Page 2 - Gujarat High Court

PM Modi's degree row: HC rejects pleas by Kejriwal, Singh to quash summons

The Gujarat High Court on Friday dismissed pleas by Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh to quash the summons issued against them in a criminal defamation case over their comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's educational qualification. Through their pleas, Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal and AAP's Rajya Sabha member Singh had challenged the summons by a trial court in the case filed by Gujarat University and the subsequent order of the sessions court dismissing their revision applications against the summons. Rejecting their applications, Justice Hasmukh Suthar directed the two AAP leaders to make their submissions before the trial court. Seeking the quashing of the summons, the two leaders had said that Gujarat University (GU) cannot file a defamation case before a magistrate court and rather should move the sessions court. The metropolitan court had summoned Kejriwal and Singh on April 15 last year in the defamation case filed by GU over their sarcastic and

Five held for stealing 199 gold coins while demolishing house in Gujarat

Five persons were arrested for allegedly stealing 199 gold coins they found while demolishing a house in Bilimora in Gujarat's Navsari district, a police official said on Monday. The coins have the image of King George V engraved on them and the house, on Bazaar Street, belongs to NRI Hawaben Balia, who currently resides in Leicester in the United Kingdom, he said. Balia filed a complaint against contractor Sarfaraz Karadiya, who was hired to raze the house, and four labourers hailing from Alirajpur in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh who carried out the demolition, the official said. "A case of theft of gold coins from a heritage house was registered and five persons were named as accused. There was no clarity on the number of gold coins that had been stolen. The FIR was lodged by Balia on October 21," Navsari Superintendent of Police Sushil Agrawal said. The five accused were charged under Indian Penal Code sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 114 (abettor present at spot when

Cadila Pharma CMD booked for alleged rape, assault on Bulgarian woman

In its order dated December 22, the HC had directed the chief judicial magistrate to pass an order of investigation by a competent police official into the complaint

Morbi bridge collapse: HC rejects bail plea of Oreva Group CMD Patel

The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday rejected the regular bail plea of Oreva Group CMD Jaysukh Patel, the main accused in the October 2022 Morbi suspension bridge collapse which claimed 135 lives. "The application is dismissed," Justice Divyesh Joshi said while denying bail to Patel, who has been behind bars since his surrender in January this year after being named as the main accused in the case. His regular bail pleas were earlier rejected by lower courts. Patel's firm was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Gujarat's Morbi town which collapsed on October 30 last year, killing 135 people, including children, and injuring 56 others. Patel and nine others have been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 336 (act which endangers human life), 337 (causing hurt to any person by doing any rash or negligent act) and 338 (caus

Marital rape no less henious, silence on sexual violence must end: Guj HC

A rape is a rape, even when it is committed by a man on his wife, the Gujarat High Court has observed, citing that the silence shrouding sexual violence against women in India needs to be broken. In an order passed recently, Justice Divyesh Joshi observed that the actual incidences of violence against women in India are probably much higher than what the data suggests, and women may continue to face hostility and remain in environments where they are subject to violence. Social attitude typically characterises certain behaviours such as stalking, eve-teasing, shades of verbal and physical assault, and harassment as "minor" offences, which are "regrettably" not only trivialised or normalised but even romanticised and promoted in popular lore such as cinema, the order stated. The attitudes which view sexual crimes through the prism of "boys will be boys" and condone them, nevertheless, "have a lasting and pernicious effect on the survivors", it said. The court made these observations

HC allows to end 27-week pregnancy of 12-year-old girl raped by her father

The concerned police station at Dediapada was also directed to take the victim for medical termination of pregnancy at the Vadodara hospital

Insolvency proceedings: Gujarat High Court stays NCLT order against Rasna

In a major relief for Rasna, the Gujarat High Court on Monday stayed the NCLT order directing the initiation of insolvency proceedings against the homegrown beverage brand. Last week, the Ahmedabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) directed initiation of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against Rasna over a default of Rs 71.27 lakh and had appointed an interim resolution professional suspending the board. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order was challenged by the promoters of Rasna Industries before the high court, which stayed the verdict till an appeal filed against it before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal is listed. "Considering the aforesaid, by way of ad-interim relief, the said order dated 01.09.2023 is directed not to be acted upon till the statutory appeal which is filed before the NCLAT is listed for hearing in the peculiar facts of the present case," an order passed by Justice V D Nanavati stated on Monday. NCLT had

