Page 13 - High Court

New York's top court rejects Republican-led challenge to voting by mail

A New York law allowing any registered voter to cast a ballot by mail was upheld Tuesday by the state's highest court, which rejected a Republican challenge to the legislation. The 6-1 ruling from the state Court of Appeals affirmed lower courts in finding that the voting expansion law approved by the Legislature last year did not violate the state's constitution. The lawsuit was part of a widespread GOP effort to tighten voting rules after the 2020 election and was led by US. Rep. Elise Stefanik. Challengers argued that the constitution required most people to vote in person. Chief Judge Rowan Wilson wrote in the majority opinion that there is no "clear, unequivocal, and persistent" understanding by government that the constitution requires in-person voting. Democrats attempted to expand mail voting through a constitutional amendment in 2021, but voters rejected the proposal after a campaign from conservatives who said it would lead to voter fraud. State Republican Party Chairman

Karnataka HC orders stay on action against Siddaramaiah over MUDA land scam

The Karnataka High Court said that no action will be taken against CM Siddaramaiah until the petition against the Governor's sanction is heard

TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy moves HC challenging notice by Kolkata Police

Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy on Monday moved the Calcutta High Court, challenging a notice sent to him by the police in connection with a social media post he made over the alleged rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The Kolkata Police served the notice to the veteran politician on Sunday, asking him to appear before it. Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj granted permission to Roy's lawyer to file his petition challenging the notice. The court said it will hear the petition on Tuesday. In his social media post, the veteran TMC MP demanded that the CBI undertake "custodial interrogation" of Kolkata Police commissioner and previous principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in connection with its probe into the alleged rape and murder of the postgraduate trainee doctor.

Siddaramaiah moves HC against guv's nod for prosecution in MUDA scam

CM Siddaramaiah filed a writ petition requesting for cancellation of permission given to the prosecution

HC refuses to quash proceedings against six for disrespecting national flag

The Allahabad High Court has refused to quash criminal proceedings against six people accused of carrying a tricolour with Quranic verses during a religious procession, saying such incidents could be exploited by those who seek to create communal discord. Dismissing the petition filed by Gulamuddin and five others, Justice Vinod Diwakar said the act was punishable under the Flag Code of India, 2002, and there was a violation of the Prevention of Insults of National Honour Act, 1971. Stressing that the tricolour symbolises unity and diversity of the nation, transcending religious, ethnic and cultural differences, the court observed, "It is a unifying emblem representing the collective identity and sovereignty of India. Act of disrespect towards the 'tiranga' can have far-reaching social cultural implications, particularly in a diverse society like India." Such incidents could be exploited by those who seek to create communal discord or fuel misunderstandings between different ...

Meghalaya HC bans single-use plastic in temples, shops across state

The Meghalaya High Court has banned single use plastic in temples and shops across the state. The High Court Bench headed by Chief Justice S Vaidyanathan also advocated for introduction of tetra pak cartons, which are primarily made from paper and could be an effective alternative to replace plastics. The fight against plastics is not just an environmental crusade, but a battle for the health and future of our planet. "To begin with, such a move can be started from temple premises. Temple authorities must ensure that there is no usage of plastic bags in and around the worshipping places," the Division Bench said in an order while hearing a PIL on the matter on Friday. "CCTV cameras shall be installed in all temples, so that if anybody carries plastics inside the temple, that can be curtailed to some extent," it added. The bench also imposed a ban on shops from storing and using plastic bags proposing heavy fines to be imposed on violators. "If any shops are found to have stored ..

HC sets aside assessment proceeding against NRI over faceless issue

It should be noted that the notification by the CBDT carved out an exception for international taxation cases, including NRIs, for reassessment

HC orders media houses to take down defamatory videos against RS MP Reddy

The Delhi High Court has directed several media houses to take down and block the URLs of certain videos and posts on social media which contained defamatory statements against Rajya Sabha MP Venumbaka Vijaya Sai Reddy. The high court, in an interim order, said if the media houses fail to remove the URLs within 10 days, the Member of Parliament will be at liberty to approach and request the intermediaries, including Google, Meta Platforms and X, which must then take them down within 36 hours. The high court it its observation expressed displeasure over the spreading of rumours, especially when it has the potential to affect the dignity of a woman and the reputation of a person. Perusal of such statements further reveal that most of them are based on rumours and it is trite law that rumours unlike truth must not be acted upon as an information for dissemination before the public at large especially when such rumours can potentially affect the dignity of a woman as well as the ...

School jobs row: SC to hear plea of WB govt challenging Calcutta HC order

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would hear in September the pleas of the West Bengal government and others challenging a Calcutta High Court order that invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in state government and aided schools. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud granted time to the parties to file their responses to the petitions by August 16. "Time for filing the written submissions for the petitioners in the West Bengal group of matters will be extended till next Friday," Chief Justice Chandrachud said. The bench, also comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, asked the nodal counsel to prepare a common compilation of the records in electronic form and ensure that the judgments cited by the parties were part of one set of the PDF documents. The top court, which has been hearing 33 petitions on the high court's April 22 judgment on the matter, has now fixed a final hearing in September. On July 16, it granted the la

PIL filed in Madras High Court to regulate functioning of You Tube

The Madras High Court on Monday ordered notice to the Centre and Tamil Nadu government on a petition, which sought to regulate and restrict the functioning of You Tube so as to bring it in conformity to Indian laws, social and religious restrictions, notwithstanding the right conferred under the fundamental right. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice D Krishnakumar and Justice P B Balaji posted after four weeks, further hearing of a PIL filed by advocate V Parthiban. According to the petitioner, media trials were effectively carried out on YouTube to hamper the investigation and decisions when the matter was sub-judice. Even such media trials, freely posted and commented on the social media site escape the eyes of law from contempt as You Tube disowns responsibility for any content posted by YouTubers, though it was also a beneficiary of any post, apart from those updating such content, he added. Several innocent people were getting affected. They were being judged by ..

