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SBI submits electoral bonds data to poll body day after Supreme Court rap
The State Bank of India (SBI) on Tuesday submitted the data of Electoral Bonds to the Election Commission of India (ECI), complying with the Supreme Court's stern order issued on Monday, the poll panel said.
Sources told India Today TV that details of the sale and purchase of electoral bonds shared by the SBI are in a raw form that reveals who bought bonds worth how much and in favour of which political party.
The data shared by the State Bank of India is being uploaded in a phased manner, with plans to release it all together on the evening of March 15, sources added.
A top court bench, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, rejected SBI's plea seeking an extension of time and ordered it to disclose the details of electoral bonds to the Election Commission by close of business hours on March 12.
The Supreme Court has also directed the poll panel to publish the details of the electoral bonds on its official website by 5 pm on March 15.
Thrashing its plea seeking an extension of time to disclose the electoral bonds data, the Supreme Court came down heavily on SBI for "willful disobedience" of order, and warned it of contempt proceedings.
During yesterday's hearing, the bank argued that process of gathering, cross-verifying, and disclosing the data, stored in two separate "silos" for maintaining confidentiality on both ends, would be a time-consuming task. "We need a little more time to comply. We were told this is supposed to be a secret," SBI said, seeking time till June 30 to submit the details.
To which, the top court highlighted that donor details were accessible at the SBI's Mumbai branch, and the bank only needed to "open covers, collate details, and provide information".
"We had not directed the bank to match the details of donors and donee with other information. The SBI has to just open the sealed cover, collate the details and give the information to the Election Commission," Chief Justice told the bank.
The introduction of electoral bonds was aimed to replace cash donations to political parties, seeking to improve transparency in political funding. Notably, SBI has issued Electoral Bonds worth Rs 16,518 crore in 30 tranches since the inception of the scheme in 2018.
However, the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment last month, held the electoral bond scheme to be "unconstitutional" and said it violated citizens' right to information.
(Courtesy:- India Today, 12 March 2024)
Teacher forcing minor girl to accept flowers is sexual harassment: Supreme Court
Supreme Court has said that a male school teacher presenting flowers to a minor girl student and forcing her to accept it in front of others in a classroom amounted to sexual harassment under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act but laid down guidelines for strict scrutiny of the evidence as reputation of a teacher is at stake.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta, K V Vishwanathan and Sandeep Mehta found that the evidence given by the allegedly harassed minor student and witnesses was full of discrepancies
and reversed concurrent findings of a Tamil Nadu trial court and Madras high court, by which the teacher was sentenced to three years imprisonment.
Justice Datta, writing the judgment, said no doubt the stringent provisions of Pocso kicks in when such an incident happens in a public place like school, but the courts must also be aware that when a teacher’s reputation is at stake and must not allow minor girls to be used as pawns to defame a teacher whose role in the society is as important as keeping girls safe. Acquitting the convicted teacher, the bench said, “We quite agree with the submissions of senior counsel for the State that an act of sexual harassment of a girl student (who is also a minor) by any teacher would figure quite high in the list of offences of grave nature since it has far-reaching
consequences.”
The SC found material contradictions in the statements of the minor girl and weighed in the possibility of the girl being used as a pawn to settle scores with the teachers because of an earlier incident between her relatives and the teacher.
(Courtesy:- The Times of India, 14 March 2024)
Supreme Court rejects Manish Sisodia's curative petition in Delhi excise policy scam case
The Supreme Court dealt a blow to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia on Thursday by rejecting his curative petition challenging the apex court's decision denying him bail in the Delhi excise policy scam case.
Manish Sisodia's curative petition, filed in a bid to seek bail, was dismissed by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and SVN Bhatti. The bench stated that "no case is made out" based on the parameters established in previous court decisions.
In December 2023, the Supreme Court rejected Sisodia's pleas seeking a review of its October 30 verdict, which had also dismissed his bail petitions related to the money laundering cases associated with the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
The apex court had denied bail to Sisodia, citing allegations by investigating agencies that certain wholesale distributors had made "windfall gains" amounting to Rs. 338 crore. Sisodia, the former deputy chief minister of Delhi, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in February 2023 for his alleged involvement in the Delhi excise policy scam. Subsequently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him in a money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9, 2023.
Facing legal challenges, Sisodia resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28, 2023. The Delhi government introduced the new excise policy on November 17, 2021, but revoked it by the end of September 2022 amidst corruption allegations. According to investigating agencies, the profit margin for wholesalers had reportedly increased from 5% to 12% under the new policy, prompting scrutiny and legal action.
(Courtesy:- https://www.indiatvnews.com/ , 14 March 2024)
SC suggests HC on plea for action against Bengal cops for naming rape complainant
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sukanta Majumdar’s Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking registration of a criminal case against West Bengal Police for revealing the identity of one of the women, who have accused a ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) functionary of rape in Sandeshkhali. The identity was revealed in an interview uploaded on social media.
A bench of justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal asked how could there be a PIL on this issue. “Your limited grievance is that the victim’s name was disclosed on social media. The high court is a better forum for this kind of a matter.”
Senior advocates Madhavi Divan and Archana Pathak Dave, appearing for Majumdar, cited a Supreme Court judgment in 2019 that prohibited disclosure of the names or any information that could reasonably lead to a victim’s identification by courts or investigating agencies in such cases.
Divan told the court that PIL was maintainable as the issue did not relate to just one incident but raised a larger issue. “This kind of an incident can happen anywhere. The court needs to lay down guidelines on what happens to a rape victim from the time she files a complaint and is taken to the courtroom.”
The petition said the West Bengal Police “overstepped” official duties and violated provisions of law by coercing the woman to give a statement that she was not abducted but was brought to the local magistrate’s office to give a statement.
In her complaint, the woman alleged she was called on the pretext of attending a meeting at the local party office in Sandeshkhali, where she was allegedly gang raped by the accused Shibu Hazra, and others in October last year.
Majumdar, in his plea, said the case demonstrates West Bengal Police officials’ deliberate actions in advancing a political agenda to the detriment of public welfare and security. “The incident represents a significant setback for the women of Sandeshkhali, impeding their ability to report the injustices inflicted upon them.”
The petition said women in the Sandeshkhali region revolting against the atrocities subjected to them are being attacked and silenced. “Shockingly, to respond to an allegation of a political opponent of the State government political party, WB police overstepped its official duties and violated several provisions of law by coercing the victim to give a statement that she was not abducted but instead brought to the local magistrate’s office...” Such a statement being recorded not as part of court proceedings was not permissible, it added.
(Courtesy:- Hindustan Times, 15 March 2024)
*Disclaimer: – Always check with the original copy of judgment from the Court website.
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