Citing Franz Kafka, Delhi High Court Orders Premature Release Of Former President's Bodyguard; Slams SRB's 'Mechanical' Denials

Citing writer Franz Kafka, the Delhi High Court has ordered premature release of a former President's Bodyguard, who is serving life sentence for the 2003 robbery and gang rape of a young woman.Justice Neena Bansal Krishna held that the authorities, including the Sentence Review Board (SRB) acted arbitrarily in repeatedly denying him premature release despite over two decades of...

'Would Have Chilling Effect On Advocacy': Karnataka High Court Flags Dangerous Trend Of FIRs Against Lawyers Appearing For Opponents

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday (February 3) flagged the dangerous trend of complainants registering FIRs against advocates who represent their opponents remarking that this would create a chilling effect on the profession of advocacy. The court was hearing a lawyer's plea challenging an FIR where he has been arraigned as an accused, including for the offence of Section 69 (Sexual...

Rape An Affront To Womanhood, 'Brutally Infringes' Right To Life: Chhattisgarh High Court

While upholding a rape conviction, the Chhattisgarh High Court has observed that the offence of rape is an “affront to womanhood” and constitutes a brazen violation of several aspects of Article 21 such as dignity, bodily privacy, and personal liberty.Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas observed, "Rape is one of the gravest and most heinous offences against a woman. It is an affront to...

'Will Lay Down Something': Karnataka High Court Mulls Framing Guidelines On Providing Home-Cooked Food To Undertrials, Prisoners

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday (February 3) orally remarked that it will lay down guidelines on providing home-cooked food to undertrials and prisoners, while hearing a plea against order providing this facility to actress Pavithra Gowda, Nagaraju R and Lakshman M–presently facing trial in the Renukaswamy Murder case.The State Government has challenged a Sessions Court order...

Cumulative PG Residency Across Institutions Valid If Prospectus Is Silent: Delhi High Court Quashes AIIMS' Rejection Of Top Rank Holder

The Delhi High Court has quashed a decision of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) cancelling the candidature of a top-rank holder for admission to the DM (Critical Care Medicine) course, holding that postgraduate residency of 1,095 days can be cumulative across institutions when the prospectus does not mandate training from a single institute.Justice Jasmeet Singh held that...

Bombay High Court Indicates Disinclination To Grant Emergency Parole To Abu Salem After He Refuses To Pay For Police Escort

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday said it was not inclined to permit underworld gangster Abu Salem to visit his native place in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, to mourn the death of his brother Abu Hakim Ansari, by availing emergency parole for four days, since the 1993 Mumbai Bomb Blasts convict has claimed that he cannot pay ₹17.60 lakh towards police escort party charges. A division bench of...

FIR Against Juvenile For Petty Offence Unsustainable Under JJ Act: Karnataka High Court Quashes Case

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday (February 03) quashed an FIR against an accused who was stated to be a juvenile at the time of registration of the crime, noting that offence alleged against him was a petty offence under Juvenile Justice Act and thus FIR could not have been registered against him. Justice M Nagaprasanna was hearing the petitioner's plea who had challenged the registration of...

After High Court's Contempt Warning, Jharkhand Govt Undertakes To Make State Information Commission Functional Within Four Weeks

On 29 January 2026, the State of Jharkhand informed the Jharkhand High Court that the State Information Commission, which has remained non-functional due to the non-appointment of its Chairperson and Members, would be made functional within four weeks.A Division Bench comprising Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Arun Kumar Rai was hearing the matter. During the hearing, Avinash...

Consensual Relationship Turning Sour Can't Be Treated As Rape: Punjab & Haryana High Court Quashes FIR

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed an FIR registered under Sections 376 (rape) and 420 (cheating) IPC, holding that a failed consensual relationship, which does not culminate in marriage due to temperamental differences, cannot be converted into a criminal prosecution.Justice Alok Jain said, "the present FIR seems to be an abuse of process of law, as it is apparent that both...

Calcutta High Court Acquits In-Laws In Alleged Dowry Death Case, Finds Child Witness Testimony Unreliable

The Calcutta High Court has set aside the conviction and life sentence imposed on the appellants in a case relating to the alleged burning death of a married woman, holding that the prosecution failed to establish their culpability beyond a reasonable doubt.The Division Bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha and Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta found serious inconsistencies in the prosecution...

Kerala High Court Dismisses Journalist MR Ajayan's Review Plea, Upholds ₹40K Cost For Moving Vacation Bench Without Urgency

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday (03 February) dismissed a review petition filed by M R Ajayan, a freelance journalist, against an order of the vacation bench, imposing costs which amounted to a total of Rs 40,000.A division bench comprising Dr Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Jobin Sebastian dismissed the review petition challenging an interim order of the Vacation bench of...

Quantity Of Contraband Seized In NDPS Cases Must Be Specified For Effective Communication Of Grounds Of Arrest: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has reiterated that the quantity of contraband seized as per the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) has to be specified for an effective communication of grounds of arrest to an accused.Dr. Justice Kauser Edappagath relied on various precedents laid down by the Apex Court, including Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India and Others, Prabir Purkayastha...