No contempt proceedings against ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi
NEW DELHI: Attorney General K K Venugopal has refused to grant sanction to initiate contempt proceedings against former Chief Justice of India (CJI) and Rajya Sabha lawmaker Ranjan Gogoi for his alleged statements against the apex judiciary. Activist Saket Gokhale had sought consent, a condition precedent for initiating criminal contempt proceedings, of the top-most law officer to initiate the case against the former CJI who had reportedly said at an event that the judiciary is 'ramshackled' and it is quite unlikely for a person to get a timely verdict. "I had the occasion to watch the entirety of the interview. It is obvious that all that has been said was good for the institution and will not any manner scandalise the court or lower its authority in the eyes of law," Venugopal said in his letter to the activist, denying consent for initiating the proceedings. Leopard skin costs man 3 years in prison A Pithoragarh court on Saturday sentenced a wildlife smuggler to three years in jail for possessing leopard skin. Pithoragarh Chief Judicial Magistrate Sudhir Tomar sentenced Surendra Singh to three years' imprisonment besides imposing upon him a fine of Rs 10,000, Government Counsel Prithviraj Singh Bankoti said. Singh had been convicted earlier too for possessing a leopard skin, Bankoti said.
SC notice to Centre on appeal against UltraTech Cement’s limestone mining project in Gujarat The Supreme Court has sought response from the Centre on an appeal challenging a National Green Tribunal order that dismissed a plea against grant of environmental clearance (EC) for a limestone mining project of UltraTech Cement in Bhavnagar district in Gujarat. A bench comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah issued notices to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, UltraTech Cement, Uncha Kotda Gram Panchayat and others. "Issue notice. Counter affidavit be filed within a period of four weeks. Rejoinder affidavit, if any, be filed within a period of four weeks thereafter. List the Civil Appeal after eight weeks," the bench said.
SC not to use WhatsApp groups to share VC links for hearings
The Supreme Court will no longer use WhatsApp groups to share video conference links for court hearings, the SC registry said on Saturday. In a circular, the registry said that instead of WhatsApp, the links for virtual court hearings in the apex court will be shared on registered email ids and registered mobile numbers of the concerned advocates-onrecord and party-in-person. The step was taken in the wake of the newly notified Information Technology (Guidelines for intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021). "It is notified for the information of the Advocates-on-Record /Party-in-Persons that the creation of groups in WhatsApp for sharing of VC links for hearing of their matters is restricted/barred due to new guidelines or regulations issued by government of India pertaining to social media Apps and OTT platforms, it said.
More than three months have elapsed since the farmers agitation began. At present, the number of people at the Ghazipur Border appears to be thinning, particularly over the last month.
In fact, it has been the case at the sites of protest on Delhi's borders ever since the violence on Republic Day, January 26. At the Ghazipur Border in particular, the numbers have reduced significantly compared to the same date last month.
According to the farmers on the border, the number of agitators at the protest sites keeps changing since the farmers keep coming and going, particularly in the harvest season.
About the dwindling numbers, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) media incharge Dharmendra Malik said: "We are organising a rally at Saharanpur on Sunday in which Rakesh Tikait will also participate. That is why most farmers have gone there. Let two panchayats be over, the crowds will again begin arriving to the Ghazipur border. 20-25 tractors are about to reach the Ghazipur border."