Bombay High Court Strikes Down Rule Mandating One-Year Imprisonment For Regular Parole, Calls It Arbitrary & Unconstitutional

The Bombay High Court has struck down the portion of Rule 14(1) of the Maharashtra Prisons (Furlough and Parole) Rules, 2024, which mandated that a prisoner could become eligible for regular parole only after completion of one year of actual imprisonment. The Court held that the condition was manifestly arbitrary and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.A Division Bench of...

Recruitment Processes Must Be Conducted With Certainty & Within Timelines; Courts Can't Reopen Them On Vague Pleas: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court recently held that in cases of public recruitment processes, wherein large number of candidates apply for jobs, courts cannot casually interfere at any stage of the process and order reopening of a particular process especially on vague and unsubstantiated pleas made by any candidate. A division bench of Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Hiten Venegavkar refused to grant any relief to one Mayur Sawant (31), who had participated in the recruitment process for the...

Even Highly Qualified Persons Not Getting Jobs Due To Rising Unemployment: Bombay High Court Says Educated Wife Can't Be Denied Maintenance

The Bombay High Court recently while dealing with case pertaining to the payment of monthly maintenance to a wife, took judicial note of the rising unemployment and observed that even the highly educated persons are jobless and thus, even if a woman is highly educated she cannot be denied maintenance. Sitting at the Nagpur seat, single-judge Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke while dismissing...

Bombay High Court Quashes FIRs Against Former Top Cop Sanjay Pandey, Lawyer Over Alleged Bid To Frame Fadnavis, Shinde In Extortion Case

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday (May 20) quashed the First Information Reports (FIRs) lodged against Sanjay Pandey— the former Commissioner of Mumbai Police who also served as the Director General of Police (DGP) of Maharashtra, and a lawyer— who were accused of deliberately re-opening a criminal case against a businessman and forcing him to give certain statements against Chief...

Wives Are Not 'Deemed Maids': Bombay High Court Says Refusal To Perform Domestic Chores Like Cooking, Cleaning Is Not Cruelty

Wives are not 'deemed maids' and thus, their failure to perform domestic chores such as cooking, cleaning etc does not amount to cruelty, held the Bombay High Court recently. A division bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande quashed and set aside a judgment of the Family Court in Mumbai, which on July 23, 2010 granted divorce to a Chartered Accountant man, on grounds...

Bombay High Court Judge Recuses From Hearing Mumbai Press Club Plea, Cites His Appearance As Prosecutor In Bhima Koregaon Case

The ongoing controversy over Sudha Bharadwaj and Varavara Rao - both accused in the Bhima Koregaon - Elgar Parishad case, who allegedly flouted their bail conditions and together attended an event organised by journalist Gurbir Singh at the Mumbai Press Club (MPC), reached the Bombay High Court on Tuesday (May 19) with Justice Sandesh Patil recusing from hearing the matter. Notably, one of...

Bombay High Court Upholds Goa Law Giving Surviving Spouse Priority Over Parents In Intestate Succession

The Bombay High Court at Goa has upheld the constitutional validity of the Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceedings (Amendment) Acts of 2022 and 2023, which altered the order of legal succession by placing the surviving spouse above ascendants in cases of intestate succession. The Court observed that according precedence to the surviving spouse over parents or other...

Bombay High Court Questions State's Decision Disqualifying 757 Marathi Schools From Grant-In-Aid, Says Move Undermines Push For Language

The Bombay High Court recently criticised the Maharashtra Government for on one hand insisting to give importance to Marathi language and on the other hand attempting to shut down Marathi medium schools by issuing two Government Resolutions (GRs) on April 1 and April 2 this year, permanently disqualifying several unaided primary and secondary schools from receiving grant-in-aid.Sitting at...

Bombay High Court Issues Notice To Maha Govt On Plea Challenging Retrospective Application Of Three-Year Practice Rule In Judiciary Exam

The Bombay High Court has issued notice to the State of Maharashtra and the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) in a writ petition challenging the retrospective application of the mandatory three-year practice requirement prescribed for the Civil Judge Junior Division and Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) examination. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Shree...

Forcing Citizens To Wait For Bus Without Shelter In Extreme Weather Denies Dignified Life Under Article 21: Bombay High Court

If citizens are compelled to stand on road without proper shelter or seating, to wait for public transport like bus services, even during extreme weather conditions, the same violates their right to dignity as guaranteed by the Constitution of India, held the Bombay High Court while ordering the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) for providing proper bus stop infrastructure in the city and...

Police Cannot Seize Bank Accounts Under Section 102 CrPC Without Direct Link To Offence: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that police cannot freeze or seize bank accounts under Section 102 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, without establishing a direct nexus between the seized property and the alleged offence. The Court observed that imposing an onerous condition of furnishing a bank guarantee equivalent to the frozen amount while directing de-freezing of accounts frustrates...

Bombay High Court 'Shocked' Over Conduct Of Litigant Seeking Stay On Sir Ratan Tata Trust Board Meeting; Plea Withdrawn

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday (May 13) disposed of as withdrawn a petition which sought stay on the May 16 high stakes board meeting of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), after expressing displeasure over the 'conduct' of the petitioner.A vacation court presided over by the division bench of Justice Advait Sethna and Justice Sandesh Patil was 'shocked' to note that the petitioner...