Page 2 - High Court

Proceedings transfer from judicial officer not on apprehension of bias: HC

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

Japan high court rules country's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional

A second Japanese high court ruled Wednesday that the government's policy against same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, the latest in a series of decisions upholding plaintiffs' demands for marriage equality. The Tokyo High Court called the ongoing ban a groundless legal discrimination based on sexual orientation, saying it violates the constitutional guarantee of right to equality, as well as individuals' dignity and equality between sexes. It was a clearer statement than the 2022 lower court decision that described the situation as an unconstitutional state. The Sapporo High Court ruling in March said not allowing same-sex couples to marry and enjoy the same benefits as straight couples violates their fundamental right to equality and freedom of marriage. Wednesday's ruling is the seventh overall that found the ongoing ban to be unconstitutional or nearly so, against only one district court decision that found it constitutional. The rulings can still be appealed to the Supreme ...

'Let Centre decide': Delhi HC on plea over Rohingya school admissions

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea seeking directions to enrol Rohingya refugee children in local schools, saying it was the Centre's domain. A bench comprising Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said the matter pertained to "international issues" having ramifications on security and nationality, and therefore, the petitioner should make a representation to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Petitioner NGO, Social Jurist, submitted the Delhi government and the MCD were not granting admissions to these children from Myanmar in their schools for want of an Aadhaar card. The court said the petitioner's representation would be decided by the authorities as expeditiously as possible. "Let (Ministry of) Home Affairs (MHA) take a call on this. There are a lot of issues involved. We can't get involved. Let it go to the MHA," the bench said. The court observed "Rohingyas were foreigners" who hadn't been "officially and legally granted entry into

SC stays HC order of Rs 1 lakh cost on advocate for wasting court's time

The Supreme Court has stayed an order of the Allahabad High Court which imposed costs of Rs 1 lakh on an advocate for wasting the court's "precious time" and arguing a case wearing a lawyer's robe and a band despite being a petitioner in-person. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan issued limited notice on whether adverse remarks made by the high court against advocate Mehmood Pracha need to be expunged. "Issue notice for the limited purpose as to why the observations made by the high court against the petitioner be not expunged and why the order imposing cost be not set aside, returnable on December 9, 2024. "Meanwhile, the impugned order dated September 10, 2024, to the extent of imposition of cost shall remain stayed," the bench directed. Pracha moved the top court against an order of the Allahabad High Court which found him guilty of wasting "precious time" for filing a petition which was already filed before Delhi High Court. The high court had also noted that Prac

Delhi HC calls for random checks to enforce auto fare meter compliance

The petitioner Anand Mishra stated that fare meters have not been operational since 2018, and the respondent authorities have failed to take corrective action

Muslim men can register multiple marriage as their personal laws permit: HC

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 ...

DU campuses still 'shabby', defaced walls should be painted: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has said campuses at the Delhi University were yet to recover from student unions' "election excesses" and looked "shabby" as posters and graffiti hadn't been removed as it directed the candidates to clean up the place and repaint the defaced walls. A bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela impleaded 16 students, who had contested the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) 2024-25 elections held on September 27, as parties to the proceedings while directing them to appear before it on October 28 and explain their conduct. The high court said the cleaning work should be done by the student candidates in collaboration with the university or colleges. On the prayer of the petitioner, the court impleaded as respondents -- Bhaanu Pratap Singh, Ronak Khatri, Yash Panwar, Rishabh Chaudhary, Lokesh Chaudhary, Yash Nandal, Rahul Singh Dedha, Aman Kapasia, Deepika Jha, Aman Kapasia, Shivam Maurya, Himanshu Nagar, Aaryan Maan, Rishi Raj Singh, Rahul

Morbi bridge tragedy: Gujarat HC rejects demand to transfer case to CBI

The Gujarat High Court has refused to hand over the investigation into the 2022 Morbi bridge collapse tragedy to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as sought by the kin of the victims. The court can not look into the correctness of the ongoing investigation, said a division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi. The court was hearing a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) initiated after the October 30, 2022, incident at Morbi in Gujarat in which 135 persons lost their lives when a British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river collapsed. Some of the victims and kin of the deceased sought reinvestigation of the entire case through the CBI, accusing Gujarat Police of not carrying out a proper investigation and not making any civic official accused despite a Special Investigation Team holding some of them responsible. In a separate application submitted last month seeking a CBI probe, the victims argued that the then district collector was

MP man to chant 'Bharat mata ki jai' for bail after 'Pak zindabad' slogan

The bail conditions require the accused to stand before the tricolour displayed at the station, salute it 21 times, and chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' as part of his routine

Politicians, friends pay tributes to ex-Delhi University professor Saibaba

Senior Congress leader K Keshav Rao, BRS leader Harish Rao and several others on Monday paid tributes to former Delhi University professor and rights activist G N Saibaba, who died here. Keshav Rao, MLA Harish Rao visited the residence of Saibaba's brother at Moula-Ali here where the departed professor's body was kept for his relatives and friends to pay homage. Expressing anguish over the demise of Saibaba, the BRS MLA termed as "unfortunate" the passing of the former after being acquitted by the court. Principles of justice state that an innocent person should not be punished, which applies in the case of Saibaba, he said. "Who will answer for the pain suffered by Saibaba?" asked Harish Rao, nephew of BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao. Earlier, the body of Saibaba was taken to the martyr's memorial at Gun Park in front of the Telangana legislature. The mortal remains were not allowed to be taken out of the ambulance as any activity at the place requires permission from competent

Actress assault: HC rejects plea for fresh probe into memory card case

The Kerala High Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking a fresh probe into the alleged illegal access of a memory card, which is crucial evidence in the sensational actress assault case of 2017. The survivor in the assault case had approached the high court to set aside the fact-finding inquiry report submitted by the Ernakulam Sessions and District Judge on January 8, 2024, and to order a fresh investigation into the matter. The high court ruled that the plea was not maintainable. However, the court stated that the complainant could seek appropriate legal proceedings in accordance with the law. In her plea, the survivor had claimed that a mere reading of the inquiry report with regard to the illegal access of the devices indicates that the authority carrying out the probe "never conducted a fair, free and complete" investigation as directed by the High Court. The survivor had contended that the report is liable to be quashed and urged that a fresh probe be carried out by a .

