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The Allahabad High Court on Monday observed that the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 neither prohibits interfaith marriages nor bars such couples from living together in a live-in relationship. Justice Vivek Kumar Singh said that courts do not see such couples as Hindu and Muslim, rather as two grown-up individuals who out of their own free will and choice are living together peacefully and happily for a considerable time. Allowing a writ petition filed by one Noori and 11 other connected petitions, Justice Singh granted relief to the couples that they are at liberty to approach the police for redressal of their grievances. Upon receipt of such application, the police authorities shall examine the matter and age of the petitioners and if they find any substance in the allegations of the petitioners, they will act in accordance with law for protection of life, limb and liberty of the petitioners, the court ordered. "Right to live with a person
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant expressed surprise at the opposition by members of the Gauhati High Court Bar Association to the new integrated Judicial Court Complex in Assam's North Guwahati area, the foundation for which he laid on Sunday. He maintained that "personal vested interest should not be valid grounds" for resisting the development of new infrastructure. The integrated Judicial Court Complex is envisaged to match aspirations of the future, the CJI said after laying the foundation stone for the facility at Rangmahal in North Guwahati. As the head of the country's judiciary, Justice Kant stressed that he is bound to cater to the needs of those coming into the profession. The chief justice of India said that he was surprised when he learnt that the Gauhati High Court Bar Association (GHCBA) is opposing the new integrated court complex, which will also house the Gauhati High Court. Those opposing the new court complex are either ill-informed or not realising the needs o
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on Saturday said it has taken suo motu action against 27 restaurants for mandatory levying of service charges in violation of the law. These restaurants have been fined up to Rs 50,000, and were asked to refund the service charge amount to customers and also modify their billing system, as the mandatory levy of service charge has been declared as an unfair trade practice. The CCPA took action based on consumer complaints on the government helpline number. According to an official statement by the Department of Consumer Affairs, the CCPA has taken "suo motu cognizance against 27 restaurants located across the country for violation of consumer rights and adoption of unfair trade practices under Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, relating to the mandatory levy of service charge". Investigations revealed that several restaurants, including Caf Blue Bottle, Patna, and China Gate Restaurant Pvt Ltd (Bora Bora), Mumbai, wer
The Kerala High Court on Monday extended the interim protection from arrest granted to expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil in a case relating to the alleged rape of a woman and forcing her to abort pregnancy. A bench of Justice K Babu, which was hearing Mamkootathil's petition challenging the Thiruvananthapuram Principal District and Sessions Court denying him anticipatory bail, posted the matter for further hearing on December 18. The court extended its earlier direction restraining the police from arresting Mamkootathil until the petition is considered again on that date. Meanwhile, a separate petition filed by the state government challenging the Thiruvananthapuram court's order granting pre-arrest bail to Mamkootathil in another case, relating to the alleged sexual assault of a woman on the false promise of marriage, came up for consideration before a HC bench of Justice Viju Abraham. The court decided to take up the matter after the Christmas vacation. Mamkootathil, who
The Allahabad High Court has directed its registry to place on record the details of various measures and support systems available for persons with disabilities (PwDs) within the high court premises. The order was passed after a person with a locomotor disability, seeking protection against a threat from his wife's parents, faced 'great difficulty' while entering the court precincts due to a lack of immediate assistance. The bench comprising Justice Ajay Bhanot and Justice Garima Prashad passed the order on a petition filed by Simaran and her husband. The court said, "This court has noticed that the petitioner No 2 is a person with disability and suffers from locomotor disability. However, no assistance was offered when he entered the court campus, and he arrived in the court with great difficulty and despite the disability." After the court noticed the petitioner's physical condition, a wheelchair, along with assistance, was promptly provided. The bench, in its order dated Decem
The Rajasthan High Court has ruled that two consenting adults are entitled to be in a live-in relationship even if they have not yet reached the legal age for marriage, underscoring that constitutional rights cannot be curtailed on that ground. Justice Anoop Dhand delivered the judgement while hearing a plea for protection filed by an 18-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man from Kota, who told the court that they were living together out of free will. The couple told the court that they had executed a live-in agreement on October 27, 2025. The petitioners alleged that the woman's family opposed the relationship and had threatened to kill them, and that their complaint to the Kota police went unaddressed. Opposing the petition, public prosecutor Vivek Choudhary argued that because the man had not attained 21 years -- the minimum legal age for marriage for men -- he should not be permitted to be in a live-in arrangement. The court dismissed the argument, saying the right to life and
The Karnataka High Court has refused to suspend the life sentence imposed on former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna by a trail court in one of the four rape cases registered against him. A division bench of Justice K S Mudagal and Justice Venkatesh Naik T on Wednesday held that considering the gravity of the offences, multiple cases pending against him, and the risk of witness tampering, this was not a fit case for bail. The judges noted that even during the trial, Revanna was not granted bail and the victim had delayed reporting the assault due to his influential background. Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, representing Revanna, argued that the conviction was based on weak evidence and affected by a "media trial." He questioned the credibility of electronic evidence, pointed to delays in the FIR and procedural lapses in forensic investigations, and said the defence was not given sufficient opportunity to argue for a lesser sentence. He also claimed political vendetta behind the ...