Mumbai:

Use of loudspeakers is not an essential part of any religion, the Bombay High Court said on Thursday, directing the law enforcement agencies to take prompt action against loudspeakers that violate the noise pollution norms and rules.

A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and S C Chandak said noise was a major health hazard and no one can claim that their rights are affected in any manner if he or she is denied permission to use loudspeakers.

The HC asked the state government to direct religious institutions to adopt mechanisms for controlling noise levels, including calibrated sound systems with auto-decibel limits.

The court passed its judgment on a petition filed by two housing associations from suburban Kurla – Jaago Nehru Nagar Residents Welfare Association and Shivsrushti Co-operative Housing Societies Association Ltd – alleging police inaction against noise pollution caused by loudspeakers installed on masjids in the area.

The petitioners contended that the use of loudspeakers for religious purposes, including the recitation of ‘azaan’ (Islamic call to prayer) disturbed the peace and violated the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, as well as provisions under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

The bench in its order said Mumbai was a cosmopolitan city and obviously there are persons of different religions in every part of the city.

“It is in public interest that such permissions should not be granted. By denying such permissions, rights under Article 19 or 25 of the Constitution of India are not at all infringed. Use of loudspeakers is not an essential part of any religion,” the HC said.

The court said it was the “bounden duty” of the state government and other authorities to enforce the law by adopting all the necessary measures, as may be prescribed by the provisions of law.

“In a democratic State, there cannot be a situation that, a person/group of persons/association of persons would say that, it will not follow or adhere to the law of the land and the law enforcers would be meek or silent spectators to it,” the judgment said.

It added that common citizens are “hapless and helpless victims of these obnoxious use of loudspeakers and/or amplifiers”.

The court said the police must act on complaints against loudspeakers violating the noise pollution rules without requiring identification of the complainant to avoid such complainants being targets or ill will and developing hatred.

“We direct the State to consider to direct all the concerned to have in-built mechanism to control decibel level in their loudspeakers/voice amplifiers/public address system or other sound emitting gadgets used by any religious place/structure/institution, irrespective of religion,” the bench ordered.

The State may also seriously consider to issue directions for calibration and/or auto-fixation of decibel limit of loudspeakers/voice amplifiers/public address system or other sound emitting gadgets used by any or all the religions in their respective places of prayers or worship, the HC said.

The court also directed the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai, to issue instructions to all police stations to take prompt action in case of any complaint against loudspeakers at religious places.

“We take a judicial note of the fact that, generally people/citizens do not complain about the things until it becomes intolerable and a nuisance,” the bench said.

Reminding the authorities that ambient noise levels must not exceed 55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night in residential areas, the court added that cumulative noise from all sources must adhere to these limits.

“The law does not permit that, every individual loudspeaker will emit 55 or 45 decibels of noise aggregating to more than what is prescribed under the said Rules. That would amount to frustrating the intention of the Legislature,” the court said.

The court said the police may also withdraw permissions granted to the said trusts/institutions for the use of loudspeakers, if repeated violation of the provisions of the said Noise Pollution Rules are brought to their notice.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Former IAS Trainee officer Puja Khedkar, who made headlines last year over claims that she lied about disabilities, changed her surname and forged a backward class certificate to clear the civil services exam, has approached the Supreme Court against a Delhi High Court order denying her anticipatory bail. 

In strong comments while turning down her petition in December, the High Court had said the charges against her, which include forgery and cheating, are a “classic example of fraud committed not only against an authority but also the nation at large”.

The court said her intentions seemed to be to dupe authorities and that “her steps (were) part of a larger conspiracy”. Ms Khedkar, it observed, is “unfit for appointment”.

“Conduct of the petitioner was purely driven with a motive to dupe the complainant UPSC, or the Union Public Service Commission, and all documents allegedly forged by her were done to reap benefits of schemes meant for (disadvantaged) groups of the society,” the bench said. 

In her petition before the Supreme Court, Ms Khedkar called the high court order “erroneous”. A bench is likely to hear the matter on Wednesday. 

UPSC has said that Ms Khedkar had attempted the civil services exam more than the six times permitted for a general category candidate by changing her and her parents’ names, making the violation harder to detect. 

