Page 22 - Bombay High Court

Supreme Court dismisses former judge's plea to rename Bombay High Court

The Supreme Court on Thursday turned down a plea seeking directions to change the name of Bombay High Court to Maharashtra High Court. A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Vikram Nath dismissed the petition filed by a former judge. "These are issues for law makers to decide. What fundamental right is prejudiced for you to bring it here?", the bench said. The plea filed by Thane-based V P Patil, who had served as a judge for 26 years, has also sought a direction to the authorities to take effective steps for implementation of a clause of the Maharashtra Adaptation of Laws (State and Concurrent Subjects) Order, 1960 for conservation and preservation of distinct culture, heritage and traditions of the people of Maharashtra. Patil said authorities concerned in other states should also be directed to change the names of their high courts as per the name of the states where they are located. It said that the assertion of the word 'Maharashtra' denotes special significance in the life

Baby powder case: Bombay HC asks Maharashtra to give report to J&J

The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra government to hand over to Johnson & Johnson Pvt Ltd a report of the Central Drug Laboratory, Kolkata, based on which the state had cancelled the company's cosmetic manufacturing licence for its Mulund facility for its baby powder. A vacation bench of Justices N J Jamadar and Sharmila Deshmukh passed the decision on Wednesday while hearing a petition filed by the company challenging two orders of the state government - one dated September 15 cancelling the license and the second dated September 20 ordering to immediately stop manufacturing and sale of the company's baby powder product. The orders were passed by the Joint Commissioner and Licensing Authority of the state Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The government based its orders on the report of the Central Drug Laboratory, which found the powder containing higher pH level than prescribed. The company challenged the orders first before the Maharashtra Minister for Food and

Married woman asked to do household work for family not cruelty, says HC

If a married woman is asked to do household work for the family, the same cannot be equated to the work of a maid servant and would not amount to cruelty, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court said while quashing a case lodged by a woman against her estranged husband and his parents for domestic violence and cruelty. A division bench of Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Rajesh Patil, on October 21, quashed the First Information Report lodged against the man and his parents. The woman, in her complaint, had alleged she was was treated properly for a month after marriage, but thereafter, they began treating her like a maid servant. She also claimed her husband and his parents, a month after the marriage, started demanding Rs 4 lakh to buy a four-wheeler. In her complaint, the woman said she was then subjected to mental and physical harassment by her husband over this demand. The HC, in its order, noted the woman had merely stated she was harassed but had not specified any such ac

Anil Deshmukh moves Bombay High Court for bail in Rs 100 cr extortion case

Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday moved the Bombay High Court in connection with the Rs 100 crore extortion case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation case.This comes days after a special CBI court rejected Deshmukh's bail plea on October 21.The hearing on the NCP leader's bail plea will take place on November 11.Earlier, rejecting the bail application of Anil Deshmukh, the CBI court said that in this case, the statement of public witness Sachin Waze has been recorded by the CBI during the hearing of the bail application.He had been accused of asking policemen to collect Rs 100 crores illegally for him every month from bar owners in Mumbai."It is clear from the statements of the witnesses that Anil Deshmukh is the main conspirator in this whole case. The charges against him are very serious. In such a situation, if he is granted bail, he can influence the case and the witnesses," the CBI court said."Whatever medical facilities Anil Deshmukh needs is ...

Calling husband 'womaniser and alcoholic' amounts to cruelty: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has said defaming husband and calling him a womaniser and alcoholic without substantiating the allegations amount to cruelty, and upheld a family court order dissolving the marriage of a Pune-based couple. A division bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Sharmila Deshmukh in its order passed on October 12 dismissed an appeal filed by a 50-year-old woman, challenging a November 2005 decree passed by a family court in Pune dissolving her marriage to a retired Army official. The man died pending hearing of the HC appeal following which the court directed for his legal heir to be added as a respondent. The woman in her appeal claimed her husband was a womaniser and alcoholic and due to these vices she was deprived of her conjugal rights. The bench said the wife's conduct in making unwarranted and false allegations against her husband's character results in damage to his reputation in society and this amounts to cruelty. The HC in its order noted that apart from her

Godrej & Boyce creating hurdles for bullet train project: Maha govt to HC

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday told the Bombay High Court that Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co Ltd had left no stone unturned to create unnecessary hurdles for acquisition of land, owned by the company, for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project. A division bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Sharmila Deshmukh was hearing a petition filed by Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co Ltd challenging an order of September 15, 2022 passed by the state government awarding compensation to it for land acquisition for the project. The company, in their petition, sought that the high court direct the state government to not start the process of awarding compensation and initiate possession proceedings. The state government, in its affidavit filed by deputy collector (land acquisition) Jagatsing Girase, termed the company's allegations as frivolous, baseless, unwarranted and unsubstantiated. It also informed the court that the acquiring body of the state government has already deposited

DY Chandrachud appointed 50th Chief Justice of India, to take oath on Nov 9

Lauded as a feminist judge for his reasoning, Justice Chandrachud spoke to young law graduates recently and told them to incorporate a feminist way of thinking while dealing with the law

SC suspends HC order of acquitting Saibaba, others in Naxals link case

In a special hearing on Saturday, the Supreme Court suspended the October 14 order of the Bombay High Court which discharged former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba and others

