[Arbitration Act] Pre-Referral Jurisdiction Of Court U/S 11(6) Includes Inquiry On Whether Claims Are Ex-Facie & Hopelessly Time Barred: Calcutta HC

The Calcutta High Court Bench of Justice Shampa Sarkar has held that while the scope of adjudication by referral court is limited and entails a mere examination of whether the arbitration agreement exists or not, the referral court is not precluded from examining whether the claim is deadwood or ex facie barred. Background Facts The agreement between the parties was entered into...

Supreme Court Collegium Recommends Appointment Of 5 Advocates As Calcutta High Court Judges

The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the appointment of five advocates as judges of the Calcutta High Court.They are :Smita Das De;Reetobroto Kumar Mitra;Md Talay Masood Siddiqui;Krishnaraj Thaker; andOm Narayan Rai.The recommendation was made at the Collegium meeting held on Febraury 25.Click here to read the resolution....

'Easy To Abandon, Destroy Heritage Structures, Focus Must Be On Restoration': Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday remarked that while it may be easy to abandon, destroy and dismantle heritage structures in favour of modernised buildings, the focus must instead be on restoring and making them functional.A division bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice C. Chatterjee (Das) was hearing a continuing matter pertaining to the restoration of the tram system in...

Calcutta High Court Quashes Case Against Man Accused Of 'Mocking' CM Mamata Banerjee, Other Leaders On YouTube

The Calcutta High Court has quashed criminal cases against a man who was accused of making derogatory remarks and mocking West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other political leaders on social media platform YouTube.In quashing the case, Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta held:"After careful scrutiny of the materials available in the case diary, this Court does not find any sufficient or...

Gratuity Dues Of Workers Do Not Form Part Of 'Liquidation Estate' Of Corporate Debtor, Must Be Paid In Full: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court bench of Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul) has held that gratuity dues are statutorily protected under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, and do not form part of the liquidation estate of the Corporate Debtor under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC). The court held that gratuity payments are outside the waterfall mechanism under Section 53 of the IBC and must be...

[Arbitration Act] Referral Courts Can't Indulge In Enquiry Into Whether Claims Are Time-Barred: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court bench of Justice Shampa Sarkar has held that in an application under section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 996, it would not be proper for the referral court to indulge in an intricate evidentiary enquiry into the question of whether the claims raised by the petitioner were time-barred or not. “Courts, at the referral stage, can interfere only...

[NDPS Act] No Infirmity If Forensic Lab Directly Gives Chemical Report To Trial Court, All Involved In Criminal Trial Must Reduce Delay: Calcutta HC

The Calcutta High Court has held that there can be no infirmity in the trial of an NDPS case if the forensic laboratory sends the chemical report directly to the trial court instead of it being submitted as part of the supplementary chargesheet by the investigating agency.A division bench of Justices Arijit Banerjee and Apurba Sinha Ray held that just because the report was sent directly to...

Calcutta High Court Upholds Arbitral Award Directing KMDA To Refund Amount Deposited By South City Projects Under MoU

The Calcutta High Court bench of Justices Harish Tandon and Madhuresh Prasad has held that findings of the Arbitrator based material cannot be interfered with within the limited scope of proceedings under section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Arbitration Act). Brief Facts: The present appeal has been filed under section 37 of the Arbitration Act against...

Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Recuses From Hearing PIL Against Ex-Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal Citing Personal Reasons

Calcutta High Court Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam on Thursday recused from hearing a PIL against former Kolkata Police commissioner Vineet Goyal for allegedly revealing the name of the deceased victim in the RG Kar rape and murder case.The Chief Justice was presiding over a division bench which was hearing the matter but recused from hearing it when the matter was called upon this occasion.In...

'Nightmare For Drivers': Plea In Calcutta High Court Flags Blue & White Colour Markings On Roads In Bengal As Unsafe

A public interest litigation filed before the Calcutta High Court has flagged the blue and white colour scheme used all over the city's road and bridge markings as unsafe, potentially being a 'nightmare for drivers'.Counsel approached a division bench presided over by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and submitted that this blue and white colour scheme was against the mandate of the Indian...

"Only Worried About Votes And Not The Voters": Calcutta High Court Slams State Over Lack Of Medical Facilities In Rural Areas

Calcutta High Court Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam on Tuesday took severe exception to the lack of medical facilities provided by the state government to hospitals in rural areas.While hearing a matter on a hospital in Mathurapur, where the number of ten beds had not been increased since 1976, the Chief Justice sitting on a division bench also comprising Justice Chaitali Chatterjee (Das)...

Threat Of False Criminal Case Does Not Gain Status Of Abetment To Suicide Without 'Positive Act' Pushing Victim To The Edge: Calcutta HC

The Calcutta High Court has held that a mere threat of implicating someone in a false criminal case, without any positive act that pushes the victim over the edge, would not be sufficient to attract the offence of abetment to suicide under Section 306 of the IPC.Justice Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee held: "There is no material against the petitioners of such a nature that the victim was left with...