High Courts Weekly Roundup

Week Commencing June 22, 2020 To June 28, 2020 Allahabad High Court 1) [UP Memorials Scam] Allahabad HC Refuses To Quash Sanction For Prosecution Against Assistant Engineer During Procurement Of Pink Sandstone During BSP Rule [Ajai Kumar & Anr. v. State Of UP & Ors.] The bench comprised by Justice Anil Kumar and Justice Manish Mathur refused to quash the sanction for prosecution granted against the Assistant Civil Engineers, for alleged corruption during procurement of pink sandstones for construction of memorials and parks in Lucknow and NOIDA. The court observed that whether the Petitioners had acted in discharge of teir official duties and whether the offences alleged were related in some manner, with the discharge of official duty, were questions to be determined at the trial stage. 2) 'Spread Awareness Rather Than Putting Lockdown Violators In Jails': Allahabad HC [Munna & Ors. v. State of UP & Ors.] A bench comprised by Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh has advised the Police authorities to desist from taking coercive action and rather spread awareness regarding adversities of lockdown violation. 3) [Maritime Law] Allahabad HC Directs Container Corporation Of India To Decide Upon Levy Of Detention Charges By ICDs During Lockdown [M/S Manikya Creation Pvt. Ltd. v. Union Of India & Ors.] A bench of Justices Sunita Agarwal and Saumitra Dayal Singh directed the Container Corporation of India Ltd. (CONCOR) to expeditiously decide the issue of levying detention charges/ ground rent by the Inland Container Depots (ICDs), for storage of cargo containers beyond the free period of fourteen days, during the lockdown period. 4) Allahabad HC Dismisses Plea Demanding Complete Waiver Of School & College Fees [Ashutosh Kumar Pandey v. Union Of India & Anr.] A bench comprised by Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh dismissed a PIL seeking a direction on all the schools and colleges in the state to completely waive off fees, including tution fees. The court said, the submission of the petitioner that the schools are observing holidays during Covid-19 epidemic is absolutely false/ wrong. 5) 'Ancient Work & Scriptures Are Open To Debate': Allahabad HC Dismisses Plea Of 'Oversensitive' Petitioner Against Telecast Of Hindu-Epic Series Vishnu Puran [Santosh Kumar Jaiswal v. Union Of India & Ors.] Citing "over-sensitivity" of the Petitioner, the bench comprised by Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh dismissed a PIL seeking to restrain the re-telecast of Hindu-epic series 'Vishnu Puran' on Doordarshan. The bench was of the opinion that the show was a work of art based on certain scriptures, and merely because it exhibited certain "inaccuracies" could not be a ground to restrain its telecast. The court further said that ancient work such as the Vishnu Puran are "open to debate" and therefore the court could not pass any direction based on the "over-sensitive" approach opted by the Petitioner. Andhra Pradesh High Court 1) AP HC Issues Notice On HC's Petition To Regulate Defamatory Social Media Posts Against Judiciary [High Court of Andhra Pradesh v. State of Andhra Pradesh & Ors.] Chief Justice J K Maheshwari and Justice C Praveen Kumar issued notice to Centre, AP Government, AP Police, Google, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp in a writ petition filed by the High Court itself seeking action against defamatory social media posts against judiciary. The matter will be next considered after three weeks. It is listed for hearing after 3 weeks. 2) Vizag Gas Leak: AP HC Permits South Korean Employees Of LG Polymers' Parent Company To Leave India A bench comprising Chief Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Lalitha Kanneganti permitted seven South Korean employees of LG Chem Ltd., parent company of LG Polymers India Ltd - which was the source of leak of styrene gas near Vishakhapatnam - to leave India. The court observed that the South Korean employees do not have any liability vis-à-vis the untoward incident. 3) AP HC Expresses Displeasure At Govt. Practice Of Filing Counter-Affidavit Through Officer Of Lowest Rank, Separate Replies By Each Dept./Authority In Same WP [Barre Konda Babu v. State of AP & Ors.] A bench comprising Chief Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Lalitha Kanneganti directed that whenever the State Government is joined as a party to a writ petition, though through several Departments and Authorities, one consolidated counter-affidavit of the State Government must come on record, and that too through the Officer in-charge of the case, as appointed by the Government. "It is very unfortunate that whenever Officers of various Departments of the State Government, including the Principal Secretary of the Department representing the State, are joined as parties to the writ petitions, counter-affidavits on behalf of the Officer of lowest...

High Courts Weekly Roundup

Akshita Saxena

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