New Delhi [India], April 23 (ANI): A plea has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking directions to impose a ban on Halal certified products across India and to withdraw Halal Certified products from markets.

New Delhi [India], April 22 (ANI): Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat and a juice shop owner whose properties were demolished by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) were among other petitioners who moved the Supreme Court against the demolition drive being carried out by civic bodies.

New Delhi Mar 25 PTI The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that additional attempt in the Union Public Service Commission UPSC civil services examination is not possibleThe apex court is hearing a plea filed by three aspirants who had cleared the UPSC 2021 prelims exam but could not appear in all papers of the main exam after testing positive for COVID-19 and are now seeking an extra attempt to appear in the examsWe have filed an affidavit Additional attempts are not possible We have considered that Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati appearing for the Centre told a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and A S OkaThe UPSC had recently told the top court there is no provision for holding re-examination in case a candidate fails to appear in the test on the scheduled date for any reasons including ailment or accident incapacitating him to take the examDuring the hearing on Friday Bhati said the Centre has filed an affidavit in the matterThe bench said it would hear the matter on March 28 and asked the apex court registry to circulated the affidavit along with the paper book of the caseIn its affidavit the Centre has said that the Civil Services Examination CSE is conducted by the UPSC annually in accordance with the CSE Rules notified by the Department of Personnel and Training DoPT every year for a particular CSEIt said the matter of compensatoryextra attempt has been adjudicated by the apex court in the past against the plea of hardships faced by the aspirants due to the COVID-19 pandemic but it was not grantedThe affidavit referred to the judgement and order passed by the top court last year in February and July 2021 on separate pleasIt said after the July last year order a number of representations were received in the DoPT putting forth the same demand of compensatoryextra attemptThe matter has been considered and it has not been found feasible to change the existing provisions regarding number of attempts and age-limit in respect of the CSE it saidThe Centre said that any relaxation to age-limit and number of permissible attempts due to COVID-19 pandemic could lead to similar demands being made by other categories of candidatesIt will also impinge on the chances of other candidates who are eligible as per the existing provisions because it will increase the number of candidates competing with such candidates It will also lead to the similar demands by the candidates of other examinations conducted all over the country it saidThe affidavit said the existing age range for admission to CSE is 21 to 32 years with relaxation for certain categories of candidates and the permissible number of attempts is also six with relaxations for certain categories of candidatesWhile seeking dismissal of the petition it said the existing rules provide for fair opportunities to the aspirants to make an attempt at this examination to secure a placement in case one attempt is lost due to some exigenciesMeanwhile the petitioners have also filed a rejoinder affidavit in response to the affidavit filed by the UPSC in the matterThe petitioners have said they did not fail to appear in the examination on their own volition and were forced not to appear in view of the guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare which specifically require a person affected by COVID-19 to undergo mandatory quarantine and isolation They have said that previously in 2014 and 2015 DoPT gave additional attempt due to sudden change in the syllabusThe rejoinder affidavit filed by advocate Shashank Singh said the petitioners are entitled to a compensatory attempt in place of their missed last attempt due to COVID-19 and absence of policy for themIn its affidavit filed in the apex court the UPSC has said that any decision regarding age relaxation and compensatoryextra attempt in the civil services examination is a policy matter which falls under the domain of the DoPTWhile two of the three petitioners had to leave the main exam held from January 7 to 16 in-between after appearing in some initial papers the third aspirant could not appear in any of the papers due to COVIDThe petitioners have said that they tested positive for COVID-19 in the RTPCR test reports dated January 13 14 and January 6 respectivelyThe plea has said the petitioners could not take the UPSC mains examination after testing positive for COVID-19 and owing to the restrictions imposed under the strict quarantine guidelines of the governmentAlso there was absence of any kind of policy of UPSC which could provide arrangements for such petitioners who were COVID positive during the span of mains examination or before it it saidThe petitioners are approaching this court under Article 32 and seeking a direction to the Respondent UPSC to extend them an additional extra attempt to appear in the examination or in alternate make some arrangement to appear in the rest of papers which the petitioners could not give before the publication of result of civil service mains examination 2021 the plea saidIt claimed that absence of policy and no arrangement to accommodate COVID-19 positive petitioners to appear in the civil service mains examination 2021 have violated their rights including that of under Article 14 equality before law of the Constitution of India PTI ABA SA

