Page 17 - High Court

Karnataka HC extends interim protection for Byju's CEO amid ousting threat

Four investors of Byju's filed the suit to oust Raveendran from the company, alleging mismanagement

Confusion around Karnataka govt's withdrawal of e-bike taxi scheme: Rapido

Rapido pointed out that recent order issued by the state government does not mention banning Rapido or any other aggregator operating under the protection of the high court order

First under-river metro tunnel owes a lot to Calcutta HC: Project experts

The first under-river metro tunnel inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 6 in Kolkata might not have become a reality today had a judge not taken a keen interest in it, experts associated with the project said. Justice Dipankar Datta, currently in the Supreme Court, was a Calcutta High Court judge in 2012, when a difference in opinion between the Ministry of Railway and the West Bengal government brought the under-the-river project to a deadlock. "The way Justice Dipankar Datta handled the whole case and cleared all hurdles one after the other is commendable. I believe that Hon'ble Justice Dutta should also be heartily remembered for the successful completion of this under-river tunnel, which is among the most prestigious and innovative projects in the country," Tamal Biswas, Project Manager, Afcons Infrastructure Limited, said. In 2008, the Ministry of Urban Development and the West Bengal government collaborated to constitute a special-purpose vehicle, the Kolkata .

Income tax tribunal dismisses Congress appeal against Rs 210 cr penalty

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal on Friday dismissed the Congress party's appeal against imposition of penalty for discrepancies in tax returns for previous years and said it was exploring all legal options and will move the high court against it very soon. Sources said the tribunal had dismissed the appeal of the Congress for imposition of penalties of Rs 210 crore by the Income Tax department here on Friday. Congress treasurer Ajay Maken said the party is exploring all legal options and would move the high court "very soon". "The BJP government has deliberately chosen the timing of this to coincide with national elections," Maken told PTI. He said the I-T tribunal order freezing Congress's funds is "an attack on democracy" as it has come just ahead of national elections. "How can one expect fair elections in such a situation when funds to the tune of Rs 270 crore have been freezed or taken away by the Income Tax authorities from Congress party's accounts," he asked. Confirming

CBI gets Shajahan Sheikh's custody from CID in ED official attack case

The CBI on Wednesday got the custody of Sandeshkhali ED official attack case accused Shajahan Sheikh from the West Bengal CID, following two orders by the Calcutta High Court to do so on two consecutive days. In a fresh directive on Wednesday, the high court directed the state government to "immediately implement" its Tuesday's judgement to transfer a case on the attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials at Sandeshkhali to the CBI and hand over custody of the main accused Sheikh to the central agency. A team of CBI officials reached CID headquarters Bhawani Bhawan before 4 PM. But the handover from the state agency took place at around 6:48 PM, despite the Calcutta High Court setting a deadline of 4.15 PM. "Shajahan Sheikh was handed over to CBI," a CID official said. The CID took him to a state-run hospital for a medical check-up before handing him over to the CBI. The CBI officials are likely to take him to an ESI Hospital and then to Nizam Palace, the city office of the

K'taka HC stays proceedings to hand over Jayalalithaa's jewellery to TN

The Karnataka High Court has stayed the process of handing over gold and diamond jewellery belonging to former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister late J Jayalalithaa to the neighbouring state Government till March 26. The stay was granted by a single judge bench of Justice Mohammed Nawaz on a plea by Jayalalithaa's niece J Deepa on Tuesday. The valuables were confiscated in a disproportionate assets case against the late AIADMK leader and slated to be handed over to the Tamil Nadu authorities from Wednesday by a special court. The petitioner questioned the July 12, 2023 special court order contending that Jayalalithaa should be treated as "acquitted" as the Apex court had stopped the proceedings against her. The special court here had said 27 kg of gold and diamond jewellery -- part of the material evidence in the case against Jayalalithaa and others -- would be handed over to the Tamil Nadu government on March six and seven, paving the way for unlocking value of the assets to mobilise Rs 1

