New Delhi [India], May 4 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the response of the Central Government and Delhi Government on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking issuance of direction to the respondent authorities to make the insurance cover of the Electric Vehicles compulsory for two-wheelers electric scooters or bikes in the light of provisions of Section 146 of Motor Vehicle Act.

New Delhi Apr 25 PTIThe Delhi High Court on Monday said that police booths are a public requirement and a necessity and refused to examine a plea alleging encroachment upon pavement by such establishments which obstruct pedestrians This is a public requirement They need a booth it is a requirement and a necessity You cant say as a principle that there cant be a police booth Where will they hang it On a tree or what said a bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi while hearing the petition by the Jan Seva Welfare Society The bench also comprising Justice Navin Chawla asked the petitioner to raise a grievance before the authorities in case there is a specific instance of a police booth obstructing any passage If your grievance is that any particular booth is causing difficulty you may raise it stated the court It added that the authorities shall consider any grievance raised by the petitioner within four weeks and if the same is found to be justified they would take appropriate remedies Delhi police counsel informed the court that the issue of regulating the establishment of the police boothskiosks has already been considered by the court pursuant to which an order was also issued by the authorities The court was also informed that an earlier petition by the petitioner seeking similar relief was unconditionally withdrawn by him and the same issues cannot be raised again In that petition the petitioner had prayed for a direction for the removal of illegally constructed police booths PTI ADS RKS RKS

New Delhi Apr 25 PTIThe Delhi High Court on Monday sought the Centres stand on a PIL that the benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana which was introduced as a relief package for the poor in 2020 after the first COVID-19 lockdown should be extended to those who are not the subscribers of the Ujjwala scheme or possess an active Jan Dhan account A bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla issued notice on the petition by Aakash Goel and asked the Centre to file its response Central government lawyer Anil Soni sought time from the court to file a status report on the matter The petitioner represented by lawyer Prashant Bhushan has claimed that the scheme is exclusionary because it leaves out of its ambit the below poverty line families who are not subscribers of the Ujjwala scheme or have an active Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana PMJDY account The grant of Rs 500 under the relief scheme was limited only to PMJDY account holders Having an active PMJDY account is a pre-requisite for availing benefit of this ex-gratia amount announced by the Union Government however this criterion is exclusionary because crores of poor women do not possess an active PMJDY account the petition stated It is further pertinent to note that the relief package granting three free gas cylinders was made available exclusively to subscribers of the Ujjwala Scheme while again arbitrarily excluding equally disadvantaged below poverty line women who were not subscribers of the said scheme it added The petitioner has argued that the classification of poor based on being PMJDY account holders or being Ujjwala subscribers is absolutely arbitrary discriminatory and devoid of reason It has further said that it is absurd that the authorities view the hardships faced by non-Ujjwala BPL households or non-PMJDY account holders as less serious than those being faced by an Ujjwala BPL households and PMJDY account holders The disbursement of relief to the people essentially belonging to same economic class and facing similar financial hardships cannot be in the absolute discretion or according to the whims and fancies of the Government It is further submitted that grant of relief under the Relief Package ought to not be allowed to become distribution of government largesse to a favoured few the petition has said It is thus prayed that a direction be issued to the authorities to conduct an identification exercise concerning the non-PMJDY account holders as well as non-Ujjwala subscribers who are eligible for the benefits of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana package and to extend the benefits to those eligible The matter would be heard next on October 28 PTI ADS RKS RKS

