New Delhi Mar 24 PTI The Supreme Court on Thursday transferred to the CBI the investigation in multiple cases against former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh over allegations of misconduct and corruption saying a very murky affair is going on amid echelons of powerA bench of justices S K Kaul and M M Sundresh said a thorough investigation is required to regain the faith of people in the state policeThe exigencies in the advancement of principles of justice require the investigation to be transferred to CBI We are not saying appellant Singh is a whistle-blower or anyone involved in this case is washed with milk the bench said while allowing the appeal filed by SinghThe bench also refused to revoke the suspension of Singh and said all future FIRs too will be transferred to the CBIWe are unable to accept the contention that an FIR is registered by those who had complaints against the petitioner We are of the view that the state itself should have allowed CBI to carry the investigationWe are of the prima facie view that there is some concerted effort which needs the investigation by CBI What is the truth who is at fault how does such a scenario come to prevail is something which investigation must get into CBI must hold an impartial inquiry into all these aspects the court saidThe bench however noted it was not commenting on the merits of the allegations as it does not want the investigation to be influenced in any mannerWe do not want the investigation to be influenced by the observation of this court The High Court Bombay has treated this as a service dispute which it is not and thus we set aside the HC verdict We allow the appeal and direct the probe into 5 FIRs and three PEs be transferred to CBI with all recordsSuch transfer to be completed within one week and all officials to extend full cooperation to CBI to try arrive at the truth the bench saidOn departmental enquiry against Singh the bench said it would be appropriate to await the result of the investigation now entrusted to CBIWe dont know if this is the end of the road or more FIRs may be registered arising from the period the petitioner had served in Maharashtra If any further FIRs are registered that too shall be transferred to CBI Needless to say we are not revoking the suspension This order shall continue subject to any legal remedy as may be available to the appellant the bench saidAt the outset Singhs counsel senior advocate Puneet Bali submitted that an independent probe by CBI is necessary to ascertain the truth in the caseMy police officers were called and asked to collect 100 crores from bars etc for the then Home Minister The police officials who complained against me are being reinstated The cases filed by Maharashtra government is a clear case of victimisation since this was based on baseless allegations he saidAdditional Solicitor General K M Nataraj appearing for CBI argued that allegations against Singh are connected with the ongoing investigation against former home minister Anil Deshukh and the case should be handed over to the CBI for thorough investigationThe issue needs to be probed by the CBI for a thorough and impartial probe If any other agency also probes this along with CBI then it may create hurdles and overlapping of subject matter There cannot be a parallel investigation Nataraj saidSenior advocate Darius Khambata appearing for the Maharashtra government opposed the transfer of investigation to the CBI and said it would then demoralise the police force of the stateParam Bir Singh seeks to adopt the mantle of a whistleblower now after being at the head of this system He writes this letter to the Chief Minister and somehow he thinks that this letter will grant him some kind of immunity Khambata saidThe apex court at this juncture said No he is not claiming any immunity He says investigate everything against me Here a very murky affair is going on amid echelons of power on who should investigate He is not saying quash the FIR Let me make it very clear that I am not treating Param Bir Singh as a whistleblower These are fallouts when people fall uponTherefore a thorough investigation here is also in the interest of the state It is reflecting on the state where the home minister and the police commissioner are involved in serious allegations Justice Kaul saidKhambata contended that the only reason for CBI probe is to have a thorough and impartial investigation and they say it concerns extortion of money from dance bars etcAll this is based on media reports he saidThe bench then said Media reports dont bother us Yesterday the political dispensation of the Maharashtra government made statements about how they may not get a fair hearing at the hands of the judiciary and it was in press today and we read it This has become a habit We have also got used to handling them But this has not bothered us We throw them in the dustbin where they deserve to be thrown Singh is facing multiple cases of extortion corruption and misconduct and was removed from the post of Mumbai police chief over his alleged mishandling of the Antilia bomb scare caseThe top court had granted him a major relief on November 22 when it directed the Maharashtra Police not to arrest him in criminal cases lodged against him and wondered if he was being hounded for filing cases against police officers and extortionists what could happen to a common manThe Maharashtra Police had earlier told the apex court that Singh cannot be considered a whistleblower under the law as he chose to speak out against alleged corruption involving former state home minister Anil Deshmukh only after he was transferredSeeking dismissal of Singhs plea for a CBI probe into the entire matter and against any coercive action by the state the Maharashtra government had filed an affidavit in the apex court and said that the ongoing investigation in criminal cases against the former top police officer should not be interfered withPrior to this the Bombay High Court had dismissed Singhs petition seeking quashing of inquiries initiated against him by the Maharashtra government and said he can approach the Central Administrative Tribunal holding it was a service matter It had rejected his claim that the governments action was a consequence of his allegations of corruption against Deshmukh PTI PKS ZMN

