Page 15 - High Court

Bail order perverse, Kejriwal neck deep in money laundering: ED tells HC

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday told the Delhi High Court that the trial court order granting bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was based on "perverse" findings as it did not consider the material demonstrating his "neck deep involvement" in the offence of money laundering linked to the alleged excise scam. In a written note filed in relation to its plea seeking a stay on the trial court's decision, the agency contended the order suffers from a "jurisdictional defect" since it was not given a proper opportunity to argue its case. It also said the trial judge did not record her satisfaction that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence as per section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). On June 20, Special Judge Niyay Bindu, who sat as the vacation judge, granted bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case, saying the Enforcement Directorate (ED) failed to furnish direct evidence linking him to the proceeds of crime

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

Excise policy scam: Kejriwal moves SC against HC's stay on bail order

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has moved the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court's interim stay on a trial court's order granting him bail in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam. The high court on Friday paused the release of the embattled chief minister after the trial court granted him bail on June 20. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21, could have walked out of Tihar Jail on Friday had the high court not granted the interim relief to the federal anti-money laundering agency. "Till the pronouncement of this order, the operation of the impugned order shall remain stayed," a vacation bench of the high court said and asked the parties to file written submissions by June 24. The high court said it was reserving the order for two-three days as it wanted to go through the entire case records. It also issued a notice to Kejriwal seeking his response to the ED's plea challenging

Is it confinement to keep in custody after bail: HC in Pune Porsche case

The Bombay High Court on Friday queried if it amounted to confinement when the juvenile accused in the Pune Porsche case was granted bail but was taken back in custody and kept in an observation home. A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande said there was no denying that the accident was unfortunate. Two people have lost their lives. There was trauma but the child (juvenile) was also in trauma, the court said. The bench also questioned the police under what provision of law, the order granting bail to the minor accused in the Porsche accident case was amended and how he has been kept in confinement. In the early hours of May 19, the juvenile was allegedly driving a Porsche car at very high speed in an intoxicated state when the vehicle crashed into a bike, killing two software engineers Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta in Pune's Kalyani Nagar. The 17-year-old was granted bail the same day by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), which ordered that he be

Court stays arrest of BS Yediyurappa, says, 'He's no Tom, Dick or Harry'

The Karnataka High Court questioned the urgency of arresting BS Yediyurappa, stating, 'He is not some Tom, Dick or Harry to flee'

NEET-UG row: SC issues notices on NTA's plea to move cases from HCs to it

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to private parties on a plea of the National Testing Agency seeking transfer of cases pending in various high courts on the NEET-UG row to the top court to avoid multiplicity of litigation. A vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta took note of the submission of the National Testing Agency's (NTA) counsel that several pleas, seeking cancellation of the National Eligibility cum Entrance TestUnder Graduate, 2024 on the allegations of question paper leak and other malpractices, are pending in several high courts. Issue notice, the bench said, adding they will be taken up for hearing on July 8. The NTA, meanwhile, said it wanted to withdraw three other petitions, which were seeking transfer of cases from high courts to the top court, as they pertained to grant of grace marks to 1,563 candidates on account of loss of time during the examination on May 5. The counsel for the NTA said the issue has been settled and that he will b

HC adjourns hearing on petition filed by Prajwal Revanna till June 3

The case is registered in KR Nagara police station against HD Revanna and others for the alleged abduction of a victim of sexual assault by Prajwal Revanna

Provide compensation to families of those killed in heatwave: Rajasthan HC

The Rajasthan High Court on Thursday directed the state government to provide compensation to the dependents of people who died due to heatwave, and said there was a need to declare heatwaves and cold waves "national calamities". Taking suo motu cognisance regarding environment protection and climate change, the high court directed the chief secretary of Rajasthan to constitute committees of various departments to take immediate and appropriate steps for effective implementation of 'Heat Action Plan' prepared under the Rajasthan Climate Change Project. The state government was directed to pay suitable compensations to the dependents of those who died due to heatstroke. The single-judge bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand also directed the state authorities to sprinkle water on the roads with huge public movement, to provide cooling spaces, shades at the traffic signals where required, all possible facilities at the health centres for treatment of heatwave patients and issue advisory

Sikkim High Court introduces menstrual leave policy for its female staff

The Sikkim High Court registry said that women staff members are entitled to take 2-3 days of menstrual leave each month

Plea in Delhi HC to expedite NSE IPO; court seeks reply from Sebi, NSE

The court seeks reply from Sebi, NSE on the plea

Jharkhand HC seeks ED's response in bail plea filed by Ex-CM Hemant Soren

The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a reply on the bail application moved by former chief minister Hemant Soren. Soren, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31 in connection with a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam, filed the petition before the high court on Monday and requested an early hearing of the matter. Appearing on behalf of Soren before a bench of Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay, senior advocate Kapil Sibal pleaded that the JMM leader was a victim of political conspiracy. The court directed the ED to file a response in the matter and set June 10 as the next date of the hearing. In his petition, Soren pleaded before the court that his name does not figure in any of the documents about 8.5 acres of land in the Bargain circle and no offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act is made out against him. He also claimed that the ED was relying only on statements of some people who ha

