Page 15 - High Court

If parole can be granted to share grief, why not for happy occasions: HC

The Bombay High Court has granted parole to a man to bid farewell to his son, who is going to Australia for further studies, holding that if parole can be granted to share grief, it can also be for a happy occasion. The court said conditional release for a brief time is allowed to convicts to let them be in touch with the outside world and to arrange for their family affairs as though behind bars, the convict continues to be someone's son, husband, father or brother. A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande in its order of July 9 said the provisions of parole and furlough have been time and again looked towards as a humanistic approach towards the convicts. The court was hearing a petition filed by one Vivek Shrivastav seeking parole to arrange the tuition fees and other expenses for his son's education at an Australian university and to also bid farewell to him. The prosecution opposed the plea claiming that parole is normally given in emergency situation

Centre fails to form policy on online sale of drugs ahead of HC deadline

The Delhi HC had in March this year, given the government a final opportunity to frame a policy within four months, failing which, the court had stated it would hear the matter on merits

Surrogate mothers also have right to avail maternity leave, says Orissa HC

Orissa High Court has recently ruled that female employees who become mothers through surrogacy have the same right to maternity leave and other benefits as provided to natural and adoptive mothers. The single judge bench of Justice S K Panigrahi gave the ruling on June 25 while hearing a petition filed by Supriya Jena, a female Odisha Finance Service (OFS) officer, in 2020. Jena became a mother through surrogacy, but she was denied 180 days maternity leave by her higher authority in the Odisha government. So, she moved the high court against the government. The court observed that a leave of 180 days is granted to female government servants on the adoption of a child up to one year of age in line with maternity leave as admissible to natural mothers for proper care of the adopted child. However, there is no provision for maternity leave for the purpose of rearing a child blessed through surrogacy, it said. "If the government could provide maternity leave to an adoptive mother, it

SBI announces 11 new initiatives to mitigate risks in agri loan portfolio

The country's largest lender SBI on Thursday announced 11 new initiatives -- including enhancement of its digital banking features and opening of 35 new Agricultural Centralised Processing Cells -- to mitigate risks in its agricultural loan portfolio. On the occasion of the 69th Foundation Day, State Bank of India announced these initiatives to widen the bank's accessibility to address the banking needs of its potential customers, the lender said in a statement. SBI has enhanced its digital payment experience, with the introduction of two exciting features like tap-and-pay on the BHIM SBI PAY app and end-to-end digital loans against mutual funds on the YONO app, it added. The bank has also announced an initiative, which is a fully digital end-to-end journey for SBI Surya Ghar Loan, it said, adding that the users can opt for credit to install solar rooftops under the central government's PM Surya Ghar Scheme, offering loans for up to 10 KW capacity. The entire process will be manage

Byju's second rights issue: Karnataka HC sets aside NCLT interim order

Byju's recently moved the Karnataka High Court challenging the order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) restraining it from going ahead with the second rights issue

HC quashes cancellation of registration of Centre for Wildlife Studies

The Karnataka High Court has annulled orders issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that led to the cancellation of registration of Centre for Wildlife Studies' (CWS) under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act. Founded by scientist K Ullas Karanth, Bengaluru-based CWS faced "suspension" of registration under the FCRA on March 5, 2021. This suspension was extended and later turned into cancellation of registration on September 4, 2023, following a show-cause notice issued by MHA on December 3, 2021. CWS contested the cancellation, arguing that it lacked justification and that Karanth, son of Jnanpith laureate late K Shivaram Karanth, was not granted a personal hearing as mandated under Section 14(2) of the FCRA. The MHA countered it, contending that personal hearings were not required before cancelling a registration. Justice M Nagaprasanna of the Karnataka High Court noted that while Section 14(2) allows for the cancellation of registration, Section 14(3) prevents the .

Jharkhand HC grants bail to former CM Hemant Soren in land scam case

The former Chief Minister of Jharkhand Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in January over a land scam case in Ranchi

SC fixes Jun 26 for hearing Delhi CM's plea against HC's stay order on bail

The Supreme Court on Monday fixed June 26 for hearing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's plea against the Delhi High Court order putting interim stay on his bail in the money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam. A vacation bench of Justices Manoj Misra and SVN Bhatti said it would like to wait for the pronouncement of the high court order on the issue. Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, sought vacating of the interim stay on the bail order. ASG SV Raju, appearing for the ED, opposed the plea of Kejriwal, and said the high court is about to pronounce the verdict on its stay application. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21, could have walked out of Tihar jail on Friday last had the high court not granted the interim stay relief to the federal anti-money laundering agency.

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