Striking Off Opposite Party's Defence For Failure To Pay Interim Maintenance An Extreme Step, To Be Availed As Last Resort: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently held that the Family Court can strike off the defence of the opposite party, only as a last resort on failure to pay interim maintenance under Section 125 CrPC during the pendency of maintenance proceedings.In terms of the proviso to Section 125 CrPC, the Court can issue an order for payment of interim maintenance during the pendency of maintenance proceedings...

Plea In Kerala High Court Seeks Probe Into 'Looting Of Crores Of Public Money' Under Guise Of National Federation Of Tourism & Transport Co-op

A plea has been moved in the Kerala High Court seeking proper and effective investigation under the supervision of the Director General of Police in the case involving the looting of 100 crores of money by a group of persons under the guise of the National Federation of Tourism and Transport Co-operatives of India (NFTCI), which is a multi-cooperative society functioning under the...

Provisions For Self-Assessment Are More Onerous Than Regular Assessment Regime: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that filing an untrue or incorrect return assumes more rigour in the teeth of the onerous obligation, resulting in the imposition of a penalty.The bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh has observed that provisions for self-assessment create an obligation on the assessee to file a correct return, which is more onerous than in a regime that mandates regular...

Kerala High Court Temporarily Restrains Secretaries From Disbursing Panchayat Funds For 'Nava Kerala Sadas'

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday restrained the Panchayat Secretaries from disbursing amounts from Panchayat funds for the conduct of 'Nava Kerala Sadas' against the resolution of the panchayat council. 'Nava Kerala Sadas' is a program involving direct interaction of top officials with the people and redressal of their grievances. It seeks to address the issues faced by the community in four...

Indian Law Silent On Giving Child Right To Renounce Adoptive Parents: Amicus Tells Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has been told that the "emancipation process" which could bestow an adopted child the right to renounce his/her adoptive parents as the legal guardians, could prove to be detrimental to the child in the long run. The development arises in the interim report submitted by Advocate Parvathi Menon A., who had been appointed as the Amicus Curiae in a plea moved by the...

'Almost 9 Month Pregnancy, Vital Organs Of Foetus Fully Developed': Kerala High Court Denies Medical Termination Of Pregnancy For 14 Yr Old

The Kerala High Court denied permission for medical termination of pregnancy to a 14-year-old minor girl who was almost nine months pregnant, in a plea filed by her mother. The Court reached the aforesaid conclusion based on the findings in the medical report that the pregnancy was at an advanced stage and that the foetus was thirty weeks old with a good foetal heartbeat.The Court further...

CUSAT Stampede | Kerala High Court Seeks Report On Enquiries Conducted By Police, University Into Deaths

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday sought report on the enquiries conducted over stampede deaths at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) Campus on November 25, 2023. The order came in response to KSU President Aloshius Xavier approaching the High Court for a judicial inquiry into the stampede deaths that occurred at CUSAT campus, claiming lives of 3 engineering students and...

S.167 CrPC - Arbitrary & Stringent Conditions On Default Bail Infringe Fundamental Rights Under Article 21: Kerala High Court

"The default bail is a statutory right of an accused. The Court cannot deny statutory bail to an accused by imposing stringent conditions which cannot be complied by the accused."

Correctness Of Valuation, Court Fees To Be Determined Before Commencement Of Trial: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently laid down that when a dispute arises on the correctness of valuation and Court fees to be paid, it ought to be determined after permitting evidence on the same, before the commencement of trial on merits, due to it being a mixed question of fact and law. In the present case, a challenge had been raised regarding the correctness of the valuation and Court fees...

Kerala MV Taxation Act | Goods Vehicles Fitted With Construction Equipment Can Be Taxed As Construction Equipment Vehicles: High Court

The Kerala High Court has made it clear that vehicles registered as good carriage vehicles, but fitted with construction equipment and used for construction purposes can be levied with the motor vehicle tax applicable to construction equipment vehicles. “It is further the definition as provided under clause 10(iii) of the schedule enumerated any other equipment vehicle which is exclusively...

Kerala Students' Union President Moves High Court Seeking Judicial Probe Into Stampede Deaths At CUSAT Campus

Kerala Students' Union (KSU) President Aloshius Xavier has approached the Kerala High Court seeking judicial inquiry into the stampede deaths that occurred at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) campus on November 25, 2023. The tragic incident had claimed lives of 3 engineering students and one outsider, during a music concert that was to be conducted at the open air...

Issuing Cheque After Voluntarily Closing Bank Account Tantamounts To Offence Of Cheating Under IPC: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that a person commits the offence of cheating under Sections 415, 417 and 420 IPC when he issues a cheque to another person for discharging his pecuniary liabilities after the closure of his bank account. The Court noted that issuance of the cheque with the knowledge that it would be dishonoured would show the presence of mens rea, that is, fraudulent or...