Page 14 - Bombay High Court

Bribery case: HC extends Wankhede's protection from action till Jan 10

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday extended till January 10 the interim protection from any coercive action granted to IRS officer Sameer Wankhede, who is named as an accused by the CBI in an extortion and bribery case related to the Cordelia cruise drugs case. A division bench of Justices P D Naik and N R Borkar said it would hear Wankhede's petition seeking to quash the FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on January 10 and 11, 2024. Advocate Kuldeep Patil, appearing for the CBI, told the court on Tuesday that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta would argue on behalf of the CBI on January 10 or 11. Wankhede's counsel Aabad Ponda said he would argue on January 10. The CBI in May lodged the FIR against Wankhede, former Mumbai zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau, and others on the basis of a written complaint issued to them by the NCB. The central agency's case is that Wankhede and four other accused allegedly demanded Rs 25 crore bribe from actor Shah Rukh K

Details of Bhopal gas tragedy already in public: HC refuses to stay series

The Bombay High Court has refused to stay the release of the web series "The Railway Men The Untold Story of Bhopal 1984", citing that the details of the event were already available in the public domain. A vacation bench of Justice Arif Doctor on November 15 dismissed the petitions filed by two erstwhile employees of Union Carbide India Limited, who claimed that the series' depiction of the events leading to the tragedy and its cause may cause prejudice to them. One of the petitioners was in charge of the MIC plant as production manager, and the other was in charge of the pesticides factory of the UCIL. The petitioners Satya Prakash Choudhry and J Mukund were convicted in the case. They later filed appeals against the conviction, which is pending. The high court, while refusing to stay the release of the series, noted that the petitioners have failed to make out a very strong and compelling prima facie case that the web series contains defamatory, slanderous or libellous ...

Adani, JSW Cement, and ArcelorMittal eyeing Vadraj Cement in IBC Sale

The Bombay High Court ordered the winding up of Vadraj Cement in August 2018, leading to the decision to sell the company under the IBC process

I-T appellate tribunal rules in favour of HDFC Life in Rs 3K cr litigation

In the regulatory filing, the company said that it has received the copy of the order along with relevant details on November 9, 2023

BMC chief urges Mumbaikars to follow HC directive on Diwali firecrackers

Mumbai civic chief Iqbal Chahal on Friday appealed to citizens to follow the Bombay High Court's directive and burst firecrackers only between 7 pm and 10 pm during Diwali. Earlier this week, the high court ordered to limit fireworks between 7 pm and 10 pm during the festival. I request that you all, with folded hands, follow the court's directive and do not burst the crackers that will add to the air and noise pollution, Chahal urged in a video message. He said that citizens had responded positively to his appeals during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this time too he hopes that they will follow the court's directive. Air pollution has become an issue in the city due to dust from construction activities and other factors, he said, adding that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has taken various steps to improve the situation. Though the chief minister has made it a people's movement, it will not succeed unless all citizens of Mumbai participate in it, the civic chief said.

HC orders tax refund of Rs 1,128 cr to Vodafone Idea; pulls up I-T dept

The Bombay High Court has directed the Income Tax department to refund Rs 1,128 crore to Vodafone Idea Limited paid by the telecom operator in taxes for the assessment year 2016-2017. The assessment order passed by the department in August this year was time barred and hence cannot be sustained," the HC noted in its judgement on Wednesday. A division bench of Justices K R Shriram and Neela Gokhale also took a strong view against the assessing officer for showing laxity and lethargy in not passing the final order within the mandated 30-day time and thus causing a huge loss to the exchequer and public. The court passed its judgment on a petition filed by the Vodafone Idea Limited claiming the I-T department failed to refund the amount paid by it for the assessment year 2016-2017 which, it said, was in excess of the legitimate tax due on its income. The bench in its order noted the case of Vodafone was quite elementary and that it was constrained to observe the complete apathy and ...

HC seeks Maha govt's response to pleas against order increasing OBC quota

The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra government to submit its reply to a bunch of petitions challenging a March 1994 government resolution (GR) increasing reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor on Wednesday gave the government time till December 10 to file its affidavit and posted the matter for next hearing on January 3, 2024. The petitions claimed the reservation for OBCs was increased in 1994 without following due procedure. Incidentally, the issue of OBC reservation has come to the fore in recent months with some activists seeking reservation for the Maratha community in the OBC category. Some OBC leaders have been opposing the demand. According to one of the petitioners, Balasaheb Sarate, the OBC reservation in the state exceeds 42 per cent of the total reservation. Since 1994, more than 150 communities have been included in the OBC category without adhering to due procedure and

HC dismisses Jet founder Naresh Goyal's plea against 'illegal' arrest by ED

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal challenging his "illegal" arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to bank loan default. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Gauri Godse said the petition cannot be entertained and hence is dismissed. The court said it was open for Goyal to avail other statutory remedy like bail plea. Goyal had filed a habeas corpus (produce the person) petition in which he claimed he was illegally arrested by the ED in the case. In his plea, Goyal claimed his arrest was illegal as it was done without following provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He also challenged orders of a special court which had first remanded him in the ED's custody and thereafter in judicial custody. The ED opposed the plea and said the arrest was done after following the due process of law. Goyal's custody was required as he was evasive and not cooperating

HC refuses bail to Sanjay Chhabriaa in YES Bank money laundering case

The Bombay High Court has refused to grant default bail to realtor Sanjay Chhabriaa in the Yes Bank money laundering case, observing that money laundering involves intricate processes to make illegally-obtained money appear legitimate and hence require in-depth investigation. A single bench of Justice M S Karnik on October 9 dismissed Chhabriaa's petition seeking default bail on the ground that though the Enforcement Directorate (ED) submitted its prosecution complaint against him within the mandatory 60-day period, it had also sought permission from the special court to carry on further probe in the case. The ED's case was that while the probe against Chhabriaa was complete, the investigation regarding the case was still on. The high court in its order agreed with the agency and said the offence of money laundering involves multiple interconnected transactions and the same demands cumbersome investigation, and that the ED in the present case was investigating an economic offence ..