New Delhi Apr 24 PTI A vendor has no right to occupy the place of vending and keep his articles there round the clock and they should leave with all belongings after vending hours are over the Delhi High Court has saidA bench of acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi dealing with an application by a set of street vendors from the Okhla Industrial Area seeking to be made parties to the proceedings concerning the removal of encroachment there said a certificate of vending only entitles the street vendor to vend in terms of the conditions on which the licence is granted and they can therefore use the allotted site only during the hours provided for in the vending licenceThe vendor has no right to occupy the place of vending round the clock and to keep hisher articles at the place of vending continuously He could only come to the vending site allotted to him during the hours of vending which is permitted under the terms of the licence and he should leave the place at the end of such hours with all his belongings and goods the bench also comprising Justice Navin Chawla saidIn the application the applicants claimed that on account of the courts order passed last month in which it directed the removal of encroachments they would be uprooted from their place of vending and hence sought a direction to restrain the actionThe court opined that the application was without any merit and dismissed it while observing that it has only directed the removal of encroachment in the area and the vendors claimed to be in possession of certificates of vending issued by the authoritiesThis application has been moved by a set of street vendors who claim that they have been issued certificates of vending by the corporation Vide our order dated 24032022 we have only directed removal of encroachments in the area A certificate of vending only entitles the street vendor to vend in terms of the conditions on which the licence is granted the court statedOn March 24 the court had directed the South Delhi Municipal Corporation SDMC and other authorities concerned to take action to remove unauthorised construction and encroachment on public land in the Okhla Industrial AreaThe order was passed on a PIL initiated on its own by the court over the issue of illegal construction and encroachment on public land in the areaThe PIL committee of the high court had recommended that a July 7 2017 letter by an individual be treated as a PIL in which he had complained against illegal construction and encroachment on public land in the industrial areaIt was alleged in the letter that the illegal construction was not removed by the authorities despite judicial orders and that the local people of the area were facing issues due to illegal grabbing of public land and roads PTI ADS IJT

New Delhi Apr 23 PTI The Delhi High Court has sought the stand of the Centre Reserve Bank of India and IIT-Delhi on a plea for constituting a committee for framing of guidelines to ensure that financial services are accessible to the visually challengedA bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla issued notice on an application by George Abraham and said that it expected the respondents to provide the names of competent persons who could be part of the committeeThe application is part of the petitioners plea seeking directions to ensure that all financial services as well as bank websites internet banking facilities and mobile phone applications for financial services are made accessible to people with visual challengesIn his application the petitioner stated that his concern was not with respect to an absence of law to address access to financial services for the visually challenged but a lack of their implementation including the RBIs master circularAbraham submitted that these laws are being haphazardly implemented in spite of the RBI having wide powers to ensure compliance of its directions such as imposition of financial penaltiesFor example while some internet banking applications and ATMs have good accessibility many are still not accessible Some financial services used by the public such as digital payment wallets or vendor card payment machines appear to offer no access whatsoever for visually impaired persons the plea statedThe petitioner thus suggested that a committee be appointed to formulate steps and guidelines to address the issues concerning access to financial services for the visually impairedAbraham further suggested that the committee may comprise government and RBI representatives as well as persons with technological expertise from any institutions of repute such as IIT persons who are visually challenged and an amicus curie to assist the committee and the courtThe said approach can guide this honble court in its endeavour to uphold the rights guaranteed to the 12 million blind people and 50 million visually impaired persons in India under Articles 14 19 and 21 of the Constitution and Sections 31 131 and 2 and 42 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 the plea statedThe matter would be heard next on May 26 PTI ADS ZMN

New Delhi Apr 21 PTI The Delhi High Court Thursday said that while it cannot force the women living in a Rohini ashram under shocking conditions to live with their parents no institution has the licence to conduct its affairs in a manner that violates the fundamental rights of the inmates A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi which was hearing pleas concerning the state of affairs at Adhyatmik Vidhyalaya founded by self-styled spiritual guru Virender Dev Dixit said that it was inclined to direct the Delhi government to take over the institutions management and asked the government counsel to seek instructions The bench also comprising Justice Navin Chawla observed that the ashram was run by a baba who has been charge-sheeted by the CBI for the offence of rape and is now absconding The bench recollected an earlier report on the matter which revealed a shocking state of affairs at the institution and claimed that the women inmates were living in jail-like conditions without any doors on toilet cubicles The court also asked the counsel for CBI to file a status report on the state of the investigation in the matter There is very thorough indoctrination How can we accept that any sane person would live in these conditions Can we shut our eyes to it Who is funding it Who is managing This is shocking that this is going on in the capital We dont want that in the garb of spirituality the inhumane situation continues observed that court The court stated that it is not proposing that the ashram should be shut down but that it has to run in a manner which is consistent with the inmates rights to privacy and bodily integrity and it falls on the State to ensure that infraction of individuals fundamental rights is prevented and remedied We cant force anybody to live with their parents but they cant insist that the institute be run in a covert way We are not saying shut the institution but there has to be a supervising eye the court said We are not for a moment suggesting that the respondent institution and its inmates should not profess their spiritual and religious beliefs so long as they do not contravene any law or constitutional provision it stated The counsel for the institution vehemently opposed the takeover by the Delhi government and submitted that their rights were protected under the Constitution No minority institution gets a licence by being such an institution to conduct its affairs so as to violate the fundamental rights of the individuals particularly right to life and personal liberty Even if GNCTD were to take over and appoint an administrator the freedom of the inmates to exercise their religious and spiritual rights would not be infracted stated the court The lawyer also stated that there has never been a single complaint from the inmates concerning the commission of any sexual misconduct Earlier this week the court had asked the ashram to show cause as to why it should not be taken over by the Delhi government and said that it was difficult to accept that the inmates were living there of their free will In December 2017 on a petition by NGO Foundation for Social Empowerment the high court had asked the CBI to trace the founder of the ashram Virender Dev Dixit after raising doubts over the ashrams claims that women inmates there were not illegally confined Earlier the court had directed the CBI to probe the alleged illegal confinement of girls and women in the ashram where it was claimed they were kept in animal-like conditions behind metal doors in a fortress surrounded by barbed wire The petitioner NGO had claimed that several minors and women were allegedly being illegally confined at the spiritual university and were not allowed to meet their parents Taking note the high court had immediately set up a committee comprising lawyers and Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal to inspect the premises of the institute The committee comprising lawyers Ajay Verma and Nandita Rao then gave a report detailing the horrible living conditions of the over 100 girls and women who were housed in animal-like conditions with no privacy even for bathing The matter would be heard next on April 25PTI ADS RKS RKS