Before the High Court, Puja Khedkar used her claim of physical disability – she has a Maharashtra hospital certificate diagnosing her with an “old ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear with left knee instability” – and said only attempts in the ‘divyang’ category should be counted.

She also claimed only her middle name had been altered. “UPSC verified my identity through biometric data… did not find my documents fake or incorrect,” she argued. 

In July, the UPSC revoked Ms Khedkar’s selection as a junior government officer and barred her from appearing for the civil services exam in the future. 

Two months later, the Union government sacked Ms Khedkar. The former IAS officer has denied all charges against her and claimed she is being targeted since she made a sexual harassment charge against her senior.

Mumbai:

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday questioned whether a woman with intellectual disability has no right to become a mother.

A division bench of Justices R V Ghuge and Rajesh Patil was hearing a petition filed by a 27-year-old woman’s father, seeking permission for medical termination of her 21-week pregnancy on the ground that she was of a mentally unsound mind and unmarried.

The man in his plea submitted that his daughter wanted to continue the pregnancy.

The bench had last week directed that the woman be examined by a medical board at the state-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai.

As per the report submitted by the medical board on Wednesday, the woman is not mentally unsound or ill, but was diagnosed with borderline intellectual disability with an IQ of 75 per cent.

The bench noted that the woman’s parents had not made her go through any psychological counselling or treatment, but only kept her on medication since 2011.

The medical board’s report said there were no abnormalities or anomalies in the foetus and the woman was medically fit for continuation of the pregnancy.

The report, however, also said that termination of the pregnancy could be done.

Additional government pleader Prachi Tatke submitted to the court that consent of the pregnant woman is of paramount importance in such matters.

The bench took note of the fact that the medical board report has clearly stated the woman is not mentally disabled or of an unsound mind.

“The observation (in the report) is that she has below average intelligence. Nobody can be super intelligent. We are all human beings and everybody has different levels of intelligence,” the court said.

“Just because she has below average intelligence, does she have no right to be a mother? If we say that persons with below average intelligence do not have the right to be parents, it would be against the law,” the HC said.

As per provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, a pregnancy beyond the 20-week gestation period is allowed in cases where the woman is mentally ill, it said.

“Borderline case cannot be said to be a mental disorder. She (the pregnant woman in the present case) has not been declared as mentally ill. It is only a borderline case of intellectual functioning,” the bench said.

The advocate of the petitioner informed the HC that the woman has now disclosed to her parents the identity of the man with whom she is in a relationship and who was responsible for the pregnancy.

The court then asked the woman’s parents to meet the man and interact with him to see if he was willing to marry her.

“As parents, take the initiative and talk to the man. They are both adults. It is not an offence,” the court said.

The parents adopted the woman when she was five-month-old infant, and must now do their duty as parents, it said.

The court posted the matter for further hearing on January 13.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court has acquitted a man in a POCSO case, saying the use of the phrase “physical relations” by the minor survivor cannot automatically mean sexual assault.

A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma allowed the appeal by the accused, who was given imprisonment for the rest of his life, and observed that it was unclear how the trial court concluded that there was any sexual assault when the survivor had voluntarily gone with the accused.

The court asserted that the leap from physical relations or “samband” to sexual assault and then to penetrative sexual assault must be established by evidence and cannot be deduced as an inference.

“The mere fact that the survivor is below 18 years cannot lead to a conclusion that there was penetrative sexual assault. The survivor, in fact, used the phrase ‘physical relations’, but there is no clarity as to what she meant by using the said phrase,” the court said in the judgment passed on December 23.

“Even the use of the words ‘samband banaya’ is not sufficient to establish an offence under Section 3 of the POCSO Act or under Section 376 IPC. Though consent would not matter if the girl is a minor under the POCSO Act, the phrase ‘physical relations’ cannot be converted automatically into sexual intercourse let alone sexual assault,” it held.

The court said the benefit of doubt ought to be in favour of the accused and, therefore, ruled, “The impugned judgement completely lacks any reasoning and also does not reveal or support any rationale for the conviction. Under such circumstances, the judgment is liable to be set aside. The appellant is acquitted”. 

The complaint in this case was lodged in March 2017 by the minor girl’s mother, alleging that her 14-year-old daughter had been lured and kidnapped from her home by an unknown person.

