Page 2 - High Court Judges

Fire at Delhi HC judge's residence leads to discovery of large cash stash

Calling an emergency meeting, the Supreme Court collegium issued an immediate transfer of the judge from the Delhi High Court

SC overturns termination of two women judges in MP, orders reinstatement

The Supreme Court on Friday set aside the orders terminating the services of two women judicial officers in Madhya Pradesh in 2023, terming the action as "punitive, arbitrary and illegal". A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh directed that the two officers be reinstated in service within 15 days. "The termination of these two judicial officers is punitive, arbitrary and therefore illegal," Justice Nagarathna said while pronouncing the verdict. Justice Nagarathna said the verdict also discusses issue of women in Indian judiciary. On December 17, 2024, the top court had reserved its verdict in the matter pertaining to the termination of two women judicial officers by the Madhya Pradesh High Court. On November 11, 2023, the top court had taken a suo motu cognisance of the termination of six women civil judges by the state government over their alleged unsatisfactory performance. However, a full court of the Madhya Pradesh High Court reconsidered its earlier resolu

Year of judicial milestones: Landmark SC verdicts, policy shifts in 2024

From taking a strong stance against 'bulldozer justice' to overruling past judgment on legislative immunity for bribery, the top court set several precedents during the year to uphold the constitution

Govt says no plans for law requiring SC, HC judges to disclose assets

The government on Thursday told the Rajya Sabha that it had no plans to bring a law mandating Supreme Court and high court judges to furnish their property returns, as recommended by a parliamentary committee. In a written reply, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also said that details of the declaration of assets by the judges of high courts and the Supreme Court were not centrally maintained. The minister replied in the negative to a sub-question on "whether the government is contemplating to enact a law mandating judges of the higher judiciary to furnish their property returns as recommended by the Parliamentary Standing Committee in its report titled 'Judicial Processes and their Reform' of August, 2023". At the same time, the minister said the "Restatement of Values of Judicial Life", adopted by a "full court" meeting of the Supreme Court on May 7, 1997, laid down certain judicial standards to be followed by the Supreme Court and high court judges. The full bench on August

HC judge, journalists among 161 applicants for 8 vacancies at CIC

The government has received 161 applications for eight vacant positions of Information Commissioners at the Central Information Commission with applicants from varied backgrounds including a sitting Delhi High Court Judge expressing interest in the job, according to a DoPT list. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has given the list of 161 applicants in response to an RTI query filed by Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd). The list contains names of Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta of Delhi High Court, Special Commissioner Delhi Police Rajender Pal Upadhyay, serving and retired officers from armed forces -- Lt Gen Jaiveer Singh Negi, Group Captain Praveen Shukla, Capt (IN) Abhay Kumar Paluskar, Lt Gen Paramjit Singh Minhas, Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Mago, Lt Gen Harsha Gupta, Lt Gen PR Venkatesh, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh Salaria among others. Journalist GK Suresh Babu associated with Janam TV from Thiruvananthapuram, retired Professor of Political Science from Mysore University Muzaffar ...

Karnataka HC grants interim bail to actor Darshan citing medical grounds

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, who is an accused in Renukaswamy murder case, on medical grounds, to undergo spine surgery. The bench of Justice S Vishwajith Shetty granted interim bail for a period of six weeks to undergo medical treatment. The court had reserved the order on Tuesday on the bail application after hearing detailed arguments from the actor's legal representative, senior advocate C V Nagesh, and State Public Prosecutor P Prasanna Kumar. The state had presented medical reports in a sealed cover from doctors at Ballari Central Prison, where he is lodged, and the Head of the Department of Neurology at a government hospital in Ballari. Darshan was arrested on June 11 and is lodged in Ballari Prison. His bail application, submitted on September 21, was rejected by a sessions court. Following this, he petitioned the High Court and requested interim bail to receive treatment. According to police, 33-year-old Renukas

Decide on protection for petitioner against freebie schemes of govt: HC

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has directed the city police commissioner to decide on protection to an activist who filed a petition against Maharashtra government's "unregulated freebie" schemes, including the Ladki Bahin Yojana. A division bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and Abhay Mantri on Tuesday said it was the duty of the state to protect the life and liberty of every citizen. The bench directed the Nagpur police commissioner to decide on the applications filed by social activist Anil Wadapalliwar, seeking police protection expeditiously. Wadapalliwar had filed a public interest litigation against distribution of freebies by the state government. The PIL sought that the HC declare as illegal the distribution of state largesse in nature of "unrestricted freebies and unregulated and irrational doles" to a particular section of the public at large. Such schemes were a derogation of fundamental rights and cast a heavy burden on the state exchequer which in furtherance .

