ADVOCATES
CHATTISGARH HIGH COURT | Financial loss to a person/institution by mere Advocate’s opinion cannot be a ground for prosecuting him; intention to defraud and active participation required
In a petition filed under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (‘CrPC’), the Division Bench of Ramesh Sinha, CJ and Amitendra Kishore Prasad, J., stated that it could not be said that the petitioner had performed his duties in a negligent manner so as to cause financial loss to the respondent (‘Bank’). Further, even till date, the petitioner had been retained by the Bank as their panel Advocate. Had he been negligent or untrustworthy, the Bank would certainly have removed him from their panel. The Court stated that merely because an opinion given by an Advocate had caused financial loss to person / institution that could not be a ground for prosecuting him. There had to be some evidence that the said act was done with sole intention to defraud the person/institution and with active participation along with other conspirators. Read more HERE
ARBITRATION & CONCILLIATION
ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT | Arbitral Award treated as deemed decree; Execution can be initiated anywhere such decree can be executed
In a petition filed under Article 227 of the Constitution, wherein the jurisdiction of the Additional District Judge, Etawah to hear an execution petition for an award passed in Kanpur was challenged, the single judge bench of Neeraj Tiwari, J. held that since the land being acquired in in Etawah, the passing of the arbitral award at Kanpur will have no bearing in filing of execution proceeding at Etawah in light of the law laid down by the Supreme Court and the provisions of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (‘CPC’) as well as the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Read more HERE
ORISSA HIGH COURT | Awards rendered by MSME Council can be challenged under Section 34 of A&C Act and not under Art. 226
In an intra-court appeal against the decision of the Single Judge whereby a challenge to an award passed by the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council, Cuttack (‘the Council’) under Article 226 of the Constitution was refused to be entertained holding that the said award can be challenged only in accordance with the provisions prescribed under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (‘Arbitration and Conciliation Act’), the Division Bench of Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Murahari Sri Raman, JJ. found no legal infirmity in the impugned order passed by Single Judge, accordingly the appeal was dismissed. Read more HERE
CONTRACT AND SPECIFIC RELIEF
DELHI HIGH COURT | Revision Petition challenging Order by ADJ holding suit for specific performance of oral agreement to sell maintainable dismissed
In a Criminal Revision Petition filed under Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (‘CPC’) to set aside an order dated 27-02-2024 passed by the Additional District Judge (‘ADJ’) wherein the petitioner’s application was dismissed under Order VII Rule 11 read with Section 151 of CPC, a Single Judge Bench of Neena Bansal Krishna, J. held that the ADJ had rightly dismissed the application under Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC. Read more HERE
CRUELTY
ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT | Divorce granted to couple living separately for over a decade; Continuous mental cruelty by wife cited
In an appeal filed by the husband under Section 19 (1) of Family Courts Act, 1984 read with Section 28 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (‘HMA’) and Section 96 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, against the Family Court’s order, refusing to grant of decree of divorce under Section 13 of HMA the division bench of Rajan Roy and Om Prakash Shukla*, JJ. while granting divorce, held that the couple’s separation for over a decade had irreparably damaged the marriage, effectively amounting to mental cruelty for the husband. Read more HERE
KERALA HIGH COURT | Section 498A IPC protection is available to woman even in marriage with the ‘colour’ of legality
In a criminal appeal filed by the convicts against the judgment of Trial Court sentencing them under Section 498-A read with Section 34 of the Penal Code, 1860 (‘IPC’) on the ground that the marriage between the parties was not legal, the Single Judge Bench of Sophy Thomas, J. held that the marriage was valid because if there is some form of marriage, religious or customary, which has the colour of a legal marriage, then also the woman can seek protection under Section 498-A IPC. Read more HERE
MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT | Husband forcing wife to quit job & live as per his wish and style amounts to cruelty
In an appeal seeking to set aside the Family Court, order refusing to award decree of divorce, a division bench of Suresh Kumar Kait,* CJ. and Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari, J., set aside the judgment and decree passed by the Family Court and granted decree of divorce on the ground of cruelty and desertion. The Court held that “…forcing the wife to leave the job and live as per his wish and style, amounts to cruelty.” In the instant matter, the appellant-wife sought a decree of divorce between herself and the respondent-husband. The wife filed an appeal against the judgment and decree dated 17-08-2022 passed by the Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Indore and asserted that the trial court had erred both in law and fact by not passing the decree of divorce. Read more HERE
DEFAMATION