Courts have bolstered country's reputation for arbitration: Justice Kohli

The courts in the country have bolstered India's reputation as a favourable destination for arbitration by upholding the sanctity of arbitral awards, Supreme Court judge Justice Hima Kohli has said. She was speaking at a seminar -- 'Recent Developments in Arbitration to Promote Business' -- organised by law firms Gibson Dunn Secretariat and UNUM Law, along with the International Arbitration and Mediation Centre (IAMC) and General Counsels' Association of India on Friday. Justice Kohli said the growth of international trade made dispute resolution more complex and to address the challenges, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), especially arbitration, had emerged as a powerful tool for businesses. "In recent years, India has made significant strides in establishing itself as a reliable partner in arbitration and mediation services. India's transformation into a commercial arbitration hub has been driven by the judiciary's unstinting commitment to fast-tracking matters under the ...

HC asks MP govt to convene meeting to resolve minimum wages issue

The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the state government to convene a meeting of all stakeholders to discuss the classification of minimum wages according to different zones. During a hearing on Thursday, an official from the labour department informed the bench of Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Duppala Venkata Ramana that the state government has agreed to fix different minimum wages according to industries. The court was hearing a plea filed in April this year, in which industrial organisations sought the classification of minimum wages in the state based on circumstances in different industries and zones. The official said the respondent/state was ready to fix minimum wages industry-wise or group of industry-wise, and as far as the region-wise classification was concerned, it is open for discussions with the petitioners. To this, the court said, "In such circumstances, the respondent/state is directed to convene a meeting with the petitioner

Money laundering case: SC rejects ED's plea challenging Jharkhand CM's bail

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate challenging a Jharkhand High Court order granting bail to Chief Minister Hemant Soren in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan said the high court's June 28 order was "very well reasoned". "We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned order," the bench said. Soren, the executive president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), had resigned as chief minister shortly before the ED arrested him on January 31 in the case. After coming out of jail on bail in the case, he returned as the chief minister of Jharkhand on July 4. Opposing Soren's bail plea in the high court, the ED had alleged that he misused his position as the chief minister to "unlawfully" acquire 8.86 acres of land in the Bargain area in the state capital Ranchi. Soren's lawyer had contended that he was falsely implicated in the criminal case by the central agency. Th

SC case backlog soars 35% in 5 yrs, high and subordinate courts hit hardest

mIn the 23 high courts across the nation, pending cases have risen from 4.68 million in 2019 to over 6.2 million in 2023, a jump of more than 1.5 million cases, reflecting a 33% increase

Relief to SpiceJet, SC sends back its dispute with Kalanithi Maran to HC

SpiceJet and Singh had specifically sought to annul the portion of the arbitral award which instructed them to refund Rs 270 crore to Kal Airways and Maran

BCCI accuses Byju's CEO of misleading Karnataka HC in insolvency hearing

Byju's is currently dealing with claims exceeding Rs 200 crore from multiple creditors, including Rs 158 crore owed to BCCI

SC raps Assam govt over 'sorry state' of detention centre for foreigners

A Supreme Court bench asked the Assam Legal Services Authority to visit the detention centre to establish sub-par facilities and assess the quantity and quality of food and kitchen hygiene

Over 50 mn cases pending in courts; max 11.8 mn in UP's lower courts

More than five crore cases are pending in various courts across India, with a maximum of over 1.18 core in the subordinate courts of Uttar Pradesh, according to the government's written reply in the Lok Sabha. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said while 84,045 cases are pending in the Supreme Court, 60,11,678 were pending in the various high courts. District and subordinate courts are the biggest contributors, with 4,53,51,913 cases pending with them, according to the minister. Meghwal said several reasons lead to the pendency of cases, including the availability of physical infrastructure and supporting court staff, the complexity of facts involved, the nature of evidence, and the cooperation of stakeholders, including the bar, investigation agencies, witnesses and litigants. Proper application of rules and procedures also plays a key role, he said. Other factors that lead to delays in the disposal of cases include lack of prescribed time frame by courts for disposal of various kin

HC appointments: Over 200 proposals sent by collegiums in various stages

Over 200 proposals sent by various high court collegiums for high court judgeship are at various stages of processing, the Lok Sabha was told on Friday. In a written reply, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also cited an opinion of the Supreme Court Collegium that expression of views by a candidate does not disentitle him or her to hold a constitutional office so long as the person proposed for judgeship is a person of competence, merit and integrity. There have been instances in the past where the government had either held back or returned to the collegium for consideration names of persons who had expressed their views on various issues as advocates. Meghwal told the House that the government, as an important stakeholder in the process of appointment of Judges in the high courts and as laid down in the Memorandum of Procedure, provides inputs which mainly contain information on the suitability, competence and integrity of the candidates under consideration for appointment to high ..

High Court issues notice to Kangana Ranaut. Why is Kangana in news again?

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has issued a notice to Kangana Ranaut, the BJP MP from Mandi. Watch the video to know why.