High Courts Weekly Round-Up

Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court, on Thursday, ruled that while a judgment and order of conviction of a foreign Court against an Indian citizen can be looked into by authorities and Courts in India, such judgment would not be ipso facto binding on such authorities.

Chhattisgarh High Court

The High Court of Chhattisgarh set aside the search committee constituted for making recommendations for the post of Vice-Chancellor at the Chhattisgarh Kamdhenu Vishwavidyalaya.

Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court, on Monday, came down heavily on a Trial Court Judge for rushing through a trial involving allegations of serious offences like murder and unnatural sex with a 14-year-old boy.

Disposing off a petition praying for the writ of mandamus prohibiting the use of photographs or names of high constitutional functionaries in private advertisements, the High Court on Monday urged the Press Council of India (PCI) to expeditiously decide the petitioner’s representation in the same behalf.

In a huge relief for Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students who had taken admission in its PhD course in 2016, the Delhi High Court, last week, quashed circulars issued in 2017 making it mandatory for them to possess an M.Phil degree to pursue PhD course. These circulars had a retrospective effect on students who had been admitted for the academic session 2016-17 as well.

The High Court on Tuesday stayed the notice issued by Bar Council of India to Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave based on a complaint filed by Advocate R.P. Luthra demanding immediate disciplinary action against Dave and suspension of his certificate of practice for “gross professional and other misconduct”.

The High Court on Tuesday directed PSU Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (DSIIDC) to award compensation of Rs. 10 lakh each to the dependents of two manual scavengers who lost their lives in 2011 while cleaning the sewerage in Bawana Industrial Area in Delhi.

On Wednesday, the High Court  stayed the CBSE notification introducing the upper age limit of 25 years for unreserved candidates and 30 years for reserved category candidates for NEET 2018.

The High Court upheld the Rs. 19,92,51,981 award passed by the Arbitral Tribunal in favour of Ager Hotels Group Limited and against the Convention Hotels India (CHI) Private Limited, both of which had a share subscription agreement.

Appointment on compassionate grounds is not a “vested right” which can be exercised despite a long period of time having passed since the employee’s death, the Delhi High Court held.

The Court issued notice to the Delhi University on an intervention application filed by three RTI activists in the matter concerning making public the varsity’s BA exam record of 1978, the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi had graduated, even as the varsity maintained that the information cannot be made public since the same is held in fiduciary capacity.

Jammu& Kashmir High Court

The Jammu & Kashmir High Court on Thursday ruled that mere registration of a FIR against a public servant shall not be a ground for compulsorily retiring the official concerned.

The High Court, while denying bail to a judicial officer in the state accused of rape and cheating, observed that the conduct of the judicial officer in indulging in the activities of which he is accused makes the crime all the more grave and the act in which he indulged cannot be equated or treated on par with an ordinary citizen/individual.

Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court observed that the appellate court while converting the judgment of acquittal into conviction, need not hear the accused on the question of sentence.

Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court, on Tuesday, sought response from the State and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a Petition seeking CBI probe into Youth Congress leader, Shuhaib’s murder.

The High Court, on Thursday, sought the State’s response on a Petition seeking framing of rules on application of Shariat law to those who convert to Islam.

Madhya Pradesh High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently reinstated two judicial officers for the reason that they have more than two children, though the application form never asked them about it.