Karnataka HC Issues Notice On Plea Challenging Appointment Of District Judge Over Alleged Lack Of 7 Years Continuous Practice As Advocate

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Registrar General of the High Court on a public interest litigation filed questioning the appointment of a district judge, as she allegedly does not have 7 years of continuous practice as an advocate as on the last date fixed for the receipt of the application.A division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C M Poonacha...

Child Dies At Unregistered Play School In Haryana; High Court Seeks State's Report On Safety Norms, Name Of Officer Responsible

Taking serious note of the death of a child at an unregistered play school in Haryana, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has sought a detailed report from the State Government regarding the safety norms applicable to such institutions. The Court has also directed the State to disclose the name and designation of the officer responsible for ensuring compliance with regulations governing...

Conduct Inter-Ministerial Consultation On Whether Import Of Massagers/Sex Toys Is Allowed Or Not: Delhi High Court Tells CBIC

The Delhi High Court has directed the CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) to conduct inter-ministerial consultation in respect of coming up with a uniform policy permitting or prohibiting the import of products declared as 'body massagers' or sex toys. The bench opined that the question as to whether any product is obscene or not cannot, obviously, be left at the...

Allahabad High Court Divided On Advocate's Conviction For Killing Wife In 1991; One Judge Acquits, Other Confirms Life Term

A Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday delivered a split verdict in a 29-year-old criminal appeal filed by a Fatehpur-based advocate convicted for murdering his wife in 1991 as she allegedly refused to transfer money and property to his name While Justice Salil Kumar Rai noted that the prosecution failed to prove the charge of murder beyond a reasonable doubt...

Kerala University Sanskrit PhD Row: High Court Grants Interim Protection From Arrest To Dean Booked Under SC/ST Atrocities Act

The Kerala High Court on Monday (November 10) granted interim protection from arrest to Dr. C.N. Vijayakumari, Head of the Department of Sanskrit, Chairman of the Doctoral Committee, and Dean, Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Kerala.The petitioner is the sole accused in the crime registered at Sreekaryam Police Station in Thiruvananthapuram alleging commission of the...

Private Hospitals Liable To Pay VAT On Supply Of Medicines & Implants To In-Patients: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has held that the supply of medicines and implants by private hospitals to in-patients amounts to 'deemed sale' and is liable to VAT (Value Added Tax). The issue before the bench was whether the supply of medicines, stents, implants, consumables, etc., during the course of treatment of patients amounts to 'sale' as defined in section 2(23) of the VAT...

MP High Court Sets Aside Single Bench Order Altering MPPSC Answer Key; Says Courts Must Not Supplant Expert Opinion

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has quashed an order of the Single Bench, which set aside the opinion of the expert committee appointed by the State to assess the disputed questions in the MPPSC (MP Public Service Commission) State Service Preliminary Examination conducted in December 2023. In doing so, the division bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Pradeep Mittal observed that...

Working Men/Women's Hostels Are Residential Properties, Cannot Be Taxed At Commercial Rates: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has recently ruled that hostels providing accommodation to working men and women are residential properties and, therefore, property tax, water tax, and electricity charges cannot be levied at commercial rates. The ruling came in response to petitions filed by hostel owners in Chennai and Coimbatore challenging Chennai municipal authorities and the Chennai Metropolitan...

CENVAT Rules Cannot Apply Retrospectively To Concluded MODVAT Proceedings: Allahabad High Court

Recently, the Allahabad High Court has held that where proceedings under the MODVAT (Modified Value Added Tax) Scheme had concluded prior to the introduction of the CENVAT (Central Value Added Tax) Rules, it would not be open to the revenue department to issue fresh notices against the assessee under the new scheme. The MODVAT scheme, allowing manufacturers a tax credit on input duties,...

'Free Flow Of Opinions Essential To Democracy': Kerala High Court Quashes Criminal Case Against Man Over Facebook Comment Against CMDRF

The Kerala High Court recently quashed the criminal charges against a man who faced prosecution for a Facebook comment allegedly critical of contributions to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).Justice V.G. Arun, delivering the judgment observed: “Free flow of opinions and ideas is essential to sustain the collective life of the citizenry. Fear of setback to...

'Prima Facie Not Maintainable': Delhi High Court On Plea By Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia Against Privilege Committee Summons

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday listed for hearing tomorrow the plea filed by Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia challenging the summons issued to them by Delhi Legislative Assembly's Privilege Committee over the “phansi ghar” controversy. Justice Sachin Datta orally remarked that prima facie, the petition is not maintainable.Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta appearing...

Bombay High Court Issues Notice On Plea Seeking CBI Probe Into Reliance's Alleged $1.55 Billion Gas Theft From ONGC

The Bombay High Court has issued notice on a petition seeking CBI probe against Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and its directors, Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani for allegedly stealing over USD 1.55 billion worth of natural gas from neighbouring Oil and Natural Gas Corporations (ONGC) wells in the Krishna Godavari Basin, off the coast of Andhra Pradesh. The petition was filed by Jitendra P Maru,...