Writ Petition Maintainable Against Private Bank Acting Outside License Terms: Allahabad HC On Bank Unilaterally Freezing Customer's Account

The Allahabad High Court has held that a writ petition is maintainable against a scheduled private bank under Article 226 of the Constitution of India if it prohibits a person/company from withdrawing their money from the bank which is a violation of the conditions of the license granted to the bank by the Reserve Bank of India.While dealing with Kotak Mahindra Bank's unilateral freezing of...

Uttarakhand HC Permits US-Based Wife To Record Evidence Via Video Conferencing In Matrimonial Dispute, Stresses Effective Use Of VC Rules

Last week, the Uttarakhand High Court allowed a wife residing in the United States of America to record her evidence in a matrimonial dispute (in a case pending in a family court in the State's Dehradun district) via videoconferencing. A bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Vivek Bharti Sharma also directed all the courts within the State to ensure the effective use of...

'Acted As Govt Agent': Madhya Pradesh HC Fines Chief Information Commissioner ₹40K For Delay In Disclosing Info On Animal Husbandry Director

In a plea claiming non-disclosure of information sought under the Right to Information Act within the stipulated time, the Madhya Pradesh High Court said that the Chief Information Officer had acted as an "agent" of the Government by not examining the facts of the case in detail. The petitioner, a journalist, had sought information related to the tenure and work area of Director, Animal...

When First Reference Is Made, Duplicate Records Of Property Attached Under Gangster Act Must Be Retained For Future Release Application: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court has directed the State Government to ensure that when a reference for release application of property attached under the U.P. Gangster and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986 is made by the competent authority to a court of law, a duplicate copy of the original records must be retained by the competent authority to deal with any other release application...

License Suspension Order Can't Partake Character Of Cancellation, Must Specify Duration Of Suspension: Andhra Pradesh High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has held that an order suspending license can “never partake the character of an order of cancellation” and in the absence of an order of suspension prescribing a definite time period, the same, would make it unsustainable in law.A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Ravi Cheemalapati further explained that suspension...

Punjab & Haryana HC Finds 'Fabricated' Document On Voting Details Attached In Plea Challenging Election Tribunal's Order, Directs Enquiry

Taking strong exception to the attachment of a fabricated RTI document pertaining to the voting details of Punjab's Sarpanch Election by the elected candidate, the Punjab & Haryana High Court has directed an inquiry by the Deputy Commissioner of the district.After comparing the document with original copy, the Court noted that, "it is apparent that in the face of the original produced by...

Remained Silent Till 2016: Rajasthan HC Modifies Order On Payment Of Benefits To Lecturer From 1998 When She Got PhD, Says She Caused Delay

The Rajasthan High Court modified an order passed by the State Non-Government Educational Institutions Tribunal which directed a college to grant two annual increments to an Economic lecturer from the date when she completed her Ph.D in 1998, after noting that the latter had raised demand for benefits only in 2016. In doing so the court observed when the lecturer did not make any...

Delhi High Court Issues Permanent Injunction Against Trademark Infringement Of Ramada International, Awards ₹10 Lakh Damages

The Delhi High Court has granted a permanent injunction in favour of the American hotel chain Ramada International, against trademark infringement by a party using the 'Ramada' mark as its corporate name.Ramada International (plaintiff) submitted that it adopted the trademark RAMADA in 1954 for its hotel in Arizona, USA. It stated that it franchises and manages over 900 hotels across more than...

Investigating Officer Must Be Given 'Free-Hand' While Probing Case Involving Serious Allegations: Andhra Pradesh High Court

The High Court of Andhra Pradesh has held that in a case containing serious allegations, the Investigating Officer (IO) deserves a free hand to take the investigation to its logical conclusion. Justice T Mallikarjuna Rao further observed that,“The investigating officer, who has been prevented from subjecting the petitioner to custodial interrogation, can hardly be fruitful in finding...

Karnataka High Court Declines To Quash Murder Case Filed By Son Against Father Over Death Of Mother Who Fell From 16th Floor Apartment

The Karnataka High Court has refused to quash murder proceedings initiated by a man against his father after his mother died by falling from their apartment situated on the 16th floor.Justice M Nagaprasanna while dismissing the petition filed by Devendra Bhatia said “When the evidence of both the children as quoted hereinabove would pin the petitioner down albeit, prima facie, it...

'Why Didn't ED Wait For Outcome Of Complaint?' : Madras High Court Stays ED Attachment Of Director Shankar's Property Over Copyright Dispute

The Madras High Court on Tuesday stayed an order of the Enforcement Directorate provisionally attaching property worth Rs. 10 crore of Tamil filmmaker S Shankar in a copyright infringement case in connection with the 2010 movie 'Enthiran'. The bench of Justice MS Ramesh and Justice N Senthilkumar stayed the provisional attachment order on a plea moved by the Director. The ED had...

Employee Cannot Be Paid Back Wages For Work Missed Due To Confinement In Jail, 'No Work No Pay' Applies: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has denied relief to an employee who was confined in jail for almost 3 years holding that missed work due to confinement in jail does not entitle the employee to get back wages for the said period as the principle of 'no work no pay' applies.An FIR against the petitioner was lodged under Section 13(1)(b) read with Section 13(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act,...