New Delhi Apr 26 PTI The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the consequences of scuttling criminal process at a pre-trial stage can be grave and irreparableA bench of Justices K M Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy passed the verdict while dealing with a plea seeking quashing of summons issued by the magistrate court in a cheque bounce case under the Negotiable Instruments ActIt said The consequences of scuttling the criminal process at a pre-trial stage can be grave and irreparable Quashing proceedings at preliminary stages will result in finality without the parties having had an opportunity to adduce evidence and the consequence then is that the proper forum ie the trial Court is ousted from weighing the material evidenceThe bench said that if this is allowed the accused may be given an un-merited advantage in the criminal processAlso because of the legal presumption when the cheque and the signature are not disputed by the appellant the balance of convenience at this stage is in favour of the complainantprosecution as the accused will have due opportunity to adduce defence evidence during the trial to rebut the presumption it saidThe bench said that in a situation where the accused moves Court for quashing even before trial has commenced the Courts approach should be careful enough to not to prematurely extinguish the case by disregarding the legal presumption which supports the complaintAt any rate whenever facts are disputed the truth should be allowed to emerge by weighing the evidence it saidDealing with the facts of the case the bench said on careful reading of the complaint and the order passed by the magistrate what is discernible is that a possible view is taken that the cheques drawn were in discharge of a debt for purchase of sharesIn any case when there is legal presumption it would not be judicious for the quashing Court to carry out a detailed enquiry on the facts alleged without first permitting the trial Court to evaluate the evidence of the parties The quashing Court should not take upon itself the burden of separating the wheat from the chaff where facts are contested it saidTo say it differently the quashing proceedings must not become an expedition into the merits of factual dispute so as to conclusively vindicate either the complainant or the defence the bench saidThe proposition of law as set out makes it abundantly clear that the Court should be slow to grant the relief of quashing a complaint at a pre-trial stage when the factual controversy is in the realm of possibility particularly because of the legal presumption as in this matter it saidThe bench said that what is also of note is that the factual defence without having to adduce any evidence need to be of an unimpeachable quality so as to altogether disprove the allegations made in the complaintSituated thus to non-suit the complainant at the stage of the summoning order when the factual controversy is yet to be canvassed and considered by the trial court will not in our opinion be judicious the bench saidIt added that based upon a prima facie impression an element of criminality cannot entirely be ruled out here subject to the determination by the trial Court Therefore when the proceedings are at a nascent stage scuttling of the criminal process is not merited it saidThe bench did not find any fault with the verdict of Delhi High Court which has refused to interfere with the orders of magistrate to issue summons and said in our assessment the impugned judgment is rendered by applying the correct legal principles and the High Court rightly declined relief to the accused in the quashing proceedingHaving said this to rebut the legal presumption against him the appellant must also get a fair opportunity to adduce his evidence in an open trial by an impartial judge who can dispassionately weigh the material to reach the truth of the matter the bench said PTI MNL RHL

