Page 3 - Allahabad High Court

Pocso Act now misused for exploitation, says Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has observed that the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which was enacted to protect children under the age of 18 years from sexual exploitation, has now become a tool for their exploitation. While hearing a bail application, Justice Krishan Pahal stressed that the Act was never meant to criminalise consensual romantic relationships between adolescents and said the fact of a consensual relationship borne out of love should be considered while granting bail. The court said it would amount to the perversity of justice if the statement of the victim was ignored and the accused was left to suffer in jail. The court made these observations while granting bail under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and POCSO Act to an 18-year-old boy who was booked for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl. The applicant Raj Sonkar was arrested in March this year. His counsel contended before the court that it was a case of consensual relationship and that .

Clear judge appointments quickly amid growing case backlog: SC to Centre

The Supreme Court today highlighted the alarming situation of over 7 lakh criminal appeals that are currently pending across various High Courts

HC disposes of petition on Rahul Gandhi's Indian citizenship

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said that US President Donald Trump is well within his rights to state that he wants to change the tariff structure, and India must negotiate right back as it is more than capable enough of working out a decent deal. Gandhi made these remarks on April 21 during an interactive session at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University in the US. The video of the interaction was uploaded on the YouTube channel of the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs on Saturday. Gandhi shared a video montage from the interaction and said in a Facebook post on Monday, "India has the scale and the skill. What we need now is a clear vision to build, to lead, and to show the world that democracy and manufacturing must go hand-in-hand to power the future. Time to move from potential to direction." Speaking at the interaction last month, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said the biggest challenge in front of India

Cash row: SC panel submits report to CJI on charges against Justice Varma

The Supreme Court-appointed three-judge panel has submitted its inquiry report to Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on the cash discovery allegations against Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma. The three-member panel comprising Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice G S Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court and Justice Anu Sivaraman of the Karnataka High Court finalised its report on May 3. The report, which was submitted to the CJI on May 4 for further actions, if any, reportedly contains the findings of the panel into the alleged cash discovery row following a fire at Justice Varma's Lutyens Delhi residence at around 11.35 pm on March 14, prompting the fire officials to rush to the spot and douse it. The controversy was raised following a news report in the cash discovery row and led to several steps, including a preliminary inquiry by Delhi High Court Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and taking away ...

'Fake degree' row: Allahabad HC admits plea against UP Dy CM Keshav Maurya

The Allahabad High Court has admitted a petition against Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya that alleged that he furnished a 'fake" degree while getting a licence for a petrol pump and contesting the election. The high court had earlier dismissed the petition on the grounds that it was filed after the stipulated time, but the Supreme Court had directed condonation of the delay. According to the details of the case, RTI activist Diwakar Nath Tripathi, who has filed the review petition, contended that Maurya had obtained a degree from Prayagraj-based Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, which has been designated as a 'fake' University by the UGC. The petitioner has also sought registration of a case against Maurya claiming that the latter had used the 'fake' degree' while obtaining a licence for a petrol pump and contesting elections. Maurya is currently a member of the UP Legislative Council. Earlier, a lower court had rejected the petition and given the petitioner one mont

Govt tells HC it sought info from UK on Rahul Gandhi citizenship claim

The Centre has written to the UK government seeking details about claims that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had British citizenship, the Allahabad High Court was told on Monday. After the submission, the Lucknow bench of the High Court granted time to the central government till May 5 to place before it the outcome of a representation moved against the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, seeking cancellation of his 2024 Lok Sabha election over claims that he had British citizenship. A bench of Justices A R Masoodi and Rajiv Singh passed the order while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by S Vignesh Shishir, a BJP worker from Karnataka. While hearing the PIL on November 25, the court sought information from the central government regarding its decision on the representation of the petitioner. Deputy Solicitor General SB Pandey informed the court on Monday that acting on the petitioner's representation, the ministry concerned had written to the UK Government seeking deta

Love turned bitter: Allahabad High Court flags rise in FIRs after breakups

The court expressed concern over criminal complaints being filed as a result of personal fallouts, saying not all unethical behaviour warrants legal intervention

Allahabad HC warns UP govt of contempt in plea over Bishnoi gang threat

The Allahabad High Court has granted the Uttar Pradesh government one more month to comply with its order asking a state-level committee to decide on a man's application seeking security after he received a death threat from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. In case the order has not been complied with by the end of the one-month period, the court asked Principal Secretary (Home) Sanjay Prasad, to whom the petitioner submitted his application, to appear before it on the next date of hearing to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him. Justice Piyush Agrawal passed the order on Tuesday on a contempt application filed by Abhishek Som of Meerut. The court fixed May 19 as the next date of hearing. In its order dated January 31, the court asked the petitioner to file a detailed representation to the committee seeking security. The petitioner filed the representation on February 28 to Prasad but the court's order has not been complied with. In its order on Tuesday,

Robert Vadra, SC rebukes Allahabad High Court, markets rally, China US trade war & more top #newsin1

Robert Vadra, businessman and husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, was summoned by the ED today over alleged irregularities in a 2008 land deal in Haryana between his company.