DELHI HIGH COURT | Notice issued to BJP member Amit Malviya after he initiated criminal defamation against RSS member
In a writ petition filed by a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (‘RSS’) under Article 226 of the Constitution read with Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (‘BNSS’) to quash the complaint filed by Amit Malviya (respondent 2), a BJP politician and President of I.T. Cell, Co-In charge of West Bengal Chapter, pending before the Patiala House Courts, New Delhi and to quash/set aside the order dated 31-07-2024 passed by the Patiala House Courts wherein a notice had been issued to the RSS member in terms of the proviso to Section 223 of BNSS, a Single Judge Bench of Jasmeet Singh, J. issued notice to Amit Malviya and made the same returnable on 04-03-2024. Read more HERE
EDUCATION LAW
HARYANA HIGH COURT | ‘Legal profession is noble profession’; refused to quash punishment of a law student disqualified from appearing in university exam for 2 years
In a petition filed under Article 226/227 of the Constitution seeking to set aside the order dated 01-04-2024, whereby the petitioner was disqualified from appearing in any University examination for two years, and to quash the impugned order dated 17-05-2024 whereby the respondent (‘University’) imposed the same punishment on the petitioner, the Single Judge Bench of Jasgurpreet Singh Puri, J.*, stated that the submission by the petitioner that the punishment was disproportionate, could not be sustained for two reasons. Firstly, the Regulations provided for two years of disqualification and there was no reason for this Court to give any punishment which was lesser than the same. Secondly, the petitioner was a student of LL.B., and he would be a future lawyer. Read more HERE
GUJARAT HIGH COURT | Primacy to experience over education qualification cannot be stretched to dilute educational criteria; Home Guard’s appointment quashed
In an intra-court appeal against a decision of the Single Judge rejecting the appellant’s petition against the appointment of respondent- 3 as a District Commandant, Home Guard, (Class-I) on the basis of his experience only who studied only till 9th Standard, ignoring the other candidates such as the present appellant who possess a Bachelor of Commerce Degree, the Division Bench comprising of AS Supehia and Gita Gopi, JJ. noted that the State bypassed the minimum qualification criteria, hence, set aside the respondent-3’s appointment and directed the State to appoint the appellant to the post of District Commandant of Home Guards, or to undertake necessary recruitment in Narmada District for appointment to the post of District Commandant. Read more HERE
KARNATAKA HIGH COURT | Priority in admission to KV under Grandparents Sponsoring Quota can’t be construed to be a vested right
While considering the instant appeal against the decision of single Judge Bench of the High Court who had rejected the appellants’ petition seeking admission in Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) under “Grandparents Sponsoring Quota”; the Division Bench of N.V Anjaria, CJ and K.V Aravind, J*., upheld the decision of the single Judge Bench which held that priority in admission cannot be construed to be a vested right and priority provided in the previous academic year cannot be enforced as a legal right for continuation of such quota. Read more HERE
HOUSING AND REAL ESTATE
DELHI HIGH COURT | Petition for plot allotment based on manipulated documents and unclean hands in cooperative society dispute dismissed
A petition was filed seeking to set aside an order dated 26-07-2024 passed by the Financial Commissioner as well as an order dated 31-01-2012 passed by the Assistant Registrar, office of Registrar, Cooperative Societies whereby the name of respondent 5 was forwarded for holding the draw of lots for allotment and further seeking a direction to respondent 1 to 4 to allot the plot in favour of petitioner on the basis of seniority and to maintain status quo in respect of plot-property. A division bench of Manmohan and Tushar Rao Gedela, JJ., dismissed the petition and held that the petitioner failed to substantiate his claim of seniority for plot allotment with valid documentation. Read more HERE
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT | Excise Commissioner’s order prohibiting reuse of embossed Mount Everest beer bottles upheld
In a petition challenging single judge order which quashed the Excise Commissioner’s order prohibiting all beer and liquor bottling units from reusing embossed bottles, and remitted back the matter to the Commissioner for reconsideration, a division bench of Sanjeev Sachdeva* and Pranay Verma, JJ., upheld the Excise Commissioner’s order prohibiting the reuse of bottles with embossed logos but set aside the prohibition on reusing bottles after removing/scratching the logos, leaving that issue for a different forum. Read more HERE
MAINTENANCE
ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT | Sacred duty of husband or father to maintain wife and children: Family Court’s pendente lite maintenance order upheld
In an appeal filed under Section 19(1) of Family Court Act, 1984 against an order passed by the Family Court under Section 24 of Hindu Marriage Act, whereby the Family Court has directed the husband to pay one time Rs. 50,000/- as litigation expenses to the wife in the case and also directed him to pay one time Rs. 10,000/- as litigation costs and Rs.500/ per hearing, within 30 days from the date of order, the division bench of Vivek Chaudhary and Om Prakash Shukla, JJ. held that there was no evidence indicating that the wife lacked an independent income, while it was established that the husband, a Colonel in the Indian Army, earned a substantial salary. Hence, the Family Court’s decision to award the wife Rs. 50,000 for filing a reply, along with Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 500 per hearing, payable by the husband within 30 days, was deemed reasonable and not requiring interference. Read more HERE
