"Few Govts Being Run With A Single Person/Few Persons Exercising Real Authority Like In US": Madras High Court

The Madras High Court last week observed that though the form of government both at the Centre and in the States is fashioned after the Westminister style, in fact, some of them work with a single person or a few persons exercising real authority. The Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy was hearing the plea praying that more prominent...

Kerala High Court Directs Family Courts To Mask The Name Of Adoptive Parents When Issuing Certified Copies Of Orders

In a recent judgment, the Kerala High Court directed the Registrar (District Judiciary) to issue necessary directions to all family courts in the state to mask the name of adoptive parents while issuing certified copies of orders.While hearing a case pertaining to the correctness of a procedure for surrender and adoption, a Division Bench of Justices A Muhamed Mustaque and Dr Kauser...

High Courts Weekly Roundup [April 5, 2021 – April 11, 2021]

Allahabad High Court 1. Allahabad High Court Lays Down Procedure & Standard Of Evidence For Enquiry Into Criminal Antecedents Of A Candidate During Selection Process [Sanny Kumar v. State of UP & Ors.] A Single Bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot laid down the procedure to be adopted by the competent authority for inquiring into the criminal antecedents of a candidate for the...

Supreme Court Weekly Round Up [April 5 To April 11, 2021]

IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS THIS WEEK1. Petition Styled As One Under Article 226 Would Not Bar High Court To Exercise Its Jurisdiction Which Otherwise It Possesses: Supreme CourtCase: Kiran Devi Vs. Bihar State Sunni Wakf Board [CA 6149 OF 2015] Citation: LL 2021 SC 195The bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, S. Abdul Nazeer and Hemant Gupta observed that a petition styled as one under Article...

Pushback Against ODR, Virtual Courts Based On Fear Of Unknown; Information Can Make TheTransition Easier: Justice DY Chandrachud

"The pushback against Online Dispute Resolution and virtual courts is often based on a fear of the unknown. I am not criticising this fear, but only emphasising the importance of valuable information in making this transition into the unknown easier", said Justice DY Chandrachud on Friday.Speaking at the launch of Niti Aayog's Online Dispute Resolution Handbook, the judge urged that one...

'Citizens Have Right To Freedom Of Speech & Expression, Protest Was Peaceful': Madras HC Quashes FIR Against CAA Protester

While observing that the Petitioner had organized a peaceful protest against the amendments made to the Citizenship Laws, the Madras High Court recently quashed the FIR filed against a person named Jafar Sathick. The Bench of Justice R. Hemalatha was hearing the petition seeking a direction to quash the First Information Report in Crime No.63 of 2020 of Boothapandy Police...

Assam NRC- Citizen Can't Be Declared Foreigner Just Because Linkage Is Not Shown With All Relatives : Gauhati High Court

A person who has proved linkage with parents/grandparents, whose names are in voters lists, can't be declared a foreigner just because he did not show linkage with all relatives.

"Which Authority Should People Approach For Registration Of BS-IV And BS-VI Vehicles ?" Supreme Court Seeks Clarity

Supreme Court on Friday posed a question as to which authority should it refer the applications seeking registration vehicles to. A three-judge Bench of CJI Bobde, Justice Bopanna and Justice Ramasubramanian was hearing applications filed in the case of MC Mehta vs Union of India, seeking the registration of CNG vehicles, BS-IV compliant vehicles and BS-VI compliant vehicles being used...

Police Authorities Are Expected To Be Quite Sensitive In Matters Where Freedom Of Speech And Expression Are At Stake: Bombay High Court

"The Police authorities are expected to be quite sensitive in such matters, because, what is at stake is the freedom of speech and expression." Observed the Bombay High Court, bench at Goa, while quashing an FIR registered by the Goa Police under sec. 295A of the Indian Penal Code against members of "Dastaan LIVE", an art rock live performance band, for using the word "OM" and clubbing it...

Breaking: Freedom Fighter's Widowed/Divorced Daughters Having No Income Entitled To His Pension, Blanket Exclusion Violates Art.14 :Calcutta High Court

As far as daughters having no independent source of income are concerned, widowed/divorced daughters stand on an equal footing with a spinster daughter as heirs of the deceased freedom fighter. The marital status of all of them is "unmarried". Thus, the criterion of exclusion of widowed/divorced daughters, as sought to be projected by respondent no.1, is untenable in the eye of law. As such, Clause 5.2.5 is patently violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India, which ensures equality among people standing on the same footing, in the absence of reasonable classification or intelligible differentia.

Plea Filed In Supreme Court For Proper Implementation Of Panchayati Raj Institutions In All States; Exclusion Of Political Parties In Elections

A PIL has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking implementation of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts, for institution of self-dependant Panchayati Raj Institutions in the States. The petition has been filed by Advocate Rudra Vikram Singh, also the General Secretary of the All India Panchayat Parishad, an organisation founded by Balwant Rai Mehta, founder of...

Upholding Woman's Decisional Autonomy To Acknowledge Biological Father, Kerala High Court Restores Surrendered Child To Live-In Couple [Read Judgment]

"It is for the woman to recognize and decide on recognition of fatherhood of child."