New Delhi Apr 25 PTI The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to file a well-considered reply on a plea seeking formulation of a Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices to curb unethical practices of Pharma companies and ensure an effective monitoring mechanism transparency accountability as well as consequences of violationsA bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant told Additional Solicitor General ASG KM Nataraj that he should file a reply that is comprehensive and prepared after proper deliberationYour reply should be a considered one and not a normal reply We should not be looking for anything else Have proper deliberation and file the reply the bench said and posted the matter for further hearing after eight weeks on the request of the ASGAt the outset senior advocate Sanjay Parikh and advocate Aparna Bhat told the court that the Centre must file a reply because the issue is very important and they should clear their stand whether they want it to be voluntary or it will be statutoryOn March 11 the top court had agreed to examine the plea and sought a response from the Centre saying it wants to know what the government has to say on this issueParikh appearing for petitioner Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives Association of India had said that this is an important issue in the public interest and there is a recent judgement by this court which had held that both bribe-giver and bribe-taker are prohibitedHe had said that Pharmaceutical companies are saying that they are not liable as the bribe-takers are the doctors and in foreign countries they have legislation to curb these unethical marketing practicesParikh had said that the government should look into it and the code should be made statutory as we all know what happened with Remdesivir injections and other drugs of those combinationsThe senior lawyer had said that they have already made a representation to the government and have been pursuing it since 2009 and till the time the government comes out with a code this court may lay down some guidelinesThe plea filed through advocate Aparna Bhat sought direction that till an effective law is enacted as prayed this Court may lay down the guidelines to control and regulate unethical marketing practices by pharmaceutical companies or in the alternative make the existing Code binding with proper and reasonable modificationsadditions which should be followed by all the authoritiescourts under Articles 32 141 142 and 144 of the ConstitutionThe plea added that the Indian Medical Council Professional Conduct Etiquette and Ethics Regulations of 2002 prescribe a Code of conduct for doctors in their relationship with the pharmaceutical and allied health sector industry and prohibit acceptance of gifts and entertainment travel facilities hospitality cash or monetary grants by medical practitioners from Pharmaceutical companiesThis Code is enforceable against doctors however does not apply to drug companies leading to anomalous situations where doctors licenses are cancelled for misconduct which is actuated encouraged aided and abetted by pharma companies The pharma companies go scot-free it addedThe plea said that though termed as sales promotion in fact direct or indirect advantages are offered to doctors as gifts and entertainment sponsored foreign trips hospitality and other benefits in exchange for an increase in drug salesIt said that unethical drug promotion can adversely influence doctors prescription attitudes and harm human health by overuseover-prescription of drugs prescription of higher doses of drugs than necessary prescription of drugs for a longer period than necessary prescription of a higher number of drugs than necessary and prescription of an irrational combination of drugsIt said that the pharmaceutical companies use high-pressure promotion practices to lure physicians to prescribe irrational combination drugs to generate massive salesThese drugs are usually without approval in medical texts and are potentially injurious to health Hundreds of these combinations have been banned by the Government of India on several occasions however drug companies have managed to continue flooding the Indian pharmaceutical markets with combination drugs it saidThe plea said that since 2005 the Petitioners have been seeking effective prevention and control of unethical marketing practices in the pharma industry by way of an enforceable Code of Ethical Marketing through regular interaction with the CentrePetitioners seek enforcement of the fundamental right to health enshrined in the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India in view of the ever-increasing instances of unethical marketing practices by Pharmaceutical Companies in their dealings with healthcare professionals resulting in the prescription of excessive andor irrational drugs and a push for high-cost andor over-priced brands which are practices that directly affect citizens health violating their rights under Article 21 of Constitution it saidThe plea said that there are abundant examples that show how corruption in the pharmaceutical sector endangers positive health outcomes and puts patients health at riskIt said that no enforceable law exists which regulates the promotion of drugs by pharmaceutical companies vis--vis healthcare professionals and therefore unethical practices continue unfettered PTI MNL MNL RKS RKS

New Delhi Apr 22 PTI The Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant bail to Maharashtra cabinet minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik in a case of money laundering saying the probe is at a nascent stageA bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant said it will not interfere with the Bombay High Court order of March 15 but Malik can avail the remedy available under the law before the trial courtSenior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for Malik said they arrested me in 2022 for something that happened in 1999He said there is no case under the Prevention of Money Laundering PMLA made out as there is no predicate offenceThe bench said the investigation it is at a very nascent stage and that it will not interfere with the high court orderOn March 15 the Bombay High Court had rejected Maliks interim application seeking immediate release in a case of money laundering saying just because the special PMLA courts order remanding him in custody is not in his favour it does not make that order illegal or wrongThe Enforcement Directorate had arrested Malik in February under provisions of the PMLA after which he had filed a habeas corpus plea in the high court claiming his arrest by the ED and the consequent remands were illegalThe HC had said Maliks counsel had argued before the PMLA court and vehemently opposed the EDs request for the ministers custodyYet the special court had remanded him to EDs custody and subsequently to judicial custody based on valid legal groundsThe high court had said that the minister still had the option to apply for bail in the case before the special courtIt had held that Malik was arrested by the ED in accordance with the law and subsequently been remanded to the probe agencys custody and then to judicial custody following due processTherefore there was no reason for the high court to pass any interim order directing Maliks release from custody it had saidMalik was arrested by the ED over a property deal allegedly linked to the aides of gangster Dawood IbrahimThe central agency has accused Malik of being part of an alleged criminal conspiracy to usurp a property in Mumbais Kurla area which currently has a market value of Rs 300 crore and belongs rightfully to one Munira PlumberMalik contended before the HC that he had bought the property in a bonafide transaction three decades ago and Plumber has now changed her mind about the transaction PTI MNL MNL DV DV

