Essential Commodities Act | Failure To Examine Available Independent Witnesses Casts Doubt On Fairness Of Investigation: Calcutta HC

The Calcutta High Court recently observed that the non-examination of independent witnesses, when they are admittedly present, casts doubt on the fairness and transparency of the investigation.A Single Judge Bench of Justice Prasenjit Biswas made these observations while hearing an appeal against a conviction delivered by a Special EC Court. The appellant had been convicted under...

Inter-Faith Relationship: MP High Court Rejects Family's Plea For Daughter's Custody, Says She's An Adult With Her Own Free Will

The Madhya Pradesh High Court, on Tuesday (November 18), dismissed a habeas corpus petition by maternal uncle of a Hindu woman, observing that she was a major, was not in wrongful confinement and was living with respondent no 4 (a muslim man) out of her own free will. The division bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf observed;"Corpus is a major. She states that she...

MP Amritpal Singh Moves P&H High Court Seeking Parole To Attend Parliament Winter Session

Punjab MP Amritpal Singh has approached the Punjab & Haryana High Court seeking parole to enable him to attend the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament, contending that his continued detention prevents him from fulfilling his constitutional duties as an elected representative.Amritpal Singh is currently detained in Dibrugarh Jail under the National Security Act (NSA), he has invoked...

J&K&L High Court Puts Govt On Final Notice, Grants 4 Weeks To Decide On Ex-Legislators Occupying Govt Quarters Despite Demitting Office

Aiming a fast tracking action on the long pending issue of Government accommodations occupied by high-profile political figures, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has granted the Estates Department a last and final extension of four weeks to act on the recommendations of the Designated Committee relating to the official quarters of former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and...

Suspension Of State Tax Officer For Delayed Report Unjustified When Authority Failed To Act In GST Fraud Case: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that where loss is caused to the State, a State Tax Officer may not be suspended for mere delay in submitting a report. Justice Vikas Budhwar held that this would be especially impermissible in a case where the authority to act on the report in time chooses not to do so.He held that, despite the fact that the petitioner submitted the report with delay,...

Wife's Belated Criminal Allegations Can't Outweigh Husband's Consistent Evidence Of Cruelty: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has observed that a wife's belated criminal allegations cannot detract from or outweigh the husband's consistent evidence of sustained cruelty meted out to him.A division bench comprising Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Renu Bhatnagar set aside a family court order dismissing the husband's petition for dissolution of marriage on the ground of cruelty by wife. It was...

GST Authorities Cannot Assume Jurisdiction For Passing Adverse Orders For Work Concluded Under VAT Regime: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that GST Authorities cannot claim jurisdiction for levying tax, penalty, and interest on work that was concluded prior to the implementation of the GST Act. Notices were issued to the petitioner, a work contractor, for the Financial Year 2018-19 under the GST Act. The petitioner was unable to reply to the notices in time. Consequently, an ex-parte...

Bombay High Court Grants Fresh Relief To Nova Cream, Orders Rival To Cease Using Disputed Packaging

The Bombay High Court has pulled up RV Pharmaceuticals, manufacturers of Moon cosmetics, for allegedly violating injunctions that had stopped it from using packaging said to imitate the dark green and black trade dress of the Nova cosmetic brand, granting fresh ad-interim relief to ensure the company does not continue using the disputed packaging.Justice Arif S Doctor passed the order on...

Police Superintendent Not Liable For IO's Negligence In Not Filing Chargesheet/ Closure Report In Time: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court recently observed that the Superintendent of Police could not be held responsible for the negligence shown by investigating officers in not filing final reports or closure reports before the court on time. The bench of Justice N Sathish Kumar and Justice M Jothiraman held that though the Superintendent of Police had the responsibility to monitor the investigation,...

GST Department To Re-Inspect Changed Place Of Business Before GST Registration Cancellation: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court, in a matter concerning retrospective cancellation of registration despite having amended place of business, directed “The GST Department may re-inspect the new premises of the Petitioner and obtain a physical inspection report.” The Division Bench, comprising Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Shail Jain stated that the officials of the GST Department...

CGST Act | Bombay High Court Stays GST Demand Order Over Delayed Service Of Showcause Notice

The Bombay High Court granted ad-interim relief to the assessee by staying the operation of a GST Demand Order The Bench of Justice B.P. Colabawalla & Amit S. Jamsandekar was hearing a writ preferred by the assessee seeking to quash the GST demand order challenging the Show Case Notice to be time barred per Section 73(2) and 73(10) of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST)...

'Identification In Court Highly Suspect': HP High Court Discharges Two Accused In 2006 Liquor Seizure Case

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has held that lapse in establishing the identity of the accused creates a serious discrepancy in criminal cases, especially in the absence of any independent witness to confirm such identification. Justice Rakesh Kainthla observed that:“It was specifically asserted in the rukka that the drivers of the vans ran away from the spot by taking advantage...