Delhi HC to pass order on plea by BJP MLAs against suspension today

The Delhi High Court will pronounce its verdict on Wednesday on petitions filed by seven BJP MLAs from the city challenging their indefinite suspension from the Legislative Assembly for interrupting Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena's address at the start of the Budget session. Justice Subramonium Prasad reserved the order on the pleas on February 27 after hearing the counsel for the suspended legislators and the Assembly. The seven Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs -- Mohan Singh Bisht, Ajay Mahawar, O P Sharma, Abhay Verma, Anil Bajpai, Jitender Mahajan and Vijender Gupta -- moved the court last month challenging their suspension from the Assembly till the conclusion of the proceedings before the privileges committee. The pronouncement is scheduled to take place at 2:30 pm. The MLAs had contended that their suspension till the conclusion of the proceedings before the privileges committee was in violation of the applicable rules. The Assembly authorities had, on the other hand, assu

2020 Delhi riots: HC reserves order on bail pleas of 4 accused in UAPA case

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday reserved its order on the bail plea of four accused in the case concerning the alleged larger conspiracy behind the northeast Delhi riots in 2020

HC revises income limit from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for EWS quota students

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday ordered that children belonging to families with annual income up to Rs 2.5 lakh can seek admission to schools in the national capital under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota, modifying an earlier order passed by a single judge bench of the court. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora stayed certain directions issued by a single judge of the high court in the December 5, 2023 judgment which had raised the threshold income limit from Rs 1 Lakh to Rs 5 lakh annually until the government amended the relevant law. The high court passed the interim order on an appeal filed by the Delhi government challenging the single judge's decision. The single judge had also directed the Delhi government to immediately do away with the mechanism of self-declaration of income by parents and devise an appropriate framework for continuation of free seats for EWS in schools. The Delhi government's Directorate of Education (DoE) .

Abhijit Gangopadhyay likely to join BJP, resigns as judge of Calcutta HC

Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay resigned as a judge of Calcutta High Court on Tuesday, sources said. Justice Gangopadhyay sent his resignation letter to President Droupadi Murmu with copies to CJI DY Chandrachud and the Chief Justice of the Calcutta HC TS Sivagnanam, they said. He came to his chamber at the high court in the morning, following which the resignation letter was sent. He is scheduled to address the press in the afternoon, where he is likely to divulge his future plans, amid speculations that he will join politics. Justice Gangopadhyay had on Sunday announced that he will resign on March 5.

Article 21 soul of Constitution, liberty of citizen most important: SC

The Supreme Court has said that Article 21 is the soul of the Constitution as the liberty of a citizen is of paramount importance and the high court not expeditiously adjudicating matters related to it would deprive a person of this precious right. A bench of Justice B R Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta made the observation after noting that the Bombay High Court has granted bail to one Amol Vithal Vahile, a prime accused in the murder of a corporator in Maharashtra, after a nudge from the apex court on January 29. The bench, in its recent order, said it is thus clear that before the order was passed by this court on January 29, 2024, the high court instead of deciding the application for bail on merits shunted it on one or the other ground. "Needless to state that Article 21 of the Constitution of India is the soul of the Constitution as the liberty of a citizen is of paramount importance. Not deciding the matter pertaining to liberty of a citizen expeditiously and shunting away the

Highlights: Himachal LoP criticises CM for inviting back disqualified MLAs

Himachal Pradesh news highlights: Catch all the latest updates on the disqualification of the Congress MLAs in Himachal assembly here

SC says no automatic vacation of stay orders of trial courts, HCs

The court stated that trial courts, being familiar with grassroots situations, are better positioned to determine which cases should be heard on priority

There can't be automatic vacation of stay orders of courts: Supreme court

The Supreme Court on Thursday held that there cannot be an automatic vacation of stay orders granted by a lower court or high court in civil and criminal cases after six months. A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud did not agree with its 2018 judgement which had held that there should be automatic vacation of stay orders of the courts below unless they are extended specifically. Laying down guidelines, the judgement also said the constitutional courts, the Supreme Court and the high courts should refrain from fixing a timeline for disposal of cases and it can be done only in exceptional circumstances. The bench pronounced two separate but concurring judgements. "The constitutional courts should not lay down a timeline to decide cases since grassroot issues are known to concerned courts only and such orders can be passed in exceptional circumstances only," said Justice A S Oka. "There cannot be an automatic vacation of stay," said Justice Oka, who

