Indiscriminate Cutting Of Trees Violates Art. 21, Exemption Clauses Only In Exceptional Situations, Holds NGT While Quashing UP Govt’s Tree Cutting Permit Exemption Notification [Read Order]

Holding that felling of trees indiscriminately, even in the absence of state Tree Protection Act, is in violation of Article 21 of the Constitution, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has quashed the Uttar Pradesh government’s notification exempting all but five species of trees from the purview of seeking prior permission for felling.A bench headed by Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar...

What's In A Name? Sikkim HC Upholds CJM’s Order That ‘Quashed’ A Complaint For Want Of Sanction Interpreting It As Order Of Discharge [Read Judgment]

“There is a fundamental difference between dismissal and quashing. To dismiss would imply to terminate without further hearing and to quash would mean to annul or make void.”The Sikkim High Court has upheld an order of magistrate that ‘quashed’ a complaint against police officers for want of sanction, by interpreting it as an order of discharge.Explaining the difference...

Bishop Franco Remanded To Police Custody For Two Days

Bishop of Jalandhar diocese of Catholic Church, Franco Mulakkal, who stands accused of raping a nun, has been remanded to police custody by the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Pala for two days. The Bishoo was arrested by police yesterday, after three days of interrogation since September 19. The police had sought custody of Bishop for three days for further interrogation. The police stated...

Fill Up Teaching Vacancies In School For Visually Impaired: Delhi HC To AAP Govt

The Delhi High Court has directed the AAP government to "forthwith" appoint 10 contract teachers to vacant posts in a school here for visually impaired boys and provide the students with "assistive devices" like audio recorders to help them study.The direction by a bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao came on a PIL claiming there was 50 percent vacancy of teaching staff...

Whether Registrar Can Cancel Registration Of A Society? Calcutta HC Delivers Split Verdict [Read Judgment]

A division bench of Calcutta High Court has delivered a split verdict over the issue of whether a Registrar under The West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961 can cancel the registration of a society.The single bench of the high court had upheld such an order of Registrar of Firms, Society and Non-trading Corporations who had cancelled the registration of the school for the reason...

Madras HC Issues Notice To FB, Twitter, WhatsApp, Google, YouTube On Plea For Linking Aadhaar To E-Mail, Other Accounts

The Madras High Court has issued a notice to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp and Google after it came to know during the hearing of a petition that social media companies do not provide details in case of commission of any cyber crime.A bench of Justice S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad issued a notice to these service providers as it enlarged the scope of a petition moved by Antony...

Bombay HC Refuses Distributor’s Claim To Negatives Of Film ‘Sholay’ In Execution Application Against Sippy Films Over Dues [Read Order]

The Bombay High Court recently refused to attach the negatives of the iconic film Sholay in an execution application filed by Shree Navchitra Distributors Pvt Ltd in a suit against Sippy Films.The plaintiff had filed the suit claiming some money (approximately Rs 10 lakh with interest) from Sippy films in 2004 at Jaipur. This suit was decreed in 2005 but in 2006, the plaintiff filed the...

If Illegal Structures Are Demolished Following Due Process Of Law, There Can’t Be Violation Of Rights U/Article 300-A Of Constitution: Bombay HC [Read Judgment]

The Bombay High Court recently held that if illegal structures are demolished after following due process of law, then there cannot be a violation of rights under Article 300-A of the Constitution.Article 300-A of the Constitution is a constitutional right, it reads-“Persons not to be deprived of property save by authority of law.- No person shall be deprived of his property save by...

Gujarat HC Strikes Down GST Provision Denying Transition Of Excise Duty Credits On Goods Purchased Before Cut-off Date [Read Judgment]

In a relief to first stage dealers, the Gujarat High Court has struck down provisions of the GST law that prohibit transition of excise duty credits on purchases prior to June 30, 2016. The law basically did not permit credit of invoices that were more than one-year-old i.e., invoices which were dated prior to June 30, 2016.The Bench comprising Justice Akil Khureshi and BN...

U’khand HC Orders Sealing Of All Illegal Slaughter Houses Across State Within 72 Hrs [Read Order]

The Uttarakhand High Court has ordered all illegal slaughter houses running in the state to be sealed within 72 hours.A bench of Acting Chief Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari directed the state to ensure that no animals are slaughtered in open in public gaze.The directions of the court came on a petition moved by Parvez Alam against the illegal slaughtering of animals on...

Remove Tiles Bearing PM Modi & CM Shiv Raj Chauhan’s Pictures From Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna Houses: Madhya Pradesh HC [Read Order]

The Gwalior Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday directed the State to remove tiles with pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan from houses built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).The direction was issued by a bench comprising Justice Sanjay Yadav and Justice Vivek Agarwal on a petition filed by journalist Sanjay Purohit,...

Former Delhi HC CJ’s Wife And Daughter Held Hostage, Robbed By Domestic Help

The wife and daughter of a retired high court judge were reportedly held hostage in their house in south Delhi’s New Friends Colony on Monday.According to reports, Riba Kapur, the 78-year-old wife of former Chief Justice Dalip Kumar Kapur alleged that she and her 45-year-old daughter who lives with her were held hostage by the servant and his accomplices. The duo was held at their house...