High Courts Weekly Round-Up

Bombay High CourtThe Bombay High Court held that the stepson of a Hindu citizen dying intestate cannot claim inheritance over his property. Justice SC Gupte passed the judgment in a chamber summons taken out in a partition suit involving partition of ancestral property jointly owned by the parties in the suit.The High Court held that a licensing authority cannot refuse arms license to a person merely on the ground that such person does not own sufficient property.The High Court made some sharp observations regarding the functioning or the lack thereof the Goods and Services Tax network while hearing a petition filed by a company engaged in manufacture of robotic and automation equipment.Calcutta High CourtThe Calcutta High Court commuted death penalty awarded to eight persons accused in a kidnap-cum-murder case and also acquitted two accused. The bench comprising Justice Nadira Patherya and Justice Debi Prosad Dey upheld the conviction of six persons and sentenced them to rigorous life imprisonment.Delhi High CourtThe Delhi High Court upheld the conviction of seven policemen of Uttarakhand Police for killing a young man in a ‘fake’ encounter in 2009. The case pertained to killing of 22 year old MBA graduate Ranbir Singh in Dehradun on 03.07.2009. In the trial which was transferred to Delhi from Uttarakhand by the Supreme Court to ensure free and fair proceedings, the CBI Court convicted 17 policemen. The HC bench of Justice Dr.S. Muralidhar and Justice I.S Mehta however acquitted 10 policemen , while upholding conviction of remaining seven.The High Court took suo motu cognizance of a recent attack on three Advocates- Mr. Kirti Uppal, Mr. Ravi Sharma and Mr. Vikas Pahwa- which had prompted the Delhi High Court Bar Association to abstain from work on 25 January.The High Court, last week, set aside an order passed by the Central Information Commission (CIC), wherein the latter had directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to provide one of its officers information relating to the status of the disciplinary proceedings pending against him.Himachal Pradesh High CourtA division bench of Himachal Pradesh High Court answered in positive, the question whether domesticated horses, licenced to be used for the purpose of joy rides to children on the Ridge in Shimla have a right to shelter during rain and snow. while emphasising that, “Life, in the context of animals, does not mean mere survival or existence or instrumental value for human beings, but also some intrinsic worth, honour and dignity”.Jharkhand High CourtExpressing serious concern over trafficking of foreign nationals to other countries through India, the Jharkhand High Court, on Tuesday, sought to know the steps being taken by the Centre to prevent this.Karnataka High CourtThe High Court of Karnataka permitted a husband to participate in compromise proceedings in family court via online video calling facility Skype. The husband is residing in the United States of America. For considering the joint petition for divorce filed by the husband and wife, his personal presence was required. When the family court refused to grant him permission to appear through video conferencing, he approached the high court. The wife had objections to resorting to video conferencing.Madras High CourtThe Madras High Court, on Monday, upheld the amendments prescribing 10 years of practice experience as a minimum eligibility criteria to contest elections to the State Bar Council.

High Courts Weekly Round-Up

Ashok K.M

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