Allahabad High Court

Justice Yashwant Varma moves SC against in-house panel probe in cash row

Justice Yashwant Varma moves SC against in-house panel report that indicted him after unaccounted cash was found at his Delhi home following a fire; calls probe unconstitutional

Wife living apart without valid reason not entitled to maintenance: HC

The Allahabad High Court has observed that a wife living separately from her husband without a valid reason is not entitled to maintenance and set aside a family court order granting maintenance to a married woman. Allowing a revision petition filed by the woman's husband, Vipul Agrawal, Justice Subhas Chandra Sharma set aside the February 17 order of maintenance passed by the additional principal judge of the family court in Meerut. "The trial court has recorded the finding that the wife failed to prove that she is living separately from the husband with sufficient reasons and the husband is neglecting to maintain her, even though the amount of maintenance has been fixed in favour of the wife at Rs 5,000 per month. "As per the provision contained under section 125(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), if the wife is living separately from the husband without sufficient reasons, she is not entitled to maintenance," the high court said. During the course of the hearing, the .

Supporting Pakistan alone not offence under BNS section 152: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court has observed that merely expressing support for Pakistan, without referring to any specific incident or mentioning India by name, does not prima facie constitute an offence under section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The said penal provision deals with acts endangering the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India. "Considering the submissions of the learned counsel for the parties and after a perusal of the records, it is not in dispute that while posting the aforesaid post through his Instagram ID, the applicant had not mentioned anything which shows disrespect towards our country. "Merely showing support to Pakistan, without referring to any incident or mentioning the name of India, will not prima facie attract the offence under section 152, BNS," Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal said while allowing the bail plea of one Riyaz. The applicant's counsel submitted that the said social media post of the applicant did not lower the dignity and ..

HC reserves verdict on pleas against UP govt's move to pair schools

The Allahabad High Court on Friday concluded hearing on pleas challenging the Uttar Pradesh government's decision to pair primary and upper primary schools with fewer than 50 students with nearby institutions, but reserved its verdict. A bench of Justice Pankaj Bhatia reserved the order on two separate petitions filed by Krishna Kumari and others, who are seeking the cancellation of the state government's June 16 order. The petitioners' counsel, LP Mishra and Gaurav Mehrotra, argued that the state government's action violates Article 21A of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to education for children aged between six and 14 years. They contended that the implementation of the decision would deprive children of their right to education in their neighbourhood. The government should instead focus on improving the standard of schools to attract more students, the petitioners said. It was argued by the petitioners that the government has chosen the "easier way" of closing thes

Krishna Janmabhoomi: HC junks plea to rename mosque as 'disputed structure'

The Allahabad High Court dismissed a plea to replace 'Shahi Idgah Mosque' with 'disputed structure' in the ongoing Krishna Janmabhoomi cases

Fashion to misuse social media in garb of freedom of speech: Allahabad HC

Rejecting the bail plea of a person accused of posting objectionable content on social media against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian armed forces, the Allahabad High Court has observed that it has become a "fashion among certain groups of people" to misuse social media in the garb of freedom of speech. Rejecting the bail application of one Ashraf Khan on Wednesday, Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal observed that the freedom of speech guaranteed under the Constitution does not extend to such acts which disrespect high dignitaries and create disharmony among citizens. The court said it has become a "fashion among certain groups of people" to misuse social media in the garb of freedom of speech and expression by making unfounded allegations against high dignitaries, posting such material which creates disharmony and hatred among the people. The accused, Ashraf Khan alias Nisrat, was booked under sections 152 (acts that endanger the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India)

Live-in relationships go against middle-class values: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court has observed that the concept of live-in relationships is against the "settled law in the Indian middle class society". Justice Siddharth made the observation while granting bail to a man accused of sexually exploiting a woman on the pretext of marriage. The court also expressed its displeasure at the growing number of such cases reaching the courts. "After live-in-relationship has been legalised by the apex court, the court had fed up such cases. These cases are coming to the court because the concept of live-in-relationship is against the settled law in the Indian middle class society (sic)," it said. The court said live-in relationships disproportionately harmed women, observing while men might move on and even marry after such relationships end, it was difficult for women to find a life partner after a breakup. The court in its order passed on June 24 made the observations while dealing with a bail plea of an accused named Shane Alam, who was booked un

RS Secretariat verifies 44 MPs' signatures to remove HC Judge Yadav

The Rajya Sabha secretariat has verified the signatures of 44 of the 55 MPs who had signed a notice to bring a motion for the removal of Allahabad High Court Judge Shekhar Yadav over his "hate speech" even as Kapil Sibal and nine others were yet to verify their signatures. Sibal, who has been vocal for early action on the notice, has claimed that he has not received any email from the Rajya Sabha secretariat, which confirmed having sent the same to his official email thrice during the past six months. He has questioned the need for verification of signatures and the delay in initiating the process in March when the notice was submitted on December 13, 2024. While 55 MPs have signed the notice for the removal of Justice Yadav, the signature of one of the MPs, Sarfaraz Ahmed, appears twice on the notice. The Rajya Sabha Secretariat is verifying how his signature appeared twice on the notice and whether they are forged. Ahmed, the JMM MP from Jharkhand, has already met Rajya Sabha ...

