Daily NEWS Summary: 17.08.2020

SC must consider when corruption allegations against the judiciary can be made public

Just days after widely criticized ruling finding prominent human rights lawyer Prashant Bhushan in contempt of court, Supreme Court today decided to launch a detailed review of the circumstances under which a person can bring public corruption charges against the judiciary.

A three-judge bench led by Judge Arun Mishra also decided to hear arguments regarding the establishment of a procedure to be adopted if such bribery claims are made publicly against sitting and retired judges.
The court posed both questions while listening to a contempt case brought against Bhushan for his comments on judicial corruption in an interview for Tehelka magazine published in 2009.

“Under what circumstances can such statements [on judicial corruption] be they be made? Under what circumstances can these accusations be made public? We need to hear arguments on these issues, ”
Judge Mishra observed, listing the case for Monday’s hearing.

The Court referred to the majority decision rendered by Judge J.S. Verma for a constitutional court in 1992 in the impeachment of Judge V. Ramaswami, a judge at the Supreme Court.
The ruling established the procedure for handling charges against a sitting judge and said the judge should have a fair chance to be heard and that the process should be limited to a limited circle of senior judicial and parliamentary officials.
Judge Arun Mishra’s court said today that the 1992 ruling opposes public accusations against the judges. But senior defender Rajeev Dhavan, who appeared for Bhushan, said “the idea that you [a critic] cannot address the press is a bad decision.”
He suggested that the questions asked be referred to a larger bank. He also said Bhushan intended to file a lawsuit against the August 14 court decision convicting him of contempt of court. “We intend to present a review. [The trial] suffers from huge imbalances, ”Dhavan said.
More than 3,000 legal and civil society authorities have issued a statement on the trial against Prashant Bhushan. In addition, some 40 prominent lawyers have requested a public hearing in a larger tribunal, saying the independence of the judiciary does not mean that judges are immune from scrutiny and comment.

SC refuses to postpone NEET / JEE

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider a student petition to postpone the National Cumulative Income Eligibility Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). The students had requested a postponement due to the risks associated with the pandemic. But the SC rejected the request after recording assurance from examining authorities that all necessary precautions would be taken to ensure the safety of the candidates, who number in the billions.

“Education must be open. Covid-19 may continue for another year. Are you going to wait another year? Do you know what is the loss for the country and the career danger for the students?
Judge Arun Mishra, who headed the three-judge bench, questioned the petitioners.

The NEET and JEE postponement petition scheduled for September was filed by 11 students from 11 states.

Legendary classical singer Pandit Jasraj dies at 90

Indian classical singer Pandit Jasraj died Monday after cardiac arrest at his home in New Jersey, daughter Durga Jasraj said. He was 90 years old. Pandit Jasraj, one of India’s greatest music legends, leaves behind a historical legacy spanning nearly eight decades. Jasraj, who belonged to Mewati Gharana, was in the United States when the coronavirus lockdown occurred and decided to stay in that country.

“It is with deep sadness that we report that Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj-ji took her last breath this morning at 5:15 am EST due to cardiac arrest at her home in New Jersey, USA,”
said a statement released by his family.

The number of coronavirus cases reported in India stood at 2,687,133 at the time of this news summary, with a death toll of 51,785.
Filmmaker and actor Nishikant Kamat died at the age of 50 on Monday evening in Hyderabad. He had suffered from cirrhosis of the liver for two years. Kamat made his acting debut in 2004 in Hava Aney Dey, and as a filmmaker in 2005 with the Marathi film, Dombivali Fast, which won him a national award. He entered the industry. He made his entry into the Tamil film industry with Evano Oruvan (2007), which was a remake of Dombivali Fast, starring R. Madhavan. In 2015, Kamat directed Drishyam, which was among his biggest hits in Bollywood.