Karnataka High Court : Important Judgments Of 2021

CORPORATE ENTITIES 1: 'Tool Of Harassment' : Karnataka High Court Quashes UP Police Notice To Twitter India MD In Ghaziabad FIR Case Title: Manish Maheshwari v. State of Uttar Pradesh Case no: WP 11028/2021 Calling the notice issued by the Uttar Pradesh Police to the Managing Director of Twitter India as a "tool of harassment", the Karnataka High Court quashed the said notice, issued under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure in relation to the FIR registered over the videos posted in Twitter showing the assault of a Muslim man in Ghaziabad. The High Court said that the UP Police issued the coercive notice without ascertaining if Manish Maheshwari, the MD of Twitter Communications India Private Ltd (TCIPL), had any control over the contents posted in Twitter. "The provisions of the statute cannot be permitted to become tools of harassment. The respondent has not placed even an iota of material which would prima facie show involvement of the petitioner. In that view of the matter petitioner has made out a case. Section 41A notice is issued by malafide and the petition is maintainable. The Annexure A1 notice is quashed", the order passed by Justice G Narender said. 2: 'Unwise To Scuttle Investigation' : Karnataka High Court Dismisses Amazon & Flipkart Pleas Against CCI Probe The Karnataka High Court dismissed the writ petitions filed by e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart challenging an order passed by the Competition Commission of India for a preliminary investigation into their alleged anti-competitive practices. A single bench of Justice PS Dinesh Kumar dismissed the writ petition citing the limitations of the power of judicial review under Article 226 of the Constitution to interfere with a probe ordered by an expert specialised body. "...it would be unwise to prejudge the issues raised by the petitioners in these writ petitions at this stage and scuttle the investigation", the Court said in the judgement. 3: Karnataka High Court Allows Netflix To Stream "Crime Stories : India Detectives"; Vacates Interim Order Case Title: Sridhar Rao S v. Netflix Entertainment Services India LLP. Case No: Writ Petition No.18038/2021 The Karnataka High Court has vacated the ex-parte interim order granted earlier by which it had directed Netflix Entertainment Services India LLP to block streaming, broadcasting, telecasting or otherwise making available the content of the Episode No.1 of the Series 1 of the documentary "Crime Stories: India Detective" titled "A Murdered Mother". A single judge bench of Justice B M Shyam Prasad had on October 1, on the petition filed by an accused Sridhar Rao S, undergoing trial for offences under Sections 302 and 307, 212, 201 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, passed the interim order. The court referring to the judgement of the apex court in the case of Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund v. Dr. Kartick Das reported in [1994] 4 SCC 225 and considering the facts of the present case said, "On a conjoint reading of the statements in the plaint and in the affidavit, cannot but opine that there is a definite violation of the rule of 'utmost good faith'." 4: Karnataka High CourtReserves Order On Pleas Challenging State's Ban On Online Gaming Case Title: All India Gaming Federation v. State Of Karnataka Case No: WP 18703/2021 The Karnataka High Court reserved its order on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act 2021, by which the state government has banned online gaming and betting. The Act provides maximum imprisonment of three years and penalty up to Rs. 1 lakh for violation of the provisions. 5: Injunction Applications On Passing Off And CopyrightInfringement: Karnataka High Court Lays Down Guidelines For Trial Courts Case Title: ITC Limited v. Cg Foods (India) Private Limited Case No: Commercial Appeal No.105/2021 The Karnataka High Court laid down guidelines to be followed by trial courts to deal with injunction applications, in a pending suit, seeking relief against passing off and copyright infringement. A bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Pradeep Singh Yerur said, "In order to make it convenient for Courts to deal with injunction applications, in a pending suit, seeking relief against passing off, we have summarised the principles which must guide the courts in the inquiry into an action for passing off." 6: They Should Not Feel Shy In Facing Inquiry': Karnataka High Court Dismisses Amazon & Flipkart Pleas Against CCI Probe Case Title: Flipkart Internet Private Limited v. Competition Commission of India Case No: WA 562/2021 A division bench of the Karnataka High Court dismissed the appeals filed by e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart challenging an order of a Single Bench of the High Court which had allowed Competition Commission of India (CCI) to conduct a...

Karnataka High Court : Important Judgments Of 2021

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