Author: NitiRiti Bureau

New Delhi, Feb 15. The Supreme Court on Thursday said that the government’s electoral bond scheme was not full-proof and could be used to force people to donate, and suggested electoral trusts as a better alternative. “The electoral bond scheme and the impugned provisions to the extent that they infringe upon the right to information of the voter by anonymizing contributions through electoral bonds are violative of Article 19(1)(a),” a five-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said. The scheme is also not full proof, it said. “While it is true that the law prescribes anonymity as…

New Delhi, Feb 15. The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the controversial electoral bonds scheme which allowed political parties to accept unlimited funds from anonymous sources to finance their campaign and poll expenses. The scheme, introduced in 2017 through the Finance Act, was challenged in the top court on the ground that it was skewed in favour of the ruling party and tilts the level playing field in its favour to the detriment of other political parties, especially the Opposition. The 2017 amendments were unconstitutional as they violated the principles of “free and fair elections” and “political equality granted…

New Delhi, Jan 8. The Supreme Court on Monday quashed twin top court and Gujarat government orders which set the stage for releasing 11 gangrape case convicts in the Bilkis Bano case in 2022 and sent them back to jail to complete the rest of their life terms. Bilkis Bano was gangraped and several other members of her family were killed during the 2002 riots. This case was transferred by the apex court to the CBI for an independent probe and trial was held in neighbouring Maharashtra. The Gujarat government released them in 2022 on the basis of a top…

New Delhi, Dec 11. The Supreme Court on Monday, went by government assurances that statehood status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir sans Ladakh would be restored soon, to uphold the centre’s decision to strip the erstwhile state of its special status in the Indian union and reduce it to a Union Territory but asked the Election Commission to hold elections to the JK assembly by Sept 2024. Buddhist dominated Ladakh would continue to be a Union Territory with the five-judge bench upholding the move to make it a centrally-administered territory. The bench led by Chief Justice of…

New Delhi, Dec 7. The Supreme Court on Thursday sought data from the central government on the extent of illegal immigration into India’s north-east after 1971 and ways and means to curb such illegal migration blamed for changing the demographics of Assam. The government will have to file a statement on this by Monday. The order came amidst concerns expressed by those challenging the legality of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act about the alleged change in Assam’s demography after such illegal immigration. Under Section 6A, those who have come into Assam prior to March, 1971, are eligible for Indian…

New Delhi, Nov 23. In the backdrop of petitions filed by several state governments questioning the manner of functioning of state Governors, the Supreme Court has said that state Governors cannot sit on bills indefinitely effectively stalling them, and also do not have the option of challenging the house business on the ground that any session was not valid. The states of Kerala, Punjab, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have moved the apex court in recent months challenging the decision of their respective Governors in failing to take any action on the bills sent to them for their assent. The…

as akin to voter’s right to secret ballot New Delhi, Nov 1. The central government defended the anonymous electoral bond scheme in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, insisting that the shift from earlier cash payments to political parties to electoral bonds was better, as also it insisted that donors enjoy a right to privacy akin to the right to secret ballot enjoyed by a voter. Right to privacy would extend to the donor’s political views or ideology, if any, the government said in fresh written submissions made in court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued these points in court before a…

SC asks govt committee to consider benefits which can be granted to such unions New Delhi, Oct 17. The Supreme Court on Tuesday did not accord legal recognition to same sex marriages and instead sent out a strong message to police and other authorities against subjecting same sex couples to discrimination, violence or any other coercive step such as invasive medical procedures to change their gender. The top court asked the government to set up a committee to consider granting any other benefits to such unions. These could be enabling a partner to receive gratuity, pension etc of the other…

1.What does the UAPA entail? Ans: The dreaded Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, brought in by the UPA, implies a) Longer detention b) Jail the rule, bail is the exception c) Presumption of guilt if slapped with terrorist act under Section 15 d) Offices of those charged can be sealed e) Their properties can be attached f) They have a duty to furnish all information related to the alleged offence g) Their passports can be impounded 2. Can they be denied an FIR copy? Ans. No. Under Section 43B, which lays out the procedure of arrest, seizure, etc, * Any officer…

Asks senior police officer to examine non-inclusion of cognisable charges in FIR New Delhi, Sept 25. The Supreme Court on Monday questioned the Uttar Pradesh government’s delay in filing an FIR and also the quality of education being imparted to children in the state over an incident in which a Muslim kid was shown being hit by other kids under the teacher’s exhortation in a viral video. The court also questioned the non-inclusion of cognisable sections covering the communal angle in the FIR and ordered that the case be investigated by a senior IPS ranked officer to be nominated by…