Allahabad HC Commutes Death Penalty In Rape-Cum-Murder Case [Read Judgment]

The State has failed to show that the appellant is a continuing threat to the society or he is beyond reform or rehabilitation, the Bench observed.The Allahabad High Court has commuted the death sentence awarded by a trial court for a man accused of raping and murdering a 4-year-old girl, to life imprisonment.Upholding the conviction recorded by the trial court, the Bench comprising...

26 Retired HC Judges Designated As Senior Advocates

In a full court meeting held last month, the Supreme Court designated 26 retired judges of various high courts as senior advocates.Following are the retired judges of various high courts across the country who have been made senior advocates with effect from August 31, 2016: Uma Nath Singh, Satish Chandra, Ashim Kumar Banerjee, K.C. Bhanu, Ravindra Singh, B. Chandra Kumar, Anil Kumar,...

Delhi HC Tells Govt To Take Call On Surcharges On Card Payments [Read Order]

The High Court of Delhi recently asked the government to decide on the issue of surcharges levied on transactions made through credit cards and debit cards throughout the country.The court was hearing a petition filed by Advocate Amit Sahni, who had contended that since no such surcharge was levied in case of payments made in cash, charging of surcharge for payments made through debit cards...

Family Court order setting aside ex-parte judgment is appealable: Orissa HC [Read Judgment]

An application to set aside an ex-parte decree is an ‘interlocutory judgment’, which finally determines the right of the parties in the said proceeding, the Bench observed.The Orissa High Court in Gyanasis Jena vs. Rekha Swain, has held that a family court order allowing an application to set aside an ex-parte judgment is appealable under Section 19 of the Family Courts Act, 1984.A...

Patna HC Slams BSSC For Disqualifying Higher Qualified Candidates [Read Judgment]

A diploma course can unhesitantly and undoubtedly be held to be a much inferior course than graduate, and much less than graduate Hons., the court observed.The Patna High Court in Rupesh Kumar and Ors. vs. State of Bihar and Ors., has set aside the decision of Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) that disqualified 18 BSc (Honours in Medical X-ray Technology) degree holders stating that...

High Courts Weekly Round-Up

Allahabad High CourtThe Allahabad High Court, in Dr. Kuldeep Kaushik vs. State of UP, held that a magistrate has the authority to interfere in a case investigation if it is not going on in a proper or fair manner.In Ramsiya Yadav vs. State of UP, The High Court held that gratuity can be withheld in a case where judicial proceedings are pending on the serious charges against employee.The...

HC can entertain amendment plea in pending suits originally valued below Rs 2 crore: Delhi HC [Read Judgment]

The Delhi High Court in Subhashini Malik Vs. S.K. Gandhi, has held that an amendment application to amend pecuniary value for the purposes of jurisdiction (in view of Delhi High Court Amendment Act, 2015) can be entertained by the high court and upon the suit being of lesser than Rs 2 crore, the court does not become functus officio.The suit filed in this case in 2009 before the high court...

CJM working in non-metropolitan area can assist secured creditor to take possession: Allahabad HC [Read Judgment]

It observed that the nomenclature 'Chief Metropolitan Magistrate' used by the legislature in Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act, 2002, includes Chief Judicial Magistrate functioning in non-metropolitan area and shall have jurisdiction to entertain an application made under Section 14 of the Act.The Allahabad High Court in Abhishek Mishra vs State Of U.P. has held that the Chief Judicial...

Inter-faith marriages must be registered under Special Marriage Act 1954 for validity: Kerala HC [Read Judgment]

The Kerala High Court has ruled that a marriage between persons belonging to different and distinct religions needs to be mandatorily registered under the Special Marriage Act 1954, to be held legally valid.The court also slammed organisations like the SNDP Yogam, Sivagiri Mutt and others, which issue marriage certificates to partners belonging to different religions without exercising...

Denying sex to spouse is a ground for divorce: Delhi HC

Denying sex to the spouse for a long time amounts to mental cruelty and is a ground for divorce, the Delhi High Court reiterated on Friday, while hearing a divorce petition.Refusal of physical relationship was one of the main grounds cited by the high court to grant relief to a 46-year-old man (name concealed) apart from the fact that his wife used to misbehave with his mother and used to...

Delhi HC quashes appointment of 21 AAP MLAs as parliamentary secys

In a major setback to the Delhi Government, the Delhi High Court has set aside the government order to appoint 21 AAP MLAs as parliamentary secretaries.The first Bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal passed the order after recording the statement made by counsel appearing for the Delhi Government that the order was issued without...

As Registration Of Cases u/s 66A Continues Despite SC Verdict, MP Asks PM to Intervene [Read Letter]

The NCRB data has revealed that 4,154 cases were registered under Section 66A, that tramples upon the Fundamental Right to freedom of speech and expression and has already been struck down by the Supreme Court, in 2015.In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrasekhar has demanded that the Home Ministry and Law Ministry be directed to cancel...