Judicial Officers Dealing With Criminal Cases Face Risks, Should Have Personal Security Officers: Gauhati High Court

The Gauhati High Court while granting bail in a case involving an alleged attack on a serving Judicial Magistrate, has flagged the urgent need to take a fresh look at the personal security of judicial officers of all grades, observing that judicial work, particularly on the criminal side, often offends vested interests and exposes judges to tangible risks, making continuous personal security...

Cheque Dishonour| Can't Invoke Inherent Powers To Set Aside Conviction & Sentence At Post-Revision Stage: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently held that the inherent powers of a High Court under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita cannot be invoked to set aside a conviction and sentence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act once the High Court had already finally decided the case in revision.The plea before Justice C.S. Dias was preferred by a private company and...

Condonation Must Be Considered Despite Deemed Service On GST Portal: Rajasthan HC Sets Aside Dismissal Of GST Appeal On Limitation

The Rajasthan High Court, in a matter concerning effective service of appellate order and consideration of condonation of delay application, has set aside order passed by the Appellate Authority. In a recent judgment a Division Bench comprising, Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Sanjeet Purohit on dismissal of appeal on account of limitation, emphasized that condonation of...

Bombay High Court Quashes SC/ST Act Case Against Marathi TV Channel Over Use Of Objectionable Word Against Mahar Community

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday (December 23) while quashing the First Information Report (FIR) lodged against Marathi TV Channel 'Star Pravah' for referring to a Scheduled Caste's name in one of its serial's episodes, held that mere use or reference to the name of a caste or tribe cannot constitute an offence under the stringent Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of...

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...

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,...

“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...

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...

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...