New Delhi Apr 20 PTI The Supreme Court on Wednesday stopped the anti-encroachment drive by authorities in violence-hit Jahangirpuri area here and agreed to hear a petition challenging the action of the civic bodies allegedly aimed against the riot accused A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana ordered status quo in the present situation and said the petition would be listed before an appropriate bench Senior advocate Dushyant Dave mentioned a petition against the special joint encroachment removal action of civic bodies including the NDMC and the PWD and said a completely unauthorised and unconstitutional demolition has been ordered He alleged that the demolition which was to start at 2 pm on Wednesday has begun at 9 am and no mandatory notice for demolition has been served on the alleged violators The area had witnessed violent clashes including stone pelting arson and firing between two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession on Saturday Eight police personnel and a local resident had sustained injuriesPTI SJK DV DV

New Delhi Apr 19 PTI The Supreme Court Tuesday modified its earlier order regarding the eligibility criteria for Civil Judges in Delhi Judicial Service for promotion as District Judges through Limited Departmental Competitive Examination LDCEA three-judge bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao B R Gavai and Aniruddha Bose said the Civil Judges having seven years of qualifying service five years as Civil Judge Junior Division and two years as Civil Judge Senior Division or 10 years qualifying service as Civil Judge Junior Division will be eligible for promotion as District Judges strictly based on merit through LDCEAs per the earlier policy the eligibility for LDCE promotion was the requirement of five years of qualifying service as a Civil Judge Senior Division and 10 years total qualifying as a Civil Judge Junior DivisionWe direct that henceforth only 10 per cent of the cadre strength of District Judges be filled up by Limited Departmental Competitive Examination with those candidates who have qualified service of seven years five years as Civil Judge Junior Division and two years as Civil Judge Senior Division or 10 years qualifying service as Civil JudgeJunior Division the bench saidThe apex court said the very purpose for providing the channel of promotion through LDCE was to provide an incentive to the officers amongst the relatively junior officers to improve and to compete with each other so as to excel and get a quicker promotion The top court said that it is not in dispute that in the High Court of Delhi the nature of work to be performed by the Civil Judge Junior Division and Civil Judge Senior Division is the same This is a peculiar situation prevailing in the High Court of Delhi where except for the difference in PayScale there is no difference with regard to the powers to be exercised and the duties to be discharged by the said judges It is also not in dispute that the present ratio of Civil Judge Junior Division to Civil Judge Senior Division is 8020The High Court of Delhi has already moved the Principal Secretary LJ LA Government of NCT of Delhi for the increase of quota of Civil Judge Senior Division to 25 per cent from 20 per cent ie an increase 12 from 96 Civil Judges Senior Division to 121 Civil Judges Senior Division out of a total strength of 482 the top court saidThe order came on pleas filed by two judicial officers in the cadre of Delhi Judicial Service PTI PKS RKS RKS

