Latest news with #DelhiHighCourt
New Indian Express
15 hours ago
- New Indian Express
No consistency in victim's testimony: Delhi HC upholds man's acquittal in rape case
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has upheld a trial court's decision to acquit a man accused of rape, stating that the woman's testimony lacked consistency and did not inspire confidence. Justice Amit Mahajan, in an order passed on June 17, dismissed the state government's plea against the March 2018 verdict that acquitted the man of charges under IPC Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation). 'It is trite law that the accused can be convicted solely based on evidence of the prosecutrix as long as the same inspires confidence and corroboration is not necessary. However, the testimony of the prosecutrix is full of inconsistencies and the same does not inspire confidence,' the court observed. The court noted the delay in filing the FIR—lodged nine days after the alleged April 1, 2015 incident—and that the woman continued working at the accused's factory in the meantime. It also flagged contradictions in her husband's statements and criticised the state for failing to present a credible case, refusing to grant leave to appeal.
The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
HC revokes transfer of judge hearing the north-east Delhi riots ‘larger conspiracy' case
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday revoked the transfer of Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai, who was hearing the north-east Delhi riots 'larger conspiracy' case. The High Court had on May 30 transferred ASJ Bajpai, who had been hearing arguments on the framing of charges in the February 2020 communal violence 'larger conspiracy' case in a Karkardooma court on a daily basis since September last year, to the Saket courts complex as part of a routine transfer process. He was replaced by ASJ Lalit Kumar, who, on June 2, had ordered fresh hearings in the matter. The development is likely to speed up one of Delhi's most high-profile trials in connection with the violence in several parts of north-east Delhi, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. The transfer of ASJ Bajpai had drawn criticism from lawyers who felt that the move would cause the trial, which has already been delayed due to pending investigations and judicial transfers, to further slow down. 'The pace at which the case is moving can be gauged by the fact that of the 18 accused booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, among other charges, most have been in jail for over four years,' said a lawyer on condition of anonymity. The 'larger conspiracy' case is among the many pertaining to the riots and is so named because Delhi Police, which is probing the matter, has claimed that the violence was part of a 'deep-rooted conspiracy'. Key accused in the case include former Delhi councillor Tahir Hussain, student activists Umar Khalid, Khalid Saifi, Ishrat Jahan, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa-Ur-Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Athar Khan, Safoora Zargar, Sharjeel Imam, and Natasha Narwal. 2,500 arrested so far In the months following the riots, the police arrested over 2,500 people in various cases based on CCTV footage and testimonies of victims and eyewitnesses. During the four years of trials, the city courts gave bail to more than 2,000 people. Several trial courts also made adverse comments about the police's 'shoddy' investigations. The arguments over the framing of charges began in 2024, a year after the filing of the chargesheet.
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
They Lost Their Homes In Delhi. Help Came From A ‘Home' 2,000 km Away
New Delhi: The lines kept moving in meticulous order — a quiet antidote to the chaos of the past few weeks after almost 400 migrant Tamil families lost their homes to a court-ordered demolition in south Delhi. The displaced people gratefully queued up for Tamil Nadu govt's aid distribution programme for the displaced. It was Thursday, the second day of the aid distribution, in an auditorium at Tamil Nadu House in Chanakyapuri. "We want to do everything that we can. It's another state, still …," a Tamil Nadu govt official said. "And we know it's temporary relief but we hope to give them some time to breathe." For the displaced, the upheaval began on June 1, when the south Delhi settlement known informally as Madrasi Camp was demolished after a Delhi High Court order because, besides encroaching on railway land, it was blocking the Barapullah drain. The camp had been home to 370 migrant Tamil families, many of whom had lived there for decades, and most of whom worked in the informal service economy, cleaning homes and cars. So, "to address their urgent needs", the Tamil Nadu govt is offering each displaced family Rs 8,000 in cash and a stock of essentials as one-time aid. It is what a disaster-struck Tamil person in Tamil Nadu would have received as assistance from the state, an official explained. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Lined up in the auditorium — in rows along the aisles on either side and in an array on the stage — were stacks of neatly packed bags. Of two kinds. One, with 27kg of rice. Another, with atta, dal, edible oil, spices, salt, sugar and tea. "Relief package for the displaced families, New Delhi," the labels on them said, alongside beaming portraits of state CM MK Stalin. Every family was to get a bag of each. They would just have to show three documents. An allotment letter or a rejection slip for a new house, as proof that they did indeed live at Madrasi Camp before the demolition. An identification document, like Aadhaar, to make sure the right person got the aid. And, because the Rs 8,000 is a direct benefit transfer, bank account information of the person whose name appears on all the Delhi govt paperwork. But, surely, not everyone has a bank account. The relief organisers hadn't expect that. So, they engaged a bank to set up a counter to open savings accounts for those who didn't have one — and then transferred the money. The plan was to make sure that the process was easy for those already mired in the morass of relentless paperwork. "We wanted to make sure that the lines and the verification didn't feel intimidating," the official added. They thought through other potential problems as well. Like locating the people who had been scattered after the demolition. For that, they sought help from those they could locate so that they could, in turn, activate local WhatsApp groups or simply spread the message through word-of-mouth. There were transport services from where Madrasi Camp residents were known to have relocated temporarily to Tamil Nadu House. And a survey is being conducted to quickly identify people who may not have been able to make it to the relief distribution because of age or illness. How long will they keep going? "Until aid has reached