Important matters heard by the Supreme Court on Thursday

Important matters heard by the Supreme Court on Thursday, December 5: * Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Thursday administered oath of office to Delhi High Court Chief Justice Manmohan as a judge of the Supreme Court.

* The SC allowed the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to relax the stringent GRAP-4 (Graded Response Action Plan) curbs to stage 2 to deal with air pollution in the national capital region in view of improvement in the AQI levels.

* The SC set aside an NGT order imposing around Rs 3 crore fine on M/s Govardhan Mines and Minerals as compensation for damages to the environment on account of illegal stone mining activities in the Dadam Hills of Tosham at Bhiwani, Haryana.

* In a relief to union minister L Murugan, the SC quashed criminal defamation proceedings against him on a complaint filed by the Chennai-based Murasoli Trust for his alleged defamatory statements at a press conference in December 2020.

* The SC refused to entertain a plea by AIADMK advocates wing joint secretary M Babu Murugavel challenging an order that quashed the defamation complaint against Tamil Nadu assembly speaker M Appavu.

* The SC set aside an order of the Manipur High Court directing the CBI to locate and produce a rape convict on the run. PTI MNL HIG