Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court on Thursday sought details from the city police of the probe into a case registered against NCP leader Nawab Malik under the Atrocities Act on a complaint of IRS officer Sameer Wankhede. Wankhede, the additional commissioner in the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services (DGTS) and a member of the Mahar Scheduled Caste, last week moved the HC seeking the case to be transferred to the CBI, alleging inaction by the police. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan directed for Mumbai's Goregaon police station's officer concerned to remain present on the next date along with the case diary. The court said it shall be apprised of the details of the investigation in two weeks. Wankhede, in his plea filed through advocate Sana Raees Khan, has alleged that the police's inaction in the matter has caused him and his family significant mental distress and humiliation. In August 2022, the Indian Revenue Services (IRS) officer lodged a compla

The Bombay High Court has said transfer of proceedings from a judicial officer cannot be done on mere allegation by one party, and dismissed a petition of the Lilavati Hospital's trust founder alleging bias against the Charity Commissioner. A single bench of Justice Sharmila Deshmukh last month refused to transfer the proceedings pertaining to a dispute between the trustees from the Charity Commissioner to any other judicial officer, noting there was no reasonable apprehension of bias or prejudice. The HC said passing of an adverse order cannot be the foundation for seeking transfer of proceedings. "It is necessary to ensure for securing the ends of justice that a mere allegation is differentiated from an apprehension and what is required is a reasonable apprehension. An absence of congenial atmosphere cannot be a ground for transfer," it said. The court dismissed the petition filed by the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust founder Charu Mehta and permanent trustees Rajesh Mehta

An ex parte injunction is a temporary court order issued without the other party's presence or participation. The term 'ex parte' means 'from one side'

A Muslim man can register more than one marriage as their personal laws permit multiple marriages, the Bombay High Court held in a case of a man seeking to register his union with his third wife. A division bench of Justices B P Colabawalla and Somasekhar Sundaresan on October 15 directed the deputy marriage registration office of the Thane Municipal Corporation to decide the application filed by a Muslim man in February last year seeking to register his third marriage with a woman from Algeria. The couple, in their plea, sought direction to the authorities to issue them a marriage certificate, claiming that their application was rejected as this was the man's third marriage. The authorities refused to register the marriage on the ground that under the Maharashtra Regulation of Marriage Bureaus and Registration of Marriage Act, the definition of marriage contemplates only a single marriage and not multiple unions. The bench, however, termed the authority's refusal as "wholly ...

The Enforcement Directorate has issued a fresh circular directing its officials or investigating officers (IOs) to not question people called on summons at "unearthly" hours and not keep them waiting for hours at their office. The technical circular was issued on October 11 after the Bombay High Court directed the federal agency to issue directives in this context as it took up the petition of a person who was summoned by the ED and "detained overnight and interrogated." The HC found that the 64-year-old petitioner was summoned to the ED office for questioning and was kept waiting post mid-night. Recording of his statement, at unearthly hours, "definitely results in deprivation of a person's sleep, basic human right of a individual", it said. The court said it "disapproved" of such a practice by the agency and directed it to issue a circular or directive to its IOs regarding timing and recording of statement of people following issuance of summons under section 50 of the Prevention

During the initial stage of developing the pharmaceutical product, the petitioner (Enzene Biosciences) had incurred a lot of expenditure

Former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba died at a state-run hospital here due to health-related complications on Saturday, merely seven months after he was acquitted in a case of alleged links with Maoists after 10 years in prison. Saibaba, who was in his 50s, breathed his last at around 9 pm, an official said. He died at due to gall bladder infection and other complications. The Bombay High Court in March this year acquitted Saibaba in an alleged Maoist links case, noting the prosecution failed to prove the case against him.