SC collegium recommends judges' names to Centre for appointment in 3 HCs

The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud has recommended to the Centre the names of three advocates for appointment as judges of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The three-member collegium, which also comprised Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai, held the meeting on Tuesday and also decided to recommend the names of four senior judicial officers as judges of the Kerala High Court. It, by way of a separate resolution, recommended to the Centre the name of Justice Siddaiah Rachaiah, an additional judge of the Karnataka High Court, as a permanent Judge of the same high court. "The Collegium resolves to recommend that S/Shri (i) Maheswara Rao Kuncheam @ Kuncham, (ii) Thoota Chandra Dhana Sekar @ T C D Sekhar, and (iii) Challa Gunaranjan, advocates, be appointed as Judges of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh. Their inter se seniority be fixed as per the existing practice," the October 15 resolution said. They all are practising as lawyers in the Andhra Pradesh

Only 13% of high court judges declare assets, Kerala leads disclosure rates

Out of 749 judges serving across 25 High Courts nationwide, only 98 have made their asset declarations publicly available on their respective High Court websites

SC closes proceedings initiated over comments made by Karnataka HC judge

The Supreme Court on Wednesday closed suo motu proceedings initiated over alleged objectionable comments made by a Karnataka High Court judge during court proceedings. A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud noted that Karnataka High Court judge Justice Vedavyasachar Srishananda, who had made those observations, had on September 21 tendered an apology for his comments in the open court there. "We can't call any part of the territory of India as Pakistan," the CJI observed. The bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, Surya Kant and Hrishikesh Roy, observed that courts have to be careful not to make comments in the course of judicial proceedings which may be construed as being misogynistic or for that matter prejudicial to any segment of the society. "Casual observations may well reflect a certain degree of individual bias particularly when they are likely to be perceived as being directed to a particular gender or community," the bench said. The

Jharkhand files contempt petition over delayed High Court appointment: CJI

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud informed Attorney General R Venkataramani of the petition while discussing the appointment of eight judges

Govt forwards parliamentary panel's report to SC, HCs on judges' vacation

The government has forwarded recommendations of a parliamentary committee on staggered vacation for judges to the secretary general of the Supreme Court and registrars general of 25 high court for "appropriate consideration". In a written reply in Lok Sabha on Friday, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the standing committee on law and personnel had referred to the suggestion of former chief justice of India R M Lodha that instead of all judges going on vacations, all at one time, individual judges should take their leave at different times of the year so that the courts are constantly open and they are always present to hear cases. The committee was of the opinion that Justice Lodha's suggestion on court vacations should be considered by the Judiciary. "Accordingly, the recommendation of the Rajya Sabha DRPSC (department-related standing committee) in respect of the aforementioned subject was forwarded by the government to the Secretary General, Supreme Court and all Registrars

Supreme Court collegium recommends appointment of chief justices in 7 HCs

The Supreme Court has recommended the appointment of chief justices for the high courts of Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Madras and Meghalaya. The collegium headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and also comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai made the recommendations after considering the names of judges from different high courts by taking into account their seniority and performance, and the need to provide representation in the different high courts. Justice Manmohan, who is is the acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, has been recommended as the chief justice of the court. "He was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Delhi on March 13, 2008, and is due to retire on December 16, 2024. Justice Manmohan ranks at Sl No 3 in the All India Seniority list of High Court Judges. "Bearing in mind the Memorandum of Procedure, Mr Justice Manmohan can be appointed as the Chief Justice of his parent High Court,

