Explore Business Standard
Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted bail to former West Bengal Board of Secondary Education president Kalyanmoy Ganguly in a school jobs scam case of the CBI. His lawyers prayed for bail before the court as he has been in custody in the case for more than three years and all other accused in the case have already been granted bail by different courts. Justice Tirthankar Ghosh granted bail to Ganguly upon hearing the lawyers of the applicant and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). CBI opposed the bail prayer, arguing that the witness deposition process was nearing completion in the case and that Ganguly should not be released at this stage. All other accused in the case, including former education minister Partha Chatterjee, secured bail in the CBI case pertaining to alleged illegalities in school jobs recruitment in West Bengal government-run and -aided schools. Ganguly has already been granted bail by this high court in a case being investigated by the Enforcement
The Calcutta High Court on Friday set aside the Centre's decision to deport Sonali Bibi and Sweety Bibi, residents of Birbhum district in West Bengal, along with their families to Bangladesh after terming them as "illegal immigrants". The court directed the Centre to ensure that the six deported citizens are brought back to India within a month. The court also rejected the central government's appeal to grant temporary stay on the order. In July this year, PTI had visited both families in the Paikar area of Murarai, Birbhum post the deportation of the suspects and reported on the plight of the members living on the Indian side of the border. A division bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetobroto Kumar Mitra passed two orders in connection with a Habeas Corpus petition filed by Bhodu Sheikh who claimed that her daughter Sunali, who is currently nine months pregnant, along with her husband, Danesh Sheikh, and five-year-old son hailing from Murarai in Birbhum, were detained
Holding that looking for another job, even if with a rival company with better perks and facilities, is a basic right and does not constitute moral turpitude, the Calcutta High Court has held that non-payment of an employee's dues on such ground by a company was against the principles of natural justice. Setting aside the order and punishment of the disciplinary authority of the company, which claims to be the sole manufacturer of a particular type of insulator film in India, Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul) directed it to pay his gratuity dues of Rs 1.37 lakh along with simple interest at the rate of 8 per cent per annum. "Looking for another job, even if with a rival company (though, not proved in this case) with better perks and facilities is a basic right and does not constitute moral turpitude as it is not contrary to honesty, modesty or good morals," Justice Dutt observed in the judgment passed on Thursday. The court held that the petitioner company could not prove that any damage o
The father of the R G Kar hospital rape-murder victim has moved the Calcutta High Court praying for setting aside a lower court order that refused permission to his lawyers to visit the crime scene at the state-run medical institution. The petitioner claimed that he firmly believes that other persons were present along with Sanjay Roy, who has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment till the end of his natural life by the trial court for the rape and murder of the doctor, when the crime was committed on August 9 last year. The matter is likely to be taken up for hearing early next week before a single bench of the high court, his counsel said. The petitioner stated that to assist the court in discovering any material lapse in investigation, it is crucial for an independent examination of the place of occurrence. He prayed that his lawyer Phiroze Edulji along with six junior advocates be allowed to visit the place of occurrence at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital for two ho
The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted interim protection to actor-turned-politician Mithun Chakraborty from any coercive action in connection with a case of unpaid dues lodged at Chitpur police station here. Justice Jay Sengupta granted protection to Chakraborty from any coercive action in the case till September 10. The court, however, said that the investigation in the case can continue. The matter will come up for hearing again on September 3. The complainant in the case alleged that he had done interior decoration work of a property for a hotelier on assurance from Chakraborty. The hotelier had not yet paid him the billed amount totaling around Rs 35 lakh, the lawyer for the complainant said. Chakraborty moved the court seeking quashing of the FIR, claiming that false and motivated allegations were made against him. He also prayed for interim protection from any coercive action against him in the case lodged at Chitpur police station in north Kolkata.
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to intervene with an order directing the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) to pay Rs 1 lakh cost in a case, but reduced it to Rs 50,000. A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and K Vinod Chandran passed the order on Centre's plea challenging the Calcutta High Court's June 16, 2024 order. The high court imposed the cost on the NCB over the delay in appealing against an acquittal in a case. The amount was directed to be paid to West Bengal State Legal Services Authority, Kolkata, within a week. The NCB was directed to recover the cost from its personnel involved in the process of drafting and filing the government appeal. The apex court, however, ordered the cost to be deposited by the government and not the officers. "One thing is clear. There must be either the fault of your lawyer or your officer. It has to be either one of them," the bench told the Centre's counsel. The top court continued, "We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned judgem
The Calcutta High Court Monday granted permission to three advocates to file separate PILs over the alleged gang rape of a law student in her college. They are seeking an investigation under the supervision of the court and steps to ensure security in colleges across West Bengal. Drawing attention of a division bench presided by Justice Soumen Sen, the three advocates sought permission of the court to file separate PILs over the alleged gang rape of the law student. The bench granted permission to the lawyers to file the petitions. The matters are likely to be taken up for hearing later this week, one of the lawyers who moved the court said. The survivor has alleged that she was gang-raped inside the South Kolkata Law College on June 25. Based on the alleged gang rape survivor's complaint, the police have arrested prime accused alumnus Manojit Mishra, along with students Promit Mukherjee and Zaid Ahmed. A guard of the college was also apprehended on Saturday morning, according to
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday left it to the trial court to decide on a plea by the parents of the murdered RG Kar Hospital doctor seeking permission to visit the crime scene. The parents, through their counsel Phiroze Edulji, requested permission to inspect the site of the occurrence of the crime, except the seminar room, where their daughter's body was found on August 9, 2024. Following nationwide outrage and protests in the wake of the on-duty doctor's rape and murder within the premises of the institute, the HC had transferred the case investigation from Kolkata Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, before whom the plea was moved, said since further investigation is being carried out by the CBI and the ACJM, Sealdah, is in seisin of the issues, no order can be passed without keeping the magistrate informed. Observing that the petitioner can approach the ACJM court with the prayer, Justice Ghosh directed that the ACJM will dispose o
The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to implement the MGNREGA scheme prospectively in West Bengal from August 1. The HC said the Centre is empowered to impose special conditions, restrictions and regulations, which have not been imposed in other states of the country, so as to ensure that no illegality or irregularity occurs when the scheme is being implemented in the state. Allowing the Centre to continue its enquiry into the allegations of irregularities in some districts of the state, a division bench presided by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam directed that the scheme be implemented prospectively with effect from August 1. The court directed that the authorities in charge of the implementation of the scheme are entitled to impose special conditions to ensure that whatever had occurred three years prior should not recur. The court said that it is not in dispute that certain irregularities have been pointed out by the Centre in the disbursement of wages under the
A division bench of Calcutta High Court came down heavily on a trial court judge for ex parte dismissal of a suit for divorce on the grounds of cruelty and desertion sought by the appellant-husband. The bench comprising Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharya and Justice Uday Kumar, in an order passed on May 22, observed that the trial court judge, by the impugned judgment, overlooked the fact that the wife (respondent) did not adduce any evidence of her own despite having filed a written statement and also did not cross-examine the husband. That apart, it transpires even on a cursory perusal of the impugned judgment that the learned judge proceeded entirely on a tangential perception of his own, without adverting at all to the materials on record. The trial court passed an ex parte decree in February 2018 against a matrimonial suit filed in 2015. The Calcutta High Court bench said that a decree of divorce on the grounds of cruelty is hereby granted to the husband against the wife. The be