The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the magistrate to submit by November 18 an inquiry report into the custodial death of Akshay Shinde, the accused in the Badlapur school sexual assault case. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan gave this direction, and also ordered that all evidence related to the case be collected, preserved and checked by forensic experts. The bench also emphasized the police to include strong forensic evidence in its probe into the incident where the accused was killed in a police shoot-out. The law mandates that every custodial death has to be inquired into by a magistrate. Advocate General Birendra Saraf said all relevant documents have been forwarded to the magistrate for inquiry. The court said the magistrate shall commence the inquiry and hear all parties concerned. "The report shall be placed before us on November 18. The magistrate inquiry report is expedited," the HC said. The court was hearing a plea filed .

Kangana Ranaut's Emergency' film will miss the September 6 scheduled release date, with the Bombay High Court on Wednesday refusing to grant any urgent relief by directing the censor board to certify the movie immediately. A division bench of Justices B P Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla said it cannot grant any urgent relief at this stage in the wake of the directive issued by the Madhya Pradesh HC directing the censor board to consider objections to the movie before certifying it. The bench said if not for the Madhya Pradesh HC it would have directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to issue certificate to the movie today itself. Scheduled for release on September 6, the biographical drama is caught up in a controversy after Sikh organisations, including the Shiromani Akali Dal, objected, accusing it of misrepresenting the community and getting historical facts wrong. The film's producer Zee Entertainment Enterprises had moved the Bombay High Court seeking a ...

The bench also criticised the civic body of Mumbai for its inability to enforce a ban on PoP idol production, despite the Central Pollution Control Board issuing clear guidelines against its use since

'If schools are not a safe place, then what is the point of talking about right to education?', Bombay High Court questions authorities in Badlapur assault case

Protests on Badlapur sexual assault case escalate in Maharashtra - Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition calls for a Maharashtra-wide bandh on August 24

Mihir Shah, the main accused in the BMW hit-and-run case, has moved Bombay High Court claiming he has been illegally detained and has sought immediate release. Shah was arrested on July 9, two days after he allegedly rammed his BMW car into a two-wheeler in Mumbai's Worli area, killing Kaveri Nakhwa (45) and leaving her husband Pradeep injured. In his habeas corpus (produce the person) petition filed in HC last week, Shah claimed his detention was illegal and that he must be released immediately. A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande is likely to take up the plea for hearing on Wednesday. Shah (24) is accused of speeding off towards Bandra Worli Sea Link after the accident even as the woman remained on the bonnet of the car and then got entangled in its wheels for a distance of more than 1.5 kilometres. Shah, who fled from the scene, was under the influence of alcohol at the time, as per police. Shah, his father and former Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena

The Bombay High Court on Friday said the vision should be to make Mumbai a slum-free city and raised concerns about the plight of slum dwellers who become "victims at the hands of private developers". A division bench of Justices G S Kulkarni and Somasekhar Sunderesan emphasised the need for strict and robust implementation of the Maharashtra Slum Area (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act. "Vision is to have Mumbai, which is considered an international city and the financial capital of our country, slum-free. We need to have an absolutely slum-free city. This Act will help that vision," the court said. The bench said the implementation of provisions of the Act lies with the government as the mandate lies with them. The bench was set up last week to undertake a "performance audit" of the Act pursuant to the Supreme Court's directives in July. The apex court had raised concerns about the working of the Act. The high court, on Friday, stressed the need for sustainable ...

The Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed the petition filed by advertising firm director Bhavesh Bhinde, arrested in the Ghatkopar hoarding collapse case, in which he claimed that his arrest was illegal and sought immediate release. A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande said it has not found any legal infirmity and no impairment in the procedure mandated while arresting a person. "We find no legal infirmity. The ground of illegal arrest and detention by the petitioner is nothing but a faux. There is no impairment in the procedure. The petition is dismissed," the court said. Bhinde sought that the FIR registered against him be quashed claiming that the hoarding collapse of May 13, which killed 17 persons, was an "act of God" and he be released on interim bail pending hearing of the plea. He has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. His lawyer Rizwan Merchant had argued that Bhinde was arrested from Udaipur on May 16 and was then ...

