Loan Recovery Suit May Qualify As Commercial Dispute Even Without Express Reference To Written Contract: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held that a suit seeking recovery of money advanced by a company cannot be summarily rejected at the threshold merely on the ground that the plaint does not expressly refer to a written agreement or mercantile document to establish that the dispute is commercial in nature.Justice Aniruddha Roy observed that where the nature and character of the financial transaction pleaded in the plaint require factual examination, the issue of maintainability must be decided at...

Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Rejection Of Plaint, Holds Limitation Issue In Property Dispute, S.3 TPA Notice Needs Trial

The Calcutta High Court has set aside an order rejecting a plaint under Order VII Rule 11(a) and (d) of the Code of Civil Procedure, holding that the question of limitation arising in a property dispute could not be conclusively determined from the pleadings and documents at the threshold and required adjudication after the parties were given an opportunity to lead evidence.A Division Bench comprising Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Aryak Dutt, in Kalimata Infratech Limited v. Maheshwari Devi...

Calcutta High Court Restrains Authorities From Acting On Fire Dept's Notice To Vacate TMC's Camac Street Office Over Alleged Lapses

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday restrained the authorities from acting upon a notice issued by the Fire and Emergency Services Department directing the vacation of certain portions of the Trinamool Congress (TMC)'s Camac Street office over alleged fire safety violations.Justice Krishna Rao was hearing a petition filed by the TMC challenging the notices issued by the Fire Department following a fire safety audit of the building.Senior Advocate Kishore Dutta, appearing for the TMC, challenged...

Calcutta High Court Grants Anticipatory Bail To West Bengal MLA Humayun Kabir In Case Over Alleged Political Speech

The Calcutta High Court has granted anticipatory bail to Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) MLA Humayun Kabir in connection with a case registered at Rejinagar Police Station under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 152, observing that it did not find even prima facie ingredients of the offence under Section 152 and that there was no need for his custodial interrogation.Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta passed the order on September 10 while hearing Kabir's...

Divorced Wife Can Continue To Claim Maintenance If She Has Not Remarried: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held that an ex parte decree of divorce obtained by a husband does not, by itself, extinguish his statutory obligation to maintain his former wife if she has not remarried and is unable to maintain herself.At the same time, the Court held that an unmarried daughter who had already attained majority before the filing of a Section 125 CrPC maintenance petition and was not suffering from any physical or mental abnormality could not claim maintenance under the...

In-Laws' Failure To Take Action Against Son For Allegedly Torturing Wife Is Not Cruelty: Calcutta High Court Quashes Case

The Calcutta High Court has quashed criminal proceedings under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code against a woman's in-laws, observing that the allegations against them were general in nature and that permitting the prosecution to continue would amount to an abuse of the process of law.Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul) was hearing a criminal revision petition filed by Dr. Saibal Adhikari,...

'Money Mule' Suspicion Cannot Justify Account Freeze: Calcutta High Court Directs SBI To Defreeze Businessman's Account

The Calcutta High Court has directed the State Bank of India (SBI) to immediately defreeze a businessman's current account, holding that the Reserve Bank of India's guidelines on monitoring “Money Mules” do not specifically authorise banks to freeze accounts merely on suspicion.Justice Krishna Rao observed that although banks are required to undertake due diligence and monitor transactions...

Calcutta High Court Permits TMC Meeting Instead Of Rally Led By Mamata Banerjee, Caps Attendance At 2,000

The Calcutta High Court has permitted the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to hold a meeting to be led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, instead of a proposed rally, after taking note of concerns regarding traffic congestion and inconvenience to local residents.Justice Saugata Bhattacharya permitted the meeting to be held between 1 PM and 3 PM with a maximum of 2,000...

Calcutta High Court Grants Bail To Man Accused Of Extorting Over ₹21 Crore By Posing As ED Officer

The Calcutta High Court has granted bail to Sk. Jinnar Ali, who is accused of extorting money from individuals by impersonating an Enforcement Directorate officer, observing that his prolonged incarceration and the pendency of the investigation into the predicate offences were mitigating circumstances.Justice Jay Sengupta passed the order in a bail application arising out of a money...

Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge Sworn-In As Chief Justice Of Calcutta High Court

Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge has been sworn-in as Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday. The oath of office was administered by the Governor of West Bengal RN Ravi.Justice Ghuge had been serving as the Acting Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, and was recommended to take office as the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court by the Supreme Court Collegium,...

'Low Fat Content Alone Not Sufficient To Hold Curd Adulterated': Calcutta HC Sets Aside 26-Year-Old Conviction

The Calcutta High Court has set aside the conviction of a sweetmeat shop owner in a 26-year-old food adulteration case, holding that the mere finding of “low fat content” in a sample of curd was insufficient to establish that the food was adulterated under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.Justice Chaitali Chatterjee (Das) allowed the criminal revision petition filed by...

'No Injunction In Defamation Suits Unless Defence Of Truth Is Certain To Fail At Trial': Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has set aside an interim injunction restraining two defendants from sending emails to third parties containing allegations against the plaintiff concerning the management of a company, holding that courts must apply the “Bonnard Principle” with particular caution while considering interim injunctions in defamation suits. A Division Bench comprising Justice...