Cheque Bounce Complaint Cannot Be Dismissed For Want Of Prosecution Before Accused Is Served: J&K&L High Court

The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court held that a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act should not be dismissed for want of prosecution when the accused has not yet been served and the matter is still at a preliminary stage.A bench of Justice Sanjay Parihar quashed an order of the trial court dismissing a cheque bounce complaint and restored the case to...

Madras High Court Asks Puducherry Chief Secretary To Frame SOP, Sensitise Public Officials Dealing With Persons With Disabilities

The Madras High Court has directed the Chief Secretary of Puducherry to frame a standard operating procedure (SOP) for sensitizing public officials for dealing with persons with disabilities. The bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava (now retired) and Justice G Arul Murugan highlighted that persons with disabilities had to be treated equally without...

MP High Court Nullifies Congress MLA Mukesh Malhotra's Election For Non-Disclosure Of Criminal Cases, Declares BJP Candidate As Elected

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has nullified the election of Congress MLA Mukesh Malhotra for non-disclosure of criminal cases, holding that suppression or incomplete disclosure of criminal antecedents amounts to suppression of a material fact and nullifies the election. The Court observed that suppression of material information created an impediment in the free exercise of electoral...

Hybrid Hearings Are Here To Stay, AI Cannot Replace Human Adjudication : Judges At Chandigarh Panel Discussion

A panel discussion on “Judges: Present and Future” was organised by the Chandigarh International Arbitration Centre in collaboration with Indian International Disputes Week at the Punjab and Haryana High Court.The discussion brought together members of the judiciary from India and abroad to deliberate on the evolving role of judges amid rapid technological advancements in the legal...

Kerala High Court Allows Accused To Renew Passport With 5-Year Validity For Overseas Employment

The Kerala High Court recently permitted a person accused in two criminal cases to renew his passport with a validity of 5 years in order to enable him to travel abroad for his new job in Oman.Justice C.S. Dias was considering a plea wherein the petitioner had filed applications in both the cases before the trial court for permission to renew his passport and to travel abroad. Though...

ED Moves Delhi High Court To Expunge Trial Court's Remarks While Discharging All Accused In Excise Policy Case

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has moved the Delhi High Court seeking expunging of certain adverse observations made by a Special Court while discharging all accused persons, including AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia in the excise policy corruption case.The matter is listed before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma tomorrow. ED has said that it was not a party to the CBI...

Liquor Policy Case | Trial Court's Findings On Witnesses In Kejriwal Discharge Order 'Prima Facie Erroneous' : Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Monday said that the trial court observations made while discharging AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and all other accused in the liquor policy case regarding statements of witnesses and the approvers, at charge stage, are “prima facie erroneous and need consideration.”For context, the trial court had found that allegations against Kejriwal were based...

Delay Beyond 60 Days To Seek Discharge U/S 250 BNSS Does Not Extinguish Accused's Right: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has held that although Section 250(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) prescribes a period of sixty days to file a discharge application after committal, the expiry of that period does not extinguish the accused's right to seek discharge where sufficient cause for delay is shown.Section 250(1) of the BNSS allows an accused to file an...

Delay In FIR Not Fatal In Motor Accident Claims As Families First Rush Victims To Hospital: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has observed that delay in lodging an FIR in motor accident cases cannot be treated as fatal, noting that in Indian society the immediate priority of family members is to rush the injured to hospital rather than approach the police.Justice Biswaroop Chowdhury made the observation while partly allowing an appeal filed by National Insurance Company Limited against...

Child Witness Who Saw Father Kill Mother Through Window Reliable: Calcutta High Court Upholds Life Sentence

The Calcutta High Court has upheld the life imprisonment of a man convicted for murdering his pregnant wife, holding that the testimony of their minor son, who witnessed the crime, was trustworthy and remained unimpeached in cross-examination.A division bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha and Justice Rai Chattopadhyay dismissed the appeal filed by the accused and affirmed his conviction...

'Medical Service Is Essential': Kerala High Court Directs State To Provide Uninterrupted Medical Services Amid Doctors' Strike

The Kerala High Court recently closed the public interest litigation seeking a direction to the State to ensure uninterrupted functioning of Out-Patient Departments (OPD) and all essential medical services in Government Medical Colleges in view of the indefinite boycott by the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers' Association (KGMCTA), initiated on February 16.The Division Bench of...

[Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act] Pendency Of Civil Suit On Construction Irregularities Not A Bar To Deemed Conveyance: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that pendency of a civil suit concerning alleged construction irregularities or inter se disputes between promoters does not bar the grant of deemed conveyance under Section 11 of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act, 1963. The Court observed that an order of deemed conveyance does not finally adjudicate title and that civil disputes regarding FSI utilisation...