Morbi bridge collapse: SC refuses to cancel bail granted by HC to accused

The Supreme Court has refused to cancel the bail granted by the Gujarat High Court to an accused who had issued tickets to visitors on the day when the Morbi bridge collapsed last year, leaving over 140 dead. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra did not agree to the submissions of the lawyer, appearing for the Tragedy Victim Association, Morbi that the high court wrongly granted bail to the accused. He was just selling the tickets, the CJI said while dismissing the plea for cancellation of the bail granted to accused Mansukhbhai Valjibhai Topia by the high court on June 9. We are not inclined to entertain the Special Leave Petitions under Article 136 of the Constitution. The Special Leave Petitions are accordingly dismissed, the bench said in its order on Monday. The Gujarat High Court had taken note of the fact that the probe was over and the charge sheet was already filed. Since trial will take its own time to conclude, the

2002 riots: HC grants bail to ex-DGP in case of fabricating evidence

The Gujarat High Court has granted regular bail to ex-DGP RB Sreekumar in a case of fabricating evidence to frame people in connection with the 2002 riots, nearly two weeks after the Supreme Court allowed the bail plea of social activist Teesta Setalvad in the same case. The court of Justice Ilesh Vora on Friday gave relief to former director-general of police (DGP) Sreekumar, who is already out on interim bail, on a personal bond of Rs 25,000 and directed him to surrender his passport. An interim bail is granted for a short period before the hearing for the grant of regular bail. The HC had earlier rejected the bail plea of Setalvad, one of the three accused in the case registered by the Ahmedabad city crime branch under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections, including 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offence). The Supreme Court (SC) granted her regular bail on July 19. Granting bail to ..

Modi surname case: Supreme Court stays conviction of Rahul Gandhi

During the hearing on Friday, Abhishek Singhvi, who was representing Gandhi, said that Purnesh Modi's original surname is not Modi but belongs to the Modh Varnika Samaj

Modi surname case: SC to hear Rahul Gandhi's plea against verdict today

Modi surname case in SC: In the last hearing, on July 21, the apex court sought responses from former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi and the state government on Gandhi's plea

Setalvad moves HC to quash FIR for altering evidence of 2002 riots cases

Social activist Teesta Setalvad has moved the Gujarat High Court to quash an FIR filed against her by the Ahmedabad crime branch for allegedly fabricating evidence in the 2002 riots cases. A sessions court recently rejected her discharge plea in the case, even as the Supreme Court granted her bail after the Gujarat High Court denied her relief. On Monday, Setalvad moved a plea in the HC for quashing the FIR and the matter is likely to come up for hearing in a few days. Setalvad and two others former state Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and former Indian Police Service officer Sanjiv Bhatt were arrested by the city crime branch in June 2022 on charges of forgery and fabricating evidence with the intent to implicate Gujarat government functionaries in the 2002 riots cases. An FIR was registered against them after the Supreme Court last month dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, whose husband and former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was killed during the riots. Setalvad has

Gujarat HC acquits last cop accused in 2003 Sadiq Jamal encounter case

The Gujarat High Court has allowed the discharge plea of a former police official accused in the 2003 encounter of Sadiq Jamal, who the cops had claimed to be a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative. With the acquittal of retired deputy superintendent of police Irshadali Anwarali Saiyed, all seven of the eight accused in the case stand exonerated. One accused died during the pendency of his discharge plea. The court of Justice Gita Gopi on Tuesday allowed Saiyed's discharge plea in the case of the alleged fake encounter of a 19-year-old youth who the police had claimed to be an LeT operative out to kill the then chief minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders. A special CBI court had on December 20, 2022, turned down Saiyed's plea for discharge, prompting the retired cop to move the high court. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) did not challenge the discharge order of any of the six cops who were acquitted in the past. The case pertains to Sadiq Jamal, a youth from Bhavnagar,