the last Madrasi Camp family," the official added. Was this necessary, though? Delhi has long had a relocation programme in place for people who are evicted from slums. But 155 families from Madrasi Camp were told they couldn't be given new homes under Delhi's relocation policy because their papers weren't in order. It's easy to see why families that didn't get a house or are waiting to move up the provisional list would appreciate the assistance. Rosha, for instance, learnt through a letter drafted in Hindi that she could be given a house of her own if she could produce her husband's death certificate. "The thing is, she came to Delhi from Villupuram with five daughters because her husband had died and she thought she couldn't bring them up by herself," Rosha's grandson, Nagesan, said. She is almost 75 now, doesn't speak a lot of Hindi, and is supported by her daughters and grandchildren. Expecting her to have a piece of paper from three decades ago, when she was in Tamil Nadu, is a bit of a reach. So, Nagesan got a notarised affidavit as proof of his grandfather's death. But it was turned down. Until he figures out what to do, "all help is help", Nagesan said, and then walked over to reclaim his place in the queue. He was registering his grandmother's paperwork for the aid. Many among the remaining 215 families, who have been given or are being given new homes, are worried as well because the new homes are too far from their work and schools (resettlement is at Narela, 50km from Madrasi Camp), and because the new apartments could need a lot of work before people can start living in them. That is what V Thangaraj had been saying in court. He is one of the petitioners who had been seeking a stay on the demolition on the grounds that its people deserved "proper rehabilitation" first. He has lived at Madrasi Camp for 16 years. "We thought they would demolish two lanes close to the (Barapullah) drain, and spare the rest," he said. "But on May 31, there was an announcement around 6pm that everyone there should pack up and leave that night. " So, Thangaraj gathered what he could, covered it all up in tarpaulin sheets, and dumped it at a park near the settlement. "There was no time." Eventually, he and his wife rented a small apartment at Bhogal nearby and moved in with their two daughters. His wife was in the queue on Thursday to register for the aid — at least food was taken care of while they thought of ways to rebuild their lives.
NDTV
a day ago
- Politics
- NDTV
"Judges Tied Themselves In Knots": Harish Salve On Cash Row Judge Case
New Delhi: Former Solicitor General of India Harish Salve has said that while judges have "tied themselves up in knots" over the case of Justice Yashwant Verma, from whose premises bundles of unaccounted cash has been recovered, the "elephant in the room" was how such a situation came to pass and now that it has, what happens to the criminal justice system in the country. Yet another concern, he said, was for the judges not to create an impression of bias. NDTV has accessed the report of a three-member panel of senior judges, which has recommended the removal of the former Delhi High Court judge, at whose residence "piles of burnt Rs 500 notes" was found in March. "If this had been the house of a minister where this incident had taken place, would it have been enough to say that the minister must now resign and go away? By now, the media would have been screaming, why is the minister not in jail?" Mr Salve told NDTV in an exclusive interview this evening. "If a public servant has been found with such large amounts of unaccounted cash, what happens to the criminal justice system of the country? That's one question which looms large," he added. For this, the system is to blame, he indicated, questioning why the law of the land is not taking its course which it would have done in any other case. "Why are we even discussing this on TV? Why is there a question of what will happen now? Would there be a doubt if it was any other citizen? And you know, this is the real problem of this case. We have tied ourselves in knots. The judges, I'm sorry to say, have tied themselves in knots," he said. Impeachment of a judge is a very complicated procedure - so much so that since Independence, not a single judge has been impeached, though five judges have resigned when questions were raised about them. Mr Salve said such a system was devised out of the good intention to protect the independence of judges. "But what about protecting the integrity of the system? It is now established that this whole collegium system, it doesn't act with alacrity," he said, describing it as "dysfunctional". Asked if there should be a criminal proceeding based on the report of the three-judge panel, Mr Salve said, "What is the delay in now allowing the CBI to register a case and investigate it like any other act of corruption? And that has to be the basis for the impeachment. And it is well settled that civil and criminal proceedings can run side by side". Quoting the oft-repeated maxim that "Howsoever high you may be, the law is above you," Mr Salve questioned, "What are we waiting for? I mean, unfortunately, impeachment is the only process we have".
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Delhi High Court to examine appeal of Bhoomiheen Camp residents on rehabilitation rejection
New Delhi: Delhi High Court has agreed to examine next month an appeal filed by individual residents challenging the rejection of their claim for rehabilitation after being removed from Bhoomiheen Camp in south Delhi following a demolition drive by DDA. Justices Girish Kathpalia and Tejas Karia directed that the appeals be listed on July 7 before the designated roster bench for hearing. The petitions also challenged the green signal given to DDA by a single-judge bench of HC to remove encroachments and clear the land near Kalkaji area. However, by the time the appeals could be taken up last week, DDA had already razed several single and double-storey structures. "At the outset, learned counsel for appellants submits that these applications have become infructuous because the respondent demolished the premises. Accordingly, the applications are disposed of as infructuous," the bench recorded, disposing of the plea that sought urgent relief. In their appeal, many of those removed from the camp and adjoining slums questioned their exclusion from the list of residents found eligible for rehabilitation by DDA. They also challenged the rejection of their documentary proof by the land-owning agency, due to which they were found ineligible for rehabilitation. DDA carried out a demolition drive in Bhoomiheen Camp after HC, in orders on May 26 and June 6, dismissed a batch of petitions of over 400 petitioners. According to DDA, based on DUSIB policy, which includes dwellers staying in JJ colonies before Jan 1, 2015, 1,862 households from the camp were found eligible and allotted EWS category flats at Kalkaji Extension.