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it has listed for hearing on August 9 a plea challenging the verdict of the Bombay High Court which had upheld a decision of a Mumbai college to impose a ban on wearing of 'hijab', 'burqa' and 'naqab' inside the campus. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the submissions of a lawyer that the term exam is commencing from today and the students, belonging from a minority community, are bound to face difficulties due the instructions on dress code. Lawyer Abiha Zaidi, appearing for petitioners, including Zainab Abdul Qayyum, sought urgent hearing saying the unit tests in the college are commencing. "It is coming up tomorrow (Friday). I have listed it already," the CJI said. The high court had on June 26 refused to interfere with the decision of the Chembur Trombay Education Society's N G Acharya and D K Marathe College imposing the ban, saying such rules do not violate students' ...

The Bombay High Court has granted bail to five persons arrested by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) in connection with a 2018 arms haul case and for allegedly conspiring to attack the Sunburn festival in Pune, citing prima facie insufficient evidence to prove the conspiracy charge. A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande, in the order of July 30, also took note of the long incarceration of the accused persons with bleak chances of the trial ending soon. The ATS arrested five persons in 2018 after it seized arms, ammunition and explosives from the residence of two other accused in the Nallasopara area of Thane district. The ATS had claimed the arms and explosives were to be used to target the Sunburn festival in Pune in December 2017. The bench perused the witness statements and other evidence submitted by the prosecution in its chargesheet and said they were "insufficient". "We have prima facie formed an opinion that these statements are ...

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it has ordered listing of a plea challenging the verdict of the Bombay High Court which had upheld a decision of a Mumbai college to impose a ban on wearing of 'hijab', 'burqa' and 'naqab' inside the campus. The high court had on June 26 refused to interfere with the decision of the Chembur Trombay Education Society's N G Acharya and D K Marathe College imposing the ban, saying such rules do not violate students' fundamental rights. It had said a dress code is meant to maintain discipline which is part of the college's fundamental right to "establish and administer an educational institution". Taking note of submission seeking urgent listing of the appeal, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said it has already assigned a bench for the matter and that it would be listed soon. Lawyer Abiha Zaidi, appearing for petitioners, including Zainab Abdul Qayyum, sought urgent hearing saying the unit test

The Bombay High Court on Monday issued summons to Shiv Sena's Ravindra Waikar on a petition filed by Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Amol Kirtikar challenging his election from Mumbai North West Lok Sabha seat. Kirtikar had lost to Waikar, who is part of the faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, by a narrow margin of 48 votes. While Waikar got 452644 votes, Kirtikar garnered 452596 votes. In his election petition filed earlier this month, Kirtikar sought HC to set aside Waikar's election as "null and void". Kirtikar sought that he be declared as elected from the constituency. A single bench of Justice Sandeep Marne on Monday issued summons to Waikar and the 19 other respondents (remaining candidates from the constituency) and posted the matter for hearing on September 2. "Issue summons to respondents returnable on September 2," the court said. Kirtikar, in his plea, claimed that on the counting day itself he had filed an application seeking recount of the votes as there was ...

The Bombay High Court on Monday came down heavily on the police and civic authorities for their inability to find a solution for the illegal hawking menace and asked if vendors would be allowed to put up stalls outside the Mantralaya or the governor's house. A division bench of Justices M S Sonka and Kamal Khata said if the issue of illegal hawkers and vendors was a recurring problem, a permanent solution is required, and the authorities cannot claim to be helpless. The court said there must be a stop, and it cannot keep recurring blatantly. It also lamented the fact that the civic bodies and police authorities do not take any action on citizens' complaints against illegal and unauthorised hawkers and vendors. "You (authorities) want citizens to come and sit in court every day? This is sheer harassment of people. This is complete lawlessness. The corporation does not look into citizens' complaints, and the police do not. What should a common man do?" the court said. "Those who wan