New Delhi Mar 31 PTI The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would hear on April 12 the matter relating to a dispute between low-cost airline SpiceJet and media baron Kalanithi Maran and his Kal Airways over payment of interest in connection with a share-transfer issueOn February 14 Kal Airways and Maran had told the apex court that they were not agreeable to two proposals to settle their dispute with SpiceJet on payment of interest in connection with the share-transfer issue as the low-cost airline owed them around Rs 920 crore in pursuance of an arbitral awardA bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana while observing that the endeavour should be to settle the dispute said it would hear the matter on April 12SpiceJet in its first offer had proposed that it would pay Rs 300 crore towards a full-and-final settlement of the dispute or secondly of the bank guarantee of Rs 270 crore deposited with the Delhi High Court it would give Rs 100 crore for now and an order will be passed by the apex court urging the high court to expeditiously decide the case related to the arbitral awardThey Kal Airways and Maran have considered the offer made by my friend senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing in the matter on behalf of SpiceJet But they have not found them acceptable senior counsel Maninder Singh who was assisted by Karanjawala and Company had told the top court on February 14The bench was hearing SpiceJets appeal against the November 2 2020 order of the high court asking the airline to deposit around Rs 243 crore as interest in connection with the share-transfer dispute with its former promoter Maran and Kal AirwaysPrior to this on November 7 2020 the apex court had stayed the Delhi High Court order asking SpiceJet to deposit around Rs 243 crore as interest in connection with the share-transfer disputeSpiceJet and its promoter Ajay Singh were asked to deposit around Rs 243 crore as interest payable on Rs 579 crore which the high court had in 2017 asked the airline to deposit under the 2018 arbitration award in the share-transfer disputeThe high court had granted six weeks to SpiceJet to make the payment and the deadline for the same according to a September 2 order expired on October 14 2020After this Maran and his firm had moved the high court for attachment of the entire shareholding of Singh in Spicejet and taking over the management for the non-payment of Rs 243 croreThe top court had taken note of Spicejets appeal and passed the interim order staying the high court orderMaran and Kal Airways had moved the high court over the share-transfer dispute with SpiceJet demanding that 18 crore warrants redeemable as equity shares be transferred to themOn July 29 2016 the high court had asked both parties to settle the dispute under arbitrationIt had directed SpiceJet and Singh to deposit Rs 579 crore in the high courts registrySpiceJet was permitted to furnish a bank guarantee for Rs 329 crore and make a cash deposit of the remaining sum of Rs 250 crore by the high courtThe apex court in July 2017 had dismissed SpiceJets appeal against the high court orderOn July 20 2018 the arbitral tribunal had rejected Marans claim of damages of Rs 1323 crore for not issuing the warrants to him and Kal Airways but had awarded him a refund of Rs 579 crore plus interestMaran the owner of Sun TV Network then moved the high court against the arbitration awardThe matter pertained to a dispute arising out of non-issuance of warrants in favour of Maran after the transfer of ownership to Singh the controlling shareholder of SpiceJetThe dispute started after Singh took back control of SpiceJet in February 2015 amid the airline facing a financial crisisMaran and Kal Airways had transferred their entire 3504 crore equity shares in SpiceJet amounting to a 5846 per cent stake in the airline to its co-founder Singh in February 2015 for just Rs 2 PTI ABA RC

New Delhi Mar 30 PTI The Supreme Court Wednesday directed the Centre to maintain status quo till Thursday in the mop-up round of NEET-PG 2021-22 counselling and asked the Director General of Health Services DGHS to reconsider the issues including the decision of adding 146 new seatsThe apex court observed that these 146 seats were not available to the candidates in the previous rounds of counselling and they had no opportunity to participate in these seatsA bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud said these seats have been allocated to students who are lower in merits than those who were allotted seats in the rounds one and two of the counsellingThe bench also comprising Justices Surya Kant and Bela M Trivedi said this is one of the aspects which needs to be revisited by the DGHSThe top court is hearing petitions filed by a group of doctors seeking to participate in mop-up round of NEET-PG 2021-22 counselling During the hearing the bench observed that the second aspect was regarding non-uniform application of the March 16 noticeIn one of the petitions the petitioners have challenged the Medical Counselling Committee notice dated March 16 which restrains the participation in the mop-up round counselling if the candidate has already picked up seats in state quotaThe bench observed that as a consequence of the March 16 notice candidates who are allotted seats in rounds one and two in the state quota are prevented from participating in the mop-up counselling for the All India quotaIt observed that prima facie the notice has not been followed uniformly and this might cast a doubt as to whether allocation of seats in the All India quota in mop-up round is fairThe bench asked the Centre to respond on these issues on Thursday and said until then status quo in the mop-up round counselling be maintainedOn March 28 the apex court had asked the DGHS to respond to a batch of petitions filed by a group of doctors seeking to participate in the mop-up round of NEET-PG 2021-22 counsellingSenior advocate Gopal Sankaranaryanan appearing for some of the petitioners had said that notices have been issued by the DGHS bringing into new seats which were not available to them and now students who were below in merit will be getting better seatsOne group of petitions before the top court filed by doctors said that they had participated in round one of the counselling and had joined one discipline but were not allowed to upgrade in round two and sought permission to appear in mop-up round PTI MNL ABA SA

New Delhi Mar 30 PTI The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre and the Karnataka government to clear stand on export of extracted iron ore in the state saying either it has to be consumed or sold A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to seek instructions on the issue and file response by April 8The top also directed the Central Empowered Committee appointed by SC and the monitoring committee to submit a status report indicating the approximate available quantity of iron ore on groundThere is no meaning of keeping extracted iron on the ground Either it has to be consumed sold or taken off the ground Let us first clear the ground then we will see what to do By virtue of that the state government and development fund may get some money said the bench also comprising Justices Krishna Murari and Hima KohliThe apex court had earlier refused to lift the ban on export of iron ore pellets from Karnataka-based minersWhile private miners had sought lifting of ban on iron ore exports the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee CEC had ruled out any possibility of allowing export of iron ore pellets from KarnatakaThe apex court has been passing orders since 2009 in a PIL filed by NGO Samaj Parivartana Samudaya which had alleged various irregularities in mining activities in the state PTI PKS SA