Jharkhand HC dismisses Rahul's petition to quash proceedings against him

The Jharkhand High Court has rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's petition seeking to quash proceedings against him in a trial court in connection with a criminal complaint. Naveen Jha, a BJP worker, had filed the case against Gandhi in 2019 for his alleged defamatory remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Justice Ambuj Nath of the high court dismissed Gandhi's plea on Wednesday but the order was uploaded on the high court website on Friday. The senior Congress leader had contested the decision of a magisterial court in Ranchi, which instructed him to personally appear before the court to undergo trial. Later, Gandhi moved the high court, which issued a stay order on any further actions in the lower court against him. The HC had also issued notices to complainant Jha to appear in the case. During one of his public speeches in Chaibasa before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi had referred to Shah as a "murderer". After recording the statements of the complainant and

Elon Musk's X says Indian government asked it to withhold some accounts

X said that the accounts have been withheld but it disagrees with it and maintains that 'freedom of expression should extend to these posts'

Manipur High Court revokes inclusion order for Meitei community in ST List

The Manipur High Court's decision to delete a paragraph from its March 2023 order which urged the state to consider including the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list, has evoked contrasting reactions from the two warring communities in the northeastern state. While Meitei organisations said it will continue the movement for ST status for the community claiming it is not just a matter of the judiciary, a Kuki bodies welcomed the verdict asserting that it is the right decision. Keithelakpam Bhogen, the general secretary of the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee Manipur (STDCM), expressed determination to continue the movement for ST status for the Meitei community despite the court's decision. He said the issue is not solely a judicial matter and vowed to persist in their efforts, including engaging with legislators. World Meitei Council president Heigrujam Nabashyam downplayed the significance of the directive, stating that their demand for ST status would persist, unaffected

K'taka HC grants relief to Byju's; calls resolutions passed in EGM invalid

The edtech firm said this development marks a significant victory for edtech firm, with court recognizing urgent need to protect the company's interests and uphold the principles established by law

Karnataka HC refuses to stay Byju's EGM called by investors on February 23

Karnataka High Court on Wednesday refused to stay an emergency shareholder meeting called by select investors of Think and Learn Pvt Ltd -- the owner of BYJU'S -- to oust the company's CEO Byju Raveendran and his family from the leadership in the edtech firm. BYJU'S had approached the Karnataka High Court seeking a stay on the EGM but the court only gave an interim relief that any resolution passed at the EGM on Friday cannot be implemented before the next court hearing. "It is further submitted that the conditions for convening the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) are not complied and no notice is issued as contemplated under Section 100 (3) of the Companies Act 2013," the court order said. It further passed an interim order that "the decision, if any taken by the shareholders of the petitioner company in the EGM scheduled on February 23, 2024, shall not be given effect to, till the next date of hearing," the order said.

WBIDC moves HC challenging arbitration award to TaMo over Singur plant

The West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) on Monday moved the Calcutta High Court, challenging an arbitration award to Tata Motors Ltd on account of loss of capital in investments made in the abandoned car manufacturing plant at Singur. The court of Justice Mousumi Bhattacharya, before which applications by WBIDC for a stay on the award and an appeal challenging the arbitration award were listed for hearing, released both the matters on Monday. These will be placed before the Chief Justice of the high court for fresh listing before another bench. In its appeal, WBIDC claimed that it had been denied equal opportunity during the hearings before the arbitral tribunal. The corporation said it was not given full opportunity to present its case before the three-member tribunal. Following stiff resistance by the Trinamool Congress, led by then opposition leader Mamata Banerjee, alleging forcible acquisition of farmland, Tata Motors had announced pulling out of the Singur