AO Becomes 'Functus Officio' After Closure Of Assessment, Must Put Relevant Incriminating Material To Assessee To Re-Confer Jurisdiction: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has made it clear that after the closure of assessment proceedings, the Assessing Officer becomes 'functus officio' and to re-confer jurisdiction upon the AO to initiate re-assessment proceedings, relevant incriminating material ought to be put to the assessee.A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela made the observation...

Detention Of Accused For More Than 6 Years As 'Undertrial' Is Infringement Of Right To Speedy Trial: Orissa High Court

The Orissa High Court has held that detention of an accused as an undertrial for more than six years can be considered as violation of right to speedy trial as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. While granting bail to a person accused of duping gullible investors of crores of rupees, the Single Bench of Justice Gourishankar Satapathy observed – “True it is that...

Karnataka High Court Reserves Order On Plea By CM Siddaramaiah's Wife, Minster BS Suresh To Quash ED Summons, ECIR In MUDA Case

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday (February 21) reserved its verdict on pleas by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi and Minister B S Suresh for quashing summons issued by Enforcement Directorate and the agency's ECIR registered against them for their alleged involvement in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case. Justice M Nagaprasanna reserved its order...

14 Y/O Girl Had 'Sufficient Knowledge & Capacity' To Understand Her Actions: Bombay HC Grants Bail To POCSO Accused

The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to a 24-year-old man booked for raping a 14-year-old minor girl, noting that the victim had 'sufficient knowledge' and 'capacity' to know the 'full import of her actions' as she 'voluntarily' stayed with the accused for 4 days. In its 10-page order, a bench of Justice Milind Jadhav considered the statements of the victim wherein she said...

[NDPS Act] No Infirmity If Forensic Lab Directly Gives Chemical Report To Trial Court, All Involved In Criminal Trial Must Reduce Delay: Calcutta HC

The Calcutta High Court has held that there can be no infirmity in the trial of an NDPS case if the forensic laboratory sends the chemical report directly to the trial court instead of it being submitted as part of the supplementary chargesheet by the investigating agency.A division bench of Justices Arijit Banerjee and Apurba Sinha Ray held that just because the report was sent directly to...

Punjab & Haryana High Court Refuses Pre-Arrest Bail To Man Allegedly Involved In Staging Fake Court Hearing

The Punjab & Haryana High Court refused to grant anticipatory bail to a man allegedly involved in case of posing as officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and staging a fake virtual courtroom, with one of them impersonating former CJI DY Chandrachud.Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu noted that, “instances of cyber-fraud are increasing day by day and according to the...

Failure To Attach Impugned Arbitral Award Along With Section 34 Application Would Render Filing Non-Est: Delhi High Court

A full bench of Delhi High Court comprising of Justice Rekha Palli, Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Saurabh Banerjee while hearing a reference made by a single judge bench in Pragati Construction Consultants v. Union of India [FAO(OS)(COMM) 70/2024] held that if the party challenging an award u/s 34 of the A&C Act does not attach the impugned arbitral award with the...

Govt Dept Committed Illegality By Withdrawing Posts After Recruitment Had Already Begun: J&K High Court Directs Restoration Of Slots

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court held that a government department would be committing an illegality by usurping the quota meant to be filled by direct recruitment on the basis of merit through promotion. The court ruled that the government officials, in this case, had acted illegally by withdrawing as many as 29 out of 42 referred posts and filling them through promotion after the exam...

Two Judicial Officers Sworn In As Delhi High Court Judges

Two judicial officers sworn in as judges of the Delhi High Court on Friday. The two judges are Renu Bhatnagar and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta.On February 19, the Central Government had notified their appointment. The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended their elevation at a meeting held on February...

Can't Have Two FIRs For Same Accusation, Trial Court Didn't Consider Negative Report Before Cognizance: Rajasthan HC Exonerates Man Of Charges

While setting aside charges against a man booked in two FIRs having the same set of accusations, the Rajasthan High Court reiterated that two cases could not run simultaneously for same set of accusation.The court further observed that trial court while taking cognizance failed to take note of the grounds mentioned in the negative final report filed by the police in relation to the...

'Country's Image Tarnished' : Patna High Court Raps State Police Over 'Lethargic' Approach In US Minor's Sexual Abuse Case

The Patna High Court on Monday came down heavily on the Bihar Police for its “lethargic and lackadaisical” approach in handling the sexual abuse case of a 13-year-old foreign national, stating that the role of the police authority in the matter had “tarnished the image of the country where protection of justice, social, political and economic was granted in the preamble of...

If Peace-Loving Citizens Are Treated Harshly Under Preventive Detention Law, No 'Peace' Will Be Left: J&K HC Quashes Detention Order Of Journalist

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has held that acts lacking a causal link with the imperative need to detain are liable to be quashed. Court noted that the allegations against the petitioner referenced old social media posts and news articles without proving an ongoing or imminent threat, rendering the preventive detention unsustainable. The court took note of the other reportings made...