New Delhi Mar 24 PTI The Supreme Court Thursday transferred to CBI the investigation against former police commissioner Param Bir Singh over the allegations of misconduct and corruptionA very murky affair is going on amid echelons of power on who should investigate the matter a bench of Justices S K Kaul and M M Sundresh saidThe apex court said a thorough investigation is required to regain faith of people in the state policeThe bench said We are unable to accept the contention that an FIR is registered by those who had complaints against the petitioner We are of the view that state itself should have allowed CBI to carry the investigationWe are of the prima facie view that there is some concerted effort which needs the investigation by CBI What is the truth who is at fault how does such scenario come to prevail is something which investigation must get into CBI must hold an impartial inquiry into all these aspectsThe top court said it was not commenting on merits of the allegations as it does not want the investigation to be influenced in any mannerWe do not want the investigation to be influenced by the observation of this court The High Court has treated this as a service dispute which it is not and thus we set aside the HC verdict We allow the appeal and direct the probe into 5 FIRs be transferred to CBI with all records Such transfer to be completed within one week and all officials to extend full cooperation to CBI to try arrive at the truth the bench said PTI PKS SA

New Delhi Feb 26 PTI A candidate cannot be permitted to approach for the redressal of his grievance at any stage of time during a recruitment process the Supreme Court has saidA bench of justices S K Kaul and M M Sundresh said there has to be a closure to the process of recruitment and that it cannot go on indefinitelyIn our view in a recruitment process a candidate cannot be permitted to approach for redressal howsoever may be the genuineness of the grievance at any stage of time as there has to be a closure to the process of recruitment the bench saidThe top courts observation came while hearing an appeal filed by a man who had applied for the post of sub-assistant engineer civil in 1999The appellant cleared the medical fitness test but his appointment could not take place as the police verification report was not receivedThe petitioner claimed that he waited for about seven years for getting the appointment letter and only thereafter approached the State Administrative Tribunal SATHis application was directed to be considered and in 2006 it is stated that the Public Works Department PWD put only one aspect against the appellant -- non-receipt of the police verification reportIn the second application filed by the appellant he sought a direction for foregoing the police verification report as he had suffered for about eight years The tribunal however rejected the claim on the ground that the appellant had not made the representation to know the fate of the police verification reportThe appellant assailed the decision of the tribunal before the Calcutta High Court which dismissed the case on the ground that the appellant is a Bangladeshi citizenThe top court said the fact that the advertisement was of 1999 and it is 2022 now itself is an impediment to any relief to the appellantIn case of an advertisement dated 1999 the appellant cannot be permitted to plead that he was waiting for seven long years for getting an appointment letter and then woke up to file the OA before the State Administrative TribunalThis itself is a ground to non-suit the appellant In view of the aforesaid we are not commenting on the factual correctness of the police verification report which is sought to be disputed by the appellant The appeal is accordingly dismissed the bench said PTI PKS RC

