Sunday Hearing : Calcutta High Court Orders Status Quo On Demolition At TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee's Diamond Harbour MP Office

In a special Sunday sitting, the Calcutta High Court directed the authorities to stop all ongoing demolition work at the Amtala property housing Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee's Diamond Harbour parliamentary office, and ordered the parties to maintain status quo until further orders or the next date of hearing.Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury passed the interim order while hearing an...

Calcutta High Court Holds Urgent Sunday Sitting To Hear Plea By Abhishek Banerjee-Linked Company Against Demolition Of His TMC Party Office

The Calcutta High Court is set to hear an urgent writ petition filed by Leaps and Bounds challenging the demolition of its immovable property at Amtala, housing TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee's party office, alleging that the action undertaken by the authorities was "gross, malicious and illegal."The matter has been specially listed today before Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury after being assigned by...

Calcutta High Court Grants Bail To Woman Accused In High-Value NDPS Case, Cites Advanced Stage Of Pregnancy

The Calcutta High Court has granted interim bail to a woman accused in a high-value narcotics trafficking case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, holding that while pregnancy is not by itself a ground for bail, humanitarian considerations relating to the health of the mother and the unborn child justified her temporary release.Justice Tirthankar Ghosh passed...

Failed Contingent Contract Doesn't Defeat Claim For Services Actually Rendered: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held that although a contingent employment contract failed because the agreed condition precedent never occurred, the failure of the contract did not deprive a consultant of remuneration for services actually rendered and accepted by the employer. Applying the doctrine of quantum meruit embodied in Section 70 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, the Court held...

Land Records Not Proof Of Citizenship: Calcutta High Court In Plea Against Detention Of Person Suspected To Be Foreigner

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday granted a petitioner one final opportunity to produce documents establishing the Indian citizenship of a person detained as a foreign national, observing that land records, by themselves, do not constitute proof of Indian citizenship.A Division Bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by...

Calcutta High Court Upholds Ex Parte Divorce Decree Despite Irregular Service, Says Wife Knew Of Suit Through Maintenance Case

The Calcutta High Court has dismissed a wife's appeal seeking to set aside an ex parte divorce decree, holding that mere irregularities in the service of summons cannot be a ground to recall the decree when the defendant had prior knowledge of the matrimonial proceedings.A Division Bench of Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Justice Supratim Bhattacharya affirmed the order of the...

Municipal Authorities Cannot Curtail Statutory Limitation Period To Appeal Against Demolition Order: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held that a municipal authority cannot curtail the statutory right of appeal available against a demolition order by directing its implementation within a period that effectively renders the appellate remedy illusory.Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury observed that where the statute confers a right to appeal, the adjudicating authority cannot, on its own understanding of...

WBPSC Violated Rules, Conducted Interview Unfairly: Calcutta High Court Quashes Museum Keeper Appointment

The Calcutta High Court has set aside the West Bengal Public Service Commission's (WBPSC) recruitment process for the post of Keeper at the State Archaeological Museum, holding that the Commission failed to adhere to its own Rules of Procedure, 1982 and the terms of the recruitment advertisement. The Court also quashed the appointment of the selected candidate and directed the WBPSC to conduct...

BSF Can't Deny DIG Rank To Officer Injured In 1995 Road Accident Despite Granting Earlier Promotions: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held that the Border Security Force (BSF) cannot deny promotion to the post of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) to an officer solely on the ground of his medical category, particularly when the same medical condition did not prevent his promotion to higher ranks on three earlier occasions after the injury.Justice Reetobroto Kumar Mitra directed the BSF to convene...

Wrong Cheque Number, Wrong Amount In Plea Strikes At 'Root' Of Fair Trial: Calcutta High Court Quashes Cheque Bounce Case

The Calcutta High Court has held that a criminal trial under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act cannot be sustained where the accused was asked to answer a completely different cheque transaction at the stage of recording the plea under Section 251 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Holding that such a defect strikes at the root of a fair trial, the Court set aside the six-month...

CISF Personnel Carrying 'Spy Pen' Camera While On Duty At Sensitive Location Is Serious Misconduct: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held that a member of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) found carrying a spy pen camera with a memory card while on duty at a sensitive installation cannot seek leniency merely because the device was not used. The Court restored the disciplinary punishment imposed on the constable, observing that members of a disciplined force entrusted with...

Calcutta High Court Allows TMC To Hold 'Shahid Divas' Meeting On 21 July Near Birla Planetarium After State Refuses Victoria House Venue

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday permitted the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) to hold its annual Martyrs' Day meeting on July 21 at an alternate venue near Birla Planetarium after the State opposed the party's request to organise the event at its traditional venue in front of Victoria House.Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya directed the Kolkata Police to permit the meeting on...