays Death Sentence in Shocking Jharkhand Rape-Murder Case

    New Delhi: The Supreme Court has temporarily stopped the death sentence of a 30-year-old man named Rahul Kumar, who was found guilty of raping and killing a 19-year-old engineering student in Ranchi, Jharkhand. A group of judges, Justices Surya Kant, Pankaj Mithal, and Ujjal Bhuyan, have requested the trial and high court documents in their translated form. This means that the death penalty is on hold for now.

    On September 9, the Jharkhand High Court confirmed the death sentence handed down to Kumar by a lower court. The horrifying crime happened on December 15, 2016. Three years later, in December 2019, Kumar was sentenced to death.

    The High Court described the case as extremely shocking, saying that a promising young woman’s life was taken in a terrible way. The court shared details from the autopsy report, which provides evidence of the brutal act. Kumar had planned the crime, bringing tools like an electric wire to strangle the victim and lubricant oil to set her body on fire afterward.

    The judge noted that the strangulation was so severe that the wires embedded into her neck. After committing the crime, Kumar fled the scene. The High Court criticized him, saying that the crime was not a sudden act but something that was carefully planned.

  • Supreme Court Surprised as Balaji Becomes Minister Right After Bail

    Supreme Court Surprised as Balaji Becomes Minister Right After Bail

    New Delhi: The Supreme Court was surprised to learn that Senthil Balaji became a minister in Tamil Nadu right after he got bail for a money laundering case. Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih expressed concerns, saying, “We grant bail, and the next day, you become a minister. This makes it seem like witnesses could be pressured.” The court was looking into a request to cancel the bail from September 26, mainly because Balaji’s new position might intimidate witnesses.

    The judges decided not to cancel the bail but will check if witnesses feel unsafe testifying against Balaji, who is now a senior cabinet minister. They asked Balaji’s lawyer to gather more information and set a next meeting for December 13.

    The court gave Balaji bail on September 26, even after finding serious reasons against him. They cited his long stay in jail since June 2023 and that the trial was unlikely to start soon. Balaji was sworn in as a minister just three days later, on September 29.

    Senthil Balaji was arrested on June 14, 2023, for a money laundering case linked to a cash-for-jobs scam when he was Tamil Nadu’s Transport Minister during the previous AIADMK government. This case dates back to 2018 and involves accusations from when he was in office from 2011 to 2015. He joined the DMK party in December 2018 and became the Electricity Minister after the party won in May 2021.

  • Supreme Court Defends EVMs Amid Calls for Paper Ballots

    Supreme Court Defends EVMs Amid Calls for Paper Ballots

    On November 26, 2024, the Supreme Court talked about how some people criticize Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), saying, “People say EVMs are tampered with when they lose, but they’re fine if they win.”

    This statement came from Justice Vikram Nath while he was dismissing a petition from K.A. Paul, an evangelist. Paul wanted the court to switch back to using paper ballots for voting. Justice Nath asked Paul if he was trying to make the court a place for political debates.

    Paul insisted he wasn’t being political. He shared that during his travels, he noticed that many democratic countries still use paper ballots for voting.

    He highlighted that the hearing took place on Constitution Day, which was significant. Paul also argued that the Election Commission of India should disqualify candidates who distribute money or gifts during elections for five years because this kind of corruption goes against everyone’s right to be treated equally and fairly.

    Back in April 2024, the Supreme Court supported the use of EVMs and said that using paper ballots again wouldn’t be a good idea.

    The court mentioned that using paper ballots has many known problems, especially considering that India has about 970 million voters and a large number of candidates and polling stations. Switching back would ruin the progress made in elections. EVMs, the court said, have important benefits.

    The court also said that having strong distrust in a system can hold back progress. In September 2023, the Election Commission of India reassured the Supreme Court that EVMs can’t be hacked or tampered with. They provided a detailed 450-page report stating that EVMs are stand-alone machines with special chips that can’t be changed

  • DY Chandrachud on Live-Streaming: A New Era for Court Transparency

    DY Chandrachud on Live-Streaming: A New Era for Court Transparency

    Former Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, has shared how live-streaming of court sessions is changing how people view the Supreme Court. For the very first time, the highest court in India shared its proceedings live on August 26, 2022. This means that everyone can now watch and understand how seriously the court takes each case.