Bengaluru Mar 23 PTI A man cannot escape trial for rape only because the victim is his wife as it is against the right to equality the Karnataka High Court held on Wednesday and suggested that lawmakers should heed the voices of silence and remove the inequalities in statute The age-old regressive thought that the husbands are the rulers of their wives their body mind and soul should be effaced a single bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna said while refusing to drop the charge of rape against the petitioner who had allegedly sexually assaulted his wife Woman and man being equal under the Constitution cannot be made unequal by Exception-2 to Section 375 of the IPC it further said noting that it is for the lawmakers to ponder over the existence of such inequalities in lawSection 375 of the Indian Penal Code IPC which defines the offence of rape has the Exception-2 clause that says the non-consensual intercourse or sexual act by a man with his wife not below 15 years is not a rape The court said such sexual assault by a husband on his wife will have grave consequences on the mental state of the wife it has both psychological and physiological impact on her Further stating that such acts of husbands scar the soul of the wives the court observed that it is therefore imperative for the lawmakers to now hear the voices of silence The court held that any such exemption for husbands will go against Article 14 which guarantees the right to equality If a man a husband a man he is can be exempted from the allegation of commission of ingredients of Section 375 of the IPC rape inequality percolates into such provision of law the court said All human beings under the Constitution are to be treated equally be it a man be it a woman and others it said adding any thought of inequality in any provision of law would fail the test of Article 14 of the Constitution Woman and man being equal under the Constitution cannot be made unequal by Exception-2 to Section 375 of the IPC it further said noting that it is for the lawmakers to ponder over the existence of such inequalities in law For ages man donning the robes of a husband has used the wife as his chattel but his crude behavior notwithstanding his existence because of a woman the court said The age-old thought and tradition that the husbands are the rulers of their wives their body mind and soul should be effaced It is only on this archaic regressive and preconceived notion the cases of this kind are mushrooming in the nation The court refused to interfere with the proceedings initiated against the petitioner on charges of rape cruelty along with offences under the POCSO Act for alleged sexual acts against his wife and daughter PTI KSU RSSA RT RT

Bengaluru Mar 23 PTI A man cannot be exempted from facing trial for rape only because the victim of his brutal act of sexual assault is his wife the Karnataka High Court held on Wednesday and suggested that lawmakers should heed the voices of silence The age-old regressive thought that the husbands are the rulers of their wives their body mind and soul should be effaced a single bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna said while refusing to interfere with the proceedings initiated against the petitioner on charges of rape cruelty along with offences under the POCSO Act for alleged sexual acts against his wife and daughter The court said such sexual assault by a husband on his wife will have grave consequences on the mental state of the wife it has both psychological and physiological impact on her Further stating that such acts of husbands scar the soul of the wives the court observed that it is therefore imperative for the lawmakers to now hear the voices of silence The court held that any such exemption for husbands will go against Article 14 which guarantees the right to equality If a man a husband a man he is can be exempted from the allegation of commission of ingredients of Section 375 of the IPC rape inequality percolates into such provision of law the court said All human beings under the Constitution are to be treated equally be it a man be it a woman and others it said adding any thought of inequality in any provision of law would fail the test of Article 14 of the Constitution Woman and man being equal under the Constitution cannot be made unequal by Exception-2 to Section 375 of the IPC it further said noting that it is for the lawmakers to ponder over the existence of such inequalities in law For ages man donning the robes of a husband has used the wife as his chattel but his crude behavior notwithstanding his existence because of a woman the court said The age-old thought and tradition that the husbands are the rulers of their wives their body mind and soul should be effaced It is only on this archaic regressive and preconceived notion the cases of this kind are mushrooming in the nation PTI KSU RSSA RT RT