MEDICAL AND HEALTH LAW
RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT | Suo moto cognizance taken; Government demanded to take action on healthcare negligence
While taking suo moto cognizance based on two newspaper articles published in Rajasthan Patrika on 08-11-2024 and 10-11-2024 exposed severe negligence in the State healthcare system including improper dialysis procedures and lack of resources in hospital emergencies, against the Union of India and the State of Rajasthan, a single-judge bench of Anoop Kumar Dhand, J., issued the notice to respondents and emphasised on the urgent need for the government to enhance the healthcare system. Read more HERE
POCSO
BOMBAY HIGH COURT | ‘Marriage decided with good intent’; Bail granted to a man accused of impregnating his minor fiancé
In the present case, applicant sought bail in a case registered with Mukundwadi Police Station, Aurangabad for the offences punishable under Sections 64(2)(f), 64(2)(i), 64(2)(m), 65(1) of the Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and Sections 4, 6, and 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (‘POCSO Act’). A Single Judge Bench of S.G. Mehare, J., after considering the family conditions of the victim and after noting that the victim’s parents wanted to protect her from the ill-eyes of society, they decided the marriage of applicant and victim, granted bail to applicant, who was accused of impregnating the minor victim, who he was to marry. Read more HERE
PATNA HIGH COURT | ‘Convicted u/Section 6 of POCSO Act instead of Section 4’; An old man directed to be released after 10 years’ imprisonment; victim compensation enhanced from Rs 4 to 5 lakhs
The Division Bench of Ashutosh Kumar and Jitendra Kumar*, JJ., opined that the present case was covered under Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (‘POCSO Act’) and not under Section 6 of POCSO Act, as the victim was found to be above 12 years of age and hence, penetrative sexual assault committed against her did not come under aggravated penetrative sexual assault as defined under Section 5 of POCSO Act. The Court, after considering appellant’s age, opined that imprisonment of appellant for 10 years would meet the ends of justice and thus, he was sentenced to the period he had already spent in custody and was directed to be released. Read more HERE
POSH
MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT | Internal Complaints Committee obligated to attempt Conciliation to settle sexual harassment case before starting inquiry
In a writ petition challenging the dismissal of an Assistant Professor at Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (NIT), Bhopal following allegations of sexual harassment made by students, a single-judge bench of Sanjay Dwivedi, J., deemed the internal inquiry, procedurally defective and contrary to natural justice and quashed the suspension orders and subsequent disciplinary actions. Read more HERE
PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
KERALA HIGH COURT | Irregular order struck down, directions to Magistrate on probe into rape allegations against Ponnani police officials cancelled
In a case involving an allegation of rape by a housewife against police officials at the Ponnani Police Station, the Division Bench, comprising of Nitin Jamdar* CJ., and S. Manu, J. ruled that the Single Judge’s order must be set aside due to procedural irregularities. The Court noted that the writ petition had been filed without adhering to the proper procedural requirements, specifically bypassing the necessary procedure. Furthermore, the directions issued to the Magistrate were deemed inappropriate because none of the proceedings before the Magistrate were under challenge in the writ petition. Read more HERE
DELHI HIGH COURT | Delhi Police to coordinate with social media platforms and prepare handbook for timely information from these platforms
In a case involving steps taken by social media platforms to provide timely information, the Division Bench of Pratibha M. Singh* and Amit Sharma, JJ., noted that in a large number of cases, the Investigation Officers might not be fully aware of the manner in which information could be obtained from the various platforms, and sometimes precious time was lost. Thus, the Court stated that insofar as the Delhi Police was concerned, the matter might be escalated to the Commissioner of Police at the Delhi Police Headquarters for coordinating with the platforms and for taking steps towards preparation of a handbook that might be utilised and disseminated to all police stations, who might need urgent information from these platforms. Read more HERE
GUJARAT HIGH COURT | Parties in appeal not entitled to produce additional evidence as a matter of right; allowed only in exceptional circumstances
In a petition filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India and under Order XLI, Rule 27 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (‘CPC’) praying for quashing and setting aside the order of Additional District Judge, wherein the Judge rejected the application of the petitioners to produce additional documents, the Single Judge bench of Divyesh A. Joshi, J. reiterated that parties in an appeal are not automatically entitled to produce additional evidence, and such a request will only be allowed in exceptional circumstances. Read more HERE
