Conviction Of Employee Does Not Lead To Automatic Dismissal, Disciplinary Enquiry Must: HP High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has held that a government employee cannot be dismissed from service solely on the ground of conviction, and that the disciplinary authority must conduct an enquiry or record reasons for not conducting an enquiry.Rejecting the contention of HRTC, Justice Sandeep Sharma remarked that: “Though learned counsel for HRTC argued that Rule 19(i) permits...

Centre Notifies Appointment Of Two Advocates As Judges Of Himachal Pradesh High Court

The Central Government on Friday (September 26) notified the appointment of two advocates as judges of Himachal Pradesh High Court. They are Jia Lal Bhardwaj and Romesh Verma.Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal took to X to notify the appointments. The post reads:"In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, the President of India, after consultation with Chief Justice...

Employer Liable To Reimburse Customs Duty Paid By Contractor If Exemption Certificate Not Provided At Import Stage: HP High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court dismissed an appeal under section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Arbitration Act) filed by Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd. (HPPCL) upholding an arbitral award in favour of Orange Business Service India Technology Pvt. Ltd. The court held that the failure to provide exemption certificate by employer at the time of importation of...

HP High Court Upholds Acquittal Of Rape Accused, Says Lack Of Injuries On Victim's Body Shows Presence Of Consent

The Himachal Pradesh High Court upheld the acquittal of the accused in a rape case, observing that the medical evidence, which revealed no injuries on the prosecutrix, supported the view that she may have consented to the alleged act.Division Bench of Justice Vivek Singh Thakur & Justice Sushil Kukreja noted that: “The medical evidence clearly shows that the prosecutrix did not sustain...

Right To Appeal Cannot Be Made Conditional Upon Deposit Of Decretal Sum: HP High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court held that an appellate court cannot impose the condition of depositing the decreetal amount as a precondition for condonation of delay under Section 5 of the Limitation Act.Justice Ajay Mohan Goel remarked that: “The learned 1st Appellate Court had no authority to issue a direction that the application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act is allowed subject...

Pensioners Eligible For Reemployment Under Punjab Police Rules Even After Seeking Voluntary Retirement: HP High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court directed the state to reconsider the application of a retired Assistant Sub-Inspector, holding that pensioners after voluntary retirement are eligible for reemployment under Rule 12.25 of the Punjab Police Rules.Rejecting the contention of the State, Justice Sandeep Sharma clarified that “…a person concerned can seek re-enrolment in three situations;...

Family Pension Of Deceased Employee Can Be Shared Equally Between First & Second Wife On Basis Of Voluntary Compromise: HP HC

A Division bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court comprising Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia and Justice Ranjan Sharma held that family pension of a deceased employee can be equally shared between the first and second wife through a voluntary and free-will compromise. Background Facts Late Sohan Lal retired as an Assistant Sub-Inspector from the Police Department. He passed away...

Testator Executing Will In Favour Of Persons Taking Care Of His Household Is Not Unnatural: Himachal Pradesh High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court held that the execution of a will in favour of family members who had been caring for the testator and his household could not be termed unnatural.Justice Satyen Vaidya remarked that: “… the execution of Will by Anokhi Ram in favour of persons, who were taking care of the entire family and in whom he had reasons to establish trust cannot be said to...

HP High Court Allows Plea For Second Wife To Be Included In Govt Employee's Pension Record After First Wife's Death

The Himachal Pradesh High Court held that the second wife of a retired government employee cannot be denied pension after the death of the first wife, even if the marriage was technically invalid under Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act.The Court relied on the Supreme Court's judgement in Shriramabai v. Captain Record Officer, 2023, which held that “if a man and woman cohabited...

Accidentally Shooting Another Person Believing Him To Be Wild Animal Amounts To Negligence, Not Murder: HP High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court held that an accidental shooting of a person, believing him to be a wild animal, amounts to death caused by negligence under Section 106 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita and not the offence of murder under Section 103 BNS.Justice Rakesh Kainthla remarked that: “…they did not intend to cause the death of Som Dutt and cannot be prima facie held liable for...

Himachal Pradesh High Court Weekly Round-Up: September 15 To September 21, 2025

Citations 2025 LiveLaw (HP) 156 to 2025 LiveLaw (HP) 166 Nominal Index:Datta Ram and others v/s United India Insurance Company Limited.,2025 LiveLaw (HP) 156Nitin Gupta v Arrpit Aggarwal.,2025 LiveLaw (HP) 157Bir Singh v/s State of H.P. & Ors.,2025 LiveLaw (HP) 158State of H.P. v/s Hari Saran.,2025 LiveLaw (HP) 159Sachin Kumar v/s State of H.P. & Ors..,2025 LiveLaw (HP) 160Vishwa...

Himachal Pradesh High Court Monthly Digest: August 2025

Citations 2025 LiveLaw (HP) 108 to 2025 LiveLaw (HP) 142NOMINAL INDEX:Mahesh Thakur v/s State of H.P. & Ors., 2025 LiveLaw (HP) 108Sanjay Kumar v/s State of H.P. & Others.,2025 LiveLaw (HP) 109United India Insurance Company v/s Sita Devi & Others., United India Insurance Company v/s Joginder Singh & Others.,2025 LiveLaw (HP) 110Archana Sharma v/s State of H.P. &...