High Courts
Tenure Of CGRF Members Must Be Considered For Extension Before Issuing Fresh Recruitment: Jharkhand High Court
The Jharkhand High Court has held that failure to consider extension of tenure of members of Consumer Grievance Redressal Forums (CGRFs) in accordance with statutory regulations, and issuing fresh recruitment advertisements without reasons, undermines the independence and impartiality of such bodies. A Single Judge Bench of Justice Ananda Sen was hearing a writ petition seeking quashing...
S. 24 Specific Relief Act Does Not Bar Fresh Suit For Refund Of Earnest Money After Dismissal Of Specific Performance Suit: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has held that Section 24 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, does not bar a plaintiff from filing a fresh suit for refund of earnest money even after dismissal of a suit for specific performance. The Court observed that while Section 24 bars claims for compensation in certain circumstances, it does not extinguish the right to seek other reliefs such as a refund of...
Railway Claims Tribunal Cannot Infer Death Due To Trespass Solely From Nature Of Injuries: Bombay High Court Allows Compensation
The Bombay High Court has held that the Railway Claims Tribunal is not an expert body competent to conclude that death occurred due to trespass merely on the basis of the nature of injuries sustained by the deceased. The Court observed that in the absence of cogent evidence or expert testimony, such findings are unsustainable and cannot be used to deny compensation under the Railways...
Registrar, Sub-Registrar Not 'Court', Section 5 Limitation Act Not Applicable In Proceeding Under Registration Act: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court has held that the registrar and Sub-Registrar under the Registration Act are not Court and therefore, Section 5 of the Limitation Act will not be applicable to proceedings under the Registration Act. Justice Irshad Ali held“..the office of Registrar, Additional Registrar or the Sub Registrar may not be treated as a Court. Accordingly the provision contained in Section...
Allahabad High Court Relies On Victim-Wife's Testimony To Uphold Man's Conviction In 1983 Attempt To Murder Case
The Allahabad High Court last week upheld the conviction and 7-year rigorous imprisonment of a man who shot his wife in February 1983 inside their matrimonial home over an unfulfilled dowry demand for a motorcycle. Dismissing the husband's criminal appeal filed in 1985, the Court relied heavily on the testimony of the injured wife, terming her a "sterling witness" whose evidence was...
S. 482 CrPC Plea Not Maintainable Against NIA Court's Refusal To Discharge Even If State Police Probed Scheduled Offence: Allahabad HC
The Allahabad High Court has ruled that an application under Section 482 CrPC or Section 528 BNSS is not maintainable against an order refusing discharge passed by a Special Court under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act, even if the state police investigated the scheduled offenceThe Court held that the remedy against such orders is to file a statutory appeal under Section 21(1) of...
Order XLI Rule 27 CPC Inapplicable In Appeal Against Order Of Temporary Injunction: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court has held that Order XLI Rule 27 C.P.C., which restricts parties form adducing additional evidence before appellate Courts, is not applicable in appeals against order of temporary injunction by the Trial Court. Referring to Order XLI Rule 27 C.P.C, Justice Subhash Vidyarthi held “the aforesaid Rule applies to filing of additional evidence in appeal, after the...
'Gang' In Western UP Insuring Persons On Deathbed; Police Uncooperative: HDFC Life Submits Before Allahabad High Court
HDFC Life Insurance Company has submitted before the Allahabad High Court that an organised gang is operating in Western Uttar Pradesh, which manages to secure life insurance policies for individuals already on their deathbeds or who have died. The company also submitted that, despite complaints, in most of these cases, the Police do not cooperate by conducting a fair investigation to...
Authorities Cannot Rely On 8-Year-Old Notice To Recover Provident Fund Dues Or Freeze Bank Accounts: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has held that authorities cannot freeze bank accounts or recover provident fund dues without issuing a fresh notice and providing an opportunity of hearing to the affected party. The Court observed that reliance on a stale notice issued several years earlier violates principles of natural justice and renders the recovery action unsustainable.Justice Prafulla S. Khubalkar...
Kerala High Court Flags Gaps In 2020 Flood Compensation Policy, Orders Review & Disbursal To Affected Families
The Kerala High Court has directed the State government to revisit its compensation framework for families affected by the 2020 floods.A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M issued the directions while disposing of a writ petition seeking disbursal of balance amount to the remaining 3,232 families of Kuttanadu area in Alappuzha district.By a...
Bombay High Court Upholds Closure Of Hotel Over Alleged Prostitution, Says Prior Conviction Not Needed Under Immoral Trafficking Act
The Bombay High Court has held that an order directing closure or eviction of premises under Section 18(1) of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, does not require a prior conviction of the owner, occupier or lessor. The Court observed that Section 18(1) is a preventive provision enabling action based on material indicating use of premises as a brothel, whereas the requirement...
Gram Panchayat Employees Absorbed In Municipal Corporation Entitled To Equal Pay For Equal Work: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has held that employees absorbed from Gram Panchayats into a Municipal Corporation are entitled to parity in pay with regular employees if they perform identical duties. The Court observed that denial of equal pay for equal work in such circumstances amounts to discrimination and violates Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.A division bench of Justices G. S. Kulkarni...