High Courts Weekly Roundup

Week Commencing From September 28, 2020 Till October 4, 2020 Allahabad High Court 1. Allahabad HC Takes Suo Moto Cognizance Of Hathras Case; Says 'Incidents Have Shocked Our Conscience' [In Re : Right to decent and dignified last rites/cremation] The Bench of Justices Jaspreet Singh and Rajan Roy took suo moto cognizance of the Hathras gang rape case, stating that is an "extremely sensitive" matter, touching upon the basic human/ fundamental rights of the citizens. The Court has issued notices to the State of UP and other concerned officers and authorities and has asked them to be present before the Court on the next date of hearing, October 12. It has also summoned the victim's family also to hear their version. "The incidents which took place after the death of the victim on 29.09.2020 leading up to her cremation, as alleged, have shocked our conscience, therefore, we are taking suo moto cognizance of the same"- the Court observed while directing the state to ensure that no coercion, influence or pressure is exerted upon the family members of the deceased. 2. Very Strange That Instead Of Procuring Presence Of Accused, Magistrate Dismissed The Complaint: Allahabad HC [Rajbahadur Singh v. State of UP & Ors.] The Bench of Justice KJ Thaker quashed an order of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, dismissing the complaint registered against a Sub-Inspector, after he failed to appear before the Court. Holding the impugned order to be perverse, the Court stated: "The learned Magistrate has the duty cast to see that there is no misuse of the Court proceedings. In this case, there is a clear misuse of process of law by the accused who even after coming to know that summons were issued against them and their revision were dismissed, did not appear before the Court below and strange enough the learned Magistrate dismissed that matter of the complainant at the stage of issuance of bailable warrant as accused had not appeared before it pursuant to the summons already issued. There was no question of affixing process fees and, therefore, the dismissal under Section 204 of Cr.P.C. is bad." 3. Showing Porn Videos To Children Aged 5-6 years: Allahabad HC Denies Bail To School-Van Driver [Nirijesh v. State of UP] The Bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh while denying bail to a school van driver accused of showing porn videos to children aged about 5-6 years observed, "Considering the heinousness of the offence, tender age of the victims and relationship of the accused-applicant of trust, it is not a fit case where the accused-applicant should be allowed to come out from the jail." 4. 'Even Police Personnel Outside Their Police Stations Are Not Wearing Masks': Allahabad HC Expresses Displeasure At Shoddy Implementation Of Its Orders [In-Re Inhuman Condition At Quarantine Centres & For Providing Better Treatment To Corona Positive] The Bench of Justices Siddhartha Varma and Ajit Kumar while expressing displeasure on the police authorities failing to effectively enforce social distancing and wearing of masks, observed, "In our country, to begin with, we very successfully locked down the country for a good three months. While the lockdown was imposed, we found that the police were really effective. Today, when social distancing and wearing of masks has to be done in letter and spirit we find that strict enforcement is missing. Quite often, it has been found that even police personnel outside their police stations are not wearing masks." Also Read: Allahabad HC Issues Instructions To Regulate Restaurants/Eateries Amid Pandemic 5. High Risk Of Corona Infection Prevalent In Computer Section: Allahabad HC Denies Counsel's Request For VC Hearing [Babloo v. Union of India & Anr.] The Bench of Justice Vivek Agarwal denied the option to an Advocate for hearing via video conferencing, citing "high risk" of Covid-19 infection. The Court observed that the request cannot be entertained in view of the fact that staff of the High Court is already at high risk of Corona infection and this is more prevalent in the Computer Section. No infrastructure is available to carry out Video conferencing in the Chamber. It may be noted that as per the notification for functioning of the High Court, last issued on July 24, 2020: The facility of hearing through Video-Conferencing "shall be provided" on asking by the learned Advocates. If any party desires to appear in person then the only mode would be through video conferencing. 6. Allahabad HC Dismisses Pleas Against Streaming Of Web Series Paatal Lok And XXX-Season 2 [Anniruddha Singh v. Union of India & Ors. and Sangeeta Gupta & Union of India & Ors.] Division Bench Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Siddhartha Varma while dismissing PILs filed for censorship of web series Patal Lok and XXX-Season 2 directed to approach the competent authority first. The Court observed "It is...

High Courts Weekly Roundup

Akshita Saxena

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