Bombay High Court

Bombay HC asks govt to fix systemic failures in land acquisition cases

The Bombay High Court has slammed the Maharashtra government for its "large and systemic failure" in dealing with land acquisition matters, depriving owners of compensation, and directed it to adopt a "mission-mode" to resolve them. A bench of Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Hiten Venegavkar of the HC's Aurangabad bench on Tuesday said the continued failure to complete acquisition proceedings, even after possession and completion of projects, amounts to a continuing wrong and breach of constitutional duty. Its remarks came on a plea filed by a bunch of residents in Beed district whose lands were acquired by the irrigation division in 1996 for a village water tank construction, but the acquisition proceedings were not yet completed due to which they had not received the compensation. The bench noted that many of the affected landowners are agriculturists, illiterate or rustic persons who may not even be aware of the formal acquisition proceedings or that they are entitled to compensati

Mallya tells HC he cannot specify return date due to UK travel restrictions

Vijay Mallya told the Bombay High Court he cannot say when he will return to India because a UK order bars him from travel, as the Bench reiterated he must submit to its jurisdiction

Return to India or we won't hear your plea: Bombay HC to Vijay Mallya

High Court says Vijay Mallya must return and submit to Indian jurisdiction before his plea challenging the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act can be heard

Bombay High Court disposes final writ against WeWork India's IPO

The court also disposed of the accompanying interim application seeking amendment of the writ petition, without granting liberty to refile

Return to India first, then we'll hear plea: Bombay HC to Vijay Mallya

The Bombay High Court on Thursday reiterated its stand that it would not consider the petition filed by fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, challenging the provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act, until he returns to India. A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad said Mallya will have to first clarify whether or not he will return to India. "You (Mallya) have to come back...if you cannot come back then we cannot hear this plea," the HC said. Mallya, based in the UK since 2016, has filed two petitions in the HC - one challenging an order declaring him as a fugitive economic offender and the other questioning the constitutional validity of the 2018 Act. The 70-year-old liquor baron is facing multiple cases in India on fraud and money laundering charges. The bench, while posting the plea for further hearing on February 18, said it was giving another opportunity to Mallya to clarify if he was ready to return to India. "We may have to rec

Bombay HC stays Rs 170 cr GST recovery against Gateway Terminals

The Bombay High Court has stayed recovery proceedings in a ₹170 crore GST dispute against Gateway Terminals over denial of input tax credit on licence fees paid to JNPT

Kunal Kamra challenges Sahyog Portal, IT Rules amendment in Bombay HC

Comedian Kunal Kamra has approached the Bombay HC challenging the Centre's Sahyog Portal and amended IT Rules, alleging they enable content blocking without safeguards and violate free speech rights

Harsh words not enough, must see economic cost of air pollution: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday orally observed that the impact of air pollution on the economy needed to be examined and just uttering "harsh words will not yield any results". During a hearing on the issue of air pollution, amicus curiae (friend of court) Darius Khambata cited former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief economist Gita Gopinath's recent comments in Davos that "pollution is a major economic threat to India than trade-related challenges". In 2023, the court had taken suo motu (on its own) cognisance of increasing air pollution and passed a slew of directions to civic bodies and other authorities to take steps to deal with the problem. During the previous hearing on January 23, a bench led by Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar had slammed civic authorities for their "belligerent disregard" of its orders to mitigate air pollution and warned of halting salaries of top municipal officials. When the matter was called on Tuesday, Amicus Darius Khambata, during his ...

SC flags misuse of right to constitutional remedies under Article 32

The Supreme Court on Friday slammed a petitioner for filing a plea under Article 32, which gives citizens the right to seek constitutional remedies from the top court over violation of fundamental rights, despite a petition pending before the Bombay High Court. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said Article 32 is being misused by filing petitions even on adjournments in high courts. "Article 32 is being misused. The number of cases filed under Article 32 are exponentially being increased. For everything, one adjournment, file Article 32 here. Especially those surrounding Delhi are filing Article 32 petitions. What is this? It is a misuse," the bench said. The top court said the petition filed under Article 32 is a gross misuse of the process of the court and of law, and dismissed it.

