Revenue Officers Cannot Adjudicate Caste Status For Removing Tribal Land Protections: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that revenue authorities cannot adjudicate or determine the caste or tribe status of a person while exercising powers under Sections 36 and 36A of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966. The Court observed that the determination of Scheduled Tribe status lies exclusively with the Caste Scrutiny Committee, and a revenue officer cannot deprive a person or their family of the statutory protection available to Scheduled Tribes by recording a finding on caste...

Accident Compensation | No Presumption On Govt Doctor's Having Private Practice; Burden On Claimant To Show Earnings: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that there is no presumption that a Government doctor has a private medical practice or earns additional income therefrom. The Court observed that the burden lies upon the claimant to establish, by cogent evidence, that he was actually engaged in private practice and earning income from it before claiming compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act on that basis.Justice Jitendra Jain was hearing an appeal filed by an insurance company challenging the award passed by...

Discord Between Parents And Wife Not A Ground To Deny Monthly Maintenance To Elderly Parents: Bombay High Court

A family discord between a man's parents and his wife is not a sufficient ground for him to stop paying for the maintenance and medical expenses of his own parents, held the Bombay High Court recently while upholding an order of a Senior Citizens' Tribunal directing a man, who worked in Dubai to pay Rs 8,000 as maintenance to his old parents. [2026 LiveLaw (Bom) 324]Sitting at the Goa...

Custodial Assault To Extract Confession Not Official Duty, No Prior Sanction Needed To Prosecute Police Officers: Bombay High Court

Assaulting a suspect for a confessional statement would never be an act in discharge of official duty of any police officer, held the Bombay High Court while refusing to discharge three policeman, who had allegedly assaulted a man— forcing him to confess to a murder offence. [2026 LiveLaw (Bom) 319]Sitting at the Kolhapur bench, single-judge Justice Sandesh Patil noted that in the instant...

Executive Instructions Can't Retrospectively Override Statutory Land Conversion Rules: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that executive instructions cannot be applied retrospectively to invalidate a land conversion order validly passed under statutory rules. The Court observed that a Government Resolution cannot retrospectively override the Maharashtra Land Revenue (Conversion of Occupancy Class-II and Leasehold Lands into Occupancy Class-I Lands) Rules, 2019 or defeat vested...

Anil Ambani Withdraw's From Bombay High Court Plea Challenging Bank Of Baroda Order Classifying Reliance Account As 'Fraud'

Industrialist Anil Ambani on Friday (July 10) withdrew his writ petition from the Bombay High Court, by which he had challenged the September 4, 2025 order passed by the Bank of Baroda, classifying the loan accounts of Reliance Communications as 'fraud.'A division bench of Justice Burgess Colabawalla and Justice Firdosh Pooniwalla allowed Ambani to withdraw his petition and disposed of the...

Appellate Court Can Enhance Interest Rate On Award Under Order 41 Rule 33 CPC Even Without Cross-Objection By Plaintiff: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that a First Appellate Court is empowered under Order XLI Rule 33 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, to enhance the rate of interest awarded by the trial court even in the absence of an appeal or cross-objection by the plaintiff. The Court observed that where the issue under Order 41 Rule 33 is specifically raised before the appellate court, the parties...

Technical Shortfall In One Month's Wages Under S.33(2)(b) ID Act Can't Shield Employee Guilty Of Corruption, Forgery: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that a technical shortfall in payment of one month's wages under the proviso to Section 33(2)(b) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, cannot be used as a shield by an employee found guilty of grave misconduct such as corruption and forgery. The Court observed that the protection under Section 33(2)(b) is intended to soften the rigours of dismissal and not to...

'Dismissal Shockingly Disproportionate For 240 Day-Absence': Bombay High Court Awards ₹15 Lakhs Compensation

The Bombay High Court has held that dismissal from service is a shockingly disproportionate punishment for the misconduct of unauthorized absence for 240 days, particularly where the employee had rendered long years of service, and no other serious charges ultimately survived. The Court substituted the punishment of dismissal with a lump sum compensation of Rs.15 lakhs in lieu of...

Municipal Council's Financial Constraints No Ground To Deny Compensation For Land Used As DP Road: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that the financial burden on a Municipal Council cannot be a ground to deny just compensation to a landowner whose property has been reserved and continuously used as a Development Plan (DP) Road without acquisition. The Court observed that constitutional entitlement to just compensation cannot be made contingent upon the magnitude of the financial liability...

Bombay High Court Weekly Round-Up: June 29 - July 05, 2026

Citations: [2026 LiveLaw (Bom) 300 to 2026 LiveLaw (Bom) 309]Nominal IndexSwati Raosaheb More vs State of Maharashtra, 2026 LiveLaw (Bom) 300ANG vs State of Maharashtra, 2026 LiveLaw (Bom) 301Yogesh Shantinath Ghaste vs State of Maharashtra, 2026 LiveLaw (Bom) 302SSD vs State of Maharashtra, 2026 LiveLaw (Bom) 303Kirtesh Vikas Chaudhari vs Union of India, 2026 LiveLaw (Bom) 304Saeed Ahmad...

'Impulsive Young Men Lured By Wealth, Not Professional Killers': Bombay High Court Commutes Death Penalty In Kidnap-Murder Case

The Bombay High Court recently, while commuting the death sentence of two men to 30 years jail term— for kidnapping and killing a young boy, observed that the two convicts were 'typical young men' who were 'baffled' as their plan to become wealthy did not work and so for 'immediate solution' they killed the boy.A division bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande...