High Courts Weekly Round Up

Allahabad High Court

• • Dismissing the Writ Petition filed by a bank employee, the High Court held that the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is not an investigating agency in disciplinary proceeding leveled against employees of the bank.
  • Quashed the charge-sheet and criminal proceedings leveled against the Applicant girl, for use of unfair means in UPSC examination, stating that the Judicial Magistrate had taken cognizance of the matter without judicial application of mind and that the proceedings instituted were frivolous in nature.
  • Dismissing the petition filed by Petitioner-landlord, the High Court upheld the order of District Collector, allowing the substitution of the Respondents as legal representatives of the deceased-tenant under Section 24(2) of the U.P. Act No.13 of 1972 (the Act).
  • Directed the Senior Registrar of the court to initiate regular inquiry proceedings to find out how many non-employees/ unauthorized persons have been entering in various sections, record rooms etc., of the court and to bring them to books.
  • Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh, vide order dated 02.08.2019, referred a matter under Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (the Act) to be adjudicated by a larger bench of the Court. The issue involved therein was that what should be the period of limitation for filling a complaint under Sections 12 and 18 of the Act.
  • Directed a Bareilly based University to amend the seniority list of its lecturer after 26 years and also held that decisions of Vice-Chancellor and Chancellor of the University were quasi-judicial orders, adjudicating valuable rights of the parties, and as such doctrine of the merger was applicable to them.
  • Dismissing a criminal appeal filed by the Appellant convict, the High Court held that omission on the part of the Investigating Officer (IO) cannot go against the prosecution's case.

  Bombay High Court

  • Commuted death sentence awarded to two convicts to life imprisonment for 35 years life imprisonment in the 2007 gangrape and murder case of a BPO employee in Pune.
  • Questioned why Binoy Kodiyeri had not taken the DNA test till now and directed him to produce blood samples for the said test on Tuesday. The test will be conducted in order to determine whether Kodiyeri is the father of an eight-year-old, after a Mumbai based woman filed rape case against him.
  • Directed the State government and Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration to file their replies while hearing a writ petition filed by Godfrey Philips India Ltd challenging FDA's action of seizing e-cigarettes manufactured by the company.
  • Granted pre-arrest bail to Amit Shelar, a sub-inspector with Mumbai police crime branch in a case of rape filed against him by a lady constable. Division bench of Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice AM Badar opined that considering the text messages exchanged between the accused and the complainant in the case, prima facie it was a case of consent.
  • Directed the Reserve Bank of India to file an affidavit laying out reasons for changing the size and features of notes and coins from time to time. A division bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice NM Jamdar was hearing a PIL filed by National Association for the Blind (NAB) seeking directions to the RBI to include distinctive features in the new currency notes and coins for the visually impaired and blind.

  Calcutta High court

  • Punished a writ petitioner in suo moto contempt proceedings initiated against him for use of disgraceful and unparliamentary language in his petition.

  Delhi High Court

  • Dismissed a plea seeking regulation of education imparted in 'madrasas' and 'gurukuls' in the country, saying it is akin to vocational or coaching classes and one can always opt-out of it.
  • Reiterated the settled position of law that search of an accused under Section 50 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) has to be conducted, mandatorily in the presence of a Magistrate or Gazetted Officer even if the accused refuses the offer in this regard.
  • Batting for the rights of health care givers, the High Court upheld the order issued by the AAP led-Delhi Government on June 25, 2018 for improving the salry and working conditions of nurses in private hospital.
  • Noting the fact that the petitioner had not taken adequate care in carrying the firearm, the High Court found merit in decision of Licensing Authority that had found petitioner unfit to carry the weapon and had cancelled his license. Court said that there was no fault with the decision of Licensing Authority and held that a negligent act in handling the weapon would provide sufficient ground to hold that the licensee is an unfit person to carry a firearm.
  • Dismissing a writ petition, the High Court held that an employer was empowered to commence departmental proceedings against the employee even after his retirement to determine the existence of conditions of Section 4(6) of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.
  • Dismissing the appeal of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd., the High Court held that an unrebutted oral evidence of a landlord in support of his claim for mesne profits at a certain rate was sufficient evidence in terms of Order XX Rule 12 of CPC.

  Karnataka High Court

  • Ruled that bad condition of roads and footpaths, having potholes on roads, is a violation of Fundamental Rights of Citizens, guaranteed under Article 21, of the Constitution of India. If a citizen suffers any injury or loss of life, they can seek compensation from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), as it is their statutory and constitutional duty to maintain roads and footpaths.
  • Held that a temple employee in the state will be entitled to gratuity benefits under the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowment Act, which is a special law enacted in the state and not under the Payments of Gratuity Act, which is a general law.

  Kerala High Court

  • Held that foreign banks or financial institutions cannot engage recovery agents in India to realize loan amounts defaulted by expatriates. This was because the guidelines and master circulars issued by the Reserve Bank of India recognized recovery agents only for Indian banks, reasoned the division bench of Justices K Vinod Chandran and V G Arun.
  • Dismissed a Public Interest Litigation which sought to declare the 'Code of Canon' giving the Pope of Catholic Church powers over Church properties in India as 'unconstitutional and opposed to the sovereignty of India'.
  • A division bench of the High Court set aside the judgment of a single bench which handed over to CBI the investigation of the killing of Shuhaib, a Youth Congress worker, in Kannur district in February 2018.

  Madras High Court

  • Dismissing a Writ Petition, the High Court held that the Police Complaints Authority (the Authority) was not empowered to issue directions to Police for registration of FIR or further investigation.
  • Madurai bench allowed a writ petition filed by a prisoner seeking transfer to a prison nearer to his home so that his aged mother could visit him occasionally.

  Punjab & Haryana High Court

  • Deferred the implementation of order notifying the constitution of Haryana Administrative Tribunal and directed that all fresh as well as pending service matters will be entertained by the High Court and the District Courts of the state as before.

  Rajasthan High Court

  • Allowing various Writ Petitions filed against the State, the High Court granted relaxation to persons with disability to the tune of 20% marks in passing/qualifying marks in Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers (REET).