Page 18 - Bombay High Court

Benefits of technology should be made available to senior citizens: HC

The Bombay High Court has said that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) should ensure that benefits of modern technology are made available to the public, especially senior citizens, to make commuting in the city "easier and more comfortable". A division bench of Justices G S Kulkarni and R N Laddha was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) about the non-availability of a foot-over-bridge (FOB) connecting Bandra (East) railway station with the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) office-end. Disposing of the PIL on Monday, the court said the BMC should consider whether a part of the sky-walk can be a mechanized walkway so that it becomes useful to senior citizens and persons with disabilities. "The Central and Western Railways as also the Metro Rail have provided such mechanisms at several railway stations including escalators," the court said. Benefits of modern technology should be made available to commuters to make their commuting life in ..

IT Rules amendments don't offer protection to parody, satire: Bombay HC

The amendments to the Information Technology Rules, prima facie, do not seem to offer protection to parody and satire, the Bombay High Court said on Monday while hearing a petition filed by stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra. The HC bench also said Kamra's petition challenging the amendments was maintainable. On April 6, the Union government promulgated certain amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, including a provision of a fact check unit to identify fake or false or misleading online content related to the government. Kamra, in his petition, claimed the new rules could potentially lead to his content being arbitrarily blocked or his social media accounts being suspended or deactivated, thus harming him professionally. He has sought that the court declare the amended rules as unconstitutional and give a direction to the government to restrain from taking action against any individual under the rules. The Union .

Indian courts to hear domestic violence cases if offence happens abroad: HC

A court in India can take cognizance of a case of domestic violence even if the alleged offence takes place in a foreign country, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has held. The court recently rejected a plea by an Indian man who claimed that a magistrate's court in Nagpur can not act on a complaint of domestic violence filed by his estranged wife because the alleged incidents had taken place in Germany. Justice G A Sanap noted in the ruling that the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (DV Act) was a "social beneficial legislation", and it does not matter where the offence has taken place. The copy of the judgement, passed on March 29, became available on Wednesday. "...though the Domestic Violence Act extends only to the whole of India as provided under section 1 of the DV Act, the domestic violence caused on the foreign soil could also be taken cognizance of," the high court said. In the present case, consequence of trauma, suffering and distress carried by th

SC sets aside HC order acquitting Saibaba, others in alleged Maoist link

A bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar remanded the matter to the High Court for fresh consideration and directed that the case be decided within four months

HC raps SFIO for not completing probe against Naresh Goyal even after 4 yrs

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday rebuked the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) for not completing its probe against Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and his wife in a case of an alleged Rs 7,000 crore fraud. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Sharmila Deshmukh expressed displeasure about the tardy pace of probe while allowing Goyal's wife Anita to travel to the United Arab Emirates for a month on April 20. Naresh Goyal, however, failed to get a similar permission as the court said it could not hear his application in detail due to paucity of time. The couple had moved the court seeking permission to travel abroad. The SFIO, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Corporate Affairs Ministry, said it was opposed to the couple traveling together, but had no objection if Anita Goyal were to travel alone. Advocate Hiten Venegaonkar, appearing for the central agency, told the court that the investigation against the Goyals, initiated in 2019, was still under

HC bench to decide on taxability of intermediary services to clients abroad

Situation arises as two judges of Bombay HC are divided over the matter, which has now been referred to a third judge

Widowed daughter-in-law need not pay maintenance to her parents-in-law: HC

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has ruled that a daughter-in-law need not pay maintenance to the parents of her deceased husband. A single bench of Justice Kishor Sant on April 12 passed its order on a petition filed by a 38-year-old woman, Shobha Tidke, challenging an order passed by the Nyayadhikari Gram Nyayalaya (local court) at Latur city in Maharashtra directing her to pay maintenance to the parents of her deceased husband. "By reading of section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, it is clear that the father-in-law and mother-in-law are not mentioned in the said section," the HC said in its order. Shobha's husband, who used to work with the MSRTC (Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation), had died, after which she started working at the state-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai. Kishanrao Tidke (68) and Kantabai Tidke (60), the in-laws of Shobha Tidke, claimed they have no source of income after the death of their son and therefore sought maintenance. The woman

Malegaon blast: SC rejects Lt Col Purohit's plea challenging HC's order

The Supreme Court has rejected Lt Col Prasad Purohit's petition challenging the Bombay High Court order dismissing his petition seeking to discharge him in the Malegaon 2008 blast case

Ex-Maha Guv, BJP leader's remarks on Shivaji no criminal offence: HC

The Bombay High Court has dismissed a petition that sought action against former Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi for their statements on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and other icons, saying the remarks do not prima facie constitute an offence under any criminal act. The court also said that the statements reflect the perception and opinion of the speaker about those figures with an aim to persuade the audience, and the intention appears to be of enlightenment of the society for its betterment. Koshyari, whose tenure was dogged by controversies caused by his utterances about Shivaji Maharaj, social reformers Mahatma Phule and his wife Savitribai and Marathi people, stepped down as the state governor last month. Koshyari had faced flak for calling Shivaji Maharaj an "icon of olden times", while Trivedi had allegedly said that the founder of the Maratha empire had apologised to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Justices Sunil Shukre and Abhay Waghwase, o

Fight over control of Hikal: Hiremath, family move HC against Baba Kalyani

Hikal said it did not expect any financial implications arising due to compensation, penalty, etc, due to the suit

