Supreme Court to conduct proceedings in Amrapali Group case; read more for further developments

National

The Supreme Court will hear different petitions connected to the Amrapali Group’s projects on Saturday (September 3).

A panel of CJI Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi will hear cases involving Amrapali Group projects. The court would consider the report of R Venkataramani, Senior Advocate, who was previously designated as Court Receiver to handle homebuyer problems.

The court took note of the progress report presented on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate on the Surekha Family investigation during the last hearing on August 22.

According to the study, supply of TMT bars worth Rs 215 crores were not proven to be genuine, but the Report states that a full investigation under the terms of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 is still ongoing and that necessary actions would be taken in the future.

On January 25, 2019, the Supreme Court gave the government-owned National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) permission to begin the process of finishing two delayed Amrapali housing projects.

Issues Status Quo on Ganesh Utsav

After the Supreme Court issued a “status quo” decision the previous day on a plea by the Karnataka Waqf Board, no Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations would take place at Bengaluru’s Idgah Maidan. This broke a standoff just in time, since the state administration was insisting on granting licences to set up pandals for the Hindu holiday tomorrow and the day following.

The SC has further asked parties to approach the Karnataka HC for adjudication of the issue.

Maharashtra government inquired about Mumbai riots

The Maharashtra government was asked by the Court on Tuesday to notify it whether compensation had been given to the legal heirs of 168 individuals who were registered as missing during the 1992-93 Mumbai ethnic riots.

A three-judge panel led by Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, AS Oka, and Vikram Nath questioned if these 168 persons were among the 900 listed victims. It further requested that the State government inform it whether any compensation was paid for property loss, when the money was given, and the time lapse between the date of the occurrence and the payment of compensation.

The Supreme Court ordered the government to submit its affidavit within two weeks.

The bench was hearing a petition in which the question of compensating victims of the Mumbai riots was highlighted.

During the hearing, the Supreme Court noted that, according to the graphic shown to it, 900 persons were killed in the violence. It stated, “There are 168 people who have gone missing. Their families are entitled to compensation after seven years.”

 6 weeks to Centre for consultations on granting minority status to Hindus

The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave the Central Government six further weeks to have talks with various State governments on the question of awarding Hindus minority status in places where other groups outnumber them.

The matter was scheduled for October 19 by a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and AS Oka, after the Centre requested six further weeks for further consultation with stakeholders on the subject. The bench took note of the status report filed by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, which said that talks on the topic were held with the states.

According to the apex court, it is noted in the status report that discussions with state governments have taken place, and that additional time is needed to conduct a wider engagement with all parties.

The Ministry noted in its status report to the court that comments/views of state governments, including Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, had not been received as of date.

On May 10, the Supreme Court stated that it did not appreciate the Centre shifting its position in the petition seeking minority status for Hindus in certain states.