Jaipur Feb 24 PTI Facing flak over the Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers REET paper leak the state government Thursday introduced a bill with strict provisions like up to 10 years in jail and Rs 10 crore fine to prevent cheating paper leak and use of unfair means in competitive examinationsProvisions of attachment and confiscation of properties have also been made in the bill introduced by the Higher Education Minister Rajendra Singh YadavThe Rajasthan Public Examination measures for prevention of unfair means in recruitment Bill 2022 aims to provide for effective measures to prevent and curb the leakage of question papers and use of unfair means in public examinations for recruitment to any post under the state government including autonomous bodies authorities boards and corporations As per the provisions mentioned in the bill any person taking unauthorised help in public examination from any person group or from any material may face a jail term of upto three years and a fine not less than Rs 1 lakhIf any person impersonates or leak attempt to leakconspires to leak question paper procuresattempts to possess question paper in unauthorised manner or solvesattempts to solveseek assistance to solve question paper in unauthorised manner or assist the examinee in unauthorised manner the punishment will be imprisonment from 5 years to 10 years and fine from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 10 crore An examinee who has been convicted under the provisions shall be debarred from taking any public examination for a period of two yearsIf investigating officer has reason to believe that any property represents proceeds of any offence under the proposed act can seize such movable or immovable property with prior approval of the state government the bill proposesWhere it is not practicable to seize such property the IO can make an order of attachment directing that such property shall not be transferred it proposes If the person of the management or institution has been found guilty of the offence then they shall be liable to pay all cost and expenditure related to the examination determined by the Designated Court and shall be banned foreverAll offences specified under the proposed act shall be cognizable non-bailable and noncompoundableIn matter of recruitment to the posts under the state government the leakage of question papers not only betrays the trust of the general public but the state too suffers substantial administrative cost when examinations have to be called offA fair and reasonable process of selection to posts subject to the norm of equality of opportunity under Article 16 1 of the Constitution of India is a constitutional requirement A fair and reasonable recruitment process is a fundamental requirement of Article 14 as well according to the statement of object and reasons saidIt said that the state government enacted the Rajasthan Public Examination Prevention of Unfairmeans Act 1992 to curb irregularities and use of unfair means in public examinationsAs more than three decades have passed since the inception of the enactment the issue has assumed dimension of organised crime and involves huge pecuniary advantages to nefarious personsSince the Act of 1992 is not serving the purpose of tackling this menace the state government has decided to bring a new law to prevent use of unfair means in public examinations conducted for purpose of recruitment and to limit the scope of the Act of 1992 to public examinations conducted for the purpose of award degrees certificates etc the statement saidIt may be noted that earlier this month the state government had cancelled the REET level two examination held in September 2021 due to paper leak Looking at the seriousness of the matter Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had also announced to bring a bill to curb cheating in examinationsThe opposition BJP has been demanding a CBI probe in the REET paper leak case which in present is being investigated by the Special Operation Group of Rajasthan Police PTI SDA TIR TIR

New Delhi [India], February 23 (ANI): Union Law Secretary Anoop Kumar Mendiratta on Wednesday highlighted that Cyber Crime has opened a new way of sexual harassment and has posed a huge challenge, adding that it is also a violation of the Fundamental Rights under Article 14, 21 of the Constitution.

New Delhi [India], February 22 (ANI): The Central Government has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court mentioning that the Centre while framing the One Rank, One Pension (OROP) regime has not brought out any discrimination between the defence personnel who are in the same rank with the same length of service.

New Delhi [India], February 11 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to file a response on a petition filed by the Supreme Court Employees' Welfare Association seeking to grant a benefit of Court Allowance to Officers and Employees of the Supreme Court of India on the pattern of Parliamentary Allowance being paid to the employees of the Parliament of India.

