Legal wrap: Supreme Court lifts ban on luxury diesel car registrations
Delhi HC asks Union govt panel to set up rules for taxi aggregators, HC directs YouTube to strengthen its complaint redressal mechanism
New Delhi: Mint brings to you your weekly dose of legal news. A look at some interesting cases which happened over the week.
Supreme Court lifts ban on luxury diesel car registrations, imposes cess
The Supreme Court on Friday allowed luxury diesel vehicles, or those with engine capacity over 2000cc to be registered in Delhi-NCR on the condition that they deposit 1% of the ex showroom price of each vehicle sold. Read more
The lifting of the eight-month ban will help automakers like Mercedes-Benz, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, Tata Motors Ltd and Toyota Kirloskar Motor which make such automobiles. Tata Motors moved the National Green Tribunal in a separate proceedings on the same issue which will be heard on 24 August. Read more
Delhi HC asks Union govt panel to set up rules for taxi aggregators
The Delhi high court on Thursday directed a panel appointed by the central government to come up with a policy to govern all cab services nationwide, especially taxi service providers such as Uber and Ola. The court said that a uniform policy would help bring a level playing field for cab service across the country -- at a time when there has been complete disruption due to app-based cab services. Read more
SC questions government over delay in judicial appointments
The apex court on Friday asked attorney general Mukul Rohatgi to inform the court regarding the status of the appointments in the higher judiciary. The court lamented the fact that government hadn't approved names of the judges recommended by the collegium (group of senior most judges who recommend names for appointments). Read more
SC burdened with routine appeals from tribunals, needs relook
The Supreme Court on Tuesday lamented the fact that the court's time was being taken up by routine commercial appeals filed from various tribunals. Seeking a relook into the concept of a tribunal, the court asked the law commission to consider five questions and prepare a report on how best to tackle the problem. Read more:
Report published on delays in Indian judiciary
With over 22 million cases pending across courts in the country, delay is the biggest and most visible problem facing the Indian judiciary, Bengaluru-based research organization Daksh said. In a report titled State of Indian Judiciary, Daksh decoded the reasons behind the falling judicial efficiency. The organization analysed over 1,795,036 cases before 21 high courts in the country between December 2014 and 1 April 2016 to identify the reasons for the problem of pendency. Read more
Mental Health bill seeks to decriminalize suicide bids
The Rajya Sabha on Monday passed the Mental Health Care Bill, 2013, seeking to decriminalize suicide attempts and strengthen the mental healthcare system in the country. The Bill provides for protection and promotion of rights of persons with mental illness, offering better delivery of healthcare in institutions and in the community. The bill seeks to decriminalize acts of suicide by linking them to the state of mental health of the person attempting the act. Read more
AAP’s ‘misuse’ of public funds for ads to be examined by Central govt panel
The Delhi high court on Wednesday held that the issue of alleged misuse of public funds by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for advertisements will be examined by a three-member committee set up by the Central government. The Central government has formed the committee to check for alleged violation of guidelines with regards to content in government advertising. Read more
Delhi HC reserves judgment on Cairn's plea to export surplus crude oil
The Delhi high court on Wednesday reserved its judgement on Cairn India’s plea seeking export of surplus crude from its Barmer oil fields in Rajasthan. Under a production sharing contract (PSC) between Cairn India, a Vedanta group company, and state explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), it can sell surplus crude oil only to government and its nominees. This condition was waived in one instance in 2009 and Cairn was permitted to sell crude to two private domestic refineries. The government has maintained that there's a no export policy on crude till the country achieves self sufficiency. Read more
Government looking to revamp the Central Board of Film Certification
The information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry on Friday said that the government is looking to introduce a new Cinematograph Act to redraw the role of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). CBFC, constituted under the Cinematograph Act 1952, reviews and certifies films for public exhibition. Its powers to certify films for public consumption were, however, introduced by way of an amendment in 1959. This follows the recommendations of the Shyam Benegal committee which submitted its report in April. Read more:
Gujarat government appeals high court ruling on 10% EBC quota
The Gujarat government on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court, challenging a Gujarat high court decision to strike down an ordinance allowing 10% reservation for economically weaker sections in government jobs and college seats. On 4 August, the Gujarat high court called the 10% reservation for economically backward classes unconstitutional and illegal. The classification, as the government calls it, was largely seen as an appeasement for the Patel or Patidar community in Gujarat. Read more
SC to examine CCI's powers of search and seizure
The Supreme Court on Monday said it would examine whether the powers of the antitrust regulator to probe and search extended to seizure of material as well. The court was considering an appeal filed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against a 2 June order of the Delhi high court which prevented the regulator from using any seized material in an ongoing probe into JCB India Ltd, a construction and agriculture manufacturer, till the next date of hearing—19 August. Read more
Delhi HC directs YouTube to strengthen its complaint redressal mechanism
The Delhi high court on Wednesday directed YouTube.com to consider strengthening its systems for dealing with complaints to ensure a prompt response in instances where it may cause irreparable harm or damage to the complainant. The observation was made by justice S. Muralidhar as he disposed of a plea by Tata Sky for removal of an objectionable clip on YouTube’s platform which demonstrated a way to hack into Tata Sky’s setup box without having to subscribe. Read more
SC awards compensation to J&K migrants for being beaten up by police during peaceful protests
The Supreme Court on Friday awarded compensation to three migrants from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) who had been manhandled by police personnel on a peaceful protest march from Jammu and Kashmir to Delhi in 2007. A bench comprising justices A.K. Sikri and R.K. Agrawal directed for the compensation to be paid by the state within a period of two months for violating their fundamental rights. Read more
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