CMRL Scam: Kerala High Court Rejects Pleas Seeking Probe Into Bribery Allegations Against CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Daughter Veena

The Kerala High Court today (March 28) dismissed two revision petitions challenging the Vigilance Court orders refusing to order probes into corruption allegations against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter and other public functionaries of the State.Justice K. Babu ordered, "Criminal revision petitions stand dismissed."The revision petition was filed by Gireesh Babu (since...

Calcutta HC Calls For Circular On Use Of Barricades On National Highways, Suggests Illumination & Warnings To Avoid Mishaps

The Calcutta High Court has called upon the state government to issue guidelines on the use of barricades on national highways in the state in an attempt to reduce the number of accidents caused by speeding cars colliding with stationary barricades.A bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice C. Chatterjee Das was approached by the petitioners represented by senior counsel who claimed...

Penalty Under RTI Act Cannot Be Imposed Without Notifying Responsible Officer: Jharkhand HC Sets Aside ₹25k Fine On Addl Dy Commissioner

The Jharkhand High Court has held that a penalty under Section 20(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, cannot be imposed without first issuing notice to the officer actually responsible for the delay in furnishing information.Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad, setting aside a ₹25,000 penalty imposed on Ganesh Kumar, the then Additional Deputy Commissioner of East Singhbhum, said, “for...

BNSS & BSA Grant Discretion To Summon, Examine Witnesses Allowing Trial Courts To Determine How To Proceed In PMLA Cases: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshiya Adhiniyam (BSA) grant discretion in the manner for summoning and examining witnesses, allowing the Trial Court to determine whether to proceed with the PMLA trial or to keep it in abeyance until the predicate offence trial is concluded.A division bench of Justice A.Muhamed Mustaque and Justice...

Calcutta High Court Orders Police Picket Outside Rabindra Bharati University Over Protest By Dismissed Employees

The Calcutta High Court has directed police presence outside Shantiniketan's Rabindra Bharati University campus to ensure the safe ingress and egress of officials in a plea seeking police assistance outside the campus due to an ongoing protest by dismissed employees of the university.Justice Jay Sengupta held: Even if the dismissed employees or others want to protest, the same has to be in...

Dismissal Is Last Resort; Disciplinary Authorities Must Consider Lesser Penalties Before Extreme Punishment: Chhattisgarh HC

Chhattisgarh High Court: A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal set aside the compulsory retirement of a police constable, finding the punishment to be disproportionate. The court held that disciplinary authorities must consider lesser punishments provided under Regulation 226 of the Police Regulations before imposing major...

Different Approach Must Be Adopted In Bail Pleas Arising Out Of Corruption Cases Of Huge Magnitude: J&K HC Denies Bail To Chief Engineer

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court held that while determining a bail application, the severity of the punishment is an important but not the only factor; the court must also consider the nature and gravity of the offence with which the applicant is charged.The court said that the allegations were not of an ordinary kind and fell under a different league. The case involved corruption...

Registering Officer Cannot Evaluate Title Or Irregularity In Document: J&K HC Directs Adherence To Statutory Duties Under Registration Act

The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has ruled that a Registering Officer's role is purely administrative and does not extend to determining the title of a document's executor.Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal emphasized that as per the Registration Act and Rules, a Registering Officer is only required to register documents accompanied by supporting documents and has no authority to...

PMLA | For Acts Done Prior To Enactment Penalty Follows Only If Proceeds Of Crime Are Utilized, Article 20(1) Is Not Violated: Kerala HC

The Kerala High Court has held that Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 does not penalize a person for his past actions, but penal consequences only follow when the accused utilizes the proceeds of the crime from past actions for money laundering after the enactment of PMLA and the amendment to its schedule in 2009. The Court thus held that Section 3 of the PMLA criminalizes the act of...

Munambam Land Dispute: Kerala Govt Prefers Appeal Against High Court Order Cancelling Appointment Of Inquiry Commission; Hearing On April 3

The Kerala government has preferred an appeal against High Court's March 17 order cancelling the appointment of an Inquiry Commission set up by the State to resolve the land dispute between residents of Munambam and the Waqf Board.A single judge of the Court had allowed the plea filed by Kerala Waqf Samrakshana Vedhi, a registered society which works for protecting Waqf properties in the...

Gujarat High Court Delivers Spilt Verdict On Temporary Bail Sought By Asaram In Rape Case

The Gujarat High Court on Friday (March 28) gave a spilt verdict on the temporary bail plea moved by Asaram who was convicted in a 2013 rape case by a sessions court in 2023 and is serving a life sentence. Notably, the Supreme Court had in January this year granted interim bail till March 31 to Asaram on medical grounds.When the matter was called today, a division bench lead by Justice Ilesh...

S.110 Customs Act | SCN Cannot Be Issued After One Year, Detention Of Goods Impermissible: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that detention of goods by the Customs Department cannot continue beyond a period of one year, if a show cause notice was not issued to the assessee within such period.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta cited Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962 which prescribes a period of six months. Further, subject to complying with...