'No Special Circumstances': Gujarat High Court Rejects Plea Seeking Direction To Register FIR, Cites Remedy Under BNSS

The Gujarat High Court has reaffirmed that a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for the registration of a FIR is premature and not maintainable when an efficacious alternative statutory remedy is already available under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS). [2026 LiveLaw (Guj) 299]Consequently, Justice J.C. Doshi dismissed the petition seeking...

Villagers' Concerns Over Groundwater Depletion Not Enough To Halt Beverage Factory With Statutory Approvals: AP High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has dismissed a petition challenging a beverages manufacturing unit in Nagarapalem village, Srikakulam district. It held that unsupported fears of environmental damage and groundwater depletion cannot justify halting an industrial project that has obtained statutory approvals.The Court noted that the petitioners had failed to produce authenticated official...

Kerala High Court Strikes Down Rule Prohibiting Women From Working In Toddy Shops, Says It Violates Articles 14, 15, 19 & 21

State must ensure workplace safety, not prohibit women from working in industries of their choice, Court said.

Right To Protest Can't Be Nipped In The Bud: Madras High Court Allows Villagers To Hold Sit-In At Cremation Ground

The Madras High Court has permitted a "unique" sit-in protest by villagers of Sitharkadu village in Mayiladuthurai District in a crematorium, against government inaction with respect to the pollution caused by a state-run rice mill. [2026 LiveLaw (Mad) 517] Justice V Lakshminarayanan held that the villagers had a right to protest, which was a form of expression under Article...

Kerala High Court Allows Cybercrime Victim To Use Bank Account Frozen Over ₹1.16 Crore Fraud

The Kerala High Court recently directed Axis Bank to permit a cybercrime victim to operate and close her frozen bank account ignoring the requisition of ₹1.16 crores on the account. [2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 604]Justice M.A. Abdul Hakhim was considering a writ petition preferred seeking a direction to the bank to unfreeze the account held in the name of the petitioner's LPG...

Non-Hindus Wearing Religious Markers Can't Enter Agamic Temples Without Affirming 'Reverence' To Deity: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that non-Hindus wearing religious markers cannot be permitted to enter the premises of Agamic temples in Tamil Nadu unless they affirm their reverence for the deity concerned through an undertaking in the format prescribed by the temple. The Court clarified that though Agamic injunctions restricting entry can no longer pass muster of the Constitution,...

Unsubstantiated Claims Of Wife's Mental Disorder Amounts To Cruelty, Attacks Dignity Protected Under Article 21: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has held that making unsubstantiated allegations of mental disorder or absent-mindedness against a spouse constitutes legal cruelty, as such claims attack an individual's core dignity and right to live a dignified life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. A Division Bench of Justice Ashok S. Kinagi and Justice Subramanya Rangarao dismissed an appeal filed by...

Bleaching, Dyeing Of Handloom And Powerloom Fabrics By Job Workers Not 'Manufacture' Of Textiles To Attract Cess : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that independent textile processing units engaged in bleaching, dyeing and other processing of handloom and powerloom fabrics on a job-work basis cannot be made liable to pay textile cess under Section 5A of the Textiles Committee Act, 1963, as such activity does not amount to manufacture under the Act. A bench of Justice S.V.N. Bhatti and Justice N.V. Anjaria...

Even Small-Scale Land Acquisition Must Follow Due Procedure, Right To Property Can't Be Deprived Except As Per Law: AP High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has held that the right to property under Article 300-A of the Constitution cannot be disregarded merely because a small portion of land is being acquired. It observed that deprivation of property must not only be authorised by law but must also follow the procedure established by law, even where the acquisition serves a larger public interest.The Court...

Motherhood, Breastfeeding Falls Under Article 21: Rajasthan High Court Stays Transfer Of New Mother, Urges State To Frame Policy

Forcible separation due to mother's far-off transfer would cause health hazard to the infant, Court said.

Prescribed Authority Under UP Ceiling Act Not A Civil Court, Its Orders Are Amenable To Article 226: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that the Prescribed Authority under the U.P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960 is not a Civil Court and that an order passed by it can be challenged by way of a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. It held that the powers and privileges of a Civil Court conferred on the Prescribed Authority by Section 37 of the Act do...

Orders Passed Blindly On Legal Opinion Of Panel Counsel Without Independent Application Of Mind Are Arbitrary: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has held that an order passed by an administrative authority “blindly” on the opinion of a panel counsel, without application of its own mind, would be arbitrary, invalid and without jurisdiction.Consequently, Justice T.M. Nadaf quashed an endorsement passes in a “haste” to evade contempt proceedings, while allowing the petition seeking to challenging the...