S. 119(2)(b) Income Tax Act | Gujarat HC Directs Commissioner To Avoid Pedantic Approach, Condone One Year Delay In Filing Return

The Gujarat High Court recently allowed the petition preferred by a woman seeking to condone over one year delay in filing of her income tax return for an assessment year. A division bench of Justices Bhargav D. Karia and Mauna M. Bhatt also criticized the “pedantic approach” in deciding Petitioner's application under section 119(2)(b) of the Income Tax Act,...

"Caste-Based Discrimination": Rajasthan High Court Quashes FIR Against Woman For Entering Temple, Says It Isn't Trustees' Personal Property

Rajasthan High Court quashed the FIR filed against a woman from a marginalized community for the alleged offence of creating chaos at the Mahakaleshwar Mahadev Ji Siddh Dham temple by trying to forcibly cut open the lock of the temple and enter forcefully.The bench of Justice Arun Monga observed that in the background of no evidence showing criminal intent on the part of the petitioner for...

Kerala HC Grants Pre-Arrest Bail To Husband Accused Of Abetting Wife's Suicide, Cites SC Judgment On Different 'Suicidable Patterns'

The Kerala High Court recently granted pre-arrest bail to a man, accused of abetting the suicide of his wife, after noting that there was no prima facie evidence suggesting the commission of the offence and that the deceased had never complained of any physical or mental harassment by the husband prior to her death. In doing so the court further observed that the matter requires an...

Patna High Court Nixes Trial Court's Order Dismissing Plea For Amendment Of Plaint In Title Suit, Says Issue Of Limitation Is Disputed

The Patna High Court, while allowing a petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India to set aside an order passed by the Munsif court in a Title Suit, said that the issue of limitation, being disputed, could be addressed after permitting the amendment of the plaint which was sought within the limitation period. The high court said that the suit was presently at the stage of...

Assessee Can't Claim ITC For Transportation If Costs Aren't Included In Assessable Value Of Goods For Payment Of Central Excise Duty: Kerala HC

The Kerala High Court stated that assessee cannot claim input tax credit for transportation services if transportation costs are not included in assessable value of goods for payment of central excise duty. The Division Bench of Justices A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Syam Kumar V.M. observed that “………the assessee did not include the transportation costs in the assessable value...

Defendants Cannot Benefit From Own Wrong, After Alienating Partition Suit Property And Oppose Impleadment Of Purchasers: Patna HC

While quashing a trial court order which had rejected the addition of subsequent purchasers as defendants in a partition suit, the Patna High Court observed that the defendant parties cannot benefit from their own wrongful actions particularly after creating third-party interests during the pendency of the suit.A single judge bench of Justice Arun Kumar Jha in its order said, “The...

Reinstatement Is Not Automatic; Madhya Pradesh High Court reiterates

A Single Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court, comprising Justice G.S. Ahluwalia heard a petition filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, against an order passed by the Labour Court. The judgement dealt with a case pertaining to procedural defects in termination of a short-term employee and held it violative of Section 25-F of the Industrial Disputes Act,...

Karnataka HC Upholds Power Of Bangalore Development Authority To Reject Auction Bid Without Giving Reasons Under Commercial Site Rules

The Karnataka High Court has upheld the power of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to accept or reject the bid made by a successful bidder for sites auctioned by it, without assigning any reasons.A division bench of Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice G Basavaraja said, “The act and conduct of the BDA appears to be bona fide and in the interest of public and also to the benefit of...

Political Interference In Media? High Court Asks CBI To Probe Cross-FIRs On Punjab Media Houses, Cable Operators Involving MLAs

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe various FIRs and cross-FIRs filed by and against various cable operators and local media houses in Punjab.The Court noted that certain media houses are "run and controlled" by sitting MLAs of the political parties including ruling party AAP and the opposition parties. This has led to...

Bombay High Court Holds Redevelopment Rights of Society Not Part Of Moratorium Process; Issues Writ Of Mandamus For Redevelopment, Upholding Right to Shelter

The Bombay High Court division bench of Justices Kamal Khata and M.S. Sonak has held that if the developer fails to meet its obligations under the Development Agreement, such as paying transit rent and completing construction within the specified time frame, there is a complete failure of consideration, and no rights accrue to it. The court awarded a writ of mandamus for...

Bombay High Court Grants Bail To Accused In ₹6606 Crore Bitcoin Fraud Case, Cites Her Being A Woman, Mother Of Six-Yr-Old

Observing that she is the mother of a six year old, the Bombay High Court last week granted bail to Simpy Bhardwaj, booked under the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in 2023 for her alleged role in India's largest Bitcoin-based Ponzi scheme worth Rs 6,606 crore, related to a Delhi-based firm - Variable Tech Pvt Ltd. Single-judge...

POCSO | Ejaculation Of Semen Not Required To Prove Penetrative Sexual Assault: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab & Haryana High Court upheld the conviction of rape and penetrative sexual assault against a minor under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO), observing that the presence of semen is not required to be proved for penetrative sexual assault.Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Kuldeep Tiwari said, "When in the event of penetrative sexual assault...