Page 22 - Delhi High Court

Delhi HC says endless incarceration without trial violates Article 21

Endless incarceration without trial in near future falls foul of Article 21 of the Constitution, the Delhi High Court said recently and granted bail to a man held in a cheating case in 2022. Justice Amit Mahajan said if an accused was suffering a prolonged incarceration without a timely trial in the case, courts would ordinarily be obligated to release them on bail. Article 21 of the Indian Constitution deals with the right of life and personal liberty. In the case at hand, the judge said charges were yet to be framed, the prosecution had sought repeated adjournments to file a supplementary chargesheet and it had been a year since the accused's last bail plea was dismissed. "The applicant has spent more than two years in custody. There is no likelihood of the trial being completed in near future. In such circumstances, incarceration of the applicant for an endless period on account of non-examination of witnesses falls foul of Article 21 of the Constitution of India," the court sai

Delhi HC seeks Patanjali stand on lawsuit by Dabur over 'disparaging' ad

The Delhi High Court has sought Patanjali Ayurved's stand on a lawsuit by Dabur over advertisements allegedly disparaging its product Chyawanprash. On December 24, Justice Mini Pushkarna issued summons on the lawsuit to the defendants -- Patanjali Ayurved and Patanjali Foods Ltd -- for a reply in the matter. "Accordingly, let the plaint be registered as suit. Issue summons.. Let the written statement be filed by the defendants within thirty days from today," the order said. Dabur alleged that while promoting Patanjali Special Chyawanprash, fallacious and deliberate imputations were made, which defamed its product Dabur Chyawanprash -- a market leader with a share of more than 60 per cent. The court also issued notice on an application seeking an interim relief and posted the hearing on January 30. The plea said in the advertisements, the defendants have claimed only Patanjali Special Chyawanprash was the "original" and therefore "special" besides being "shreshtham/sarv-shreshth" o

Fill up non-official member posts in mental health body: HC to Delhi govt

The Delhi High Court has directed the city government to take expeditious steps for filling up posts of non-official members of the Delhi Mental Health Authority. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru further said once the authority is constituted, it would take expeditious steps for the constitution of review boards according to the Mental Health Care Act. The bench, also comprising Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, clarified that the process of constituting the authority and the boards shall not be impeded by imposition of the Model Code of Conduct in view of the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. The court passed the order on December 12 while dealing with two petitions seeking the enforcement of provisions of the mental health law, including the constitution of the state mental health authority as well as the district mental health review boards. In its order, the court noted that on November 27, the Delhi government appointed seven ex-officio members for constituting the Delhi

Dabur sues Patanjali Ayurved over 'disparaging' Chyawanprash advertisement

The lawsuit alleges that an advertisement featuring Patanjali Ayurved founder Baba Ramdev falsely claims that only Patanjali's Chyawanprash is 'original'

Delhi HC refuses to intervene in order for revision in CLAT-2025 result

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to intervene in an order directing the Consortium of National Law Universities to revise the result of CLAT-2025 over errors in the answer key. A bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela while dealing with an appeal by the consortium against the decision of a high court single judge opined no case for an interim order was made out. The bench prima facie found no error in the view taken by the single judge with respect to two questions and clarified the consortium was free to declare the results in terms of the single judge's decision. "Single judge examined two questions carefully... Prima facie we concur with the said view," the court said, "you can proceed with the result. There is no interim order." The court posted the matter on January 7, 2025. On December 20, the single judge's verdict came on the plea of a CLAT aspirant and ruled the answers to two questions in the entrance test were wrong. The

Delhi HC refuses anticipatory bail to Puja Khedkar in UPSC cheating case

Delhi High Court on Monday refused to grant anticipatory bail to former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar in the criminal case lodged against her for alleged cheating and wrongly availing of OBC and disability quota benefits in the civil services examination. "Anticipatory bail plea is dismissed. Interim protection from arrest is vacated," Justice Chandra Dhari Singh said while ruling on the plea. Justice Singh said a strong prima facie case was made out against Khedkar and investigation was required to unearth the conspiracy. It was a classic case of fraud committed on a constitutional body as well as society, the judge said. Khedkar is accused of misrepresenting information in her application for the UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2022, to get reservation benefits. The counsel for the Delhi Police as well as the complainant, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), opposed the plea for pre-arrest bail. The UPSC was represented by senior advocate Naresh Kaushik and lawyer Vardhm

Delhi HC extends Kuldeep Singh Sengar's interim bail in Unnao rape case

Sengar is required to remain at his residence, details of which have been shared with the CBI

CLAT 2025: First admission list delayed after HC orders revision of results

The Delhi High Court ordered the NLUs to review the merit list, which was first released on Dec 7, 2024. The first seat allotment result, scheduled for December 26, 2024, has now been delayed

Govt staff can get reimbursement for emergency help at non-CGHS hospitals

Delhi High Court clarifies rules after petitioner says she could not locate a hospital empanelled under the CGHS scheme for emergency surgery

