Page 16 - Bombay High Court

HC stays order allowing banks to declare account as fraud without hearing

The pleas said the circulars were in violation of the principle of natural justice as no opportunity to be heard was being given to borrowers before classifying their accounts as fraudulent

Bombay HC pulls PNB for inaction on diamantaire Nirav Modi's loan frauds

The Bombay High Court has pulled up the Punjab National Bank (PNB) for not taking steps to recover the huge amounts of money availed as loans by the fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi.

'Defamatory' remarks against PM: HC extends relief to Rahul till Aug 2

The Bombay High Court on Monday extended till August 2 the interim relief granted to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from appearance before a court here in a defamation complaint on his alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018. The complainant, who claims to be a BJP worker, had alleged that Gandhi's "commander-in-thief" remark in the context of the Rafale fighter jet deal amounted to defamation. A single bench of Justice S V Kotwal adjourned the hearing on the plea filed by Gandhi challenging the summons issued to him by the local court in 2021 after the complainant's lawyer sought time. "The interim relief granted earlier to continue till August 2," Justice Kotwal said. Earlier, Gandhi was directed by the local court to appear before it November 2021 in a defamation complaint filed by Mahesh Shrishrimal. Gandhi then approached the HC challenging the summons issued to him. The high court in November 2021 directed the magistrate to defer hearing on the defamation

NCB had hidden motive of giving Aryan clean chit in drugs case: Wankhede

The NCB's Special Enquiry Team (SET) had an ulterior motive of giving a clean chit to Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan in a drugs-on-cruise case and suppressed material evidence against him, the anti-drug agency's former Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede submitted to the Bombay High Court on Thursday. Wankhede, whose interim protection from arrest in the CBI's case of extortion and bribery against him was on Thursday extended by the HC till June 23, in his rejoinder affidavit claimed the SET has "twisted facts and labelled false allegations to jeopardise the career and character of honest officials". The affidavit also claimed the SET sought to give a clean chit to Aryan Khan by suppressing material information and evidences in violation of legal provisions. Wankhede filed the rejoinder affidavit in his petition seeking to quash the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) case registered against him on charges of extortion and bribery. The CBI's case is that Wankhede and four ot

HC upholds GST rules on taxing intermediary services for clients abroad

Bombay HC didn't make any observation on what type of tax would be levied on such services offered by intermediaries

Won't notify fact-checking unit till July 10, Centre tells Bombay HC

The Union government on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that it would not notify the fact-checking unit for identifying fake news against the government on social media till July 10. The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in its affidavit in response to stand-up comic Kunal Kamra's petition challenging the amended IT rules also said that the courts will be the final arbiters of what is true content and what is false. While the government defended the Rules, Editors Guild of India and Association of Indian Magazines also filed separate petitions challenging them on the ground that they are unconstitutional and arbitrary. The government's affidavit said the government has the obligation to not just protect the rights of those who post content on social media but also the rights of those who are consuming content. Any information identified as false and misleading by the fact-checking unit under the IT Rules would not result in automatic take-down of such ..

Won't notify fact-checking unit till July 10, Centre tells High Court

The Centre on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court it was extending till July 10 its earlier statement that it won't notify its fact-checking unit to identify fake news against the government on social media, even as two new petitions were filed challenging the recently amended IT Rules. The Union government had in April told the HC that the fact-checking unit would not be notified till July 5. The statement was made when the court was hearing a petition filed by stand-up comic Kunal Kamra challenging the constitutional validity of the Information Technology Rules. On Wednesday, a division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale was informed that two new petitions have also been filed challenging the Rules. The petitions filed by the Editors Guild of India and the Association of Indian Magazines claim that the Rules are arbitrary and unconstitutional. The court said it would hear all the three petitions from July 6. We shall take up the petitions for final disposal from J

Content posted against Serum Institute of India prima facie defamatory: HC

The Bombay High Court on Monday said content posted by two individuals and their organisations against vaccine manufacturing major Serum Institute of India (SII) was "prima facie defamatory" and directed them to delete it. A single bench of Justice R I Chagla also temporarily restrained them from posting any content against the company. The SII filed a defamation suit in December 2022 seeking damages to the tune of Rs 100 crore from the two individuals and their organisations for allegedly posting erroneous content against the company and its COVID-19 vaccine Covishield. The company had filed an interim application seeking the court to direct the defendants to delete their posts and to restrain them from posting such content pending final disposal of the suit. The High Court, in its interim order on Monday, said it was of the prima facie view the SII has satisfied the contents and accusations made by the two persons were defamatory. The bench noted that SII and its CEO and owner A

