i. CJI’s impeachment motion rejected by Vice President - 71 Rajya Sabha Members belonging to seven political parties have signed the notice for initiating impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra. In a press conference, the opposition leader, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad also mentioned that the same had been delivered to the Vice-President, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu. The motion lists five grounds for impeachment including allegations of payment of bribes, violation of Code of Conduct for Judges, forging and fabricating documents etc. On 23rd April, 2018, the Vice President in a detailed order rejected the motion on the basis that no case for removal was made out.

ii. Directions undermining the effect of Section 498A to be reconsidered– The Supreme Court in a bench headed by Chief Justice of India decided to reconsider the directions given in Rajesh Kumar vs. State of Uttar Pradesh (2017) pertaining to the directions concerning Section 498A, IPC. In that 2017 decision, the Supreme Court had issued directions to constitute Family Welfare Committees at district level to look into each complaint that is received under Section 498A in order to check on ‘frivolous cases’. Only after the recommendation from the Committee, an arrest could be affected. The Supreme Court heard detailed arguments on the reconsideration of those directions, which have been termed as ‘impermissible’, and reserved its judgment. [Nyayadhar vs. Union of India, Writ Petition (Cri.) No. 156 of 2017, date of order: 23.04.2018]

iii. Sahara allowed to pick and choose Amby Valley properties to go up for sale – The Supreme Court has allowed Sahara Group to choose and sell its Amby Valley properties and complete the sale by May 15 and deposit the proceeds in the Sahara-SEBI Account. The Group has also been told that if they do not complete the process themselves, then the Court appointed liquidator will do the same. The Group was earlier supposed to deposit Rs. 750 cr. in the account, in which they have already deposited Rs. 17,000, but later the Supreme Court decided to not mention any specific amount and all the proceeds would have to be deposited. It appears that if Sahara is able to deposit Rs 750 crs, then the auction of Amby Valley may be stopped. [SEBI v Subrata Roy Sahara, Contempt Petition Nos. 1820-1822/2017 in Contempt Petition No. 413 of 2012 in Civil Appeal No. 9833 of 2011, date of order: 19.04.2018]

iv. Confessional statement should lead to new discovery for Section 27 to apply for setting aside conviction – The Supreme Court, in line with precedents, held that the Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act could apply to a confession only when it leads to the discovery of a new fact in an appeal against a conviction. The Court held that “the law is well settled that each and every incriminating circumstance must be clearly established by reliable and clinching evidence and the circumstances so proved must form a chain of events from which the only irresistible conclusion about the guilt of the accused can be safely drawn and no other hypothesis against the guilt is possible.” In this case, the three accused had been convicted by the trial court and their conviction had been upheld by the High Court. But the Supreme Court pointed out that the evidence did not meet the requisite burden of beyond reasonable doubt and the confessional statements of the accused could have been only used if they had led to the discovery of new facts or materials. [Navaneethakrishnan v The State by Inspector of Police, Criminal Appeal No. 1134 of 2012, date of judgment: 16.04.2018]

v. Draft Witness Protection Scheme sent to all States and UTs for comments – The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has informed the Supreme Court that the draft scheme for witness protection had been prepared and sent to all states and Union Territories for their comments. The States and UTs were earlier asked to send their comments by April 09, but now the date has been extended to May 31. The Court has asked the Ministry to ensure that the comments are collated and incorporated before the next hearing. The instant petition was a result of a plea seeking protection of witnesses in rape cases involving Asaram Bapu. [Mahinder Chawla v Union of India, Writ Petition(s)(Criminal) No(s).156/2016, date of order: 13.04.2018]

vi. Maya Kodnani acquitted by Gujarat High Court in Naroda Patia riots, while confirming Babu Bajrangi’s sentence – The Gujarat High Court in a shocking judgment acquitted the former BJP Minister Maya Kodnani and two others in the 2002 Naroda Patia riots, while confirming Babu Bajrangi’s conviction and sentence. The trial court had awarded life sentence to all the above mentioned and 27 others for causing the riots wherein 97 people had been killed. Kodnani was termed by the trial court as ‘kingpin of riots’ and sentenced to 26 years imprisonment. The Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team had challenged the acquittal of seven accused and even sought stricter punishment for all those already convicted. [State of Gujarat v Babubhai @ Babu Bajrangi, Criminal Appeal (for Enhancement) No. 1599 of 2013, date of order: 20.04.2018]

vii. West Bengal Election Commission directed to extend date for filing nominations for Panchayat Polls –The Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal Election Commission to issue a new order extending the deadline to file nominations for Panchayat Polls. After receiving complaints from proposed candidates indicating their inability to file nominations due to violence fuelled by the ruling party, the Commission issued an order on 9 April extending the deadline, which it recalled the next morning. The Calcutta high Court quashed the April 10 order and asked the commission to reschedule the elections according to the statutory framework. [BJP v State Election Commission, Writ Petition 4716(W) of 2018, date of order: 20.04.2018]

viii. Parents asked to pay damages to daughter for keeping her in mental asylum against her will – The Delhi High Court in a landmark decision upheld the autonomy and self determination of an adult woman who chose to leave her parents’ house out of her own volition. In a writ of habeas corpus filed by her teacher,since she was forcibly admitted by her parents to a mental institution against her consent for two days, the Delhi High Court has not only criticised the confinement but also asked her parents to pay compensation amount to Rs. 3lakhs to her within 4 weeks. More importantly, the Court stressed on the right to choice in the Constitution and the fact that rights could be violated by State as well as non-State actors. [Dr. Sangamitra Acharya v State, Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 1804 of 2017, date of judgment: 18.04.2018]

ix. Aseemanand acquitted in Mecca Masjid Blast case – An NIA Court has acquitted the self-styled godman Aseemanand and four others in the trial for the heritage Mecca Masjid Blast case. The blasts had occurred on 18 May 2007 in the afternoon killing 9 people. Aseemanand had in December, 2011 in his confessional statement before a magistrate in Delhi’s Tis Hazari court had confessed to planning terror attacks on Ajmer Sharif, Mecca Masjid and Malegaon blast but later retracted from his statement. The case had been first handed over to the CBI from the local police and then eventually to the NIA according to which, the accused wanted to take revenge for various attacks by terrorists across India. The trial lasted for over 11 years, in which 200 witnesses were examined. [Mecca Masjid Bomb Blast Case, Case No RC-02/2011/NIA/DLI, date of order: 16.04.2018]

Others –

i. Cabinet approves ordinance prescribing death penalty for rape of girls under 12 years of age – The Union Cabinet has approved an Ordinance to be promulgated to provide the punishment of death penalty for those convicted of rape of girls below 12 years of age. The ordinance will amend the POCSO Act. The Centre also informed the Supreme Court that it was considering the same in an affidavit through the Ministry of Women and Child Development in a writ petition (Alakh Alok Srivastava v Union of India, Writ Petition (Civil) No.76/2018, date of order: 20.04.2018).

ii. LCI recommends bringing BCCI under Article 12 and RTI –The Law Commission of India in its latest report has recommended that the Board of Cricket Control of India (‘BCCI’) as State under Article 12 of the Constitution. It recognised the monopoly that BCCI has in regulating the game of cricket in the country, given that over the years, it has managed to get away with corruption and non-accountability precisely because of not giving it the status. It points out that the body exercises State-like powers, while making decisions for the stakeholders. If not this, the report asks for holding it accountable for violations of human rights of the stakeholders as the same can be violated by State as well as non-state actors. It also highlights the fact that the Centre has been treating BCCI as a National Sports Foundation for years and thus it should be amenable to the RTI Act as well. (IPA Service)