High Courts
Low Deterrent Effect, Diminished Fear Of Law Fuel Violations In India; Penal Provisions Need Firm Enforcement: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court recently invoked Benjamin Franklin and explained how laws in India continue to be violated only because of low deterrent effect and how important it is in a civilised society, to obey law out of principle rather than just fear of punishment. Single-judge Justice Jitendra Jain explained that penal provisions have a dual effect - one to penalise an offender or defaulter...
'Form Of Oppression': Chhattisgarh High Court Seeks Education Secretary's Personal Affidavit Over Lack Of Girls' Toilets In Govt Schools
The Chhattisgarh High Court has lamented the glaring inadequacy of toilets for girls in schools and the abysmal conditions of the existing ones across the State, and has consequently directed the Secretary, School Education Department to file his personal affidavit with respect to the same.A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, while...
EPF Act | Penalty For Delayed PF Contributions Can't Be Reduced Below 25% Of Arrears: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court has held that the penalty imposed on an establishment under the Employees Provident Fund Act for delaying payment of employees' provident fund contribution cannot be reduced below 25% of the arrears. In doing so the court modified an order which had reduced a company's penalty from over Rs. 3 Lakh to Rs. 25,000.The establishment had challenged an order dated 05.12.2016...
CMO Bulk Messaging Issue: Kerala Government Assures High Court No Further Messages Till Monday
The Kerala government on Friday (February 27) submitted before the High Court that its earlier undertaking to refrain from disseminating bulk messages from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) can continue till Monday (March 2).Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas recorded the submission of the special government pleader while considering a plea alleging that the CMO has violated the privacy of...
'Stamp Duty Revision Must Conclude Within 6 Years': Bombay High Court Quashes ₹1 Cr Deficit Demand In Slum Rehab Deal
The Bombay High Court has held that the six-year limitation prescribed under Section 53A of the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958, governs the entire revisional process, from initiation to passing of the final order, and not merely the issuance of notice. The Court observed that a fiscal statute must be construed strictly and that permitting initiation within six years but completion thereafter...
Karnataka High Court Grants Bail To POCSO Accused Noting Minor Was Of Age To Understand Consequences Of Her Consensual Acts
Granting bail to a man accused of raping a minor girl, the Karnataka High Court observed that the 15-year-old survivor had a love affair with the accused and she is of an age where she could understand the consequences of her actions. The court was hearing the man's bail plea booked under BNS Sections 137(2)(kidnapping), 75(sexual harassment), 96(procuration of child), 126(2)(wrongful...
'State Cannot Forfeit Money For Its Own Lapses': J&K&L High Court Pulls Up JDA For Auctioning Encroached Land, Imposes ₹50K Cost
Observing that contractual forfeiture clauses cannot be pressed into service mechanically to penalise a citizen for lapses attributable to the State, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has held that where the alleged default itself flows from the failure of the authority, forfeiture of earnest money and denial of allotment would be wholly arbitrary and unsustainable...
Delhi High Court Sets Aside CAT Order Quashing Disciplinary Proceedings Against Sameer Wankhede In Cordelia Cruise Ship Drugs Case
The Delhi High Court on Friday set aside an order passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) quashing the disciplinary proceedings against IRS officer Sameer Wankhede in the 2021 Cordelia cruise drug bust case. A division bench comprising Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Amit Mahajan allowed the plea filed by the Central Government challenging the order passed by the Tribunal...
“Investigation Not Fair”: Madras High Court Orders CBI Probe Into Alleged Fake NOCs For Setting Up Petrol Pumps In State
The Madras High Court has ordered a CBI probe into the alleged incident of issuing fake No Objection Certificates (NOC) for obtaining licenses to operate petrol pumps in the State. Noting that the investigation being carried out by the State was not fair or independent, the bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice Arul Murugan thought it fit to transfer...
Absence Of Medical Officer's Opinion On Sexual Assault Not Fatal To Prosecution Under POCSO Act: Bombay High Court
In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court recently held that in cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, a person cannot be acquitted just because the medical officer does not give any opinion about sexual assault. Single-judge Justice Ravindra Joshi, while upholding a man's conviction under section 376(2)(i) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 6...
469 CrPC | Limitation Commences From Date Of Knowledge Of Police Officer, Not Subsequent Date Of FIR: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that the period of limitation under Section 469 CrPC begins from the date on which the police officer acquires knowledge of the commission of an offence, and not from a later date when the FIR is formally registered. Applying this principle, Justice Neena Bansal Krishna quashed a CBI chargesheet as being barred by limitation.The bench was dealing with a...
Karnataka High Court Directs North West Road Transport Corporation To Issue Guidelines On Transfer Of Employees In 3 Months
The Karnataka High Court has directed the North West Road Transport Corporation (NWRTC) to frame within three months guidelines governing transfer of employees, adding that till such guidelines are issued the transfer orders made on administrative grounds shall be speaking orders containing reasons. The court passed the order while setting aside the transfer of a driver, transferred from...