"Surprising": Madras High Court On Service Of Summons After 12 Years Of Case Being Filed, Says Institutions Failed In Their Obligations

The Madras High Court was recently surprised to note that the summons in a criminal case was served 12 years after the case was taken on file.Justice B. Pugalendhi noted that the delay was attributable to both the police and the court registry. The court said that while the police failed to cause service of summons in time, the Judicial Magistrate also failed to verify whether the...

Madras High Court Quashes Unlawful Assembly Case Against Men Who Gathered To Watch Live Telecast Of Ram Temple Consecration

The Madras High Court has quashed the criminal proceedings initiated in 2024, against a group of men for alleged unlawful assembly, noting that the men had gathered to watch the live telecast of the Ayodhya Ram temple ceremony. Justice N Satish Kumar noted that whenever some religious functions are conducted, there would be some grievances by other groups. The court added...

Limitation Commences When Award Is Received By Authority Competent To Decide On Challenging It U/S 34 A&C Act: Manipur High Court

The Manipur High Court held that in abitration cases, in case of government entities, the limitation period commences from the date when the award is received by the person who is competent to take decision on whether to challenge the award under section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Act) and not merely when the award is emailed or received by the counsel. A bench...

Kerala High Court Closes Complainant's Plea Challenging Police's Notice Of Appearance In Sexual Harassment Case Against Rapper Vedan

The Kerala High Court on Thursday (October 23) closed a petition filed by de-facto complainant challenging a notice directing to appear before Ernakulam Central Police for recording her statement in a case filed against Rapper Vedan. Justice C Pradeep Kumar, closed the petition, when it was informed by the public prosecutor that the Station house Officer (SHO) withdrew the impugned...

Chhattisgarh High Court Upholds ED Arrest Of Chaitanya Baghel In Liquor Scam Case, Says Procedural Lapses Do Not Constitute Illegality

The Chhattisgarh High Court has refused to quash the arrest and consequential criminal proceedings initiated against Chaitanya Baghel (petitioner) for his alleged involvement in the Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam.While the petitioner pointed out a slew of procedural lapses and irregularities in his arrest, such as— non-issuance of summons, baseless claims of non-cooperation, template grounds...

Kerala High Court Asks Suchitwa Mission To Assist In Tackling Hygiene, Maintenance Issues At Chottanikkara Temple

The Kerala High Court has asked the State government regarding the steps that can be taken by Suchitwa Mission, a technical arm of government which empowers local bodies with technical support for waste management, sanitation, and green initiatives, to provide assistance to Chottanikkara Temple.The division bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice K V Jayakumar observed,...

Gauhati High Court Grants Anticipatory Bail To Man Accused Of Passing Fake Input-Tax Credit Worth ₹199.31 Crores

The Gauhati High Court has granted anticipatory bail to the accused of passing fake ITC worth Rs. 199.31 crores, which was passed to 58 firms across 11 States using fabricated invoices totalling Rs. 658.88 Crores. Justice Kardak Ete was dealing with the case where the accused persons, led by Ashutosh Kumar Jha, had created a fictitious firm, M/s Siddhi Vinayak Trade Merchants,...

Executive Magistrates Cannot Invoke S.130 BNSS In Purely Private Disputes: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that Executive Magistrates cannot invoke Section 130 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in matters arising from purely private disputes, such as allegations of cheating or breach of trust, unless there is a demonstrable threat to public peace or tranquillity.Justice V G Arun delivered the judgment in a petition filed challenging the order and...

Delhi High Court Bars Lawyer From Appearing Online, Says Switching Off Video Citing Parallel Hearing Against VC Rules

The Delhi High Court has barred a woman lawyer from appearing before it through video conferencing, noting that she switched off her camera and muted herself citing parallel ongoing hearing which is against the VC Rules. Justice Tejas Karia passed the order and barred the lawyer from appearing before his court through VC henceforth. “….learned Counsel for Defendant Nos. 1 and 2,...

Filing Certified Copy Of Arbitration Agreement Not Mandatory When Undisputed Agreement Is Already On Record: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court held that an application under section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Arbitration Act) cannot be rejected merely on the ground that a certified copy of the agreement was not produced along with it when the same agreement containing the arbitration clause is already on the record and undisputed between the parties. Justice Maulik J. Shelat...

Right To Worship At Temple Cannot Be Curtailed; State Must Balance Faith And Public Order: HP High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has held that prohibiting entire communities from worshipping at their deity's temple violates their constitutional right to freedom of religion under Articles 25 and 26.The Court stated that such rights can only be restricted on grounds of public order, morality, or health, and that too through reasonable and proportionate measures.The Court remarked...

'School Teacher Can Enforce Discipline, Correct Pupil': Kerala High Court Quashes Case Against Teacher For Caning Student

In a recent judgment, the Kerala High Court quashed the criminal proceedings initiated against a school teacher for beating his students with a cane.Justice C. Pratheep Kumar referred to various precedents, which discussed the extent of corporal punishment that can be inflicted on a child by a teacher. It was observed: “From the above decisions it is clear that the school teacher, in view...