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Courts Turn Out As People's Champions Forcing State To Hold Timely Polls. The High Court Got Mired In Controversies Ranging From Plot Allotment To Sacking Of HC Staff

BIG GUNS EXONERATED IN FAKE ENCOUNTER CASES
Big guns, whose names had surfaced in fake encounter cases, heaved a collective sigh of relief after BJP president Amit Shah was discharged last year on December 31.In the wake of Shah's reprieve, this year, the CBI court and Bombay high court dropped charges against IPS officers P P Pandey, Geetha Johri, O P Mathur, and Abhay Chudasama, either for want of evidence or due to absence of state government's sanction for criminal prosecution. Minister of Rajasthan, Gulabchand Kataria, and marble trader Vimal Patni, too, walked free. None of the discharge orders have been challenged by CBI.


ENCOUNTER COPS SAIL OUT OF JAIL, ON BAIL
While other big guns had charges against them dropped outright, some were not so lucky, and had to settle for freedom on bail. On February 6, suspended IPS officer D G Vanzara got bail in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case. He stepped out of jail after more than seven years. He had got bail in Sohrabuddin encounter case but the second case prevented his release.Even after getting bail, he has to confine himself to Mumbai. Other senior cops, P P Pandey and NK Amin, got bail in Ishrat case. This year, all cops jailed in Sadiq Jamal Mehtar encounter, too, got bail.


COURT TAKES TEESTA TO TASK
Gujarat HC denied anticipatory bail on February 12 to social activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand in connection with allegations of embezzlement of funds raised to construct a museum in Gulbarg Society. The HC castigated Teesta's NGO, accusing them of being non accountable and dubbed them as “one-woman and one-man show“, Setalvad was also booked for a post she made on Twitter.

NO RELIEF FOR PREGNANT RAPE SURVIVORS
This year, the high court received multiple petitions from rape survivors seeking to abort their unwanted pregnancies. On April 16, the HC denied abortion permission to an gangrape survivor from Botad as she had a 14-weeks pregnancy.
She delivered the baby but abandoned it. The court on July 23 also refused a 14-year-old rape survivor from aborting her pregnancy. Later, SC set a precedent by permitting a minor from Sabarkantha to carry out the abortion.

HC BURNS THE MIDNIGHT OIL, CREATES HISTORY!
Hardik Patel's abduction drama led the high court to conduct a hearing at 2 am, on September 23 for a habeas corpus petition. For the first time, fearing chaos, the high court literally closed its doors to other litigants and media. Now, it has passed a gag order on the proceedings.Earlier, the state government, too, had caused the court to work after sunset on a holiday anticipating chaos during the funeral procession of a Patidar youth, Shwetang Patel, who had died in police custody. There was a flurry of petitions during the quota movement. For the first time, Gujarat police was rapped for mishandling the riots.

MORE CLEAN CHITS FOR MODI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi got a bevy of clean chits after a magisterial court rejected addition of more charges in the poll code violation case over Modi taking a selfie on May 11, 2014. The HC later upheld the exoneration on November 5. The PM was also exonerated in the case of filing defective affidavit in 2012 Assembly polls. He hadn't revealed his marital status in the affidavit. A sessions court on February 7 upheld the lower court's conclusion that the complaint was late and the HC dismissed complainant Nishant Varma's petition on July 13. Later, the SC upheld the HC's order on October 16.


CHINKARA CASE QUASHED
On May 9, Bollywood star Aamir Khan got a reprieve from the HC after seven years, when ACJ V M Sahai quashed the complaint for illegal filming of a chinkara during the shoot of Lagaan in 2000. The order was mentioned before the SC, at a hearing on legality of National Judicial Appointments Commission.


STAY ON DHOLERA LAND ACQUISITION
On December 10, the HC ordered a stay on the state government from acquiring agricultural land in Dholera for the Special Investment Region (SIR). Farmers have challenged the land acquisition as illegal because the government applied Town Planning Scheme to rural land, thus paving the path to acquire 50% land of farmers without compensation.


HC MAKES CIVIC POLLS POSSIBLE IN TIME
The pre-poll drama in courts this year had led most to believe that civic body elections would not be in time. However, intervention by the courts made timely polls possible. Issues raised by Congress workers over delimitation of wards failed to extract a prolonged stay on the polls, and currently an appeal in the matter is pending before the Supreme Court. The state government's bid to delay elections citing unrest in wake of the Patidar stir also failed to work before the high court, which earlier foiled implementation of the state government's compulsory voting law. The HC also rebuked the State Election Commission (SEC) for its reluctance to hold polls in time and for not giving NOTA option to voters. The high court also asked the SEC to upload online the affidavits of all candidates within six months.


HIRED & FIRED: HC SACKS 94 STAFF HIRED BY ACJ
Soon after ACJ V M Sahai retired in August, in September, 94 employees recruited by him under special powers were issued termination notices. Recruitment rules, which were amended by the former ACJ, were changed again and all concerned employees lost their jobs. In its judicial scrutiny of over two months, the HC upheld the sacking of the employees by terming Justice Sahai's actions in the matter as illegal.


VISMAY JAILED, THEN BAILED
A local court sentenced Vismay Shah in the BMW hit-and-run case, to a fiveyear jail term. Two youths had been killed in the accident in Vastrapur in 2013. The conviction took place despite two eye witnesses turning hostile.The high court refused bail to Vismay after the sentence, but the SC granted bail, observing that he had already been 13 months in jail.


SOHRABUDDIN'S BROTHER ENDS 10-YR-LONG BATTLE
Sohrabuddin's brother Rubabuddin Shaikh appeared to be ending his 10-year-long legal battle for justice, when he withdrew his appeal against BJP president Amit Shah's discharge order from Bombay HC.

GIR GETS A BREATHER HC SEALS ENCROACHMENTS
Following a suo motu PIL by the high court, state authorities sealed hotels and resorts around the Gir sanctuary in February and March. The government also had to revise the tourism policy and redraft it by relaxing certain construction norms, after, compelled by locals, five MLAs moved the court over this issue.
TWO LOWER COURT JUDGES ARRESTED IN GRAFT CASE
Two judges ­ P D Inamdar and D A Acharya were arrested on September 9 by the HC vigilance cell on charges of corruption when posted in Vapi. The complainant, an advocate, has now sought CBI probe on the ground that HC's vigilance officials did not probe the case in a proper manner. HC has issued notice to its vigilance cell over the matter.


NIA COURT FINALLY GETS A CASE IN GUJARAT
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) made its first arrest n Gujarat and began proceeding in connection with the Bharuch double murder case. After miserably failing to make a breakthrough in the Modasa blast case in six-year long nvestigation, the NIA closed that case this year.

Sources: http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31805&articlexml=BAR-BENCH-Shield-Rule-Of-Law-23122015002022