High Courts Weekly Roundup [Jan 25 – Jan 31]

Allahabad High Court 1. Farmers Protests : Why 'Exorbitant' Personal Bonds Sought From Farmers With Tractors? Allahabad High Court Asks UP Authorities [Arundhati Dhuru v. State of UP & Ors.] In a significant judicial intervention, a division bench of Justices Ramesh Singha and Rajeev Singh asked Uttar Pradesh authorities to explain why Sub-Divisional Magistrates issued notices to farmers with tractors to furnish 'exorbitant personal bonds' in the wake of farmers protests. The development came in a PIL filed challenging the notices issued under Section 111 of CrPC on January 19 asking farmers to furnish personal bond in the range of Rs 50,000 to Rupees 10 lakhs and two sureties for the like amount citing apprehension of breach of law and order amid farmers protests. 2. Practice Of Publishing Names Of Accused On Flysheet Boards Without Proclamation Violates Human Dignity & Right To Privacy: Allahabad High Court [Jeeshan @ Jaanu & Anr. v. State of U P & Ors.] A Division Bench comprising of Justice Pankaj Naqvi and Justice Vivek Agarwal held that the practice of putting names of the accused persons on the flysheet board without issuance of proclamation under sec. 82 of Cr.P.C. is derogatory to the concept of human dignity and privacy enshrined under Art. 21 of the Constitution. "Neither socially nor politically it is desirable to curtail human dignity, which is infringed when names of accused persons are displayed on the flysheet board of the police station concerned or anywhere else without there being any proclamation issued against them under Section 82 Cr.P.C. Thus, this practice of putting the names on the flysheet board is derogatory to the concept of human dignity and privacy," the court held. 3. 'When Will Phase-II Vaccination For Covid-19 Begin?': Allahabad High Court Asks Central Govt [In-Re Inhuman Condition At Quarantine Centres…] A Division Bench of Justices Ajit Kumar and Siddhartha Varma asked the Central Government to come out with an 'exact vaccination programme' to overcome the Covid-19 virus, vis-a-vis different phases. It ordered the Government to file a better affidavit by February 5, indicating as to when the Phase-I would end and Phase-II would begin. "In these days of pandemic we have to put to an end to the spread of Covid-19 virus and the Government should come up with a definite programme as to when exactly phase-1 would end and phase-2 would commence," the Bench said. Inter alia, it cautioned that public vaccination is a long drawn public health scheme and it will take time to develop herd immunity through vaccination. 4. 'No Emergent Situation To Extend Tenure': Allahabad High Court Directs Govt To Hold Fresh Elections To UP Sunni Central Waqf Board [Wasim Uddin & Anr. v. State of UP & Anr.] "Elections for a democratically elected body are sine qua non for application of democratic values and working of the institution accordingly," observed A bench comprising of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice SS Shamshery while issuing directions for election of members to the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board by February 28. It appointed Principal Secretary to the Department of Minority Welfare & Waqf of the UP Government, as an Administrator of the Board until such period. The Division Bench observed that since the tenure of the Board was to expire in April 2020, the Government should have been vigilant enough to initiate the process of holding elections in the month of February, 2020 itself. 5. Allahabad High Court Dismisses A Man's Plea For Allowing Live-Body Donation (Jeevit Deh Dan) Of His Body Organs And Tissues [Ranjan Srivastava v. Union of India] A Bench of Justice Sanjay Yadav and Justice Jayant Banerji dismissed a plea seeking a direction to enable and make it lawful for the petitioner to perform Live Body Donation (Jeevit Deh Daan) of his human body and of all his living organ and tissues. The Court took into account the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, which is an Act to provide for the regulation of removal, storage and transplantation of human organs and tissues for therapeutic purposes and for the prevention of commercial dealings in human organs and tissues and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Quoting Section 9 of the Act, the court observed that this provision stipulates restrictions on removal and transplantation of human organs and tissues or both. 6. Allahabad High Court Dismisses Plea For Direction To Centre To Consider Legislating Law Regulating Religious Conversion Along The Lines Of UP Love-Jihad law [Hindu Personal Law Board v. Union of India] The Bench of Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Manish Mathur dismissed a plea filed by Hindu Personal Law Board, seeking direction to the Central Government to consider legislating a law regulating the religious conversion on the pattern of the law legislated on the...

High Courts Weekly Roundup [Jan 25 – Jan 31]

Akshita Saxena

Summation of important High Court orders this week

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