High Courts Weekly Round-Up

Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday confirmed death penalty awarded to a man convicted for the murder of six persons. Upholding the conviction recorded by the trial court, the bench observed: "All family members were done to death. Circumstances established by the prosecution are firm, cogent and believable. Chain of events are completed and linked with each other. There is no chance of false implication of accused."

Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court held that consistent improvements made by the victim suiting their convenience cannot be acted upon by the courts. Justice AM Badar acquitted two men, one accused of raping a minor and the other was accused of sexual assault by the same minor.

While hearing a petition filed by lawyer Sagar Suryawanshi on Friday, the Bombay High Court asked the Election Commission and the petitioner to submit suggestions on regulating paid content on social media 48 hours before polling day.

Quashing the issue of process order of the Magistrate Court against a son in a case filed by his father, the High Court recently observed that parents are obligated to spend money on their children's education and that such monetary transactions shouldn't be transformed into litigations.

Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on Friday upheld the validity of the amendment to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, permitting elected councillors of the corporation to appoint any individual as the Mayor, subject to such individual getting elected within a period of six months from the date of his initial appointment.

The High Court in a recent judgment observed that parents should not force their children to pursue subjects without taking into consideration their capabilities and wishes.

Chhattisgarh High Court

The Chhattisgarh High Court observed that offerings made by worshipers to a deity do not become the property of the priests. Justice Goutam Bhaduri was considering a plea by some poojaris (priests) of a temple who had challenged a trial court order directing dissolution of the trust committee of the temple.

Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea seeking to suspend the trailer of the upcoming movie "The Accidental Prime Minister" and asked the petitioner to file it as a public interest litigation. Justice Vibhu Bakhru disposed of the plea which was filed by the petitioner in her personal capacity. The judge made it clear that she has not examined the controversy raised in the plea.

The High Court on Monday also set aside the Centre's ban on Indian pharma major Wockhardt's anti-inflammatory medicine 'Ace Proxyvon', used in painful rheumatic conditions. Justice Vibhu Bakhru passed the order on the firm's plea challenging the Centre's September 7, 2018 notification banning the manufacture, sale and distribution of 328 fixed dose combination (FDC) drugs.

In an important judgment, the High Court held that the Extradition Act is not a penal statue and that issuance of a Notified Order making applicable the provisions of the Act to the foreign country can be given retrospective effect. The bench comprising Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice IS Mehta also held that laying of the Notified Order before the Parliament is not a pre-requisite to the enforcement of the Notified Order.

On Tuesday, the High Court quashed an order issued by Consulate General of India (CGI), Houston, that cancelled a Doctor's Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Card on the ground that he was involved in missionary activities in India.

The High Court on Wednesday agreed to examine a plea by the Union government seeking to restrain Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland from continuing with the arbitration process initiated by it in the wake of scrapping of contracts for supply of 12 VVIP choppers to the Indian Air Force.

Mere act of slapping the husband publicly would not, under normal circumstances, instigate the husband to commit suicide, the Delhi High Court has said. The court was hearing a petition filed by the wife, who had challenged the framing of charge against her under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code.

"Vyapam wounds are still raw and festering and do not promise to heal at any foreseeable distance of time" said the Delhi High Court as it refused to interfere with the order of the CBSE disaffiliating petitioner-school Mother Khazani Convent School in connection with the leak of Class XII Economics question paper last year, an incident that shook the entire nation with lakhs of students getting affected.

Reminding the central government authorities that India is a secular country, the Delhi High Court observed that missionary activities are not prohibited as fundamental right to religion is not restricted to citizens, but is available for all persons,

The High Court on Friday asked two advocates to place before the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) their petition against alleged misappropriation/misuse of funds to the tune of Rs 21,75,03,000 sanctioned to eight Delhi government hospitals for remodelling/upgrade.

On Friday, the High Court also clarified that legal practitioners with less than three years experience at the bar can be empaneled as jail visiting advocates by the Delhi High Court Legal Service Committee.

The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to quash the FIR Registered against Rakesh Asthana, CBI Special Director and Devender Kumar, CBI DySP.

Gauhati High Court

The Gauhati High Court on Friday granted interim bail to Assamese litterateur Hiren Gohain and KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi, and absolute bail to senior journalist Manjit Mahanta in the sedition case filed by the Assam Police over their alleged remarks against the citizenship bill. Justice H K Sarma granted interim bail to Gohain and Gogoi against a surety Rs 5,000 each.

Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court directed the State government to conduct an inquiry for penalising or prosecuting culpable officials and persons responsible for not securing the undertaking/obligation bond for government service from candidates who had secured postgraduate degree and diploma seats for medical and dental courses under the government quota.

Kerala High Court

The High Court of Kerala on Tuesday issued notice in a PIL filed to fix liability for damages caused in vandalism during the hartal conducted in the state on January 3 to protest the entry of women in Sabarimala temple.

In a matter involving police harassment, the High Court of Kerala in strong words called upon the members of the police force to act with certain amount of self-control and tolerance while dealing with the common public. The judgment was pronounced by a division bench comprising of Justice PR Ramachandra Menon and Justice Devan Ramachandran.

A single bench of Kerala High Court in N.V.K.Mohammed Sulthan Rawther and Sons v. Union of India, held that the process of detention of the goods under section 129 of the Goods and Services Tax Act cannot be resorted to when the dispute is bona fide, especially, concerning the exigibility of tax and,more particularly, the rate of that tax.The judgment was rendered by Justice Dama Sheshadri Naidu.

The High Court of Kerala quashed a 2011 state government order which directed premature release of 209 prisoners who had then completed 10 years or more in jail. The full bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy, Justice K. Abraham Mathew, and Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar also directed that the proposal for premature release of 209 Prisoners shall be examined afresh within a period of 6 months.

The High Court of Kerala on Monday passed an order banning 'flash' hartals. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar ordered that hartals can be declared only after giving prior notice of seven days. The Court held that within the 7 days, any citizen can challenge the declaration of hartal.

Madhya Pradesh High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court observed that seeking adjournments for no reason by lawyers amounts to professional misconduct. Stating that adjournments are growing like a cancer, which is eroding the system, Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia came down heavily on a lawyer who sought adjournment of a case.

Madras High Court

Even a deity encroaching public property has to be dealt with, in accordance with law observed the Madras High Court while hearing a plea seeking removal of unauthorized construction in the name of Vinayagar Temple in the Revenue Divisional Office, Coimbatore.

The High Court on Monday rejected the state's plea challenging the order of Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Egmore, who rejected the request to remand 'Nakeeran' Gopal who was arrested for publication of allegedly fake and derogatory news about the Governor of Tamil Nadu in his bi-weekly Tamil magazine Nakkeeran.

The High Court observed that a court has the power to permit any person not enrolled as an advocate to put forth his submissions before a court whenever called for by the court. Justice N Anand Venkatesh, while upholding Magistrate's order rejecting remand of Nakkeeran Gopal, observed that there was nothing wrong in calling upon senior journalist N Ram to get his opinion.

The High Court stayed the rules notified by the Competition Commission of India barring advocates from interacting with persons summoned by it during hearings and providing for debar of counsels from future appearances. A bench comprising Justices N Kirubakaran and R Pongiappan passed the interim order on January 4, on a petition by the Tamil Nadu Advocates Association challenging the validity of the rules notified on December 6 last.

In a breather to former finance minister P Chidambaram's wife Nalini, the High Court Saturday granted her interim protection from arrest by the CBI in the Saradha chit fund case till she obtains regular anticipatory bail from a jurisdictional court in West Bengal. Justice G K Illanthiraiyan passed the interim order at a special sitting to hear the anticipatory bail plea of Nalini Chidambaram.

Orissa High Court

The Orissa High Court held that a woman, irrespective of her status and nationality, is exempted from payment of court fee in Odisha Courts.

Punjab & Haryana High Court

The social values in ancient society had propounded freedom, liberty and equality but the shackles of millennium long slavery made the society complexened one and it resulted into the darkest aspect of casteism, remarked Justice Raj Shekhar Attri of Punjab and Haryana High Court while disposing of some petitions seeking police protection.

Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court recently re-ignited the hopes of a police aspirant, who was denied the job as a Constable because of the pendency of criminal proceedings against him. The order was issued by Justice Alok Sharma, who pointed out that the criminal proceedings pending against the petitioner pertained to a family dispute, devoid of any moral turpitude, and hence, should not necessarily lead to denial of appointment for him. The authorities were then directed to consider his case afresh on merits.