State Is Trustee Of All Natural Resources, Must Be Conscious To Maintain It: Rajasthan HC On Illegal Mining, Encroachment In Forests; Appoints Amicus

The Rajasthan High Court, Jaipur has recently directed the State to ensure compliance of law and prevent illegal mining, encroachments etc. in the Forests, Wild Life Sanctuaries, Forest Reserves, Tiger Reserves, etc. situated at Ranthambore, Sariska, Nahargarh, Jhalana and other forest reserves. In a batch of writ petitions concerning the issue, the court noted that it is a...

Abscondence Of Accused By Itself Cannot Be Treated As Conclusive Evidence Of Guilt: Calcutta HC Acquits Man Convicted Of Murdering 10 Yr Old Boy

The Calcutta High Court has recently held that the abscondence of an accused by itself does not establish his guilt and accordingly proceeded to set aside an order of conviction for the commission of the offence of murder under Section 302 of the IPC. A Bench comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Ananya Bandyopadhyay was adjudicating upon an appeal preferred against an order...

Complete Examination Of Private Witnesses, Both Chief & Cross, On Same Day: Allahabad HC Directs Trial Court Judges In UP

In a significant order, the Allahabad High Court has directed the Sessions Courts throughout the state to make an endeavor to complete the examination of the private witnesses, both chief, and cross, on the same day, as far as possible.The Bench of Justice Vikas Kunvar Srivastav and Justice Sunita Agarwal further directed the trial judges in the state to take up the examination of the...

Just One Psychiatrist For All Prisoners With Mental Illnesses; Not Sustainable: Orissa High Court Expresses Concern On Prison Conditions

The Orissa High Court has expressed deep concerns on the issue of the mental health of prisoners. On knowing that there exists only one psychiatrist to attend all prisoners in the state with mental illness, a Division Bench of Chief Justice S. Muralidhar and Justice R.K. Patnaik noted,"This situation is unsustainable considering that it is physically impossible for just one psychiatrist to...

[Delhi Riots] Umar Khalid In Prison Since 2 Yrs Merely On Basis Of A Hearsay Witness Statement Unrelated To Violence: Argument For Bail In High Court

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday continued hearing the appeal filed by student activist Umar Khalid challenging the Trial Court's order refusing him bail in case involving UAPA charges alleging a larger conspiracy in the riots of 2020.Senior Advocate Trideep Pais appearing for Umar Khalid, told a division bench comprising of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar that...

Rape Of Minor: Patna High Court Rejects Plea Moved By ​​Ex-MLA Rajballabh Yadav For Suspension Of Life Sentence

The Patna High Court has rejected an interlocutory application under Section 389(1) CrPC for suspension of sentence moved by ​​ex- MLA Rajballabh Yadav, who is serving life sentence in the rape case of a minor. The application was moved during the pendency of appeal against the conviction order.A division bench of Justice Ashwani Kumar Singh and Justice Harish Kumar ordered,"Regard...

Amount Paid By Insurance Company Under Mediclaim Policy Deductible From Compensation In Motor Accident Claim: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that the compensation for medical expenses is a matter of reimbursement and hence once the insurance company has chosen to compensate the victim of road accident for medical expenses, the same cannot be once again claimed under the Motor Vehicles Act. The bench of Justice Teeka Raman thus held that the amount paid to the hospital directly by the...

Panchayat Elections: Karnataka High Court Directs State To Complete Delimitation Of Wards, Provide OBC Reservation In 12 Weeks

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday directed the State government to complete, in 12 weeks time, the exercise of delimitation of wards in the taluka and zilla panchayats and also complete the exercise for providing reservation to Other Backward Classes (OBC) and other categories within the said period. A division bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Ashok S Kinagi...

Karnataka High Court Dismisses Plea Seeking Action Against KGF-2 Movie For Alleged Promotion Of Smoking

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by Cancer Patients Aid Association against the movie "KGF-2" for allegedly promoting smoking by displaying the habit as healthy and heroic. A division bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Ashok S Kinagi dismissed the petition in default as none appeared for the petitioners in court. It said, "Learned counsel...

Court Can't Say Who Should Be Given Arjuna Award: Kerala High Court Directs Renjith Maheshwary To Make Representation Before Centre

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday disposed of the plea moved by the Olympian national record holder in triple jump Renjith Maheshwary challenging a press release issued by the Secretary, Department of Sports withholding the Arjuna Award previously conferred to him.Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan asked Maheshwary to submit a representation along with all the documents available with him to the...

Honourable Exoneration In Departmental Proceedings Would Warrant Quashing Of Criminal Prosecution Arising From Same Set Of Facts: Orissa High Court

In a landmark decision, the Orissa High Court has held that honourable exoneration in departmental proceedings would warrant quashment of criminal prosecution which emanated from the same set of facts. While quashing criminal charges against the petitioner, a Single Judge Bench of Chief Justice Dr. S. Muralidhar held, "…in the facts and circumstances of the present case where...

'Premature': Calcutta HC Dismisses Plea By WB Child Rights Commission Seeking Compensation From Election Commission For Covid-19 Orphans

The Calcutta High Court on Friday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed by the Chairperson of the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) seeking a direction upon the Election Commission of India (ECI) to compensate each of the families of the children who have lost their lives due to Covid-19 following the announcement of the general elections in...