The minor was found in Faridabad along with the accused, who was arrested and subsequently convicted for offence of rape under IPC and penetrative sexual assault under POCSO in December 2023 and later awarded imprisonment for the remainder of his life. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Jabalpur:

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the state government to dispose of the toxic waste lying at the now-defunct Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, and said even 40 years after the gas disaster, the authorities are in a “state of inertia” that may cause “another tragedy”.

Describing it as a “sorry state of affairs”, the high court asked the government to remove and transport the hazardous waste from the site within four weeks, failing which it will have to face contempt proceedings.

Highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate (MIC) leaked from the Union Carbide factory during the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, eventually killing 5,479 people and maiming more than five lakh others.

In a strongly-worded order passed on Tuesday, a division bench comprising HC Chief Justice SK Kait and Justice Vivek Jain said, “We fail to understand that in spite of issuance of various directions from time to time by the Hon’ble Supreme Court as well as by this Court, pursuant to the plan dated 23.03.2024, till date no steps seem to have been taken to remove to the toxic waste and material.”

“This is a really sorry state of affairs because the removal of toxic waste from plant site, decommissioning the MIC and Sevin plants and removal of contaminants that have spread in the surrounding soil and groundwater, are of paramount requirement for safety of general public of Bhopal city,” it said.

Incidentally, the MIC gas disaster at Bhopal took place on this very date (December 2), exactly 40 years ago, it said.

“They are still in a state of inertia despite 40 years from the date of the gas tragedy. Though the plan has been sanctioned, a contract has been awarded, but still the authorities are in inertia that may lead to another tragedy to take shape before acting further,” the division bench observed.

The court asked the authorities to undertake all safety measures during the transportation and disposal of the toxic waste/material.

The toxic waste/material should be sent to the place assigned within four weeks, failing which the Madhya Pradesh chief secretary and the principal secretary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department should personally remain present (before the court) to explain as to why various orders passed by this court have not been complied with, it added.

It asked the principal secretary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department to perform the statutory obligations and duties under the environmental laws of this country.

“We further direct immediate clean-up of the Union Carbide factory site at Bhopal and to take all remedial measures for removal and safe disposal of the entire toxic waste/material from the area concerned,” the bench said.

“It is not in dispute that the contract for this purpose is dated 23rd September, 2021. The money has already been paid on 04.03.2024. The plan produced by the Counsel for State Government is dated 20.03.2024. As per the said plan, the minimum period has been shown as 185 days and maximum 377 days,” the bench said.

The cost to implement the directions shall be borne by the state and the central government as already directed by this court, it said in the order.

“The learned counsel appearing for the Central Government submits that they have already paid their share to the State Government, however, the State Government has not spent that amount. Whereas the learned Additional Advocate General appearing for State submits that they have already received Rs 126 crore and contract awarded and the contractor has already been paid 20% of the aforesaid amount. However, till date the contractor concerned has not taken any steps,” the bench said.

The high court then directed the respondents, the state government and the authorities concerned to sit together, and said if any permission or any formality is required, the same is to be granted within one week.

If any of the departments fails to comply with the order passed by the court, the principal secretary of the department shall be prosecuted under the Contempt of Courts Act, the order read.

“If any of the authorities creates any hurdle or impediment regarding compliance of the orders of this Court, the Chief Secretary of the State Government of MP shall indicate on the next date of hearing so that this Court may take strict action against the said authority”, the court said.

The high court bench then ordered that the compliance report be supported with the personal affidavit of the principal secretary, Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department.

“The said report shall contain each day’s progress starting from tomorrow onwards”, the bench observed.

The court then listed the matter for hearing on January 6, 2025. 

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed “shock” over some retired high court judges getting a meagre pension ranging between Rs 6,000 and Rs 15,000.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai, P K Mishra and K V Viswanathan was hearing a petition filed by a retired high court judge who said he was receiving a mere Rs 15,000 pension.

The petitioner, who was elevated as a judge of the Allahabad High Court after serving as a judicial officer in the district court for 13 years, claimed that the authorities had refused to consider his judicial service while computing the pension.

“If there are retired high court judges before us who are getting Rs 6,000 and Rs 15,000 as pension, it is shocking. How can that be?” the bench remarked.