New Delhi Mar 28 PTI The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from the Centre on a plea by the Kerala Union of Working Journalists challenging a Kerala High Court order upholding a ban on the telecast of a Malayalam news channel A bench of justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant issued notice and tagged it along with the plea filed by the channel itself while directing that a copy be served to the central agency On March 15 the top court had stayed till further orders the January 31 directive of the Centre revoking the licence of Malayalam news channel MediaOne and banning its telecast on security grounds It had said the news and current affairs channel will continue its operations as it was doing prior to the ban We are of the view that the case of grant of interim relief has been made out We order and direct that order dated January 31 2022 of the Union government revoking the security clearance of Madhyamam Broadcasting Ltd stands stayed pending further orders the top court had ordered The petitioners Madhyamam Broadcasting Ltd and Pramod Raman editor of the channel and others shall be permitted to continue operating the news and current affairs channel MediaOne on the same basis as it was operating prior to the revocation of clearances it had said The top court had passed the order after perusing the files placed before it by the Centre on the basis of which security clearance was revoked and the Kerala High Court had passed the order upholding the ban on the telecast It had left the question open on whether the content of files on the basis of which the ban order was passed be given to the channel to enable it to defend itself On March 10 the top court had sought the Centres response to the channels plea against the Kerala High Court order upholding the Centres decision to ban its telecast on security grounds It had asked the Centre to place on record the file which was relied on by the high court The Kerala High Court had upheld the Centres decision to bar the telecast of the Malayalam news channel and dismissed the plea of Madhyamam Broadcasting Ltd -- which operates MediaOne -- challenging the central governments January 31 decision The high court had said that the decision of the Ministry of Home Affairs MHA to deny security clearance was based on intelligence inputs received from various agencies The channel had contended that MHA clearance was only required at the time for fresh permissionlicence and not at the time of renewal It had also contended that according to the uplinking and downlinking guidelines security clearance was only required at the time of application for fresh permission and not at the time of renewal of licence PTI MNL MNL RT RT

New Delhi Mar 28 PTI The Supreme Court on Monday sought the AAP governments response to a plea challenging a Delhi High Court order granting bail to a man accused of kidnapping and murdering a city jewellers 13-year-old son in 2014A bench of justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant issued notice to the Delhi government and the accused on the appeal filed by the parents of the deceased childThe appeal filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey has challenged the March 2 order of the high court granting regular bail to accused Pratap Singh Sisodia It is submitted that the impugned order is unsustainable in law and on its own facts and therefore the petitioners are approaching this Honble court as the State has failed to prefer any appeal against the impugned order The high court granted bail to respondent No 2 accused Pratap Singh Sisodia thereby ignoring the material aspect of the case such as allegations the severity of punishment if the allegations are proved beyond reasonable doubt and would result in a conviction and without any cogent reasons the plea said The parents have contended that the high court failed to appreciate the gravity and nature of the offence As per the CCTV footage the accused along with co-accused was captured in the CCTV footage on their scooty The dead body of the kidnapped child was discovered on November 19 2014 and as per the Post Mortem report the child was strangulated the plea said The high court has granted bail without at all considering in its order the heinous nature of the crime and the overwhelming evidence against the accused in the charge sheet it claimedThe court did not consider the interference of respondent No 2 accused with respect to the victim and the witnesses the likelihood of the respondent No 2 accused fleeing from justice and repeating the offence and the possibility of his tampering with the witnesses and obstructing the course of justice the plea said The victim Utkarsh Verma was kidnapped in the afternoon when he was dropped by his school cab near his residence on November 18 2014 and his body was found inside a drain the next morningAccording to police Sisodia wanted to be an actor and had even gone to Mumbai last year where he did an acting course He was good at changing voices a trick he used while making calls to the childs parentsDuring interrogation Pratap revealed that he had opened a call centre in partnership and needed Rs 20 lakh to buy the share from his partner so that he can become the sole ownerSo he hatched a conspiracy to kidnap the boy with his friend Siddharth who also wanted to make quick money for establishing his own business of car accessories PTI PKS RT RT