High Court corrects the Trial Court which erroneously imposed ‘milder’ punishment to ‘child rapist’ [Read the Judgment]

In a double whammy to the appellant who was convicted by Trial court for raping a six year old, the Punjab and Haryana High Court not only upheld his conviction, but also ameliorated the error committed by Trial court which had resulted in awarding imprisonment for a lesser term. Justice R.P Nagrath, exercising his Suo Motu Revisional Jurisdiction, held “The charge framed against the...

Scheduled Caste Migrants to Pondicherry not eligible for reservation, says Madras High Court [Read the Judgment]

The Madras High Court , in a recent decision in The Pondicherry Scheduled Caste People's Welfare Association Vs. Union of India has held that the Scheduled Caste candidates who migrated from other states cannot demand right of reservation even though they had lived in the Union territory of Pondicherry for five years. Justice M.M. Sundresh held “merely because a person residesfor...

Bombay High Court quashes Maggi Ban order by FSSAI; orders Re-test [Read Jt]

Bombay High Court today, has quashed the ban on Nestle Maggi noodles imposed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, as it found that there were blatant violation of Principles of natural justicewhile imposing the ban. Nestle (India) had challenged the nationwide ban imposed by the Food Authority on its popular product Maggi Instant Noodles before the Bombay High Court. The...

Mechanical rejection of applications by PSC undesirable - Courts can interfere if injustice is meted out to candidate : Kerala HC [Read Jt]

In a recent judgment in a Writ appeal, Kerala Public Service Commission vs Roshini K.S, Kerala High Court has held that mechanical rejection of applications by Public service commission is undesirable and the courts can interfere if justice is meted out to candidate. The court held that “whether an infraction of a condition in the advertisement shall entail rejection of candidature depends...

Government of India files class action suit against Nestle

The Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has filed a complaint under section 12(1)(d) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 in the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC). The Department has filed this class action suit on behalf of the large number of consumers of Maggi in the country against Nestle India on grounds of...

1598 PILs pending before SC, the oldest one being filed in 1992

There are 1,598 public interest litigations pending before Supreme Court. The oldest dates back to 23 years ago, the apex court has revealed this in its response to an RTI query. The oldest pending PIL with WP(C) 537/1992 was filed by Sureshwar D Sinha and relates to water pollution linked to industries, domestic sources, sewage, river and sea.In response to Lucknow-based RTI applicant...

Three Additional Judges of Gauhati HC to get a term re-extension

The Law Ministry has reportedly decided to re-extend the services of three Additional Judges of the Gauhati High Court, out of the 22 Additional Judges of various High Courts set to retire in the next two months. The move comes as a measure in the wake of the impending Supreme Court decision on the Constitutional validity of the National Judicial Appointments Commission.As per a TOI Report,...

Delhi HC orders release of all people illegally detained during Kisan Rally [Read the order]

A Delhi High Court Bench comprising Justice Kailash Gambhir and Justice P.S. Teji has ordered the release of all persons under illegal detention, on a Petition filed by Advocate Prashant Bhushan, against illegal detention of more than 50 people by the Parliament Street Police, at about mid night on 10th of August, 2015. These people had been kept in illegal confinement and detained there...

Ola cabs remains banned in Delhi as high court dismisses plea [Read the Judgment]

The Delhi High Court today dismissed app-based cab service provider Ola's plea challenging a single-judge order upholding Delhi government's ban on such taxi services. A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath dismissed the plea filed by Ola cabs challenging a single judge's July 29th order that directed the Delhi government and traffic police to enforce the...

34,281 Direct Tax Matters are pending before various High Courts

The number of cases relating to Direct Taxes pending in various High Courts and the amount involved therein is as below:High CourtNo. of cases pending*34,281Amount involved* (in Rs. crore)37,683.98*31st March, 2015Income-tax Act empowers a Principal Chief Commissioner/Chief Commissioner/Principal Commissioner/Commissioner of Income tax, who is aggrieved by any order passed by the Income...

Amendment in Benami Act

There is a proposal to amend the Benami Act. The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 13th May, 2015 to amend the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988.Any transaction within the definition of ‘benami transaction’ shall attract consequential action under the Benami Transactinos (Prohibition) Act, 1988 after the enactment of...

Sitting and retired Judges receive notices by Gujarat High Court for residential plots allotted by Government in 2008

A Gujarat High Court Bench headed by Chief Justice V.M. Sahai has sought replies from 27 Judges (both sitting and retired) of the Court, the state Revenue Department; and the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation among other government agencies, regarding the 2008 allotment of residential plots to sitting and retired judges.The Court issued notices on a suo motu Public Interest Litigation initiated...