    Chandrachud believes that live-streaming brings the court closer to the public, allowing them to see how much time and effort judges put into each case. He also emphasized that state-level courts should wisely use funds provided by the very supportive government for this project.

    Known for embracing technology, Chandrachud has made many tech-friendly advancements in the Supreme Court. The main goal of live-streaming is to make the judicial process more transparent, so that everyday people can see what happens in court.

    He said judges must be careful with their words because making biased statements could lead to a belief that they are unfair towards certain communities or genders. Such statements can harm a judge’s reputation and reduce people’s trust in the justice system.

    Judges should not only be fair in their decisions, but they should also appear fair. Instead of stopping live-streaming, there should be training for judges everywhere to help them be aware of how to make fair and inclusive statements that respect everyone equally before the law, according to Chandrachud

  • 89% of Newly Elected MLAs in Jharkhand Are Crorepatis! Find Out More!

    89% of Newly Elected MLAs in Jharkhand Are Crorepatis! Find Out More!

    In Jharkhand, a recent report shows that 89% of the new Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) are very wealthy, commonly referred to as “crorepatis.” This means they have assets worth over ₹1 crore. There are 14 MLAs with debts of ₹1 crore or more. The wealthiest MLA is Rameshwar Oraon from the Congress party, who has declared assets totaling ₹42.20 crore.

    On average, a winning candidate in the 2024 elections had assets worth ₹6.90 crore, which is a big jump from ₹3.87 crore in the 2019 elections. The report analyzed the papers of 80 out of the 81 winning candidates, finding that 71 of them are crorepatis.

    Breaking it down, there are 28 crorepati MLAs from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), 20 from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 14 from Congress, 4 from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), 2 from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, and one each from the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Janata Dal (United), and Ajsu Party. This means the new assembly has 20% more crorepati MLAs than in 2019. Back then, there were 56 crorepatis, compared to 41 in 2014.

    The second richest MLA this time is Kushwaha Shashi Bhushan Mehta, who has ₹32.15 crore in assets, and the third is Sanjay Prasad Yadav from RJD, with ₹29.59 crore.

    The report also shows that 42 of the new MLAs increased their average wealth by ₹2.71 crore in the last five years. In terms of education, out of the winning candidates, 28 have said they finished between Class 8 and Class 12. Fifty of them are graduates or have higher qualifications. One MLA has a diploma, and another said he is “literate.”

  • Supreme Court Asks CAQM to Rethink School Restrictions in Delhi

    Supreme Court Asks CAQM to Rethink School Restrictions in Delhi

    On November 25, 2024, the Supreme Court told the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to quickly decide whether to relax rules that stopped schools and colleges from holding in-person classes in Delhi and nearby areas.

    The judges, A.S. Oka and Augustine George Masih, made it clear that they wanted a decision by the evening of the same day or by the next morning at the latest.

    The Supreme Court noticed that many young students, including those in primary classes and anganwadis, missed out on important meals provided at school. Also, a lot of students couldn’t take online classes because they didn’t have the necessary equipment at home. For some, staying at home was just as bad as going to school since they didn’t have air purifiers.

    The Court said it was up to the CAQM to decide if students in Classes 10 and 12 could return to in-person learning. Many students do not have access to online learning, which is a problem.

    The judges highlighted that from November 20 to November 24, the air quality in Delhi was really bad, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) ranging between 318 and 419. They instructed CAQM to provide updated air quality information by the next court meeting on November 29.

    The Court was unhappy that police were not doing their job correctly at the borders of Delhi to stop polluting vehicles, especially big trucks, even after a ban was put in place on November 18. The judges asked CAQM to take action against those responsible for this under the law.

    The judges also acknowledged that the air quality restrictions were impacting the work of many people, like construction workers and daily earners. They ordered the governments in and around Delhi to provide support to help these workers during this tough time.

    Finally, the Court reminded CAQM that they had the power to take steps to help these workers and ensure they didn’t suffer due to these restrictions