Courts
| INDIA LEGAL |July 22, 2019 9Twitter: @indialegalmedia
Website: http://www.indialegallive.com
Contact: [email protected]—Compiled by India Legal TeamA
five-judge bench comprising Chief
Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and
Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud,
Ashok Bhushan and SA Nazeer directed
the mediation panel set up in the Ayodhya
Ramjanmabhoomi–Babri Masjid title dis-
pute case to submit a detailed report by
July 18. The Court added that in case the
mediation panel feels that it
cannot resolve the dispute, the
Court will begin daily hearings
in the case from July 25. One
of the plaintiffs in the case,
Gopal Singh Visharad, had
approached the Court seeking
an early hearing of the matter,
citing a lack of progress by the
mediation panel. On March 8
this year, the Court had referred
the decades-old dispute for
mediation and formed a panel comprising
former Supreme Court judge FM Kalifulla,
founder of Art of Living Foun dation Sri Sri
Ravi Shankar and Madras High Court
advocate Sriram Panchu. On May 10, the
Court had given time till August 15 to the
mediation panel to find an amicable solu-
tion to the dispute.Frame policy for
homebuyers: SCSC seeks Ayodhya mediation report
T
he Supreme Court asked the centre
to come out with a “uniform” pro-
posal for all cases to resolve the diffi-
culties being faced by homebuyers
who have not yet received possession
of flats despite paying huge amounts
of money to real estate builders. “This
issue will be bothering lakhs of home-
buyers. Within the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code, we cannot do any-
thing. But outside it, you (centre) can
suggest something,” said the Court to
Additional Solicitor General Madhavi
Divan, who was appearing for the
centre. The Court made these obser-
vations while hearing a plea which
sought that Jaypee Infratech Ltd not be
sent into liquidation as it would cause
“irreparable loss” to thousands of
homebuyers.T
he Per manent
Court of Arb itration
(PCA) in The Hague
began hea ring Italy’s
request to direct India to drop all crimi-
nal char ges against two of its marines,
Massi miliano Latorre and Salvatore
Girone, and grant Rome jur is diction in
the case. They are accu sed of killing
two Indian fishermen off the Kerala
coast in 2012. Italy took the matter to
the PCA in 2015, saying the case
should be tried under maritime law.
India, how ever, says that the accused
should return to New Delhi for a final
judgment by an Indian court.T
he Supreme Court ref u -
sed to stay the Bombay
High Court decision which
had upheld the reservation
for the Maratha communi-
ty. The Court, however,
iss ued notice to the state
government and clarified
that the reservation cannotbe applied retrospectively
from 2014, as proposed
by the latter. In June this
year, the Bombay High
Court had upheld the state
government’s decision to
provide 16 percent reser-
vation to the Maratha com-
munity in admission toeducational institutions and
appointments to posts in
public services and held
the enabling legislation as
constitutional. The High
Court had rejected the peti-
tioner’s contention that the
legislation was a fraud on
the Constitution as it pro-
posed to hike the reserva-
tion in Maharashtra from
52 percent to 68 percent.No stay on Bombay HC ruling
on Maratha quotaA
three-judge bench headed by CJI
Gogoi agreed to hear a “substantial
question” on whether illegal immigrants
can be granted the status of refugees and
asked the parties involved to complete the
pleadings by the next hearing in August.
The bench was hearing petitions filed by
two Rohingya men against the centre’s
proposed plan to deport around 40,
Rohingya to their native country, Myan -
mar. They had fled Myanmar fearing vio-
lence and persecution at the hands of thegovernment there. Solicitor General Tushar
Mehta, appearing for the centre, urged the
bench to first decide “whether they are
ref ugees...whether illegal immigrants can
even be allowed the status of refugees
...This is the substantial question here”.Are illegal immigrants
refugees: SC to decideGlobal court
hears Italian
marines case