New Delhi Feb 25 PTI In a significant order the Supreme Court on Friday said the Allahabad High Court can consider granting bail to the convicts who are not repeat offenders and have served 14 years or more as jail terms as sentence as this would ensure massive decline in pendencyThe apex court also said the convicts who have served jail terms between 10 to 14 years can be considered for bail during the pendency of their appeals against conviction in the high courtThe Allahabad High Court and its Lucknow benches had approximately 183000 Criminal Appeals pending as of August 2021 and there are 7214 convicts in various jails across Uttar Pradesh who have already undergone more than 10 years of their conviction and their criminal appeals are pending adjudication in the high courtA bench comprising Justices S K Kaul and M M Sundresh was exasperated over the non-formulation of common template by the Allahabad High Court and the Uttar Pradesh government to deal with the issue of bail to convicts who have served out considerable period of sentence and no likelihood of hearing of their appeals in near futureThe bench then went on to grant bail in 21 such cases filed against the denial of bail to convicts by the high courtThe fact remains If a convict has served out 14 or more than 14 years of the sentence then his case is likely to be considered for remission The court should either direct the state authorities that his application for remission be considered within three months or enlarge him on bail the bench observedIt asked the counsel for the high court and the state government to note its directions on consideration and grant of bail to convicts The court said We have put the word to the learned counsel A list should be prepared of all cases where the persons have served out the jail sentences of 14 years and are not a repeat offenderIn these cases bail can be granted in one go Second category of persons could be one where the persons have served out more than 10 years sentence and In these cases bail can be granted at one go unless there are any accentuated circumstances These two parameters can be followed The bench asked the counsel for the high court to convey its views and to this the lawyer said though he was appearing on the administrative side he would pass on the directions of this courtIf a person has served out 14 years of imprisonment then I do not understand as to why the bail is not considered on grounds that the lawyer was present or the lawyer not present There has to be a repeat offender or something like that for opposing or denying the bail Justice Kaul observed during the hearingThe bench said that it took 15 to 20 minutes in deciding the 20 odd bail applications and the same can be done in the high court by preparing the list of cases where the convicts have served either 14 or more or between 10 to 14 years of jail termWe wanted the high court to find a solution otherwise we could have done it earlier but we did not do it because we wanted the high court to find the template But frankly both of us were exasperated today so we decided on these Template has to be there The template which was sought to be implemented earlier was so complex the bench saidEarlier the top court had asked both the Uttar Pradesh government and officials of Allahabad High Court to sit together and jointly submit the suggestions for regulating the matters of bail applications during the pendency of the appeals of the convicted personsThe top court had said that if the suggestions are not given then it may formulate some guidelines on its ownIt had said that Allahabad High Court registry has 20-25 page suggestions which are like counter-suggestions to those already given by Uttar Pradesh governmentThe top court was hearing criminal appeals of the convicts in heinous offences seeking bail on the ground that they have spent seven or more years in jail and be granted bail as their appeals against the convictions are yet to be listed for regular hearing in the high court due to the long pendencyThe high court has given a slew of suggestions to the top court like in cases of serious and grave offences rights of the victim and his family should be considered before granting bail to an accusedIt suggested to the top court that a victim impact assessment report should be obtained after consulting the victim and the report should clearly state all concerns along with vital information on physical mental and social impact of the crime and impact the bail may have on the victimThe high courts registry had given its suggestions to the top court in pursuance of an earlier order asking it to help in laying down broad parameters for regulating the matters of bail applications during the pendency of the appeals of the convicted personsOn August 23 last year the UP government had suggested to the top court that bail pleas of life convicts if they have undergone 10 years of jail term and in other cases where half of the period of the maximum sentence awarded have been spent can be considered by the High CourtIt had said that to ensure public peace and the well-being of the society life convicts who are hardened criminals repeat offenders kidnappers in crimes related to massacre three or more than three murders habitual criminals and fall in prohibited categories as per the UP Jail Standing Policy - no bail should be granted PTI SJK SA

