Page 17 - Bombay High Court

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

Bombay High Court rejects Chanda Kochhar plea for retirement benefits

Private lender's sacked chief has filed a lawsuit asking her former employer to fulfill contractual responsibilities

POCSO enacted not to punish minors in consensual relations, says HC

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was enacted not to punish minors in a consensual relationship and to brand them as criminals, the Bombay High Court has said while granting bail to a 23-year-old man who was booked on the charge of raping a minor. A single bench of Justice Anuja Prabhudessai in the order passed on April 26 noted that it was true that the victim in the case was a minor, but her statement prima facie indicates that the relationship was consensual. "It needs to be noted that the POCSO Act has been enacted to protect children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment, etc, and contains stringent penal provisions as to safeguard the interest and the well-being of the children," the HC said. "The object is certainly not to punish minors in romantic or consensual relationship and brand them as criminals," it added. The court was hearing a plea filed by one Imran Shaikh, who was booked by the Mumbai police for allegedly kidnapping and ...

Supreme Court paves way for tribunal to act against IL&FS auditors

The court said the intention of the legislature behind Section 145 is very clear

HC appoints arbitrator in Max Healthcare, Care Hospitals dispute case

Max says as it has signed a term sheet with Quality Care for the acquisition of Care Hospitals, its offer should be decided first

Max Healthcare Institute moves Bombay HC against Quality Care, Evercare

Breach of contract alleged in an offer to acquire Hyderabad-based Care Hospitals

Restaurants holding eating house licence can't serve hookah: Bombay HC

An eating house licence does not automatically include permission to serve hookah or herbal hookah, the Bombay High Court said while refusing relief to a suburban restaurant facing revocation of licence for serving herbal hookah. A division bench of Justices G S Kulkarni and R N Laddha in its order dated April 24 noted that hookah cannot be one of the items being served in a restaurant where children, women and elderly visit for refreshments or food. "This would amount to an absolute nuisance in so far as an eating house is concerned. Further, if this is to be a reality, the impact it would create on such customers at the eating house can just be imagined," the court said. It further observed that if every eating house in the city was permitted to provide hookah, then it would result in a "situation beyond one's imagination" and would be "totally uncontrolled". The bench was hearing a petition filed by one Sayli Parkhi challenging an April 18, 2023 order passed by the Brihanmumbai

Fact-checking unit will not be notified until July 5, says Centre

The division bench had said that the rules did not seem to offer protection to fair criticism of the government like parody and satire

Won't notify fact checking unit for fake news against govt till Jul 5: Govt

The Union government told the Bombay High Court on Thursday that it will not notify till July 5, 2023 a fact checking unit to identify fake news against the government on social media under the recently amended Information Technology Rules. A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale accepted the statement and said since the amended rules would be inoperable in the absence of a fact checking unit, no urgent hearing was required on stay of the rules as sought by stand-up comic Kunal Kamra. The bench posted the petition filed by Kamra, challenging the constitutional validity of the rules, for hearing on June 8. Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the Union government, told the HC that the fact checking unit would not be notified till July 5, 2023 so that the court could hear the matter in June when it reopens after the summer vacation. Kamra's counsel Darius Khambata insisted the court hear the matter for interim relief on Thursday itself and argued

Obtain fresh environment clearances: HC to bidders of Goa's mining blocks

The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday ordered the successful bidders of the recently-auctioned mining blocks in the state to obtain fresh environmental clearances (ECs). A division bench comprising Justices Mahesh Sonak and Valmiki Menezes of the high court passed the order. The ruling is likely to delay the resumption of the state's iron ore mining operations that came to a standstill in 2018 after the Supreme Court quashed 88 mining leases. In December last year, the Goa government had said that it completed the first phase of auction of mining blocks with four companies winning bids for the extraction of ore from different mineral rich stretches of the coastal state. The mining industry used to be one of the major revenue earners for the state. "We clarify that fresh ECs will have to be obtained even by the successful bidders...," the high court said in its order. The Goa Foundation had submitted an intervention application over a petition filed by mining firm ...