HC flags access to phones in Goa's Colvale jail, orders jammer network

The High Court of Bombay at Goa has said that it shocks the conscience that mobile charging points were installed inside the Central Jail at Colvale in North Goa without the knowledge and consent of the prison authorities. In a recent order, Justice Shreeram V Shirsat took cognisance of the smuggling of mobile phones and contraband into the jail premises and asked prison officials to install a robust jammer network. The HC gave the directions while hearing a petition against Chandu Patil, who is in jail for allegedly murdering a child. Patil allegedly had called up the victim's family from the jail, issuing them veiled threats. Some swift, comprehensive, remedial and stringent measures are required to be taken by the jail authorities to ensure that such incidents do not occur in future, the judge said. The court order, which has sought a reply from the jail administration on January 20, 2026, has also pointed out that several cells inside the jail have mobile charging points, which

Bombay High Court ruling throws light on misuse of petitions to stall IPOs

Experts call for frameworks to identify, deter vexatious legal challenges

Goa nightclub fire: HC turns civil suit into PIL, seeks accountability

The Goa bench of Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against Birch by Romeo Lane at Arpora, where a devastating fire on December 6 killed 25 persons, into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) observing "someone has to be held accountable in such kind of cases". The HC also asked the state government to file a reply on permissions granted to the ill-fated nightclub. The petition was filed by Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and Sunil Divkar, owners of the land on which the nightclub stood. Converting it into a PIL, the division bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Prithviraj Chavan said "someone has to be held accountable in such kind of cases". It observed that the local panchayat had failed to take suo motu cognisance of the club and had taken no action despite complaints. Commercial operations were going in the structure despite it being served a demolition order, the HC bench pointed out. Advocate Rohit Bras de Sa, the lawyer representing Amonkar and Divkar, was made amicus .

Dividend tax on foreign payouts to be capped at treaty rate: Bombay HC

Bombay High Court says dividend tax paid by Indian firms to foreign parents must be capped at treaty rates, a ruling that could open large refund claims for multinationals

Loudspeakers not a fundamental right for religious practice: Bombay HC

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court refused to grant relief to a mosque seeking permission to use loudspeakers, noting it was not entitled to use the device to practise religion as a matter of right. The court, while relying on Supreme Court judgments, said that no religion mandates prayers to be offered through voice amplifiers or beating drums. A bench of Justices Anil Pansare and Raj Wakode said that the issue of noise pollution was recurring and took suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the same and asked the Maharashtra government to come up with an effective solution. The court, in an order dated December 1, dismissed a petition filed by Masjid Gousiya in Gondia district seeking permission to use loudspeakers to offer prayers. The bench noted that the petitioner was unable to submit any material to show that the use of loudspeakers was mandatory/necessary to practice their religion. "The petitioner, therefore, is not entitled to seek relief for the installation of a ...

Bombay High Court dismisses petition against WeWork India IPO approval

The petition alleged that WeWork India reported heavy losses and a negative net worth while presenting an overly optimistic growth outlook without adequately disclosing associated risks

Volcanic ash from Ethiopia not to blame for Mumbai's poor AQI: High Court

The Bombay High Court on Thursday said authorities cannot blame ash clouds from the volcanic eruption in Ethiopia for air pollution in the metropolis and said the air quality index here has been poor much before that. A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad was urged to take up hearing into a bunch of pleas from the year 2023 on the issue of air pollution in the city. Senior counsels Darius Khambata and Janak Dwarkadas, appearing for the petitioners, said the AQI in the city has been consistently poor and above 300 this month. Additional government pleader Jyoti Chavan said air pollution has worsened due to the volcanic eruption in Ethiopia two days back. The court, however, discarded this and said air pollution has been bad much before the eruption of the volcano. "Even before this eruption, if one stepped out visibility was poor beyond 500 metres," the court said. The bench, while referring to the situation in Delhi, which is witnessing alarming

MahaRERA issues SOP to fast-track compensation recovery for homebuyers

MahaRERA introduced a detailed SOP to ensure faster compensation recovery from developers, with strict timelines, stronger enforcement, and option of court action in cases of persistent non-compliance

Bombay HC seeks Maha SEC response over absence of VVPATs in local polls

A petition in the Bombay High Court argues that VVPATs are essential for transparent and verifiable voting, citing a 2013 Supreme Court ruling that deemed them indispensable for ensuring free and fair

HC directs ₹6 lakh compensation for deaths due to potholes, unsafe roads

The Bombay High Court called for strict disciplinary action against officials, engineers or contractors responsible for defective road work; any pothole reported must be repaired within 48 hours

Asian Paints moves Supreme Court against CCI probe into Grasim case

The company challenges the CCI's probe order after the Bombay High Court dismissed its plea on alleged abuse of dominance in the decorative paints segment