Cash discovery row: Three-member panel seeks Justice Varma's impeachment

The three-member panel also examined the role of Diya Varma, daughter of Justice Varma and his private secretary Rajinder Karki, who allegedly told firefighters not to mention the cash

Allahabad HC urges UP govt to form panel on online gaming, betting laws

The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to constitute a high-powered committee to examine whether there was a need to regulate online gaming and betting. Justice Vinod Diwaker's direction came after he observed that the existing Public Gambling Act, 1867 was a colonial-era law that addresses only conventional forms of gambling like card games. The court said the panel would be headed by Professor K V Raju, the economic advisor to the Uttar Pradesh government and may include the principal secretary (state tax) as member secretary besides other experts as members. The direction came after two persons, including one Imran Khan, sought quashing of gambling charges and criminal proceedings. The duo was accused of running an online betting racket from home and earning crores of rupees leading the locals in Agra to gamble away their earnings. The court observed a law must be enacted to meet the transformative changes in online betting and gaming and took a suo-

Allahabad HC quashes plea challenging FIR for post targeting PM Modi

The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a petition seeking quashing of an FIR lodged against the petitioner for his alleged Facebook post targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the halt in military action between India and Pakistan on May 10. During the hearing, the petitioner's counsel argued that his client Ajeet Yadav (24) put up the post after getting carried away by emotions. Rejecting the submission, a division bench comprising Justices J J Munir and Anil Kumar said, "The post written by the petitioner against the prime minister carried scurrilous language against the head of the government. Emotions cannot be permitted to overflow to an extent that constitutional authorities of the country are dragged into disrepute by the use of disrespectful words. The court dismissed the plea saying it was not a fit case to interfere with the FIR in exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution. Yadav has been booked for his Facebook post under various sections of t

Cash discovery row: Justice Varma must quit to avoid removal by Parliament

Resignation is the only option before Justice Yashwant Varma to avoid impeachment by Parliament as the government pushes for bringing a motion to remove the Allahabad High Court judge over alleged corruption. Officials aware of the procedure to appoint and remove Supreme Court and high court judges pointed out that while defending his case before lawmakers in any of the House, Justice Varma can announce that he is quitting and his verbal statement will be considered as his resignation. Should he decide to resign, he will get pension and other benefits entitled to a retired HC judge. But if he is removed by Parliament, he will be deprived of pension and other benefits, they noted. According to Article 217 of the Constitution, a high court judge "may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office." A judge's resignation does not require any approval. A simple resignation letter is sufficient. A judge may give a prospective date to step down. In such cases,

Allahabad HC rejects Patanjali Ayurved's plea against ₹273.5 cr penalty

The Allahabad High Court has dismissed Patanjali Ayurved Limited's petition challenging Rs 273.50-crore goods and service tax (GST) penalty. A division bench comprising Justices Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Vipin Chandra Dixit rejected Patanjali's argument that such penalties constitute criminal liability and can be imposed only after a criminal trial. The bench was of the view that tax authorities can impose penalties under Section 122 of the GST Act through civil proceedings without requiring criminal court trials. The court clarified that GST penalty proceedings are civil in nature and can be adjudicated by proper officers. "After detailed analysis, it is clear that the proceeding under Section 122 of the CGST Act is to be adjudicated by the adjudicating officer and is not required to undergo prosecution," the bench said. Patanjali Ayurved operates three manufacturing units at Haridwar (Uttarakhand), Sonipat (Haryana) and Ahmednagar (Maharashtra). The company came under ...

SC upholds cancellation of 125-acre land allotment to Kamla Nehru trust

The court cited lack of due diligence and a failure to uphold public interest in the allocation process

Cash row: SC rejects RTI plea for in-house panel report, CJI's letter to PM

The Supreme Court administration has rejected a plea seeking a report of the apex court-appointed committee, which indicted Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma in the cash discovery row, under the Right to Information Act. The RTI application had also sought the communication of the then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the matter. The apex court administration apparently referred to the confidentiality of the communication and rejected the RTI application on grounds that it may violate parliamentary privilege also. Earlier this month, the then CJI Khanna had wrote to the President and the Prime Minister besides sharing the report of the committee along with the response received from Justice Varma. Now, it is up to the executive and Parliament to decide the future course of action. The in-house procedure entails that the CJI writes to President and the Prime Minister for impeachment after the advice

HC refuses to quash FIR against Mohammed Zubair, extends arrest protection

Allahabad High Court allowed interim protection from arrest for Zubair to continue until a chargesheet is filed, but rejected his plea to quash the FIR over a 2024 social media post

Allahabad HC upholds survey of Sambhal Mosque amid temple claim dispute

The court dismissed the mosque committee's plea and upheld the trial court's order for a survey after Hindu plaintiffs claimed the site was once a Harihar temple

Allahabad HC to give verdict on Sambhal Jama Masjid dispute case today

Sambhal mosque management committee has filed a civil revision petition seeking a stay on the ongoing trial court proceedings in an original suit pending before the district court in Sambhal

Constitution does not support forced or fraudulent conversion: Allahabad HC

Allahabad High Court has observed that though the Indian Constitution gives every citizen the right to freely follow and spread their religion, it does not support forced or fraudulent conversions. Justice Vinod Diwaker made the observation while rejecting a plea to cancel an FIR against four people accused under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, 2021. According to the complaint, the accused tried to convert people to Christianity by offering money and free medical care. The court refused to cancel the case, stating that the charges were serious and valid enough for police investigation. In its judgment, the court observed, "India's constitutional framework guarantees the right to religious freedom under Article 25. This Article confers upon every person the fundamental right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion, subject to public order, morality and health. The use of the word 'freely' in Article 25 underscores the voluntary nature o

Muslim man can't be charged for bigamy under Mohammedan law: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court ruled a Muslim man cannot be charged with bigamy under Mohammedan law unless the first marriage was under other personal or special marriage laws