SC stays Bombay HC order permitting UIL Chairperson to travel abroad

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mentioned the matter for urgent orders before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justice P.S. Narasimha

HC quashes special court's 'cryptic' order rejecting Navlakha's bail plea

The Bombay High Court on Thursday quashed a cryptic order of a special court rejecting bail to activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, and directed the special judge to rehear his bail plea. A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and P D Naik noted that the special court's order did not contain an analysis of the evidence relied upon by the prosecution, as it directed the special judge to conclude the fresh hearing within 4 weeks. The 70-year-old social activist had moved HC challenging the September 5, 2022 order under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act refusing him bail on merits. The high court briefly heard the arguments put forth by Navlakha's counsel Yug Chaudhary this week but opined that the reasoning in the order of the special court was cryptic and said it didn't get the benefit of a reasoned order. No reason of whatever nature is given. Trial court has not given reasoning as required under section 43D(5) of Unlawful ...

Bombay HC quashes money laundering case against Jet Airways founder, wife

In a huge relief for former Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal, the Bombay High Court on Thursday quashed the Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s case

Why seek hearing of 2019 case against Adani now: High Court to SFIO

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday in jest remarked if the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has sought hearing of a 2019 case involving Adani Enterprises, its Chairman Gautam Adani and Managing Director Rajesh Adani now because of the scenario outside, an apparent refence to a damning report on the Indian conglomerate released by a US-based investment research firm. A petition was filed by Adani Enterprises in 2019 seeking to quash a sessions court order of the same year refusing to discharge the company, Gautam Adani and Rajesh Adani from a case of alleged violations of market regulations involving nearly Rs 388 crore. In December 2019, the high court stayed the sessions court order. This stay order came to be extended from time to time till February 2022. Last week, the SFIO, a multi-disciplinary organization under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, sought for the matter to be placed for hearing following which it was listed before a single bench of Justice R G Avachat .

SC credibility cannot be eroded by individuals' statements, says HC

The Constitution is supreme and sacrosanct, and the apex court's credibility is sky-high and cannot be eroded or impinged by statements of individuals, the Bombay High Court observed while dismissing a public interest litigation against Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar over their remarks against the judiciary. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep Marne had on February 9 dismissed the PIL filed by the Bombay Lawyers Association (BLA) against Rijiju and Dhankhar over their comments against the judiciary and collegium system related to appointment of Supreme Court and HC judges. A detailed order of the bench was made available on Tuesday. The HC, in its order, said every citizen, including constitutional authorities and persons holding constitutional posts, must respect and abide by the Constitution. It maintained a PIL is filed for protection of public interest and ought to be used for redressal of a ...

Litigations delaying Metro car shed project, causing losses: Bombay HC told

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) on Thursday told the Bombay High Court that the construction of the car shed at Aarey Colony was getting delayed and causing loss of public money due to litigations, defending its plan to cut more trees at the site than earlier proposed. MMRCL, a nodal agency, told the HC that due to the court cases, it could not cut down trees in 2019 and this has now led to an increase in the number of trees that are required to be cut for the project at suburban Goregaon. In 2019, the MMRCL had sought permission from the tree authority of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to chop 84 trees. However, due to petitions filed in HC and later in the Supreme Court, a status quo was ordered. After the SC gave the green signal to cut trees, the MMRCL filed an application before the tree authority to cut down 177 trees. As per the MMRCL, the number of trees at the Metro car shed site has increased in the past four years. An activist, Zoru Bhath

Police security not a right: Thane cops tell HC on MP Rajan Vichare's plea

A person is neither entitled to police protection as a matter of right nor can it be granted as a matter of course, the Thane Police told the Bombay High Court while justifying its decision to slash the security cover of MP Rajan Vichare, who belongs to the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Thane, Shrikant Paropkari filed an affidavit on Tuesday in response to a petition filed by local MP Vichare seeking restoration of his security cover. "A person is neither entitled to a police protection as a matter of right nor can it be granted a matter of course," the affidavit said. It added that as per procedure, an inquiry is conducted and the extent of the threat is determined after which the police protection and duration are decided. "In the present case, the security of the petitioner (Vichare) was reduced after following this procedure and the decision was taken at various levels such as a senior inspector, assistant commissioner of police, deputy .

Encroachment issue to be addressed in more considerate way: Bombay HC

Merely labelling persons as encroachers and displacing them is not a solution and the issue has to be addressed in a "more considered fashion" than by just deploying bulldozers, the Bombay High Court has said while seeking to know from the Western Railway, Mumbai civic body and MMRDA if they have any rehabilitation policy in place. A division bench of Justice Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale on February 8 heard a petition filed by Mumbai-based Ekta Welfare Society, challenging the eviction and demolition notices issued to its residents by railway authorities as they were encroaching on its property. The bench sought information from the Western Railway, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) if they have in place any rehabilitation policy or system, and what are the eligibility criteria. Throughout, we bear in mind that merely labelling these persons as 'encroachers' is not going to answer the problem. This is a seriou

YES Bank approaches Supreme Court against Bombay HC decision on AT-1 bonds

On January 20, the Bombay High Court had quashed YES Bank's decision to write off AT-1 bonds in March 2020

Bombay High Court rejects Godrej plea challenging land acquisition

Terming the upcoming Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project as of 'national importance', the Bombay High Court has rejected a plea of Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co. challenging the acquisition of its land in Vikhroli, here on Thursday.