Excise Policy case: SC grants bail to businessman Abhishek Boinpally

The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Hyderabad-based businessman Abhishek Boinpally in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Aravind Kumar made its earlier order of interim bail absolute. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED, did not oppose the bail plea. "We are inclined to grant him bail," the bench said. The top court had on August 13 extended the interim bail granted to Boinpally. On March 20, the top court noted that the businessman had been in custody for 18 months and directed his release on interim bail for five weeks. Since then, Boinpally's interim bail has been extended from time to time by the apex court. While granting him interim bail, the top court had asked Boinpally to surrender his passport and directed him not to leave the National Capital Region except for a visit to Hyderabad. The businessman has challenged a July 3, 2023, order of the Delhi High Court that

Will lay down law on HCs revoking orders dictated in open courts: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday said it will lay down the law on the issue of high courts revoking orders dictated in open courts after the top court came across a case in which the Madras HC quashed a money laundering case against a former IPS officer and later modified its direction and reheard the matter. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih stayed the proceedings in a money laundering case against former IPS officer M S Jaffer Sait registered in connection with an alleged illegal allotment of a Tamil Nadu Housing Board plot. The top court posted the matter for hearing on November 22. The apex court was hearing a plea filed by Sait, who contended that his case was reheard within days after allowing his plea for quashing of the proceedings in the matter. The SC bench had earlier sought report from from the Madras High Court's Registrar General on the issue. On September 30, after inspecting the report from the HC, the top court had called the decision of the h

FM Sitharaman asks IT dept to analyse cases lost at HCs, SC to draw lessons

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asked the Income Tax Department to "analyse" court cases the taxman lost over the last decade in order to draw lessons and ensure litigation disputes are eliminated, official sources said Monday. The minister has also asked the department to prepare a list of "expert" tax law advocates so that they can represent the I-T Department or the revenue side effectively at judicial forums including in insolvency cases before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the sources said. The decisions were taken during a meeting of the top brass of the tax department and its administrative authority, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), held in Delhi last month. The principal chief commissioners and directors general of the I-T department apart from the CBDT chairman, members and officers were part of the meeting, they said. The sources told PTI that finance minister Sitharaman directed the CBDT to "audit" the cases won or lost by the departme

Samsung willing to settle wages with workers, rejects talks with 3rd party

Gopalan urged workers to call off "illegal" strike, return to work, and come forward for talks

Only 13% of high court judges declare assets, Kerala leads disclosure rates

Out of 749 judges serving across 25 High Courts nationwide, only 98 have made their asset declarations publicly available on their respective High Court websites

HC seeks to know status of plea in Allahabad HC over Rahul's citizenship

The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the Centre to obtain a copy of a petition pending before the Allahabad High Court on the issue of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's citizenship. The court said a petition on a similar issue is also being heard by the Allahabad High Court and two courts can't deal with the same issue simultaneously. The court said before proceeding further in the matter, it will be in the interest of justice to know the position about the pending petition in the Allahabad High Court. We read in the newspaper that Allahabad High Court is also seized of the controversy. Two courts cannot deal with the same issue simultaneously. You (Centre) check up the status of the petition at Allahabad High Court and also obtain a copy of the petition. We just want to be doubly sure that we are not taking over someone else's jurisdiction, a bench of Chief Justice designate Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said. The bench was hearing a plea by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy f

HC extends interim protection from arrest for Puja Khedkar till Oct 4

The Delhi High Court on Thursday extended till October 4 the interim protection from arrest granted to former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar in the criminal case lodged against her for alleged cheating and wrongly availing OBC and disability quota benefits in civil services examination. Justice Chandra Dhari Singh deferred hearing on her plea seeking anticipatory bail after a request was made by her lawyer. Counsel for the Delhi Police urged the court to allow a short adjournment, saying a "larger conspiracy has come to light", which involves forgery and creation of documents. "At request of counsel for the petitioner, list on October 4. Interim order to continue," Justice Singh said. Khedkar is accused of allegedly misrepresenting information in her application for the UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2022 to get reservation benefits. She has denied all allegations. Khedkar's lawyer on Thursday sought more time from the court to file a response to the UPSC's allegation that she ..

K'taka HC judge expresses regret, says social media reported out of context

Justice V Srishananda of the Karnataka High Court has expressed regret over the alleged objectionable remarks he made recently during judicial proceedings, which have gone viral prompting the Supreme Court to take cognisance of it. On September 20, a five-judge bench of the Apex court headed by the Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud took serious note of two videos in which the HC judge is seen making the comments in open court and sought a report from the Registrar General of the High Court. In one of the clips, Justice Srishananda referred to an area in Bengaluru as "Pakistan". On Saturday afternoon, as the court proceedings commenced, Justice Srishananda read out his statement in this connection. "A few observations made during judicial proceedings were reported out of context on social media platforms. The observations were unintentional and not meant to hurt any individual or any section of society. If such observations hurt any individual or any section of society or ...

Centre notifies appointment of Chief Justices of eight High Courts

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced the appointment of Chief Justices to eight High Courts, via his official X (formerly Twitter) handle