From pink bus to HC expansion: What Chandigarh BJP manifesto promises

The 20-page manifesto by BJP candidate Sanjay Tandon focuses on issues such as women, artists, patients visiting Chandigarh, and the role of the Member of Parliament (MP) in dealing with bureaucrats

Cheating-forgery case: HC permits Ashneer Grover, wife to travel abroad

The Delhi High Court on Friday permitted payment app BharatPe's former MD Ashneer Grover and his wife, facing prosecution in a cheating and forgery case, to travel abroad by directing them to furnish a surety of Rs 80 crore each. While the couple intended to travel together to the USA from May 26 to July 1, the court permitted them to go abroad one at a time. On the suggestion of petitioners' counsel, the court allowed Grover to travel to the USA from May 26 to June 12 and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover from June 12 to July 1. Justice Subramonium Prasad said the couple shall not extend the dates of travel and shall return to India on the given dates. He made it clear that any application for the extension of stay abroad will not be entertained. They sought the permission to travel abroad to meet their extended family members in the USA and also submitted that their son has been invited for a summer course -- National Student Leadership Conference -- at the University of California, .

SpiceJet to seek Rs 450 cr refund from former promoter Kalanithi Maran

Airline taking step after Delhi High Court gave it reprieve in share transfer dispute

Excise scam case: HC dismisses Sisodia's bail pleas, AAP disagrees

After the rejection of the bail pleas of Manish Sisodia in the excise case, the AAP on Tuesday said the party "respectfully disagrees" with the Delhi High Court's decision and will approach the Supreme Court to seek "justice" for the former Delhi deputy chief minister. The high court on Tuesday dismissed the bail pleas of Sisodia in money laundering and corruption cases lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI respectively in connection with the alleged liquor scam. Addressing a press conference, Delhi minister Atishi said the excise policy case is a "political conspiracy" of the BJP. "We respect HC but we respectfully disagree with its decision. This alleged liquor scam is a political conspiracy by BJP. It is a political conspiracy to attack AAP, crush and trample the party. "When the BJP couldn't defeat AAP in Delhi and Punjab in the electoral battle, this conspiracy was hatched," she charged. The AAP leader said there are certain facts that prove this is a ...

High Court gives relief to Pepsico India over Rs 2,800 crore tax demand

The AO came to this conclusion on the basis of the bright line test (BLT) in transfer pricing

SC Collegium recommends two judges as permanent judges of Gauhati HC

The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud has recommended to the Centre the names of two additional judges for appointment as permanent judges of the Gauhati High Court. The Collegium, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai, recommended that Justice Rajesh Sekhri be appointed as an additional judge of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court for a fresh term of one year with effect from July 29, 2024. "... the Collegium resolves to recommend that Justice Susmita Phukan Khaund and Justice Mitali Thakuria, additional judges, be appointed as permanent judges of the Gauhati High Court against the existing vacancies," said one of the Collegium resolutions uploaded on the apex court website. It noted that the Collegium of the Gauhati High Court had unanimously recommended on April 1 the names of these two judges for appointment as permanent judges. "The chief ministers of the States of Assam, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh and the ..

Becoming mother natural phenomenon; employer has to be considerate: HC

Becoming a mother is a natural phenomenon, and an employer has to be considerate and sympathetic towards women staffers, the Bombay High Court said on Friday, while quashing a communication issued by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) denying maternity leave to an employee on the ground that she already had two children. A division bench of Justices A S Chandurkar and Jitendra Jain said women who constitute almost half of the segment of our society have to be honoured and treated with dignity at places where they work to earn their livelihood. Whatever the nature of their duties, vocation and workplace, women must be provided all the facilities to which they are entitled, it added. The bench quashed a 2014 communication issued by the AAI, Western Region Headquarters, which refused maternity leave to an employee, citing that she already had two children. "To become a mother is the most natural phenomenon in the life of a woman. Whatever is needed to facilitate the birth of a child

Live-in relationship against expectations of Indian tenets: Chhattisgarh HC

Live-in relationship is an imported philosophy and against the expectations of Indian tenets, the Chhattisgarh High Court has observed, holding that the institution of marriage no longer controls the people as it did in the past. The division bench of Justices Goutam Bhaduri and Sanjay S Agrawal made the observation while dismissing an appeal of a man seeking custody of a child born from his live-in relationship with a 36-year-old woman. The HC said that live-in relationship which is followed in certain sect of the society still continues as a stigma in the Indian culture as it is an imported philosophy contrary to the general expectations of Indian tenets. The order was passed on April 30 and a copy was made available recently. In his plea, Abdul Hameed Siddiqui (43) of Dantewada district said that he was in a live-in relationship with a woman from a different faith and she gave birth to a child. He moved the HC, located in the state's Bilaspur district, after a family court in .

EPFO 'actively' evaluating options in response to Karnataka HC judgement

The Karnataka High Court had struck down the inclusion of international workers in the EPF, deeming it "unconstitutional and arbitrary"