Kerala Lawyer Files Criminal Defamation Case Against Dr. Sebastian Paul, Media Houses [Read Complaint]

Advocate A. Ranjith Narayanan, a lawyer practising in Ernakulam, has filed the complaint against the former legislator and several media houses that circulated his speech.A criminal defamation complaint has been filed against Dr. Sebastian Paul and 54 others, before the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court, Ernakulam, for his alleged remarks against the lawyer community.The Chief...

Madras HC Lifts Tamil Nadu’s Ban On Private Law Colleges [Read Judgment]

The Madras High Court in Advocates' Forum for Social Justice v. The State of Tamil Nadu and Ors, has struck down an enactment of the Tamil Nadu state government that banned the setting up of private law colleges in the estate.A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R Mahadevan was hearing a bunch of petitions against the Tamil Nadu Establishment of Private Law...

Reservation For Legal Heirs Of Freedom Fighters: Court Can’t Direct Govt In Matters Reservation Policy: Madras HC [Read Judgment]

Dismissing a petition, the Madras High Court refused to pass orders mandating the government to provide reservation for legal heirs of freedom fighters and held that the court cannot interfere with the wisdom of government or give directions for framing recruitment rules in a particular manner.The division bench comprising Justice Nooty, Ramamohana Rao and Justice SS Sundar upheld the...

Bombay HC Upholds Life Term Of Husband For Murdering Wife [Read Judgment]

There is presumption that the husband is custodian of the wife. He has to maintain his wife properly and with huge degree of dignity , said the CourtThe Bombay High Court in Sunil Vitthal Raut v. The State of Maharashtra, has upheld a sessions court verdict to sentence accused Sunil Vitthal to life imprisonment for charge of murdering his wife. The decision was taken by division bench...

Not Enough Material To Declare Sanatan Sanstha A Terror Organisation: Centre Tells Bombay HC

The Central government has submitted before a division bench of the Bombay High Court that it did not find any material to pronounce right wing extremist group Sanatan Sanstha a ‘terror organisation’ under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).Under S.35 of the UAPA, the Centre can impose a ban on an organisation and its activities, if it believes that such an organisation is...

Allahabad High Court Scraps DND Toll [Read Judgment]

Much to the cheer of Delhi-Noida commuters, the Allahabad High Court has scrapped the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) flyway toll on Wednesday and ruled that the concessionaire, Noida Toll Bridge Company, shall not impose any user fee/toll from the commuters.A division bench comprising Justice Arun Tandon and Justice Sunita Agarwal held that the commuters were being ‘illegally taxed’ in the name...

Gujarat HC Advocates’ Association Proposes Stipend Scheme For Young Lawyers

In a unique move, the Gujarat High Court’s Advocates’ Association (GHAA) has proposed a few schemes for the benefit of young bar members.A scheme related to life and medical insurance has been proposed for members in 23-50 year age bracket.As many as 200 lawyers have already registered under this scheme, which provides a life insurance cover for Rs. 5 lakh and a medical insurance cover of...

Death Sentence Commuted, But Convict To Spend Rest Of His Life In Jail:Madras HC

 The Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) in Nisha v. The State of Tamil Nadu and Ors, has made it clear that the petitioner’s brother, being the convict here whose death sentence was commuted by the President under Article 72 of the Constitution, was to spend the rest of his life in prison, as expressly stated by the Presidential Order.The convict in question is 43-year-old Sheik Meeran,...

Tribal Malnutrition Deaths : Bombay HC Tells State To Formulate Action Plan

Expressing its displeasure over the lack of progress in curbing malnutrition deaths in the Tribal areas of Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked the Chief Secretary to come up with a constructive action plan to tackle the problem.A division bench of Justice VM Kanade and Justice Swapna Joshi observed that the state government had shown “a completely insensitive approach...

GST Will Result In Increasing State's Revenues From The Very First Year Onwards

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today explained in his Facebook post the rationale behind two particular proposals placed before the Goods and Services Tax Council. These two proposals are – Having a multi rate tax structure and Compensation to loss making states through cess.Reflecting on the meetings of the GST council that have been held so far, Jaitley said- “The meetings have witnessed...

Allahabad HC Dismisses Kejriwal, Vishwas’s Plea To Quash Criminal Case [Read Judgment]

“Whosoever influential leader, highly placed person, nationally renowned politician and other person belonging to high class may be, the law is equal to all. Code of Criminal Procedure has not granted any special status to the politicians or renowned Poet. All are equal in the eyes of law and all have to be treated equally”, said the CourtThe Allahabad High Court has dismissed a...

Complainant Can’t Be Compelled To Approach Police First, When Complaint Is Against Police Officer: Kerala HC [Read Judgment]

The high court has declined to quash the preliminary inquiry ordered by Vigilance Court against former Kerala Vigilance Director Shankar Reddy in bar bribery case. The Kerala High Court has recently held that where allegations are leveled against a senior superior police officer, the complainant, who is an ordinary citizen, being a member of the public cannot be compelled to file the...