High Courts Weekly Round-Up

Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court recently observed that, where a boy and a girl are major and they are living with their free will, then, nobody, including their parents, has the authority to interfere with their living together.

The High Court quashed punishment of a UP Government employee who was found chewing tobacco at work.  In the year 2017, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had banned chewing of tobacco on duty. The employee had faced the wrath of the orders in February 2018 when he was inflicted with the punishment of permanent stoppage of two annual increment after being found consuming tobacco in office.

 Bombay High Court

In a sharp rebuke to Maharashtra State Excise Commissioner Dr Ashwini Joshi, the Bombay High Court made several strong observations against her and cautioned her saying that she was not above the law. A division bench of Justices SC Dharamadhikari and BP Colabawalla passed a 30-page judgment earlier last month in a batch of petitions filed by licensed wine and liquor shop owners whose premises were ordered to be sealed by the State Commissioner for Excise for home delivery of liquor.

The High Court recently upheld an order passed by the Sessions Court in Pune allowing an application for maintenance filed under Section 125 of the CrPC by one Chandrabhaga Borhade, nearly 50 years after her marriage with Babanrao Borhade took place.

The High Court directed the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) to carry out afresh the exercise of categorising unauthorised religious structures that were constructed prior to September 29, 2009 in the city. The direction was issued by a bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice MS Karnik, which noted that the procedure being followed by NMC was in contravention of the Government Resolution (GR) issued by the State on May 5, 2011.

The High Court on Thursday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation and State CID to make sincere efforts to trace the accused in the murders of anti-superstition crusader Narendra Dabholkar and CPI member Govind Pansare.

In a relief to human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, civil rights activist and writer Anand Teltumbde, tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy, the High Court granted them protection from arrest till December 14 in the case regarding violence that took place at Bhima-Koregaon in Pune on January 1.

The High Court quashed a government resolution dated May 12, 2015 imposing a condition that the Assistant Public Prosecutor, whose rate of conviction is less than 25% of the cases handled by him, is not entitled to promotion.

Calcutta High Court

Justice Protik Prakash Banerjee of the Calcutta High Court recalled an order he passed in a criminal revision petition on the ground that the co-accused in the case was his ‘lay client’ and this fact was not disclosed to him when he passed the order.

The High Court recently scorned at a school for withholding a month’s salary of a woman who had availed of child-care leave. In doing so, Justice Protik Prakash Banerjee analysed the introduction of the concept of granting child-care leaves to a mother, and found that “the very framework is predisposed to perpetuate the existing notions of patriarchy which has still not been dispelled despite 68 years of constitutional experiment in our country”.

Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court recently dismissed a petition filed by US drugmaker Abbott that wanted to stall a probe by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) into allegations of price cartelisation over a key diabetes drug.

A request for aeronautical study of a structure to determine if it would adversely affect the operation of aeroplanes has to be considered on a case-to-case basis and there is no rule or policy which says that aeronautical study cannot be undertaken unless the excess height of the structure as against the permissible limit is demolished, the Delhi High Court held.

The High Court on Thursday expressed anguish over the comments made by an editor of a Chennai-based news magazine against a sitting high court judge and said the case concerns the judicial system.

The High Court ruled that the Central Excise Officers of Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) have jurisdiction all over India, and can issue notices and look into matters relating to service tax against any assessee.

Karnataka High Court

Public Interest Litigation cannot be used as a tool to wreck vengeance, the Karnataka High Court remarked while dismissing a PIL filed by a lady who had filed criminal cases against her husband.

The High Court recently denied relief to a student who had failed to complete his three-year LL.B Course within the prescribed period of seven years. The order was passed by Justice R. Devdas on a petition filed by one Anand, who is a student of the three years LL.B course in JSS Sakri Law College, Dharwad.

Kerala High Court

The High Court of Kerala observed that police excess cannot be permitted in Sabarimala in the guise of implementing the SC judgment on women entry. The special bench for consideration of Devaswom Matters orally remarked that police arrangements were causing hardships to genuine devotees.

The High Court observed that concealment of a vital fact about earlier marriage while entering into a contract of marriage by itself amounts to fraud and the marriage can be declared as null and void.

A Division Bench of the High Court of Kerala comprising Justice P R Ramachandra Menon and Devan Ramachandran dismissed a plea challenging recommendations made by Collegium for elevation of five advocates as judges.

The High Court of Kerala on Friday directed the state government and Travancore Devaswom Board to file statements apprising the Court of measures taken by them to ensure smooth and safe pilgrimage of women in the age group of 10 to 50 years to Sabarimala temple.

 Madhya Pradesh High Court

While quashing a ‘sexual harassment’ complaint made against a public servant, the Madhya Pradesh High Court observed that harassment of the public servant on pretext of false complaint at the instance of or in hands of those who were restrained by him for committing illegal and unauthorized act, is anathema to the Rule of Law.

Madras High Court

The Madras High Court issued notice on a PIL seeking effective implementation of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (DV Act). The PIL has been filed by Sudha Ramalingam, an advocate, who is also a former national vice-president of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties.

The High Court recently acquitted a man, who was sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment by a lower court in a rape case and primarily blamed the “faulty investigation” for the same.

Orissa High Court

The Orissa High Court recently quashed criminal cases against lawyers and cops as they express apology

Uttarakhand High Court

The Uttaranchal High Court recently observed that mere pleading by the wife in the divorce petition that husband was making an attempt to have an unnatural sexual relationship (sodomy) is sufficient to grant divorce on the ground of ‘cruelty’.