'Res Ipsa Loquitor Applicable': HP High Court Says Truck Driver's Negligence Established In Fatal Accident As Truck Fell Into Gorge

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has modified the sentence of a truck driver involved in a fatal accident. The Court held that as the truck plunged off the road, and mechanical inspection showed no fault, the accident itself indicated negligence.Further, the Court noted that as the postmortem report confirmed death due to crush injuries from a road accident, negligence was...

'Mode Of Access To Temple Not Essential Religious Practice': Kerala High Court Declines Early Opening Of Traditional Forest Route To Sabarimala

The Kerala High Court recently refused to allow a lawyer's plea for opening the traditional forest route (Kanana Patha) to Sabarimala ahead of the date announced by the authorities.The Division Bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and Justice K.V. Jayakumar observed that the deferment of opening of the Kanana Patha does not infringe upon the petitioner's fundamental right.Further,...

Orissa High Court Denies Bail To Alleged Al-Qaeda Operative Accused Of Recruiting Youths To Terrorist Organizations

The Orissa High Court has recently rejected the bail plea of Md. Abdur Raheman, allegedly linked to the international terrorist organization 'Al Qaeda', who is in custody since 2015 on the accusation of illegally running Madrasas in order to indoctrinate and engage youths in anti-national activities.While denying relief, the Bench of Justice Gourishankar Satapathy found the accusation against...

Stay On Govt Order Barring Gatherings In Public Places Applies To All, Can't Be Restricted To Litigating Party: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court on Monday said that its interim order dated October 28, by which it stayed the Government Order that prohibited gatherings of ten or more persons for peaceful civic, social, or cultural activities in public places and declared such assemblies as unlawful, would be applicable to all and not limited only to the petitioners before the court. Advocate General Shashi...

Computer-Related Invention Not Barred U/S 3(k) Patents Act If It Demonstrates Technical Contribution: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has recently allowed an appeal by Ab Initio Technology LLC, a US-based company, against the Patent Office's refusal and directed that the patent application be allowed, holding that the claimed invention involved an 'inventive step' to satisfy Section 2(1)(j) requirement and is not excluded as a 'computer programme per se' under Section 3(k) of the Patents...

Prosecution Must Prove Victim's Age U/S 94 Juvenile Justice Act For POCSO To Apply: Patna High Court

The Patna High Court recently held that in prosecutions under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the age of the victim must be conclusively established either through school records or medical evidence, as required under Section 94(2) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.Justice Alok Kumar Pandey was hearing a criminal appeal arising...

Why So Sensitive? P&H High Court Refuses To Entertain PIL For Change Of Farhan Akhtar's Movie Name '120 Veer Bahadur'

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to change the title of Farhan Akhtar's movie from '120 Veer Bahadur' to '120 Veer Aheer', noting that a review of the film's certification is still pending and that the Union Government has assured it will decide the matter within two days, as the film is scheduled for release this...

Delhi High Court Says It Will Pass Orders Protecting Raj Shamani's Personality Rights

The Delhi High Court on Monday said that it will pass an interim order restraining the unauthorized use of podcaster Raj Shamani's name, image, voice, and likeness, granting him ad-interim relief against platforms including Google, Meta, and Telegram.A Single Bench of Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora meanwhile issued summons to Google, Meta, and Telegram in a suit seeking protection...

De-recognition Of Association On Account Of Non-Renewal Not Ground To Disregard Achievement Of Participants: AP High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has allowed a plea of a MBBS candidate— who was placed lower in the priority list (at No.91) for admission to the course for the 2025-26 session, and had approached the Court asserting that she ought to have been placed higher on the list (at No.53) on account of her participation in the Senior National Fencing Championship, 2024-25.The Sports Authority of...

Rajasthan High Court Reviews Jodhpur Cleanliness Drive, Civic Chief Assures Disciplinary Action Against Erring Officials

The Rajasthan government last week placed before the High Court a comprehensive report detailing the measures undertaken by it to improve sanitization across Jodhpur, including establishment of dedicated monitoring cell under the command of monitoring officers to observe deployment of entire workforce and actual work on the ground level.This came during a Public Interest Litigation hearing...

Magistrate Cannot Issue Warrant When Respondent Skips Appearance In DV Act Case After Summons: J&K&L High Court

Holding that coercive processes like arrest warrants have no place in proceedings under Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act unless a distinct offence under the Act is alleged, the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has ruled that once a respondent has been duly served with summons but fails to appear, the Magistrate is empowered only to proceed ex parte and cannot resort to...

'Evidence Of Injured Witness Not At Higher Pedestal If Accused Is Also Injured': Allahabad High Court, Says Injury Guarantees Presence, Not Truth

Dismissed a complainant's appeal challenging the acquittal of three accused in a 2018 assault case, the Allahabad High Court today observed that while the testimony of an injured witness is ordinarily placed on a higher pedestal, this principle may not apply when the accused is also injured. A bench of Justice Rajeev Misra and Justice Dr. Ajay Kumar-II added that injury on a...