New Delhi Feb 21 PTI The Supreme Court Monday sought response from the Centre and states on a plea seeking direction for enacting well defined lawsrules to ensure adherence to the fundamental duties as enshrined in the ConstitutionA bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M M Sundresh issued notice on the plea filed by Supreme Court lawyer Durga DuttThe plea sought issuance of directives ensuring adherence to the mandates as postulated under Part IV-A of the Constitution and said that non-adherence to them has a direct bearing on the exercise and enjoyment of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14 19 21 for formulation and operationalisation of appropriate scheme providing incentives to the citizenry for their adherenceMoreover it may be just and appropriate for this court to frame guidelines for regulation and effective implementation for fundamental duties in exercise of the plenary and extra-ordinary power of this court under Article 32 and 142 of the Constitution until the scheme in this regard is formalised by the respondents said the plea filed through advocate Karunakar MahalikThe plea said the fundamental duties are intended to serve as a constant reminder to every citizen that while the Constitution conferred on them certain fundamental rights specifically it also requires citizens to observe certain basic norms of democratic conduct and behaviour because rights and duties are correlativeThe fundamental duties are an important tool to protect the unity and integrity of several institutions including the judiciary It is submitted that every citizen must learn how to respect the institutions of this country There have been cases where Fundamental Duties have been brazenly flouted by the people including the officers of the law and which in turn resulted in violation of fundamental rights of other citizen the plea saidDutt said his plea aims to address the issue of national importance and to promote commitment amongst citizens towards each other and towards the nation as it contributes towards development and progress of the nationThe petitioner is constrained to invoke the jurisdiction of this court because the existing laws are inadequate for ensuring performance of the fundamental duties it saidThe plea further added that except for some scattered legislations there is neither a uniform policy nor a comprehensive code for enforcement of fundamental dutiesIt said that while citizens show a serious concern towards fundamental rights they often forget that there is a corresponding Constitutional and moral obligation upon them to perform the fundamental dutiesIt is further apt to state that at the advent of COVID-19 pandemic and then the manner in which it was cynically exploited to stoke communalism on social media and TV channels Therefore it is need of the hour that certain moral obligations be converted to legal obligations by enacting legislation and framing guidelines so that if in future such situation arises we as a nation shall be seen standing together with united efforts it saidThe plea also sought direction for setting up of an independent high-powered committee headed by a retired chief justice or judge of this court or High Court and consisting of distinguished citizens from different fieldsprofessions and concerned officials of the stakeholders and the respondents to scrutinise and review the entire legal framework relating to the effective implementation of Part IV-A of the Constitution and recommendation of appropriate guidelines needed to be laid down by this courtIt sought directions to Centre and states for framing of guidelines for taking appropriate steps to sensitize people and spread general awareness among the citizens in relation to performance of fundamental duties under the Constitution PTI MNL SA

New Delhi Nov 22 PTI The Supreme Court Monday granted protection from arrest to former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh in criminal cases lodged against him in Maharashtra and sought responses from the state government its DGP and the CBI on his plea Singh who had accused the then Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh of corruption has alleged frame up in criminal cases Besides seeking protection from coercive steps Singh has sought CBI probe into the entire issue involving him A bench comprising Justices S K Kaul and M M Sundresh issued notices to the Maharashtra government its DGP Sanjay Pande and the CBI on Singhs plea Issue notice Returnable on December 6 In the meantime the petitioner shall join the investigation and shall not be arrested the bench ordered PTI SJK SA

New Delhi Oct 21 PTI The Supreme Court on Thursday said farmers protesting at Delhi borders against the three farms laws have the right to agitate but they cannot block roads indefinitelyA bench headed by Justice S K Kaul said it was not against the right to protest even when the legal challenge is pending but ultimately some solution has to be found Farmers have right to protest but they cannot keep roads blocked indefinitely You may have a right to agitate in any manner but roads should not be blocked like this People have right to go on roads but it cannot be blocked the bench also comprising Justice M M Sundresh saidThe top court asked the farmer unions who have been arrayed as parties in the case to respond within three weeks on the issue and posted the matter for hearing on December 7The apex court was hearing a PIL filed by a Noida-resident Monicca Agarwal complaining of delays in daily commute caused due to the road blockade owing to the ongoing farmers protests Farmers have been camping at Delhi borders to demand that the three agri laws be rolled backPTI PKS DV DV

New Delhi Aug 26 PTI Nine new judges including three women were on Thursday appointed to the Supreme Court with President Ram Nath Kovind signing their warrants of appointment sources in the government saidA formal notification would be issued shortly they saidThe new judges of the top court include Justice B V Nagarathna who will be in line to be the first woman Chief Justice of India CJI in September 2027 Justice Bela M Trivedi Justice Hema Kohli Justice C T Ravikumar Justice M M Sundresh and senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General P S NarasimhaJustices Abhay Shreeniwas Oka Vikram Nath and Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari are also among those appointed to the Supreme Court PTI NAB NAB DV DV