Content posted against SII prima facie defamatory, says Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court on Monday said content posted by two individuals and their organisations against vaccine manufacturing major Serum Institute of India (SII) was "prima facie defamatory" and directed them to delete it. A single bench of Justice R I Chagla also temporarily restrained them from posting any content against the company. The SII filed a defamation suit in December 2022 seeking damages to the tune of Rs 100 crore from the two individuals and their organisations for allegedly posting erroneous content against the company and its COVID-19 vaccine Covishield. The high court on Monday in its interim order said it was of the prima facie view that the SII has satisfied that the contents and accusations made by the two persons were defamatory. "I am of the prima facie view that the contents are per se defamatory. The vaccine is not banned. No case is made out by the defendants," the judge said in the interim order. The court will at a later date take up the company's suit

HC refuses gangster Rajan plea's seeking stay on release of web series

The Bombay High Court on Friday refused to grant any urgent relief to jailed gangster Rajendra Nikalje, alias Chhota Rajan, who had filed a plea against web series Scoop, noting that the series was already released on Netflix. A vacation bench of Justice S G Dige directed the makers and producers of the series, including Hansal Mehta and Netflix Entertainment Services India on whose platform the series has been released, to file their affidavits in response to Rajan's plea by June 7. The jailed gangster had on Thursday moved the court against the web series, saying that the use or misuse of the attributes of his personality without his prior consent amounted to infringement of his personality rights as well as defamation. When the court was informed that the series has been released and all the six episodes were available, Rajan's advocate Mihir Desai said the makers could be directed to remove his name and image from the series. Justice Dige, however, refused to pass any order ...

Insurer liable to compensate accident victim's kin irrespective of DL: HC

An insurance company is liable to pay compensation to accident victim's kin even if the driving licence of the offending vehicle's driver has expired and not renewed as an expired licence would not make him an unskilled driver, the Bombay High Court has said. A single bench of Justice S G Dige in an order passed in April, a copy of which was made available on Thursday, directed ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co Ltd to pay compensation to the family of a woman who lost her life in an accident in November 2011. The court said the insurance company could recover the compensation amount from the owner of the offending vehicle later. The court was hearing a petition filed by the family members of the deceased woman challenging an order passed by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal exonerating the insurance company from paying compensation as the driving licence of the driver of the offending vehicle had expired. The tribunal had directed the truck owner to pay the compensation. The ..

Industrialist Yash Birla gets Bombay HC nod to travel to UK, Egypt

The Bombay High Court has permitted industrialist Yashovardhan Birla, who is facing several cases of fraud and money laundering, to travel to the United Kingdom and Egypt till July 1, noting that he was not a flight risk or likely to abscond. A vacation bench of Justices Abhay Ahuja and Milind Sathaye on May 26 suspended the Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against Birla till July 1 and directed the immigration authorities to permit him to pass through immigration and board his flight. The court, while granting Birla permission to travel only to Egypt and UK, noted that he has travelled and returned to India on many occasions and has complied with all the conditions imposed on him. The applicant (Birla) has abided by the terms and conditions imposed on him during earlier travels abroad and has his family in India, the court said. Prima facie, therefore, at this stage, it does not appear to us that the applicant (Birla) is a flight risk or likely to abscond or not present himself befo

Admission process for institutes like IIT based on discipline: Bombay HC

Institutes such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) are centres of technical studies par excellence in the country and the process of finding students is based on discipline, the Bombay High Court said while refusing relief to an 18-year-old boy who failed to submit his online form for the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Advanced due to a technical glitch. The boy, Atharva Desai, in his petition claimed that he lived in a rural area where there were frequent power outages because of which he was unable to register himself online in the given time frame. The petitioner sought a direction from the court for his registration form to be accepted and to permit him to appear for JEE-Advanced scheduled to be held on June 4. The Joint Admission Board of the IIT opposed the plea on the ground that as per their records, Desai had logged in on the portal for the first time to fill the online form a day after the deadline and hence, no relief ought to be granted to him. A vacation bench of

