Madras HC Directs Govt To Crack Down On Shariat Courts [Read Order]

“If a place of worship – whether it be temple, mosque or church, is used for purposes other than prayers and more specifically to create extra-judicial forums, certainly the authorities are duty-bound to take action against the same,” it said. The Madras High Court has recently directed the government to take necessary action to stop the activities of ‘shariat’ courts in the...

Karnataka HC Ends Mysuru Royal Land Drama [Read Judgment]

The Karnataka High Court recently dismissed petitions regarding tracts of land in Vijayshreepura, Mysuru. Moreover, the bench declared people who had constructed houses there to be encroachers.Refusing to go against the order of the Apex Court, the High Court bench dismissed the Writ petition filed under Art 226 of the Constitution.The bone of contention among the parties was the disputed land...

Promotions Shall Be Made Strictly According To The Seniority List: Jharkhand HC [Read Order]

Calling for scrupulous adherence to the Bihar.Taken over Elementary School Teachers Promotion Rules, 1993, the Jharkhand High Court has held that promotions on the vacancies which have arisen shall be made strictly according to the seniority list. The court also directed the authorities to upload the provisional seniority list on the department’s website to enable online submission...

Jharkhand HC Pulls Up Forest Secretary For Wilful Violation Of Court's Order [Read Order]

Put out by the ‘wilful violation’ of the court's order to produce file on the government's decision to withdraw the provision for accelerated promotion of Forest guards, the Jharkhand High Court has pulled up the Secretary (Forest, Environment and Climate Change) of the Government of Jharkhand. He has been issued a show cause notice, asking why contempt proceedings should not...

Centre Urges States/UTs To Implement SC Order On National Anthem

In a written advisory issued to the Chief Secretaries of all State Governments and Chief Secretaries/Administrators of all Union Territories, the Central government has called for strict adherence with the Supreme Court directives issued in regard to the National Anthem.The Centre urged the authorities to take necessary action in this regard.The Supreme Court, in its order dated 30th...

Deposit All Your Old Rs.500, 1,000 Notes At One Go, Tell Banks Why You Didn’t Deposit Earlier: RBI

If they go and deposit once, no questions are going to be asked to them, ‘clarifies’ FM.With 10 days more to go for the deadline to deposit the demonetised Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes, the Reserve Bank of India has issued yet another notification stating that the deposit in demonetised currency in excess of ₹ 5,000 into a bank account will be received for credit only once during...

True Import Of Movie Censorship Is To Render It Viewable, Not To Condemn It Without A Fair Process: Kerala HC [Read Judgment]

The division bench observed: “We are in affirmation that the true import of censorship and examination of films under the Act and Rules is to render the film, so far as possible, viewable by attuning it to be in conformity with the statutory guidelines and not to condemn it without a fair process.”A division bench of the High Court of Kerala has ruled that under the guise of censorship,...

Don’t Charge Customers For Smaller ‘Digital’ Transactions Till March End: RBI To Banks

To support the ‘digital banking’ push by the Central government, the Reserve Bank of India has directed banks not to levy any charges on customers for transactions up to ₹1,000 settled on Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), USSD-based *99# and Unified Payment Interface (UPI) systems from January 1, 2017, to  March 31, 2017.The apex bank has clarified that this is a ‘temporary measure’...

Malayalam Writer Booked For Sedition For ‘Insulting’ National Anthem

Kamal C Chavara, a Malayalam writer and theatre artiste, has been arrested by the Kerala Police for allegedly disrespecting the national anthem. Reportedly, charges of sedition were slapped on him.Yuvamorcha, the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party, activists had lodged complained against him for posting some excerpts from his novel "Smasanangulude Nottupusthakam" on Facebook, which...

EC Seeks Law To Ban Anonymous Contributions Above Rs.2,000 To Political Parties

The Election Commission of India has pressed for amendment of laws to ban anonymous contributions of Rs.2,000 and above made to political parties.It also proposed that exemption of Income Tax should only be extended to political parties that contest elections and win seats in the Lok Sabha or Assembly polls.Presently, Section 29(C) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, requires...

Bombay HC Rejects Anticipatory Bail Plea Of Crèche Owner As Video Of Child Being Brutally Assaulted Goes Viral [Read Order]

The Bombay High Court, in Priyanka Pravin Nikam vs. The State of Maharashtra, has rejected the anticipatory bail application of a crèche owner after a video of her maid employee beating a 10-month-old child left under her care at the crèche brutally had gone viral.A case was filed at Khargar Police Station against crèche owner Priyanka Nikam for the offence of voluntarily causing grievous...

Brothers Above 18 Years Of Age Not Eligible For Pensionary Benefits: Madras HC [Read Judgment]

The Madras High Court (Madurai Bench), in B. Senthil Kumar vs. The District and Sessions Judge, has held that pensionary benefits due to government servants cannot be given to their brothers and step-brothers above the age of 18 years.Senthil Kumar was nominated by his sister as legal heir in respect of the special provident fund, death-cum-retirement gratuity, general provident fund and had...