Professionally Active Wife's Plea Of Inability To Travel Doesn't Inspire Confidence: P&H High Court Declines Transfer Of Divorce Case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a transfer petition filed by a wife seeking transfer of a divorce case instituted by her husband from Amritsar to Hoshiarpur, holding that no sufficient ground or genuine hardship was made out to warrant such transfer.Justice Nidhi Gupta said, "Moreover, from the material placed on record, including photographs annexed by respondent No.1,...

P&H High Court Directs Centre To Treat Ex-IAS Ashok Khema As Empanelled Deemed Addl Secy. & Secy, Holds Denial Arbitrary

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has allowed a plea filed by retired IAS officer Ashok Khemka, holding that denial of empanelment to the rank of Additional Secretary/Secretary to the Government of India, despite similar relaxations granted to other officers, was discriminatory and violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.A Division Bench comprising Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi...

'Preventive Detention Not Sustainable Upon Mere Suspicion': P&H High Court Quashes Detention Under PIT-NDPS Act

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside a preventive detention order passed under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988 (PIT NDPS Act), on several grounds including that unexplained and inordinate delay at multiple stages vitiated the detention.Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj said, "Preventive detention would not be sustained upon a...

P&H High Court Refuses To Quash FIR In Dera Samadh Trust Misappropriation Case, Orders Expeditious Probe

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has refused to quash an FIR alleging embezzlement, forgery and misappropriation of funds belonging to Dera Samadh charitable trust, holding that the allegations required a thorough investigation and cannot be adjudicated in proceedings under Section 482 Cr.P.C.Justice H.S. Grewal noted, "the complaint in question contains specific allegations against...

Punjab & Haryana High Court Imposes ₹50,000 Cost On Party For Suppressing Foreign Citizenship, Denies Permission To Travel Abroad

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed an application seeking permission to travel abroad filed by a man after finding that he had suppressed a material fact regarding his citizenship–that he was a citizen of a foreign country, Republic of Vanuatu and was not an Indian citizen. The Court also imposed costs of ₹50,000 to be deposited with the Poor Patients Welfare Fund,...

'Can't Be Left Remediless': P&H High Court Orders Temporary Power Supply To 500+ Families In Abandoned Housing Project

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued interim directions to provide temporary electricity connections to residents of Sushma Valencia Apartments, an allegedly abandoned housing project in Zirakpur, while calling upon authorities to evolve a comprehensive solution to the crisis.Justice Sanjay Vashisth said, "The citizen of this country are residing in a welfare state and they cannot be...

Cut-Off Date In Recruitment Not Arbitrary, Candidates Must Possess Qualification By Last Date Of Application: P&H High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that prescribing the last date of submission of applications as the cut-off date for determining eligibility in recruitment processes is neither arbitrary nor unconstitutional, reiterating that candidates must possess the requisite qualifications by the stipulated date.Dismissing a writ petition filed by a candidate seeking relaxation of...

NDPS Act| Vehicles Turn To Junk, Value Goes Down The Drain: P&H High Court Slams Idle Confiscation, Orders Release

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the release of a truck seized in an NDPS case on financial bonds, emphasizing that keeping vehicles idle for prolonged periods leads to deterioration, economic loss, and serves no useful purpose.Justice Anoop Chitkara and Justice Sukhvinder Kaur said, "...when any confiscated vehicle is kept out of use by placing it in a parking lot, it serves...

'No Malicious Intention': P&H High Court Quashes FIR Against Actor Rajkumar Rao Over 'Hurting Religious Sentiments' During Film Promotion

While quashing an FIR against Bollywood actor Rajkumar Rao over allegations of hurting religious sentiments through a promotional poster of the film “Behen Hogi Teri”, the Punjab & Haryana High Court held that mere depiction in a creative work, absent deliberate and malicious intent, does not attract criminal liability under Section 295-A IPC.The plea sought quashing of FIR lodged...

P&H High Court Uses Suo Motu Revisional Power In Pre-Arrest Bail Plea, Says Custodial Interrogation Can't Be Used To Extract Information After Recovery

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted anticipatory bail to a man booked under the Punjab Excise Act, holding that custodial interrogation cannot be justified merely to extract further information once recovery has already been effected and the accused has cooperated with the investigation.Justice Sanjay Vashisth said, "Once the recovery stood effected, the plea for custodial...

Accurate Reporting Of Orally Dictated Order Before Signing Not Contempt : P&H High Court Drops Proceedings Against Media

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed criminal contempt proceedings initiated suo motu against editors and reporters of leading newspapers, holding that publication of a fair and accurate report of a judgment dictated in open court does not amount to contempt, even if the judgment had not yet been formally signed.Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri and Justice Amarjot Bhatti, referring...

Recovery From Store Room Behind Shop Not Enough To Infer Criminality: P&H High Court Discharges Licensed Chemist In NDPS Case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that recovery of medicines from a location slightly different from the licensed premises, by itself, cannot establish criminal liability under the NDPS Act, particularly when the accused is a licensed dealer.Justice H.S. Grewal said, "It is apt to notice that merely because the medicines were allegedly recovered from the store room situated behind...