Not Necessary To Carry Biological Father's Name In Today's World: Calcutta High Court Allows Stepfather's Name In Child's Birth Certificate

The Calcutta High Court has directed the municipal authorities to issue an addendum to a minor child's birth certificate incorporating the name of his stepfather and altering the child's surname, holding that such alteration was necessary in the “best interest of the minor child”.Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury passed the order while dealing with a mother's plea seeking alteration of her...

'Civil Estrangement' Between Husband & Wife Turning Into Criminal Case Against Family Requires Strict Judicial Scrutiny: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has observed that matrimonial disputes may sometimes cross the “fragile threshold separating civil estrangement from vexatious criminal litigation”, and that the institution of criminal proceedings carrying grave penal consequences against an entire extended family, following invocation of civil remedies by one spouse, demands “rigorous judicial...

Trinamool Congress Moves Calcutta High Court Against Alleged Removal Of Billboard From Party Office

Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress has moved Calcutta High Court challenging the allegedly illegal removal of a billboard from atop their party office in Kolkata's Camac Street.It was alleged by civic authorities that the billboard was unauthorised and hence needed to be removed. Reportedly, the civic authortiies faced resistance when trying to enter the building and had to use the help...

Calcutta High Court Quashes Assault Case Against Army Personnel, Says He Was Made To Endure Trauma Of Trial Based On False Police Report

The Calcutta High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against a serving Territorial Army personnel, holding that compelling him to undergo the “ignominy and trauma” of a criminal trial on the basis of a demonstrably false and vindictive police report would amount to an abuse of the judicial process.Justice Uday Kumar made the observation while dealing with a criminal revision...

Citizens' Group Moves Calcutta High Court To Hold Demonstration Against SIR

A citizens group Sangrami Ganamancha has moved the Calcutta High Court seeking leave to urgently file a petition for holding a demonstration against Special Intensive Revision held in the State. The counsel appearing for the group mentioned the matter before Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya seeking leave to file the petition. When the court asked about the urgency the counsel said, "Urgency is...

Calcutta High Court Disposes Of BJP Leader Arjun Singh's Plea After State Says 10 FIRs Against Him Were Closed As 'Mistake Of Fact'

The Calcutta High Court has disposed of a plea filed by BJP leader and West Bengal Transport Minister Arjun Singh after the state police informed the Court that the FIRs challenged by him had already been closed following investigation.Justice Saugata Bhattacharya took note of the State's submission that final closure reports had been filed in the cases.Appearing for the State,...

Calcutta High Court Denies Further Interim Relief To TMC Over Alleged Freeze Of Four More Bank Accounts By State Police

The Calcutta High Court has declined to pass any further interim order in a writ petition filed by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) challenging the freezing of four additional bank accounts by the State police's Cyber Cell, observing that its earlier order dated 9th July, which was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court, had already permitted the party to meet its day-to-day expenses through...

Calcutta High Court Quashes Cruelty Case Against Husband's Students, Girlfriend, Says They Are Not 'Relatives' U/S 85 BNS

The Calcutta High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against four persons accused of subjecting a woman to cruelty, theft and criminal intimidation in connection with a matrimonial dispute, holding that the allegations in the FIR did not disclose the ingredients of the offences against them. Justice Dr. Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee, while allowing a criminal revision petition filed by...

Minor's Consent Cannot Mitigate Sexual Assault Under POCSO Act: Calcutta High Court Upholds 24-Yr-Old Man's Sentence

The Calcutta High Court's Circuit Bench at Port Blair has upheld the conviction and 10-year rigorous imprisonment awarded to a 24-year-old man under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), holding that the consent of a minor to a physical relationship cannot be treated as a mitigating factor.A Division Bench comprising Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj and Justice Reetobroto...

Street Vendors Act Protects Lawful Vending, Not Unauthorised Permanent Structures Or Encroachments: Calcutta High Court

The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 protects lawful vending activities, but cannot be invoked to shield unauthorised permanent structures or encroachments on public streets, the Calcutta High Court has held.Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury made the observation while dismissing a writ petition filed by Tangra Dhapa Hawkers Samiti and other...

Calcutta High Court Quashes Criminal Case After Noting Complaint Was Filed 8 Years After Accused's Death

The Calcutta High Court has quashed a criminal proceeding against a doctor after noting that the complainant had alleged that he threatened her uncle in 2018, despite the fact that the doctor had died nearly eight years earlier.Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta observed that attributing a threat in 2018 to a person who died in 2010 was “not merely improbable but impossible on its face”, and held...

'Dependent' Under WB Tenancy Act Must Have Financial Element; Psychological Dependence Not Enough: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held that the expression “dependent” under Section 2(g) of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1997 must be understood in a financial context, ruling that dependency cannot be stretched to include psychological or other considerations completely divorced from financial dependence.A Division Bench comprising Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Justice...