Govt should realise sports play big role in development of citizens: HC

Sports play a significant role in the development of people and nation and it is high time the government gives it equal importance than the "commercialisation and concretisation mantra", the Bombay High Court has said. A progressive state can never be oblivious of such needs of the society, a division bench of Justices G S Kulkarni and Jitendra Jain on Monday. It quashed the Maharashtra government's 2021 decision to relinquish 20 acre land in Navi Mumbai for a 'Government Sports Complex' and shifting it to a remote place at Mangaon in Raigad district, 115 km from the existing site. In 2003, the land was earmarked for the sports complex. In 2016, the planning authority allotted a portion of it to a private developer for residential and commercial purposes. The HC said the authorities are required to be alive to not only the present but the future rights of citizens for open places, playgrounds and sports complexes. "We may observe that considering the present plight of metro citie

HC reduces life sentence in POCSO case, cites no valid reason for penalty

The Karnataka High Court has reduced the sentence of an accused in a POCSO Act case from life imprisonment to 10 years, emphasising the need for valid reasons when imposing the maximum penalty. The accused, a 27-year-old man from Chikkamagaluru, had his appeal partially allowed by a division bench consisting of Justices Sreenivas Harish Kumar and C M Joshi. However, the court increased his fine from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000. The case involved the accused befriending and repeatedly sexually assaulting a minor girl in his neighborhood in June 2016. The girl's mother filed a complaint in December 2016 after finding that her daughter was pregnant. A DNA test confirmed the accused as the biological father. The police registered an FIR and filed a charge-sheet following their investigation. On June 11, 2018, a special court in the district headquarters town of Chikkamagaluru sentenced the accused to life imprisonment under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and imposed a Rs 5,000 fine after finding

K'taka HC grants anticipatory bail to Bhavani Revanna in kidnapping case

Karnataka High Court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to Bhavani Revanna, mother of former JD(S) MP and rape accused Prajwal Revanna, in a kidnapping case involving one of the victims of her son's sexual assaults. The Court emphasised that Bhavani had already answered 85 questions during the investigation, making it unfair to claim she was not cooperating with the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing sexual abuse cases against Prajwal. The SIT had sought her custody in connection with the kidnapping of a house-help in K R Nagar in Mysuru district, after she failed to attend questioning. Justice Krishna S Dixit, while allowing Bhavani's petition seeking anticipatory bail, urged that media trials be avoided and underlined the importance of not making unnecessary arrests of women, noting their central role in families. The judge also highlighted that the allegations of non-cooperation were unconvincing since Bhavani had already provided extensive responses during her

Ex-HC Judge cheated out of Rs 2.5 cr on pretext of buying electoral bonds

Former High Court judge Justice DSR Varma claimed that two men scammed his family on the pretext of purchasing electoral bonds to fund BJP and promised favours to the family

Court takes cognizance of ED chargesheet in Rs 36 cr Delhi Waqf board case

The Rouse Avenue court took cognizance of the prosecution complaint (charge sheet) filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi Waqf Board Money Laundering case

SC recommends names of judicial officer, two advocates as MP HC judges

The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud on Tuesday recommended the name of judicial officer Ramkumar Choubey for appointment as Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The collegium, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai, recommended the names of advocates Deepak Khot and Pavan Kumar Dwivedi for appointment as Judges of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh. On the name of judicial officer Ramkumar Choubey, the collegium said it has scrutinised and evaluated the material placed on record. "The enquiries made by us with reliable sources to ascertain suitability of the candidate reveal that Shri Ramkumar Choubey is a competent officer suitable for elevation to the High Court. His service record shows that he has mostly been rated as a 'Very Good/Excellent officer'. "The Judgment Evaluation Committee constituted by the Chief Justice of the High Court has graded the quality of judgments authored by him as "Good/Excellent". Both the consultee-Judges

SC collegium recommends five names to Centre for judgeship in four HCs

The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud has recommended five names to the Centre for appointment as additional judges in four high courts. The collegiums, also comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai, also recommended the names of additional judges -- justices Rahul Bharti and Moksha Khajuria Kazmi, both from the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, for appointment as permanent judges. One of the recommendations said additional judge Justice Abhay Ahuja be also considered for appointment as permanent judge in the Bombay High Court. Several collegiums resolutions, uploaded Thursday night on apex court website, provided details of the deliberations leading to recommendations of names of judicial officers and advocates for judgeship in high courts. The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the name of Smt. Chaitali Chatterjee (Das), Judicial Officer, for appointment as Judge of the High Court at Calcutta in the following terms..., one of the .