Bombay HC slams Centre's ease of doing biz, says mindful of cases' pendency

The Bombay High Court recently took a dig at the Central government's "ease of doing business", and said while it was mindful of the pendency of cases in courts, it was the government that was by far the largest litigant and the one that most often sought adjournments. A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Kamal Khata, which was on October 5 hearing a petition filed by one Ramkali Gupta in 2016 over property-related issues, said it was no stranger to repeated assertions from the Union government regarding the pendency of cases and impediments allegedly caused by the courts. The bench in its order said it was shocked to note that Gupta's petition has been pending for seven years and that since June this year, the plea has been adjourned at the request of the Union government so that the additional solicitor general could appear. We are equally mindful, and we are constrained to say this, that we are no strangers to repeated assertions from the Union government itself regardin

Only 49 professors posted at Medical College despite 97 approved posts: HC

"There are 97 approved posts of Professors in the medical college but only 49 are posted there at present, what would you say on that?" the court asked

Bombay HC calls hospital conditions in Maharashtra 'unacceptable'

Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital in Nanded reported 31 deaths, including 16 children, within 72 hours

HC takes suo motu cognisance of deaths at govt hospitals in Maharashtra

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday took suo motu (on its own) cognizance of the deaths at the state government-run hospitals at Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and sought details from the Maharashtra government. A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor asked Advocate General Birendra Saraf, appearing for the state government, to submit to the bench details about the state's budgetary allocation for health on Thursday. Earlier in the day, an advocate, Mohit Khanna, had submitted a letter to the bench requesting it to take suo motu cognizance of the deaths. The bench initially directed Khanna to file a petition and said it wanted to issue effective orders. It also asked the advocate to gather data regarding vacancies in the hospitals, availability of medicine, the percentage (of funds) the government is spending and so on. However, in the afternoon session, the bench said it was taking suo motu cognizance of the issue noting that reasons given by t

Govt can ask land owner to handover some portion free of cost: SC

The top court remark came while setting aside a Bombay High Court judgement

Bombay HC allows Akasa Air to proceed with suit against former pilots

Rejecting the pilots' plea, the court stated that the cause of action, including the act of resignation, fell within its jurisdiction

No recourse for user facing action by social media platform: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said it was troubled by the fact that the recently amended IT Rules to curb online fake news against the government offer no recourse to a person whose social media post has been removed or account suspended after being flagged by the proposed Fact Checking Unit (FCU). A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale questioned where such a person would go when their post is unilaterally closed with no recourse available. It may or may not have a chilling effect but still needs to be considered, Justice Patel said. The bench was hearing arguments on a bunch of petitions challenging the amended Information Technology (IT) Rules. Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, the Editors Guild of India and the Association of Indian Magazines have filed petitions in the HC against the Rules, terming them arbitrary and unconstitutional and claiming that they would have a chilling effect on the fundamental rights of citizens. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta

Bombay HC allows Akasa Air to proceed with case against pilots in Mumbai

Justice SM Modak said that the actions rose within its jurisdiction as resignations were accepted by the company in Mumbai

Dream11 moves Bombay High Court challenging GST show cause notices

Fantasy sports platform Dream11 has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court challenging the levy of 28 per cent GST retrospectively on bets placed on its platform. The petition filed on September 22 follows Show Cause Notices (SCN) slapped on the e-gaming platform by Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities. As per the petition, the tax demand is to the tune of Rs 216.94 crore for 2017-18 and Rs 1,005.77 crore for 2018-19. Dream11 challenged the SCN, which seeks to recover the GST as they were based on the premise that the services provided by the company were those of gambling on which 28 per cent tax is leviable. "The impugned notices lack jurisdiction having been issued in teeth of the Apex Court judgments in the petitioner's own case, wherein, it has been held that Online Fantasy Sports Gaming provided by the petitioner are predominantly games of skill, not amounting to gambling/betting," the petition said. The e-gaming company said the impugned notices lack jurisdiction and

Kishore Biyani moves Bombay HC against forensic audit of Future Retail

Kishore Biyani, the erstwhile promoter of debt-ridden Future Retail, has moved the Bombay High Court against the forensic audit process of the company. Earlier in August this year, Kishore Biyani and his brother Rakesh Biyani were asked by Bank of India to respond to findings made in the forensic audit report by BDO, a forensic auditor appointed by the leading financial creditor of Future Retail Ltd (FRL). The forensic auditor had submitted its report on August 9, 2023, and Bank of India sought representation/submissions from the company over the credit facilities availed by Biyani, which was replied by the resolution professional on August 28, 2023, FRL said in a regulatory filing. "Kishore Biyani - Director of the Company, has filed a writ petition before High Court, Bombay, inter alia challenging the Forensic Audit process, including the Forensic Audit Report dated August 09, 2023, submitted to BOI by BDO India," FRL said. Bank of India is the lead creditor of FRL, and CIRP was

Akasa Air approached Bombay HC to save court fees: Pilot's counsel

He argued that the move to choose Bombay HC over Delhi HC is to 'reap the maximum payable amount'