Judges supreme court of india

SINGAPORE: The High Court has dismissed the Attorney-General's application to appeal in the Court of Appeal against a judge's decision to exempt an Hougang resident from paying legal costs. Both parties met in a closed-door hearing on Wednesday. The Attorney-General said in a statement last week that the objective in making the application was to give the Supreme Court the opportunity to consider and clarify this issue of public importance. Justice Philip Pillai had ruled earlier this month that Madam Vellama Marie Muthu will not have to pay costs even though she lost her bid to get the court to declare that the prime minister does not have "unfettered discretion" in deciding on whether and when to call by-elections. The Attorney-General had sought S$10,000 in costs from Madam Vellama Marie Muthu, who had initiated the case in March this year after former Hougang Member of Parliament Yaw Shin Leong vacated his post. However Justice Pillai said that public interest … [Read more...] about High Court dismisses AG’s appeal in Hougang by-election case

U.S.-based human rights watchdog Freedom House has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of “driving India toward authoritarianism” with a “hamfisted lockdown”, scapegoating of Muslims, and a crackdown on critics, and downgraded India’s status from ‘Free’ to ‘Partly Free’ , in its annual report. “Under Modi, India appears to have abandoned its potential to serve as a global democratic leader, elevating narrow Hindu nationalist interests at the expense of its founding values of inclusion and equal rights for all,” said Freedom in the World 2021 , which was released on Wednesday. India’s freedom score, calculated using indicators of political rights and civil liberties, dropped four points to 67 this year, pulling the country down into the ‘Partly Free’ category. In a year when social media censorship has been hotly seated, while the government shut down Internet connectivity in Kashmir as well as on Delhi’s borders, India’s Internet freedom score dropped to just 51. … [Read more...] about India is ‘partly free’, says U.S. thinktank

SINGAPORE: The Court of Appeal has dismissed a criminal motion by the lawyers of a convicted drug trafficker to set aside his death sentence and reopen his case in the High Court for a re-trial, given proposed changes to the mandatory death penalty for drug traffickers. Cheong Chun Yin, a Malaysian, was convicted in 2010 of trafficking 2.7 kilogrammes of heroin into Singapore. Cheong had arrived from Myanmar and delivered a black trolley bag containing the drugs. According to Cheong's lawyers, Mr M Ravi and Mr Louis Joseph, Cheong believed he was carrying gold bars, and did not know the bag contained drugs. They added that Cheong was only a mule acting for two other masterminds who have yet to be nabbed, and that he had tried to cooperate with the authorities. Under the proposed amendments, the court will have the discretion to sentence a drug trafficker to life imprisonment and caning, as opposed to the current mandatory death penalty, if the accused is found to have … [Read more...] about Court dismisses motion to set aside death sentence for drug trafficker

SINGAPORE: Singapore's High Court has thrown out the law suit filed by a Hougang resident on whether the Prime Minister has "unfettered discretion" as to when to hold a by-election in the constituency. Madam Vellama Marie Muthu, 42, had asked the court to declare whether the Prime Minister is required to call elections within three months of a Member of Parliament vacating his or her seat. The part-time cleaner filed her bid in March, after former Hougang MP Yaw Shin Leong vacated his post. The case continued even though a by-election was held in Hougang in May. In a media release, the Attorney-General's Chambers said High Court Judge Philip Pillai struck out the application on Wednesday. Justice Pillai said in his 53-page judgement that the Constitution does not require the Prime Minister to call elections to fill elected Member vacancies. As such, there is no "prescribed time" within which such elections must be called. Justice Pillai said in his conclusion that … [Read more...] about High Court judge throws out Hougang by-election suit

SINGAPORE: The High Court has reserved judgement on the Hougang by-election case. Hougang resident Vellama Marie Muthu is seeking to have the High Court declare that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong does not have "unfettered discretion" over whether and when to call a by-election. She had also applied for a mandatory order for the by-election to be called in Hougang within three months or a reasonable time, after the seat was vacated. Mdm Vellama's counsel, M Ravi, said his client was abandoning the mandatory order, as the by-election has already taken place. But they will proceed with the declaration. This point was contested by the Attorney-General's Chambers, who said the calling of the Hougang by-election has made Mdm Vellama's application void. After the hearing, the Law Society raised the question of Mr Ravi's professional capacity, citing a letter from his doctor saying he was unfit to practise. The Law Society said it informed Judge Philip Pillai of the contents … [Read more...] about High Court reserves judgement on Hougang by-election case