Fadnavis welcomes SC decision to suspend HC order on Saibaba's acquittal

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court to suspend the Bombay High Court's order of acquitting former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba and others in a Maoist links case. The top court on Saturday rejected Saibaba's request to order his release from jail due to his disability and health conditions and put him under house arrest after the Maharashtra government opposed the prayer, saying that nowadays, there is a new tendency of "urban naxals" to seek house arrest. The high court had acquitted Saibaba and others in the case on Friday. Speaking to reporters at the Nagpur airport, Fadnavis said, "I am satisfied with the apex court's decision to suspend the high court order on professor G N Saibaba. Yesterday, I had said that the high court decision was surprising and shocking for us, because releasing a person on technical grounds, against whom there was ample evidence of directly helping Maoists, was wrong. Hence,

Bombay HC bench acquits ex-DU professor G N Saibaba in Maoist links case

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday acquitted former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba in an alleged Maoist links case, and ordered his immediate release from jail. A division bench of Justice Rohit Deo and Anil Pansare allowed the appeal filed by Saibaba challenging a 2017 order of the trial court convicting him and sentencing him to life imprisonment. Saibaba, who is wheelchair-bound due to a physical disability, is currently lodged at the Nagpur central prison. The bench also allowed the appeal of five other convicts in the case and acquitted them. One of the five died pending hearing of the appeal. The bench directed for the convicts to be released forthwith from jail unless they are accused in any other case. In March 2017, a sessions court in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district had convicted Saibaba and others, including a journalist and a Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student for alleged Maoist links and for indulging in activities amounting to waging

DY Chandrachud to succeed UU Lalit as the next Chief Justice of India

Chandrachud was the additional solicitor general of India in 1998 and was sworn-in as the chief justice of the Allahabad High Court in 2013

SC refuses to interfere with Bombay HC order granting bail to Anil Deshmukh

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the Bombay High Court order granting bail to former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh in a money laundering case

SC collegium meeting of Sept 30 on elevation of judges discharged

'The unfinished work in the meeting called for September 30 is closed without there being any further deliberation and it stands discharged'

SC to hear on Tuesday ED's plea against HC order granting bail to Deshmukh

The Supreme Court Monday agreed to hear on Tuesday a plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenging the Bombay High Court order granting bail to former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in a money laundering case. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED, mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a bench comprising Chief Justice U U Lalit and Justice S R Bhat. The bench said the matter will come up for hearing tomorrow before a bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud. The high court had on October 4 granted bail to Deshmukh in the case registered by the ED observing "two components of credits" in the account of his family trust were not "proceeds of crime. The high court had, however, stayed the order till October 13 after Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh said the ED will challenge it in the apex court. Two components of credits (Rs 10.42 crore and Rs 1.12 crore) in the account of a trust controlled by the Deshmukh family, flagged by the

Clamour grows for probe into Eknath Shinde's Dussehra rally 'bills'

The Maha Vikas Aghadi allies have demanded a probe, while an activist-lawyer has moved the Bombay HC for an FIR into the alleged 'cash payment' of Rs 10 cr purportedly made by the faction of CM Shinde

Mumbai needs 'single planning authority' for pothole-free roads: BMC to HC

Mumbai cannot be pothole-free till the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation becomes the "single planning authority" to look after the maintenance of roads, the civic body in the metropolis told the Bombay High Court on Friday. In a presentation to a division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice MS Karnik, BMC commissioner Iqbal Chahal said 2,050 kilometres of the city are in the civic body's jurisdiction and some 500 kilometres with 15 other agencies. "The problem is, apart from the BMC, we have 15 other agencies who own 500 kilometres of road. I am not supposed to spend my fund on this. Most complaints are from these areas. If these 15 agencies do not pull up their socks then we will not have a pothole-free city," Chahal said. "I have written to the state government saying the entire planning and maintenance should be handed over to BMC for holistic development. I have proposed to the state government to hand over the entire planning and development work of the city to t

SC Collegium proposes Bombay HC Chief Justice's elevation to top court

The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the elevation of Bombay High Court Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta as judge of the apex court

No coercive action till Nov 17 against Anil Ambani under Black Money Act

The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Income Tax department not to take any coercive action against Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani till November 17 on a show cause notice issued to him seeking to prosecute him under the Black Money Act. The I-T department had issued the notice to Ambani on August 8, 2022 for allegedly evading Rs 420 crore in taxes on undisclosed funds worth more than Rs 814 crore held in two Swiss bank accounts. The department has charged Ambani (63) with "wilful" evasion, saying he "intentionally" did not disclose his foreign bank account details and financial interests to Indian tax authorities. As per the department's notice, Ambani was liable to be prosecuted under Sections 50 and 51 of the Black Money (undisclosed foreign income and assets) Imposition of Tax Act of 2015, that stipulates a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment with a fine. Ambani earlier this month approached the HC challenging the notice, claiming that the Black Money Act wa

HC allows Uddhav-led Shiv Sena to hold Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park

In a shot in the arm for the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction, the Bombay High Court on Friday granted it permission to hold its annual Dussehra rally at the iconic Shivaji Park ground in central Mumbai. For the Thackeray faction the development has a symbolic value as Shivaji Park is associated with the Sena since its birth, and his group is locked in a tussle with the rebel group led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to establish itself as the 'real' Shiv Sena. The Shinde faction had also sought permission to hold the rally at the same venue on the same day (October 5), and opposed the Thackeray group's petition in the high court. Welcoming the ruling, Thackeray appealed his supporters to maintain discipline while attending the rally on Dussehra. Thackeray supporters celebrated the ruling outside the Sena's headquarters in Dadar, close to the Shivaji Park, as well as near Thackeray's residence Matoshree in Bandra and in neighbouring Thane. Kiran Pawaskar, ...

Rupee Cooperative Bank set to explore merger proposal, SFB conversion

On August 8, the RBI had ordered cancellation of the banking licence of the ailing UCB from September 22. The high court will take up the matter on October 17