New Delhi Jan 25 PTI The Supreme Court Tuesday sought replies from the Centre and the Election Commission on a PIL seeking direction to seize the symbol or deregister a political party that promises or distributes irrational freebies before polls saying it is a serious issue as sometimes freebie budget is going beyond regular budgetA bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli sought the response in four weeks on the PIL filed by BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini UpadhyayThe plea filed ahead of assembly polls in five states said there should be a total ban on such populist measures to gain undue political favour from voters as they violate the Constitution and the EC should take suitable deterrent measuresThe bench took note of submissions of senior advocate Vikas Singh appearing for Upadhyay that a law need to be framed on the issue and steps like seizure of party symbols or taking back the registration of parties or both may be thought of as ultimately it is the citizens who have to pay upLet us see For the time being we will issue notice and let the Government of India and the Election Commission come back with some response the bench said after hearing brief argumentsThe bench said that political parties may be included as parties to the plea later Legally I am asking some legal questions in the debate We want to know how to control all this It is a serious issue no doubt Freebie budget is going beyond regular budget and sometimes as observed by the Supreme Court in this paragraph of an earlier judgment it is not the level playing field The parties who make more promises have the advantage and chance of winning the elections even though it does not amount to corrupt practices under the law the bench said It took note of the fact that the poll panel has conducted only one meeting on the issue of promise of freebies during the polls after the apex courts judgment on the issue The apex court had directed the Election Commission to frame guidelines on this They have framed guidelines but without any teeth the senior lawyer responded At the outset Singh said in states having huge debt parties are promising freebies and please see ultimately it is the public whose money is promised to be given Every party is doing the same thing and there has to be some legislation on this aspect he said adding I do not want to name any party If every party has been doing the same thing then why in the affidavit you have named only two political parties the bench said and asked Singh to read the judgment of the apex court on the issue I do not understand You enlighten us about the second part of it that is legislation and legislation for what purpose the CJI asked The law is needed for controlling activities like promises or distribution of irrational freebies from public funds before the polls the lawyer said Pease see Article 282 of the Constitution and every expenditure has to be approved by the legislature If the legislature passes the law then it will have to be followedWhen some party offers Rs 1000 to every woman the other says FRs 2000 If this is how the elections are being held then ultimately who will pay this money look at Punjab the debt was 182 thousand crore is the lawyer said The bench asked the lawyer not to name a state and refer to the pleadings to suggest the remedy to control the menace Assuming for a minute we will issue notice and ask the Centre and the Election Commission to file affidavits For us we must know how we are going to control all this the bench said Some order can be passed to take away the poll symbol or recognition or not to grant the recognition to a particular party who engages in this kind of activity the lawyer said Referring to upcoming polls the bench said that the elections will be over the time some orders are passed There will be at least something for the next election Singh said The plea urged the court to declare that the promise of irrational freebies from public funds before elections unduly influences the voters disturbs the level playing field and vitiates the purity of the poll process The petition filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey has as an alternative sought a direction to the Centre to enact a law in this regard Petitioner submits that recent trend of political parties to influence voters by offering freebies with an eye on elections is not only the greatest threat to the survival of democratic values but also injures the spirit of the Constitution said the plea This unethical practice is just like giving bribes to the electorate at the cost of the exchequer to stay in power and must be avoided to preserve democratic principles and practices it said The petition has also sought a direction to the ECI to insert an additional condition in the relevant paragraphs of the Election Symbols Reservation and Allotment Order 1968 which deals with conditions for recognition as a state party that a political party shall not promisedistribute irrational freebies from the public fund before the election The petitioner has urged the apex court to declare that promise or distribution of private goods or services which are not for public purposes from public funds before the elections violates several articles of the Constitution including Article 14 equality before law The plea has referred to the promises being made by certain political parties in the ongoing assembly poll process in some states The fulcrum of democracy is the electoral process and the distribution of money and promise of freebies have reached alarming levels with elections being countermanded several times it said Petitioner submits that arbitrary promises of irrational freebies violate the ECIs mandate for free and fair elections and distributing private goods-services which are not for public purposes from public funds clearly violate Articles 14 162 2663 and 282 of the Constitution it said PTI SJK SA