Justice Gavai said the post-retirement facilities for judges differed in each high court and some states provided much better benefits.

The Supreme Court thereafter posted the hearing on November 27.

While hearing a separate plea in March, the apex court had said there cannot be any discrimination in computing the pensionary benefits of retired judges of high courts based on whether they were elevated from the bar or the district judiciary.

Pensionary benefits of a retired high court judge, who was elevated from the district judiciary, should be computed based on his or her last drawn salary as a high court judge, it said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chennai:

The Madras High Court on Thursday said the report of the Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority (TNSLSA) relating to the alleged sexual abuse of girls at a fake National Cadet Corps (NCC) camp in the state’s Krishnagiri district was “shocking”.

The first bench comprising Acting Chief Justice D Krishnakumar and Justice PB Balaji made the observation while hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by Advocate AP Suryaprakasam, seeking to transfer the investigation into the incident from Krishnagiri police to the CBI.

After perusing the report, the court said the TNSLSA in its report stated that one of the instructors present in the two-day fake NCC camp showed weapons (guns) and threatened the students not to reveal anything about the incident to anyone. The main accused, Sivaraman, who is now dead, threatened students that he would cut off their little fingers if said anything. All of this happened inside the premises of a school, Moreover. the organisers conducted a campfire inside the school on two occasions, mingled with the students and Sivaraman moved freely with them, the bench added.

The bench had directed the TNSLSA to visit the school, interact with the students, parents and the teachers, besides the school management. The authority filed a report after that.

Earlier, Additional Advocate General J Ravindran submitted that as per the directive of the court, the government had issued a show-cause notice to the school and since the reply was not satisfactory, the Krishnagiri District Educational Officer has recommended that the Director of Private Schools appoint a Special Officer to administer the school. The officer will be appointed in a week or two, he added.

He said an interim compensation was also paid to the survivors through a Fast Track Mahila Court.

Advocate General PS Raman said the accused, Sivaraman, died by suicide after consuming rat poison. The school principal and correspondent had been arrested earlier. Show-cause notices will be issued to three schools where such fake NCC camps were conducted and action will be taken, he added.

AP Suryaprakasam submitted that whether Sivaraman committed suicide or not should be thoroughly investigated. The students should be given free medical treatment in a private hospital and an “ex-gratia” amount should be given to the girls, he added.

The bench posted the matter for hearing on September 19. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Lucknow:

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday said that a NEET aspirant who had alleged in her petition that the National Testing Agency failed to declare her result and that her OMR answersheet was found torn had submitted forged documents and the NTA can take legal action in the matter.

This came after the National Testing Agency, on the direction of the high court’s Lucknow bench, produced before it the original OMR answer sheet of the student which was found to be intact.

The student, Ayushi Patel, in her petition, claimed that NTA sent her a communication saying her result would not be declared as her OMR sheet was found torn. She had also posted a video on social media repeating the allegations that caused a stir amid the ongoing row over claims of irregularities in the conduct of the undergraduate medical entrance exam NEET.

The petitioner had demanded that her OMR sheet be evaluated manually. She had also called for an inquiry against NTA and demanded that the counselling for admission be stopped.

A vacation bench of Justice Rajesh Singh had, on June 12, asked the NTA to produce the original records of the student.

In compliance with the order, NTA’s Deputy Director Sandeep Sharma presented the original documents of the student along with an affidavit.

After seeing the documents, the court found that the student had filed the petition on the basis of forged documents. The court termed it regrettable and said that the NTA is free to take legal action in the matter.

At the same time, the advocate of the petitioner requested permission to withdraw the petition, which the court accepted.

The NTA told the court that the decision to take legal action against the petitioner student had already been taken by it.

The court said that the petitioner has submitted forged documents, and in such a situation it cannot stop NTA from taking legal action against the student.

Reacting to Ms Patel’s video, which was shared by Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi among others, the NTA had said on June 12 that her paper is still intact and it is a case of forgery on the part of the candidate, whose actual score is lower than claimed.

“No torn OMR answer sheet was sent from any official NTA email, and the actual OMR is available and not torn. Moreover, all results are available online,” said an official.