ORISSA HIGH COURT | Suspicion alone insufficient for conviction; Two acquitted and one convicted in murder case
In a set of two criminal appeals arising out of judgment of the Trial Court convicting the convicts under Sections 302, 201 read with Section 511, and Section 120-B of the Penal Code, 1860 (‘IPC’), the division bench of SK Sahoo* and Chittaranjan Dash, JJ., acquitted two of the convicts and upheld the conviction of the third one, and reiterated that suspicion howsoever strong, cannot be a substitute for proof of guilt of an accused beyond reasonable doubt. Read more HERE
DELHI HIGH COURT | Conviction of former Samajwadi Party MLA Irfan Solanki’s in arson case upheld
In a criminal appeal filed by former Samajwadi Party Member of Legislative Assembly(‘MLA’) Irfan Solanki’s against the conviction order under Sections 147, 436 427, 323 read with Section 149 of the Penal Code, 1860 (‘IPC’), the division bench of Rajiv Gupta and Surendra Singh, JJ., held that although disqualification from the post of MLA due to conviction could lead to injustice and irreversible consequences, the Court must also consider wider ramifications of the stay of conviction. Accordingly, the Court rejected the appeal stating that Irfan Solanki had been properly convicted and has a long history of criminal antecedents. Read more HERE
PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING ACT
DELHI HIGH COURT | No mandatory for PMLA special court to record reasons for cognizance of ED’s Complaint unlike a private complaint under CrPC or BNSS
In a criminal petition filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (‘CrPC’) against theorder rejecting the discharge application of the accused on the ground that cognizance was not taken by the Trial Court, the Single Judge Bench of Chandra Dhari Singh, J. held that the Trial Court has taken cognizance in accordance with law and the Explanation-II of Section 44(1)(b) of the PMLA does apply retrospectively. Thus, it is not necessary for the Special Court under PMLA to record its reasons for taking cognizance of Directorate of Enforcement (‘ED’) complaint, unlike a private complaint under CrPC or Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Read more HERE
SERVICE LAW
JHARKHAND HIGH COURT | State directed to regularize services of a man appointed on daily wage and later contractual basis for utilizing his services from 2008
In a letter patents appeal challenging the judgment dated 23-04-2024 passed by the Single Judge, the Division Judge Bench of M.S. Ramachandra Rao, CJ and Deepak Roshan, J., stated that utilizing the services of the appellant from 2008 was practically indistinguishable from an appointment in a permanent post of clerk who was also engaged in doing typing on computer and data entry. Therefore, the Court set aside the decision of the Single Judge, and the respondents were directed to regularize the services of the appellant as a Clerk at par with the persons regularized on 22-07-2022 within three months, as he has undoubtedly completed 10 years of service as on 20-6-2019. Read more HERE
SC/ST ACT
RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT | FIR under SC/ST Act quashed against actress Shilpa Shetty for use of word “Bhangi” in 2013 Interview
In a petition filed by the petitioner, Actress Shilpa Raj Kundra, seeking the quashment of FIR for offenses under Section 153-A of the Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) and Sections 3(1)(r) & (u) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST Act), a single-judge bench of Arun Monga, J., held that the FIR lacked legal and factual merit, failed to establish essential ingredients of the alleged offenses, constituted an abuse of the process of law and accordingly, quashed the FIR. Read more HERE
TERRORISM AND ORGANIZED CRIME
DELHI HIGH COURT | Detailed directions issued for tackling bomb threat emails targeting Delhi Schools
A petition was filed by the petitioner seeking immediate and urgent directions to the respondents to formulate and implement interim measures, in a time bound manner, till adequate SOP/laws/guidelines etc. are prepared to address situations of bomb threat emails targeting schools in Delhi. Sanjeev Narula, J., directed GNCTD and Delhi Police to finalize and implement the draft action plans and SOPs in a time-bound manner, conduct regular mock drills in schools under police supervision to ensure preparedness and assign specific nodal officers in each zone to oversee bomb threat responses. Read more HERE
TRUSTS AND TRUSTEES
BOMBAY HIGH COURT | Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust Shirdi permitted to resume offering of flowers/garlands
The present application was filed by Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust Shirdi seeking permission of this Court to implement Resolution No. 277 dated 12-04-2023 of its ad hoc committee constituted pursuant to the interim arrangement devised for managing the affairs of the trust, till the State Government constituted Shree Sai Baba Sansthan Management Committee in accordance with the provision of Section 5 of the Shree Sai Baba Sansthan Trust (Shirdi) Act, 2004. The Division Bench of Mangesh S. Patil* and Shailesh P. Brahme, JJ., granted permission to the trust for resuming offering of flowers/garlands as resolved by Resolution No. 277, and directed the ad hoc committee to take appropriate decision regarding the way it decided to dispose of the waste that would be generated by virtue of offering of the flowers/garlands. Read more HERE