New Delhi [India], April 20 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea moved by the Delhi Waqf Board challenging the single judge bench order and seeking a stay on the transfer of a portion of a graveyard to Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

New Delhi Apr 20 PTI Pleas against the anti-encroachment drive by North Delhi Municipal Corporation in violence-hit Jahangirpuri were not taken up for hearing on Wednesday by the Delhi High Court following an order of status quo passed by the Supreme Court concerning the demolitionA bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi had agreed to list pleas against the drive for hearing during the day and asked the lawyers who mentioned the cause for urgent listing and relief in the morning to file their petitions and said I am not saying anything on stopping the demolition but that they authorities should be ready with instructions Later in the day the bench also comprising Justice Navin Chawla was informed by one of the lawyers that the Supreme Court has ordered the maintenance of the status quo on the site and agreed to hear a petition challenging the action of the civic bodies allegedly aimed against the accused of the communal offencesThe pleas including a PIL thereafter did not come up for hearing before the high courtWhen the matter was mentioned in the morning Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma told the court that the Supreme Court is already seized of the issue as certain parties were going to mention the issue there The Acting Chief Justice then said that the petitions would be heard during the day once they were filed and observed that there was nothing new and the drive was already in contemplation They have acquired force now You file it the petitions Justice Sanghi said and asked the authorities to be ready with instructionsThe high court further said that if the structures were part of a notified juggi slum cluster there was a process of rehabilitation otherwise there is no protection available The lawyer appearing for one of the aggrieved parties urged the high court to protect the dwellers till 2 pm In the aftermath of the violence some residents are not in the area and some are in custody she added The area had witnessed violent clashes including stone-pelting arson and firing between two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession on Saturday PTI ADS RKS RKS

New Delhi Apr 20 PTI The Delhi High Court Wednesday sought the stand of the Delhi government and Director General Prisons on a PIL to fill up various vacant posts in jails here and asked the authorities to initiate the process of recruitment A bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla issued notice on the plea by a lawyer and sought a status report from the respondents concerning the sanctioned strength and status of vacancies in prisons The respondents must immediately initiate the process of filling vacancies if not already initiated and expedite the process the court said Advocate Amit Sahni claimed that the Delhi Prisons are facing a staff shortage of over 20 per cent and urged the court to issue directions to the authorities to fill vacancies of medical officers welfare officers counsellors teachers vocational counsellors etc The plea has stated that although there are about 18000 prisoners lodged in jails and the requirement of guarding staff is 3000there is an acute shortage of guarding staff which results in hindrance in prison administration The petition has also prayed for the constitution of the Board of Visitors Service Board State Advisory Board and Prison Development Board in terms of the Delhi Prison Act 2000 and DelhiPrison Rules 2018 in the larger interest of prisoners lodged in Delhi jails and the prison administration The matter would be heard next in July PTI ADS RKS RKS

New Delhi [India], April 20 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday agreed to hear the petitions against the anti-encroachment drive in the Jahangirpuri area where violence broke out last week.