New Delhi, April 1 (PTI): Any error or irregularity in granting sanction by the government to conduct trial against its officials in corruption cases cannot be a ground to quash the criminal proceedings, the Supreme Court has said.
The court held requirement of sanction is designed just to check on frivolous and mischievous cases being filed against officials and said a government servant cannot be allowed to take undue advantage of it.
The bench passed the order on two petitions filed by the Bihar government challenging Patna High Court’s verdict quashing criminal proceedings against its officials on the ground that sanction against them were granted by the state’s law department and not by their parent department.
Kochi (PTI): The Kerala government on Tuesday filed an appeal in high court seeking to award death sentence to 12 accused convicted in the murder of rebel CPM leader T.P. Chandrasekharan. While 11 accused had been awarded life imprisonment, one was handed down three years jail term by a Kozhikode court on January 23.
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court on Tuesday fixed April 4 for commencement of trial in a rape case against BSP MP Dhananjay Singh. Singh is accused of raping a 42-year-old woman for nearly four years.
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the producers and writers of Bhoothnath Returns to try to settle the dispute with a Hindi writer who is alleging the film is based on his short story. The Amitabh Bachchan-starrer movie is scheduled to hit theatres on April 11.
London (PTI): An Indian-origin magistrate and politician in the UK is under pressure to step down from his posts after he was pictured holding an assault rifle. Ajit Atwal apologised for any “offence” the picture might have caused but insisted he was the victim of a campaign in the run-up to May, when he stands for re-election as Liberal Democrat councillor in Derby.
Dubai, April 1 (PTI): An Indian has been awarded one million dirhams (Rs 1.6 crore) as compensation by a Dubai court after a car accident in 2012 left him paralysed.
A.K., identified only by his initials, had lost his ability to eat or drink and needed 24-hour assistance after the accident. The 47-year old cook was travelling from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah in a vehicle when the driver fell asleep before losing control of the car, which overturned on Dubai Bypass Road. He spent three months in hospital and was repatriated later.
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to grant industrialist and lawmaker Naveen Jindal’s plea for a blanket order restraining Zee TV from airing news reports which were allegedly defamatory in their content. The court said Jindal and his company Jindal Steel and Power Limited “have not been able to satisfy that they have got a prima facie good case” and disposed of their plea.
Dehradun (PTI): The sacred portals of Gangotri shrine in the Himalayas will be thrown open to devotees at 12 noon on Akshaya Tritiya on May 2 to mark the beginning of the annual Char Dham pilgrimage this year, the temple sources said.