Bombay HC extends interim protection to Ex-NCB Sameer Wankhede till June 8

The Bombay High Court on Monday extended till June 8 the interim protection granted to former NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede in a case in which he is accused of demanding Rs 25 crore bribe from superstar Shah Rukh Khan for not implicating his son Aryan in the Cordelia cruise 'drug bust' case. Last Friday, the HC had directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) not to take any coercive against the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer till May 22. A vacation bench of justices Abhay Ahuja and M M Sathaye on Monday extended Wankhede's interim protection from any coercive action, such as arrest, while hearing his plea seeking quashing of the CBI's FIR against him. The bench also directed Wankhede to give an undertaking that he will not talk to the media about the case, appear before the CBI as and when called, and not tamper with evidence. The CBI recently filed an FIR against Wankhede for allegedly seeking Rs 25 crore bribe for not framing the Bollywood star's son Aryan Khan

Ex-NCB Sameer Wankhede to seek special security from Mumbai Police

Ahead of the Bombay HC hearing, IRS officer Sameer Wankhede, Ex-NCB, said here on Monday that he would seek special security from the Mumbai Police owing to threats to his life

SC dismisses Tata Motors plea challenging HC order on disqualification

In a big setback for Tata Motors, the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed its plea challenging an order of the Bombay High Court which upheld the decision of the BEST to disqualify it from a tender process for supplying 1,400 electric buses worth Rs 2,450 crore, saying the vehicle manufacturer deviated from the "material and essential" term of the tender. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said it is not in dispute that the first and the foremost requirement of the tender was the prescribed operating range of the single decker buses which would operate for around 200 km on a single charge in actual conditions with 80 per cent state of charge without any interruption. "The material on record would indicate that Tata Motors in its bid deviated from this requirement and had informed BEST that it could carry the operating range in the 'standard test conditions' which was not in accordance with the tender conditions. "The high court has rightly observed in its ...

Bombay HC asks CBI not to take action against Wankhede till Monday

The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the CBI not to take any "coercive action", such as arrest, against former NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede who is accused of demanding Rs 25 crore bribe from superstar Shah Rukh Khan for not implicating his son Aryan in the Cordelia cruise 'drug bust' case. Wankhede, an Indian Revenue Service official, has moved the court with a petition seeking to quash the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation against him. A vacation bench of the court passed the order after recording Wankhede's undertaking that he will remain present at the CBI's office in BKC area here at 11 am on May 20. The CBI shall not take any "coercive action" against Wankhede till May 22, the HC said.

Ex-NCB Sameer Wankhede moves HC to seek quashing of CBI FIR against him

Former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede on Friday moved a petition before the Bombay High Court seeking quashing of an FIR filed against him by the CBI for allegedly demanding Rs 25 crore bribe from superstar Shah Rukh Khan for not implicating his son Aryan Khan in the Cordelia cruise drug bust case. In the petition moved before a vacation bench of the high court, Wankhede also sought that no coercive action related to the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) first information report (FIR) be taken against him. The bench will hear his plea later in the day. The CBI filed the FIR against Wankhede and four others recently. Aryan Khan was arrested by the NCB on October 3, 2021 after a raid on the Cordelia cruise ship. He was granted bail by the Bombay High Court after three weeks as the anti-drug agency failed to substantiate its charges against him. The CBI booked Wankhede and others for alleged criminal conspiracy and threat of extortion, besides ...

Status quo on Aurangabad name-change continues till Bombay HC verdict

As the matter pertaining to the renaming of Aurangabad to 'Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar' sub-judice in the the Bombay High Court, the district authorities have advised all concerned departments

DHFL money laundering case: HC denies bail to Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor

The Bombay High Court on Thursday refused to grant bail to Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor in connection with the DHFL money laundering case, noting that he was one of main accused in the case and he faced a "serious charge" of having laundered public money. A single bench of Justice P D Naik in its order said Kapoor misused his official position to gain undue financial benefit for himself, his family members and associates. "He (Kapoor) is involved in bribery, corruption and money laundering activities. The proceeds of crime (POC) involved in this case are to the extent of Rs 5,333 crore. It is alleged that applicant had siphoned off huge amounts of POC out of India through his family group owned/controlled companies," the HC said. It added that around Rs 378 crore have been invested overseas and investigation in this is still on. The bench said it cannot ignore Kapoor's role in the crime, the magnitude and seriousness of the crime. "The allegations against the applicant is that the