Punjab and Haryana High Court
Punjab & Haryana High Court Issues Guidelines To Ensure Transparency, Effective Enforcement Of Legal Aid Defense Counsel System
The Punjab and Haryana High Court's Registrar General has issued a set of recommendations aimed at ensuring better transparency and effective enforcement of the Legal Aid Defense Counsel System, directing that these be circulated among Judicial Officers and Secretaries of the District Legal Services Authorities across Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) had introduced the LADC scheme, which envisages an institutional mechanism for providing legal...
Right To Peaceful Protest Is Fundamental, But Can't Block Access To Justice: P&H High Court To Lawyers Protesting LADC Scheme
The Punjab & Haryana High Court today orally said that right to peaceful protest is a fundamental right but lawyers protesting over Legal Aid Defence Counsel Scheme (LADC) cannot block access to justice.Acting Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor orally observed, “Access to justice cannot be blocked, peaceful protest doesn't mean you will deny the litigant to...
P&H High Court Acquits Two In 20-Year-Old Double Murder Case, Says Last Seen Theory Alone Insufficient
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted two persons nearly 20 years after the murder of a woman and her 11-year-old son, holding that the prosecution failed to establish a complete chain of circumstances beyond reasonable doubt and that the "last seen" theory, without corroborative evidence, could not sustain their conviction. [2026 LiveLaw (PH) 244]Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj and...
P&H High Court Closes Suo Moto Case On Missing Girls From Ludhiana After Status Report Shows 8 Of 10 Girls Traced
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has disposed of a suo moto PIL concerning the disappearance of girls in Ludhiana within a span of 48 hours, after the Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, filed a status report indicating that eight of the missing girls had already been traced and handed over to their families, with efforts continuing to trace the remaining two.Acting Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar...
P&H High Court Calls On Lawyers To Reconsider Strike Against Legal Aid Defence Counsel Scheme
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has urged members of the Bar to reconsider their decision to go on strike in protest against the implementation of the Legal Aid Defence Counsel Scheme, emphasising that such actions disrupt access to justice.These observations were made while hearing a Public Interest Litigation alleging denial of access to justice to litigants across Punjab on account of...
'Can't Shut Our Eyes': P&H High Court Halts Construction, Land Transfers In 16 Villages Near Chandigarh Pending Forest Land Demarcation
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has restrained all construction and development activity in sixteen villages in the Shivalik foothills near Chandigarh, including Karoran, Nada and Siswan and directed the State of Punjab to complete the demarcation of forest land in the area within six weeks, more than a decade after the Supreme Court first directed such an exercise to be carried...
"Crass & Ignorant": High Court Slams Haryana Govt For Denying Compassionate Appointment To Son Of Officer Who Died During Galwan Operation
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has allowed a writ petition filed by the son of a Brigadier-rank Army officer who died while serving in "Operation Snow Leopard", directing the State of Haryana to grant him compassionate appointment as a dependent of a "Battle Casualty," and expressing sharp displeasure at the State's stand rejecting his claim. [2026 LiveLaw (PH) 240] Operation Snow Leopard...
Arrest Memo Can't Be Equated With Grounds Of Arrest: P&H High Court Grants Bail To Woman Booked In Heroin Smuggling Case
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted bail to a woman accused in an NDPS case involving the recovery of over 10 kilograms of heroin allegedly dropped by a drone from Pakistan, holding that her arrest appeared, prima facie, to have been effected without communicating the grounds of arrest to her or her nominated relative, as mandated under Article 22(1) of the Constitution and...
Absence Of Injuries Despite Claim Of Violent Struggle: P&H High Court Acquits Man Convicted For Rape 22 Years Ago
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted an appellant convicted in rape case in 2004, holding that the cumulative effect of several infirmities in the prosecution evidence, including the complete absence of injuries despite the prosecutrix's claim of a violent struggle created a reasonable doubt sufficient to displace the conviction. [2026 LL (PH) 240]Justice Rupinderjit Chahal said,...
Punjab & Haryana High Court Bar Association Backs Protest Against LADC Policy, Announces Suspension Of Court Work
The Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association (PHHCBA) has announced that work at the High Court will remain suspended on July 24, 2026 (Friday), in solidarity with advocates observing a hunger strike against the implementation of the Legal Aid Defence Counsel (LADC) Policy.In a notice dated July 23, 2026, the Executive Committee of the Association said it “expresses its...
P&H High Court Directs Visa Fraud Accused To Publish Details Of All FIRs Against Her In Newspapers As Condition To Consider Quashing Plea
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has directed a visa fraud accused, seeking quashing of an FIR on the basis of compromise, to publish a detailed public notice disclosing her criminal antecedents.Justice Alok Jain said, “Having considered the nature of the allegations, the material on record and the criminal antecedents of the petitioner, this Court is of the view that allegations of...