Delhi HC directs GNCTD to swiftly fill posts for Mental Health Authority

The court also instructed that once the Authority is constituted, it should promptly establish the Review Boards as per Sections 73 and 74 of the Mental Health Act

Delhi HC summons SpiceJet COO, CEO over non-payment of dues to lessors

The Delhi High Court has directed the chief operating officer and chief executive officer of SpiceJet to appear before it in a plea seeking compliance of over USD 6.03 lakh in payment to the aircraft engines lessors. Justice Manmeet PS Arora "specifically denied" the request of the counsel for judgement debtor, SpiceJet, for the appearance of the two senior officers before the court through video conferencing. "The chief operating officer (COO) and chief executive officer (CEO) of the judgement debtor are directed to remain present in court on the next date of hearing, that is, January 16, 2025," the court said in its order on December 10. The court was hearing an application by the decree holder and aircraft engine lessor Team France 01 SAS and another, seeking a direction for the compliance of the consent order passed on May 29 wherein the airline was directed to make the payment of USD 6,03,870.82 to the decree holders. In the recent hearing, Spicejet's counsel urged the court t

Delhi HC seeks reply from media houses on Jagan Reddy's defamation suit

The Delhi High Court has sought the response of various media houses on a Rs 100 crore defamation suit by former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy over alleged derogatory news reports linking him to the indictment proceedings against Adani Group in the US. Justice Subramonium Prasad issued summons to the media houses and their editors and search engine Google while asking them to file written statements in response to the suit. "Let the plaint be registered as a suit. Issue summons," the court said in its December 9 order. The judge also issued notice on Reddy's application seeking an interim relief and made it clear that any publication made after December 9 would be after being put to notice by court and have its own consequences. The court posted the matter on December 16. Reddy sought the court's direction to the media houses to take down the publications mentioned by him in the suit. Reddy, the president of YSR Congress Party, also sought damages of Rs 100

Delhi HC reserves verdict on plea against ban on eateries' service charge

The Delhi High Court on Friday reserved its verdict on the petitions by restaurant bodies challenging the guidelines prohibiting hotels and restaurants from automatically levying service charge on food bills. "Arguments heard. Judgement reserved," said Justice Prathiba M Singh. Federation of Hotels and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) and National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) moved court in 2022 by filing two separate petitions. The guidelines, issued by Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on July 4, 2022, were stayed by the high court later that month. The counsel for FHRAI, in his rejoinder submissions on Friday, asserted the CCPA had no power or jurisdiction to impose such a ban, without following the principles of natural justice. "Merely holding a meeting with the industry body is not in compliance of natural justice," he said, "the guideline could only be advisory in nature". He said the service charge was levied on customers for the benefit of th

Delhi HC refuses registration of FIR against Congress chief Kharge

The court has taken cognizance of the Complaint alleging hate speech against BJP and RSS in an election rally in Karnataka in April 2023

Delhi High Court junks Rs 5,454 crore demand against Indus Towers

Allows input tax credit on inputs and input services used for setting up passive infrastructure

Delhi HC rejects PIL alleging sexual harassment in film industry

The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to examine a PIL raising allegations of sexual harassment in the "Indian film industry". A bench of Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said in the absence of a complaint by an aggrieved party, it couldn't order a "roving and fishing" inquiry. The petitioner, who relied on the Justice Hema Committee report with respect to instances of sexual exploitation in the Malayalam film industry, sought a direction to the National Commission for Women to inquire into the alleged violation of fundamental and human rights in the "Indian film industry" as well. "We will examine when there is a complaint. Your petition is structured on the report of Justice Hema Committee which is being looked into by another court," the bench said, "we will not direct any roving and fishing inquiry". The petitioner, Ajeesh Kalathil Gopi, alleged that sexual harassment was present in the "entire film industry" and he has even made complaint to .

Delhi HC to hear plea against Kejriwal's bail in excise case in Jan 2025

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday posted on January 17, 2025, the enforcement directorate's plea against the bail granted to former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the 2021-22 excise policy-linked money laundering case. The ED counsel urged Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri to defer the hearing in the matter on account of the unavailability of additional solicitor general S V Raju. The request was opposed by senior advocate Vikram Chaudhary, representing the AAP leader, citing "pressing urgency" in the matter. Chaudhary said the agency should withdraw its plea and the court should vacate its stay on the operation of the trial court's order granting bail. "You can't have a sword hanging on my head," he said. The ED counsel, however, said Kejriwal was already on bail pursuant to an order passed by the Supreme Court. On July 12, the top court granted interim bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case while referring to a larger bench three questions on the aspect of "need and necessity

Delhi drowning deaths: HC seeks CBI reply over interim bail to Rau IAS CEO

Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma issued notice to the probe agency and coaching centre's CEO Abhishek Gupta

Delhi Police opposes Nadeem Khan's plea, cites threat to communal harmony

Such nefarious acts on social media platforms can disrupt communal harmony, possibly inciting unrest or conflict between different communities

Mahindra Electric Automobile to not use '6e' till disposal of IndiGo suit

Mahindra stated it will rebrand the model from BE 6E to BE 6 but plans to contest IndiGo's claims in court