The NTA had countered the claims of the incorrect result on social media stating, “Regarding the viral video featuring Ms Ayushi Patel, claiming discrepancies in NEET (UG) 2024 scoring and receiving of torn OMR answer sheet, NTA clarifies that no torn answer sheet was sent via an official NTA ID. OMR answer sheet is intact and scores are accurate as per official records…”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Delhi government has “come to a standstill” after the arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the High Court said today while hearing a petition on the state of education in schools run by the city civic body. A Chief Minster’s post in a buzzing capital like Delhi is not ceremonial and it is post where the office holder has to be available 24×7. His absence cannot deprive children of their free text books, writing material and uniforms, the court said.

“National interest and public interest demands that no person who holds this post is incommunicado or absent for a long stretch or for an uncertain period time,” said the bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora.

The court held that the admission of Delhi’s Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj — that any increase in financial power of MCD commissioner shall require approval of Mr Kejriwal – amounts to an admission that “Delhi government has come to a standstill” after the Chief Minister’s arrest.

The petition had maintained that nearly two lakh students lacked basic amenities at the beginning of the academic year due to administrative hurdles.

During the hearing on April 26, the High Court came down heavily on Mr Kejriwal, the Delhi government and the civic body for their failure to provide textbooks. Mr Kejriwal’s insistence on holding the post even after his arrest in the Delhi liquor policy case puts political interest over national interest, the judges had said.

Following the rebuke, the office of the Lieutenant Governor had accused the AAP-led Delhi government and Saurabh Bharadwaj of delaying the approval of a proposal to temporarily enhance the financial powers of the MCD Commissioner from Rs 5 crore to Rs 50 crore.

Officials argued that the delay has hampered some crucial projects linked to education, health, and sanitation, as the Standing Committee of the Corporation has not been constituted for over a year.

New Delhi:

Twenty-eight years after a man applied for a job in the postal department, the Supreme Court has ordered his appointment noting that there was an error in holding him ineligible for the post. Ankur Gupta had applied for the post of postal assistant in 1995. After being selected for pre-induction training, he was later excluded from the merit list on the ground that he completed intermediate education from the “vocational stream”.

Gupta along with other unsuccessful candidates moved the Central Administrative Tribunal which ruled in their favour in 1999. The postal department challenged the tribunal’s order and approached the Allahabad High Court in 2000. The high court dismissed the petition in 2017 and upheld the CAT’s order. A review was filed in the high court which was also dismissed in 2021, following which the department approached the Supreme Court.

In the top court, a bench of justices Bela M Trivedi and Dipankar Datta said a candidate cannot claim a vested right to appointment, once he is included in the merit list, he has a limited right of being accorded a fair treatment. “However, if the candidature is not rejected at the threshold and the candidate is allowed to participate in the selection process and ultimately his name figures in the merit list though such candidate has no indefeasible right to claim appointment, he does have a limited right of being accorded fair and non-discriminatory treatment,” the bench said.

The Supreme Court said the employer, if it is a State within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution, would have no authority to act in an arbitrary manner and throw the candidate out without rhyme or reason. “The employer-State being bound by Article 14 of the Constitution, the law places an obligation, nay duty, on such an employer to provide some justification by way of reason,” it said. The bench said if the department had declared Gupta as ineligible based on the appreciation of the educational qualification at the threshold, the situation would have entirely been different. “However, it was not at the threshold that the third respondent was considered ineligible. “As the factual narrative would reveal, the appellant had considered the third respondent eligible, allowed him to take part in the various tests in connection with the selection process, interviewed him, placed his name quite high in the merit list, and thereafter sent him for 15 days’ pre-induction training starting from 15th March, 1996,” it said.

Invoking its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution, the top court directed that Gupta be offered appointment, initially on probation, on a post of Postal Assistant (for which he was selected) within a month and if no post is vacant, a supernumerary post shall be created for him.

It said Gupta has been discriminated against and arbitrarily deprived of fruit of selection.

“Subject to satisfactory completion of the period of probation, the third respondent shall be confirmed in service; Should service rendered during probation be considered not satisfactory, the appellant will be entitled to proceed in accordance with law.

“Having not actually worked, the third respondent (Gupta) shall neither be entitled to arrears of salary nor shall he be entitled to claim seniority from the date of appointment of other candidates who participated in the recruitment process of 1995,” it said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)