Supreme Court raps Allahabad HC for saying rape survivor 'invited trouble'

The Supreme Court took note of the language used in the high court's judgment and warned against making such comments, especially in cases of sexual assault

Gyanvapi case: Allahabad HC to hear plea on Wazukhana ASI survey today

The Hindu side alleges that a shivling was found on its premises in 2022; however, the Muslim side has claimed it is a water fountain

Failure to inform reason for arrest will be grounds for bail: Allahabad HC

Informing the reason for arrest is a mandatory requirement under Article 22(1) of the Constitution and its violation will be a ground to grant bail even if statutory restrictions on giving bail exist, the Allahabad High Court has ruled. In the significant verdict, the High Court has set aside a December 25 remand order of a magistrate in Rampur, observing that the grounds of the arrest of the petitioner were not furnished to him. The requirement of informing the grounds of arrest is a mandatory requirement of Article 22(1) of the Constitution, it said, adding that it is the duty of the magistrate to ascertain its compliance and that of other mandatory safeguards. "When a violation of Article 22(1) is established, it is the duty of the court to forthwith order the release of the accused. That will be a ground to grant bail even if statutory restrictions on the grant of bail exist," a division bench comprising Justices Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Prashant Kumar said. The information

Allahabad HC grants bail in rape case, says victim 'invited trouble'

'She herself invited trouble and was also responsible for the same,' Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh said while granting bail to the accused

Cash-at-home row: Justice Yashwant Varma takes oath as Allahabad HC judge

This development comes amidst an ongoing investigation into allegations of semi-burnt sacks of cash being recovered from his residence just weeks ago

Allahabad HC refuses to quash Rahul Gandhi's summons in VD Savarkar case

Rahul Gandhi moved the High Court against a lower court's December summons and also challenged a Sessions Court order allowing advocate Nripendra Pandey's revision plea over his dismissed complaint

PIL filed in Allahabad HC to stop Justice Yashwant Varma from taking oath

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed before the Allahabad High Court's Lucknow bench on Wednesday seeking a directive to its Chief Justice to refrain from administering the oath to Justice Yashwant Varma, court sources said. The PIL cited the ongoing in-house inquiry ordered by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) into the recovery of "four to five semi-burnt sacks" of Indian currency notes from the residence of Justice Varma following after a fire incident last month. Justice Varma was recently transferred from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court in the midst of the cash stash row. The PIL, filed by Vikash Chaturvedi, is expected to be heard on April 4, the sources said. Advocate Ashok Pandey, representing Chaturvedi, argued that since the CJI has reportedly "directed the Allahabad High Court Chief Justice not to assign any judicial work to Justice Varma during the ongoing inquiry, there is no justification for proceeding with the oath ceremony". The petitioner h

SC rejects plea against Allahabad HC order on Sambhal mosque whitewashing

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea challenging an Allahabad High Court order that asked the Archaeological Survey of India to whitewash the Mughal-era Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district. The high court had on March 12 asked the ASI to undertake and complete the whitewashing of the mosque within a week. "We are not inclined to entertain the present petition. Dismissed," ordered a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar. Appearing for appellant Satish Kumar Aggarwal, Lawyer Barun Sinha assailed the high court's order, saying the ASI was wrongly asked to whitewash the wall of the mosque. In his order, HC judge Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal had said, "The ASI shall undertake the whitewashing work and complete the same within a period of one week from today. Further, no extra lighting shall be put on the walls, as it may cause damage to the monuments, but exterior lights in the shape of focus lights/LED lights may be used b

Govt notifies transfer of Yashwant Varma to Allahabad HC amid cash scandal

The controversy erupted days after a fire at Justice Varma's residence led to the discovery of large sums of cash

JAL's valuation may be hit after HC okays sports city land cancellation

Bankrupt real estate company has got bids from 24 parties for the sale of its assets

CJI assures bar leaders will consider demand over Justice Varma transfer

Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Thursday met representatives of several bar bodies to discuss the proposed transfer of Delhi High Court's Justice Yashwant Varma to the Allahabad High Court. The bar bodies are seeking withdrawal of collegium's recommendation to transfer Justice Varma to the Allahabad High Court. Sources said the CJI's office called the representatives of the bar bodies for a meeting with Justice Khanna at around 1.45 pm and the meeting is still underway. Earlier in the day, representatives of the bar associations of high courts of Allahabad, Gujarat, Kerala, Jabalpur, Karnataka and Lucknow submitted a memorandum to the CJI's office and sought an appointment to meet Justice Khanna. They have also raised the issue of alleged tampering of evidence at Justice Varma's official residence where burnt wads of cash were purportedly discovered on March 14 during a fire incident. They have questioned non-registration of an FIR in the incident.