Hearing on cases against Subrata Roy, Jayalalithaa today
SC will also hear a contempt case against lawyers who allegedly attacked JNU students and journalists
New Delhi: The courts have an interesting day ahead of them with cases covering issues such as the release of Sahara head Subrata Roy, mandatory feed sharing by private broadcasters with public broadcasters, and combination drug ban on pharma companies.
The Supreme Court will also hear a contempt case against lawyers who allegedly attacked Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students and journalists. Red FM will be seen in court for its migration into phase III of the regime based on their licenses’ renewal.
Sahara case
The Sahara case, focused on the release of its head Subrata Roy from Tihar, will be heard on Tuesday. On the last day of the hearing, Sahara said that there was a proposal to sell its London hotel—Grosvenor House—to Qatar. This would raise funds which would complete the ₹ 10,000 crore bail that has been set for Roy’s release. Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India has asked the apex court to appoint a receiver to sell off Sahara’s properties to raise the money that Sahara is required to pay—about ₹ 36,000 crore now.
Drug ban
The Delhi high court will continue hearing the government defend its ban on 344 fixed dose combination (FDC) drugs. Major pharma companies have moved the court against the ban and have been granted temporary exemption by court. The court has already granted an interim stay on certain drugs and arguments by the government have begun. On Monday, the government told the court that the drugs were banned as pharma companies were selling absurd combinations of drugs in the market and that proper licenses had not been obtained by them.
CVC appointments
The apex court will also consider on Tuesday pleas against appointment of K.V. Chowdary as chief vigilance commissioner and T.M. Bhasin as vigilance commissioner. The court issued notice on the pleas in August last year. Senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani had sought an urgent hearing in the case, after which the apex court listed it to be heard on 29 March.
Broadcasters to share feed with state broadcaster
The Supreme Court will also hear the case regarding mandatory feed sharing by private broadcasters with state-run Prasar Bharti. Under the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act, broadcasters are required to compulsorily share signals of sporting events of national importance with the public broadcaster. However, private broadcasters like Star India, who have made significant investments for the rights to broadcast, seek exemption from sharing these signals with private cable operators. Read more
Red FM’s migration into phase III
Digital Broadcasting Radio, the company that owns radio channel Red FM had approached the Delhi high court, challenging the denial of its license renewal and subsequent migration into phase III regime. In the last hearing, the court directed the home ministry to take a decision over the said issue and allowed the interim stay that had been granted earlier to continue. Their license was set to expire on 30 September 2015. Read more
Jayalalithaa disproportionate assets case
The Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear the final arguments in the appeal filed by Karnataka government against Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa’s acquittal in a disproportionate assets case. Last year, the Karnataka government approached the apex court, saying that the high court ignored clinching evidence. Jayalalithaa was convicted by a special court in Bengaluru for amassing assets disproportionate to her income when she was the Tamil Nadu CM during 1991-1996.
JNU case: Patiala House court violence
Two separate pleas, one seeking safe, accessible and non-violent court proceedings and another seeking a special investigation team probe and contempt against lawyers who allegedly attacked JNU students and journalists, will be heard by the Supreme Court on Thursday. JNU Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and fellow students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya have been granted bail. Read more
Antrix-Devas arbitral award
The Delhi high court will hear a plea brought by Devas Multimedia Pvt. Ltd after an arbitral award ruled Antrix to pay damages worth $672 million to Devas for cancelling a contract four years ago, citing national security reasons. During the last effective hearing, the court had sought a reply from Isro’s Antrix to Devas’s claims and directed for it to be restricted to the question of jurisdiction alone. Read more
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