Past Employment With Party Does Not Make Arbitrator Ineligible: J&K&L High Court Reaffirms

The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on Monday reiterated that an arbitrator does not become ineligible merely because he was employed by one of the parties in the past. The court held that past government service, by itself, does not indicate bias under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act unless it is shown that the arbitrator has a continuing business relationship or had advised a party in connection with the dispute. Justice Sanjay Dhar delivered the ruling on December 22, 2025,...

Palghar Mob Lynching: Bombay High Court Denies Bail To 4 Accused

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused to grant bail to four men booked in the infamous Palghar Sadhu Lynching case wherein two monks and their driver were killed by a mob which misunderstood them to be thieves. Single-judge Justice Dr Neela Gokhale denied bail to Rajesh Dhakal Rao, Sunil @ Satya Shantaram Dalvi, Sajanya Barkya Burkud and Vinod Ramu Rao.The judge while denying bail, considered the gravity of the offence and also the chances of tampering the evidence and winning over the...

“Lacking Material Documents, Grounded In Ambiguity”: J&K&L High Court Dismisses Mehbooba Mufti's PIL On Transfer Of Undertrial Prisoners

Reaffirming the constitutional limits of Public Interest Litigation, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has dismissed a PIL filed by PDP President and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, holding that the petition was “lacking material documents and grounded in ambiguity” and rested on incomplete, vague and unsubstantiated assertions.The Division Bench comprising Chief...

Anticipatory Bail Applications Maintainable Even For Offences Punishable With 7 Year Sentence Or More: Patna High Court

The Patna High Court has clarified that a Sessions Court having jurisdiction to decide an anticipatory bail application is duty-bound to adjudicate the same on merits by either allowing or rejecting it, and cannot dispose of such an application without doing either. The Court further clarified that there is no statutory bar on entertaining anticipatory bail applications merely because the...

Rajasthan High Court Rejects Bail To Payment Aggregator Facilitators In ₹95 Crore GST Evasion Via Online Gaming Transactions

The Rajasthan High Court rejected the bail application of the applicants accused of facilitating large-scale GST evasion through online gaming transactions. Justice Sameer Jain stated that bail should normally be granted for offences under section 132 of the CGST Act, unless extraordinary circumstances exist, and in the matter at hand, there is GST evasion of approximately Rs....

Health Sub-Centre Location Is Policy Matter, But Residents' Objections Must Be Fairly Considered: J&K&L High Court

Underscoring the balance between administrative discretion and public fairness, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has held that the choice of location for a government amenity such as a Health Sub-Centre squarely lies within the domain of the competent authority, and no private individual or group can insist upon a particular site.At the same time, the Court emphasized that the principle of administrative fairness obligates authorities to genuinely consider representations made by...

Vadodara Car Crash: Gujarat High Court Grants Bail To 23-Yr-Old Booked For Rash Driving Causing Death Of One, Injuring Nine

The Gujarat High Court on Monday (December 22) granted regular bail to a 23-year-old student accused of rash and dangerous driving in the Vadodara car crash case earlier this year which had resulted in the death of one person and injured nine others. The court directed the applicant be released on bail on furnishing a bond of Rs. 1 Lakh with one surety of the like amount subject to certain conditions. Chorasiya has been booked for offences under BNS Sections 105(culpable homicide not...

Grant Of State Pension To Freedom Fighter Does Not Automatically Result In Extension of Central Pension: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court recently held that the grant of a state pension to a freedom fighter would not automatically result in the extension of a central pension to the pensioner. The court added that for granting the Central Government Pension Scheme, the conditions stipulated in the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme (SSS Scheme) had to be followed. The bench of Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice C Kumarappan set aside an order of the single judge, which held that once the state...

Order Framing Charge Is Interlocutory Order, Can't Be Challenged In Appeal Under Section 21 Of NIA Act: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has ruled that an order framing charges against accused is interlocutory in nature and cannot be challenged in appeal under Section 21 of National Investigation Agency Act. A division bench comprising Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Manoj Jain observed that the term “order” in Section 21(1) refers to a final order and not an interlocutory or intermediate order.“An Order framing Charge, as against final order is an interlocutory order, as it does not decide any proceeding...

'Jailed For 24 Years Sans Evidence': Allahabad High Court Acquits Man Convicted Solely Based On S. 313 CrPC Admission

The Allahabad High Court recently set aside the conviction of a man sentenced to life imprisonment for the offence of dacoity. In this case, the trial court, in 2002, rendered the verdict solely based on his admission in his statements recorded under Section 313 CrPC. Finding fault with the same, a bench of Justice JJ Munir and Justice Sanjiv Kumar ruled that a conviction cannot be premised solely on an admission made in a statement under Section 313 CrPC,...

Income Tax | Govt Grant/Subsidy Under Rehabilitation Scheme Is Capital Receipt, Not Taxable As Revenue: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court held that the grant-in-aid/subsidy received by the assessee under a government rehabilitation scheme is a capital receipt and is not taxable as revenue. Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and G. Arul Murugan examined whether the grant-in-aid/subsidy received by the assessee from the Government under the rehabilitation scheme should be treated as a...

MP High Court Directs Removal Of Stray Dogs From Prominent Tourist Places In Indore

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the Indore Municipal Corporation to identify prominent tourist places in the city and conduct a drive for the removal of stray dogs as a 'top priority' in these places. The corporation was also directed to file an affidavit regarding the data of the sterilisation of stray dogs, which an affidavit of the senior officer of the Corporation shall support.Referring to the Supreme Court's decision in the Suo Motu Petition titled CITY HOUNDED BY STRAYS, KIDS...