SC frowns upon Jharkhand HC for not pronouncing verdict in criminal cases, seeks report from all HCs
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New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday expressed surprise that the Jharkhand High Court has not pronounced verdicts in 67 criminal appeals after reserving judgement and asked all high courts to submit report in a month on cases where judgements are pending.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh termed the development as "disturbing", and said it will law down some mandatory guidelines on the issue.
"This cannot be allowed to happen," the bench said, as it sought reports from all the high courts in four weeks on cases where judgement has been reserved on or before January 31, 2025 but verdict has not been pronounced till date.
The top court passed the directions after perusing the report filed by registrar general of the Jharkhand High Court in which it said in 56 criminal appeals heard by division bench from January, 2022 till December, 2024, the verdict has not been pronounced despite order being reserved.
It also noted that before the single bench judge, judgement has not been pronounced in 11 criminal appeals despite order being reserved.
The top court was hearing a plea of four life convicts, who have approached through advocate Fauzia Shakil, claiming that the Jharkhand high court had reserved orders on their appeals against conviction in 2022 but did not pronounce verdicts due to which they were not able to claim the benefit of remission.
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India describes attack on Fujairah 'unacceptable'
New Delhi (PTI): India on Tuesday described the wounding of three Indians in an attack on the United Arab Emirates' port city of Fujairah as "unacceptable" and pressed for an immediate cessation of hostilities targeting innocent civilians.
New Delhi's reaction came a day after the Indians were injured after a drone attack caused a fire at a major oil industry zone in Fujairah. The UAE had accused Iran of carrying out the strike.
"The attack on Fujairah that resulted in injury to three Indian nationals is unacceptable," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
"We call for immediate cessation of these hostilities and the targeting of civilian infrastructure and innocent civilians," the spokesperson said.
Jaiswal said India continued to stand for dialogue and diplomacy to deal with the situation so that peace and stability could be restored across West Asia.
"We also call for free and unimpeded navigation and commerce through the Strait of Hormuz in keeping with international law. India stands ready to support all efforts for a peaceful resolution of issues," he said.
The attack on Fujairah city came as the ceasefire between the US and Iran came under strain in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and gas pass, remains a major sticking point in the talks. Shipping through the narrow Gulf waterway has been severely disrupted by the conflict, triggering a sharp increase in oil prices and energy shortages in several countries.
The UAE's defence ministry on Monday said its air defence systems engaged 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones launched from Iran.
The ministry affirmed that it "remains fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats and will firmly confront anything that aims to undermine the security of the country."
