High Courts Weekly Round-Up

Allahabad High CourtThe Allahabad High Court held that Divorce decree by consent is also appealable if the consent is disputed and is alleged to be not free & bonafide in the absence of inquiry by court.Bombay High CourtBombay High Court acquitted an accused in a Rape Case finding that there was a deep love affair between the Accused and prosecutrix. The Court also held that under Section 114 A of the Evidence Act of 1872, presumption as to absence of consent in certain prosecutions for rape is rebuttable.In an interim relief to activist Teesta Setalvad and husband Javed Anand, the High Court allowed their application for transit anticipatory bail filed on Wednesday and granted protection from arrest until MayDelhi High CourtThe Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the CBI to clear its stand on the allegation that it had improperly closed a preliminary enquiry against Adani in connection with artificial over-invoicing on the import of power equipment.The High Court extended the deadline for linking Aadhar with tax returns till June 30 for the petitioners before it, while considering the petitions filed by two lawyers.With a 74-year-old victim of theft getting a taste of police’s bad etiquettes, the High Court directed the Police Commissioner to look into the matter and return a report stating the protocol in place for sensitising police personnel to deal with senior citizens.The High Court said cinemagoers cannot be prohibited from carrying their own food articles and water bottles to multiplexes as private vendors are allowed to sell food inside at exorbitant prices.Gujarat High CourtGujarat High Court recently observed that the total statutory abolition of the marital rape exemption is the first necessary step in teaching societies that dehumanized treatment of women will not be tolerated and that the marital rape is not a husband’s privilege, but rather a violent act and an injustice that must be criminalized.Kerala High CourtThe Kerala High Court prohibited standing passengers in luxury services, and long-distance buses like super deluxe services, super express services and super-fast services operated by Kerala State Road Transport Corporation.While dismissing a writ plea filed by a person claiming to be a homeopath, the Kerala High Court observed that the state government has been alarmingly lethargic in taking steps for a unified legislation for medical practitioners for the last more than three decades.The Kerala High Court, in a recent judgment, highlighted the necessity to make the process of nomination and election of members to the Devaswom Board open and transparent. The division bench of Justice PR Ramachandra Menon and Justice Devan Ramachandran also asked the government to frame rules so as to allow the citizens to offer themselves as candidates or to suggest eminent persons of their choice, who may be supported by a fixed number of nominations, to be considered for being nominated or elected to the board.The High Court held that evidence in matrimonial cases has to be recorded by the court itself, and that the Advocate Commissioner can be appointed to record evidence only if the parties have no objection to such a procedure.The High Court, on Friday, issued notice on a Petition filed by twenty-one Petroleum Outlet Dealers challenging the demand of “personal financial details” by public sector oil companies- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Hindustan Petroleum Limited. Madhya Pradesh High CourtWhile discharging the principal and headmaster of a school accused of abetment of suicide of a peon belonging to Scheduled Caste community, the Madhya Pradesh High Court observed that if a higher officer compels his subordinate to do extra work, which is unbearable, he cannot be held to have abetted his suicide because the latter had ‘other several options and it cannot be said that he had no other option except to commit suicide’.Sikkim High CourtWhile dismissing an appeal in a POCSO case, the Sikkim High Court observed that the special court is also vested with the responsibility of ensuring that identity of the victim-child is not disclosed during the investigation.

High Courts Weekly Round-Up

Ashok K.M

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