When Delay In Trial Is Solely Due To Prosecution's 'Lethargy', Personal Liberty Overrides S.37(1)(b) Of NDPS Act: Kerala HC Grants Bail

The Kerala High Court recently held that when the prosecution is solely responsible for the delay in concluding the trial, the liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution overrides the effect of Section 37(1)(b) of the NDPS Act.Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act places an additional condition on giving bail when the offence involves commercial...

Requests Made By Govt Employees To Change Birthdate In Service Records Beyond Reasonable Time Should Not Be Entertained: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court recently while refusing to grant any relief to a Pune-based Police Inspector said any request from a public servant to change in date of birth in service records, beyond reasonable time, should not be permitted. A division bench of Justices Atul Chandurkar and Milind Sathaye said that in such cases, mostly government employees seek such changes only after...

Freedom Of Press Can't Be Used To Tarnish Reputation Without Verifying News: Madras HC Orders Tamil Weekly To Pay ₹25 Lakh To DMK's TR Balu

The Madras High Court has ordered the Editor, Publisher and the Printer of Tamil Weekly 'Junior Vikatan', to pay Rs. 25,00,000 as damages to DMK's TR Balu for having published malicious and defamatory content against him without verifying the same. Justice AA Nakkiran remarked that the freedom of press was to be used for publishing news to the people backed by solid proof and could not...

Aaradhya Bachchan Moves Delhi High Court Seeking Summary Judgment In Suit Against Misleading Content

Aaradhya Bachchan, daughter of Bollywood actors Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, has moved the Delhi High Court seeking summary judgment in her suit against misleading content uploaded against her by various YouTube channels.On February 03, Justice Mini Pushkarna issued notice to nine YouTube channels, including Bollywood Time, on Aaradhya's application. The application has...

Bombay HC 'Disappointed' With CBI & Mumbai Police Showing Reluctance To Probe Multi-Crore Money Laundering Case; Orders Formation Of SIT

The Bombay High Court recently expressed 'disappointment' over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and also the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police, both showing 'reluctance' to investigate into the complaints of multi-crore fraud by a company both in India and also several foraging countries.A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj Chavan noted that...

Construction Of Terms Of Contract Must Be Primarily Decided By Arbitrator, Not Court U/S 34 Of Arbitration Act: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma has held that Construction of the terms of the contract is primarily for the arbitrator to decide, unless it is found that such a construction is not at all possible. Brief Facts: After a competitive bidding process, a contract was entered into between the petitioner and the respondent. The contract required the supply of 8000...

When Doctor Who Initially Treated POCSO Victim Reported Crime To Police, Action Against Subsequent Doctor U/S 21 Is Unwarranted: Kerala HC

The Kerala High Court has held that the POCSO Act does not provide an outer limit for reporting of offences to the Police, and that the intent is to report to the Police without delay.The Court was considering whether a doctor, who treated the victim subsequently, could be held criminally liable for failing to report the commission of offences under the POCSO Act, when the information had...

Eviction Cannot Be Ordered Without Due Process, Executive Authorities Cannot Adjudicate Land Title: Jharkhand High Court

In a recent judgment, the Jharkhand High Court has held that the question of land ownership cannot be unilaterally determined by the executive authorities and a person in possession cannot be summarily evicted without due process.A division bench comprising Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Deepak Roshan stated that under Article 300A of the Constitution, nobody can be deprived...

Gujarat High Court Expunges Remarks On Bar President's Conduct After He Expresses Regret Over Heated Exchange With Chief Justice

The Gujarat High Court on Monday (February 3) expunged its remarks on the conduct of High Court Advocates' Association President Brijesh Trivedi, after noting his regret over the heated exchange with Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal, during the hearing of a 2011 PIL last month. The court further took note of Trivedi's assurance that such an "occurrence will not be repeated in future". For...

Arbitral Award Can Be Set Aside As 'Patently Illegal' If View Taken By Arbitrator Is Not A Plausible One: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court bench of Justice P.B. Balaji has held that when the view taken by the Arbitrator is not even a plausible view, an award passed by such an arbitrator can be set aside under section 34 of the Arbitration act on the ground of patent illegality. Brief Facts: The petitioner awarded a contract to the respondent for the purpose of designing and constructing...

Kerala High Court Dismisses VHP's Challenge To Caste Certificate Of Hindu Woman Married To Christian Man

The Kerala High Court has dismissed a writ appeal preferred by Vishwa Hindu Pareeshath (VHP) against the grant of OBC Non-Creamy Layer certificate to a Hindu woman namely Kumari Bindhu, who married a Christian man. The certificate said that she belonged to Hindu-Nadar caste and belonged to Non-Creamy Layer.The Caste Hindu-Nadar was recorded by her while she applied for the post of Last...

Not Having Birth Certificate Due To Socio-Economic Backwardness No Ground To Deny Participation In Sport Events: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has observed that not having a birth certificate evidencing age of an individual due to socio-economic backwardness is no ground to deny the opportunity to compete or participate in sport events. “This Court cannot be oblivious of the fact that on account of socio- economic backwardness, it may not have been feasible in some cases, to obtain the birth...