SC to hear Rahul Gandhi's plea against Gujarat HC order in defamation case

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Friday Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's appeal against the Gujarat High Court verdict dismissing his plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark. A bench of justices B R Gavai and P K Mishra will likely take up the matter tomorrow. A bench headed by CJI D Y Chandrachud had on July 18 agreed to hear Gandhi's plea after senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi mentioned the matter and sought urgent hearing. In his appeal, Gandhi has said if the July 7 HC judgment is not stayed, it will lead to "throttling of free speech, expression, thought, and statement". Purnesh Modi, a former minister in the Gujarat government, had filed a criminal defamation case in 2019 against Gandhi over his "how all thieves have Modi as the common surname" remark made during an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019. He was apparently referring to businessmen Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi, two fugitive prominent ...

Defamation case: SC to hear Rahul's appeal against Gujarat HC verdict

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on July 21 an appeal of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi challenging the Gujarat High Court's July 7 verdict which dismissed his plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Mishra agreed to hear the plea after senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Gandhi, sought listing of the appeal on July 21 or July 24. The bench said it would hear it on July 21. In his appeal filed on July 15, Gandhi has said that if the judgment is not stayed, it would lead to throttling of free speech, expression, thought, and statement. He contended that if the high court verdict is not stayed it would contribute to the systematic, repetitive emasculation of democratic institutions and the consequent strangulation of democracy which would be gravely detrimental to the political climate and future of India. Purnesh Modi, a former ministe

Rahul moves SC against HC's refusal to stay conviction in defamation case

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi moved the Supreme Court on Saturday challenging the Gujarat High Court's July 7 order which dismissed his plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark. The appeal has been filed by Gandhi through advocate on record Prasanna S. Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Parliament on March 24, 2023 after a Gujarat court convicted him and sentenced him to a two-year imprisonment on charges of criminal defamation for comments he made about the Modi surname. In a setback to 53-year-old Gandhi, the high court on July 7 dismissed Gandhi's plea for a stay on his conviction, observing that "purity in politics" is the need of the hour. A stay on Gandhi's conviction could pave the way for his reinstatement as a Lok Sabha MP. However, he has not received any relief from either the sessions court or the Gujarat High Court. In his verdict, Justice Hemant Prachchhak also noted that representatives of people should be "men of

The political impact of Rahul Gandhi's legal woes

Going to jail is a rite of passage for politicians, and they tend to emerge stronger if the punishment is seen to be unfair

Will move SC, nothing will stop Rahul Gandhi's mission, says Congress

The Congress on Friday said it would approach the Supreme Court over the Gujarat High Court order dismissing party leader Rahul Gandhi's plea for a stay on his conviction in the case over his "Modi surname" remark, and said nothing will deter Gandhi or the party from their mission to unite the nation. AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal was addressing a party programme organised in Kozhikode district, seeking to restore peace in the strife-torn northeastern state of Manipur, when he spoke about Gandhi's defamation case and the Congress's response to the court verdict. He said there was "no surprise" in the verdict against Gandhi from the Gujarat court, and added, "There is one more option before us...the Supreme Court. Let's see. The Congress party will seek that option too". His statement came soon after the Gujarat High Court dismissed Gandhi's plea and upheld the order of the lower court, describing it as "just, proper and legal". "How can we believe that justice

Cong to move SC against HC order on Rahul's conviction in defamation case

The Congress on Friday said it would move an appeal before the Supreme Court challenging the Gujarat High Court order dismissing party leader Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark. AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said, "There is one more option before us... the Supreme Court. Let's see. The Congress party will seek that option too". Venugopal said this while addressing a party programme organised in Kozhikode district of northern Kerala. His statement came soon after the Gujarat High Court dismissed Gandhi's plea, upholding the order of the lower court, describing it as "just, proper and legal". A stay of the conviction would have paved the way for Gandhi's reinstatement as a Member of Parliament. A metropolitan magistrate's court in Surat on March 23 sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail after convicting him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) in a

Gujarat HC refuses to stay Rahul Gandhi's conviction in defamation case

While dismissing the plea, Justice Hemant Prachchhak noted that Gandhi is already facing 10 cases across India, adding order of the lower court was "just, proper and legal" in convicting Cong leader