High Courts Weekly Round-Up

Allahabad High CourtThe Allahabad High Court observed that the levy of entry tax on e-commerce sites is prima facie unconstitutional as the state legislature has no authority or competence to do so.Bombay High CourtA division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice GS Kulkarni of the Bombay High Court cautioned family courts to follow the law in letter and spirit, while hearing matters of...

BCI Invites Comments On Draft Rules Of Legal Education (First Amendment) Rules, 2016

The Bar Council of India has invited views and comments on the draft Rules of Legal Education (First Amendment) Rules, 2016.The Rules stipulate minimum standard qualification of the faculty to be appointed by any Centre for Legal Education, including University Law Schools, Affiliated Law Schools, or any Law College run privately or as a public institution. They also include the rules relating...

Files On PM Modi’s Foreign Visits Confidential, Exempted Under RTI Act: CIC [Read Order]

The Central Information Commission has rejected an RTI plea seeking information on costs in relation to the Prime Minister’s foreign travel, observing that disclosure of travel arrangements of the PM, whether foreign or domestic, involve important security concerns.The commission, perusing the files, said the sought information was of a nature that is exempted under Section 8 (1)(a) of the...

New Adoption Regulations Will Be Effective From Tomorrow: Read Salient Features

The New Adoption Regulations, 2017 will be effective from 16 January 2017. The Regulations were framed by ‘Central Adoption Resource Authority’ (CARA) as mandated under section 68 (c) of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015Salient features of the Adoption Regulations, 2017:-a) Procedures related to adoption by relatives both within the country and abroad have...

Expedite Grant Of Space To Maharashtra National Law University Before New Batch Starts, Bombay HC Directs State

Bombay High Court has directed the state government to temporarily accommodate the Maharashtra National Law University(MNLU) by entering into an agreement with MTNL in order to get two floors in the MTNL building in Powai.The bench of Justices Manjula Chellur and GS Kulkarni directed the state to "expeditiously" provide a space measuring 10,000 square feet in the MTNL building in Powai...

Delhi HC Issues Directions To Regulate E-Rickshaws [Read Judgment]

The Delhi High Court, speaking through Justice Manmohan, has directed the authorities to strictly enforce the law for registration of e-rickshaws plying on roads in the national capital.The petitioner, BSES, had sought a direction to the respondents to take steps, make arrangements and effect measures for expeditious creation/setting up of arrangements and necessary infrastructure for charging...

NCST Has No Power To Direct Grant Of Promotion: Delhi HC [Read Judgment]

A single judge bench of the Delhi High Court has held that the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has no power to pass orders directing the Centre to grant promotion to an employee.The court was hearing a petition filed by the Centre challenging the April 30, 2015, order passed by the NCST directing that Ram Kishore Meena, an employee of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB),...

No Civilised Society Can Or Should Tolerate Honour Killings Says Bombay HC [Read Judgment]

Rejecting the bail application of one of the accused in the killing of a 15 year old Swapnil Sonavane, Justice Sadhana Jadhav of the Bombay High Court observed that honour killings are reflective of a barbaric society and has no place in a civilised one.Swapnil Sonavane was in love with a girl. They were in a relationship. As recorded in the order, the girl’s parents did not approve of...

Magistrate summons Dow Chemicals In The Bhopal Gas Disaster Criminal Case Through Email

The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bhopal, has summoned The Dow Chemical Company (TDCC) through email. The order came as part of the proceedings against Dow Chemical to make Union Carbide Corporation, USA, its wholly owned subsidiary, appear in the ongoing criminal case on the disaster of 1984 which has killed over 25000 people.Representatives of Bhopal Group for Information & Action (BGIA)...

Chief Commissioner Under Disabilities Act Has No Power To Decide On Matters Like Promotion: Delhi HC [Read Judgment]

Setting aside an order passed by the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities on recruitment and promotion, the Delhi High Court said that the Chief Commissioner acting under Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act has no power to pass the orders like promotion.The Directorate of Education had filed a writ petition challenging...

Frame Rules Governing Sentence Suspension Within Four Weeks: Uttarakhand HC To State [Read Judgment]

In an important pronouncement, the Uttarakhand High Court has directed the state government to frame rules governing the suspension of sentences.Justice Rajiv Sharma has also directed the state to consider, while framing the rules, illness of a prisoner’s parents, husband or wife, son, daughter, brother or sister; for sowing or harvesting of agricultural crops on his own land; for...

Animal Rights Activists Write To Rajnath Singh On Jallikattu, Cockfights [Read Letter]

In light of media reports that despite a stay by the Supreme Court on jallikattu, the bull-taming sport is being held in parts of Tamil Nadu, animal rights activists have written to Home Minister Rajnath Singh to direct the state government of Tamil Nadu to follow the SC order.Similar allegations regarding the Andhra Pradesh government not following the Hyderabad High Court orders in...