Page 19 - High Court

Chandigarh mayor polls: High court issues notices, refuses to stay result

Congress-AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar on Tuesday moved the high court to challenge the results of the mayoral elections

Relaxation in development rules can't be allowed public safety is affected

Relaxation of development rules cannot be permitted if it adversely affects public safety, the Bombay High Court has said while ordering the removal of seven mechanised cantilever car parking spaces (stack parking) constructed in a residential building here. A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Kamal Khata noted that the stack parking system in the premises of the housing society in Borivali completely undermined the fire safety and public safety not only of members of the society but also of children, senior citizens, and perhaps even passersby. The order dated January 18 was made available on Tuesday. The bench noted that no fire tender or ambulance can go past the stack parking in case of emergencies in the society. The court passed the order in a petition filed by Rahul Jain, an ophthalmologist, challenging the decision to set up seven mechanised cantilever (stack) car parking spaces at his housing society in the western suburb of Borivali, as it was blocking the entra

Delhi HC asks WhatsApp, Telegram to suspend fake VC firms' accounts

The court also directed the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) and Department of Telecommunications to issue appropriate directions to curb these identified scams

Delhi HC upholds validity of anti-profiteering provisions under GST

The court held that anti profiteering provisions pertain to commensurate reduction of prices when gst rates are reduced or due to input tax credit and hence these provisions are in public interest

Defamation plea filed by ex-business partners not maintainable: Dhoni to HC

Former Team India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday submitted before the Delhi High Court that a defamation plea filed against him by his two ex-business partners was not maintainable. The high court refused to pass any interim order, at this stage, against Dhoni and several media houses and social media platforms to injunct them from posting or publishing any alleged false defamatory content against the plaintiffs on any platform which could tarnish their goodwill and reputation. Plaintiffs and former business partners Mihir Diwakar and his wife Soumya Das have approached the high court seeking a permanent injunction and damages against Dhoni, several social media platforms and media houses and thereby restraining them from making, publishing, circulating per se defamatory, ex facie false and malicious statements against them. Dhoni's counsel appeared before the court and submitted that the plaint against him was not maintainable and he has just filed a case against th

Instances when Supreme Court held special sittings on non-working days

The Supreme Court on Saturday held a special sitting after taking suo moto cognisance of an order passed by a single bench of the Calcutta High Court that termed as "illegal" a division bench order in a case of alleged irregularities in admission of MBBS students in West Bengal's state-run medical colleges and hospitals. A five-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, Surya Kant and Aniruddha Bose stayed all proceedings before the Calcutta High Court in the matter and issued notice to the West Bengal government and the original petitioner in the case. This is one of the many instances when the apex court has held a special sitting on a non-working day. The past few years have witnessed the top court constituting special benches to hear during the weekend cases dealing with matters of personal liberty, political crisis in states and pollution in the national capital, among other things. On July 1 last year, the Supreme Cour

WBBSE to decide on representation for Class 10 exams timing change today

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) to decide on a representation seeking cancellation of a change in the timing of the class 10 examination announced by it. The bench of Justice Biswajit Basu also asked the WBBSE to inform it about the decision on Thursday, when the matter will be heard again. The timing of the class 10 examinations of the West Bengal board, which will be held in February, was advanced by two hours, but no reason was cited. After the revision, the exams will begin at 9.45 am instead of the usual 11.45 am. A teacher moved the court challenging a January 18 notification of the board rescheduling the time of commencement of the examination from 11.45 am to 9.45 am, claiming that it will inconvenience lakhs of students who will be appearing for the examinations at numerous centres across the state. The petitioner submitted that with the examination scheduled to begin from February 2, such advancement of ..

Gyanvapi mosque row: HC judge recuses from hearing plea against court order

Allahabad High Court judge Justice Manish Kumar Nigam on Wednesday recused himself from hearing a plea challenging the Varanasi district court's refusal to direct the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to undertake a survey of the 'wazukhana' area except the 'Shivling' inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex. The court said the matter be placed before the court of chief justice for nomination of another judge and fixed January 31 as the next date of hearing. The revision petition was filed by Rakhi Singh, who is one of the plaintiffs in the Shringar Gauri worshipping suit which is presently pending before the Varanasi district court. In her application before the Varanasi court, which was rejected on October 21, 2023, the primary contention raised by Singh was that the survey of the wazukhana, excluding the 'Shivling' is necessary to ascertain the religious character of the property in question. However, while rejecting her application, the district judge had observed in his order tha

Soumya Vishwanathan case: HC asks police to respond to convicts appeals

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the police to respond to appeals filed by four convicts in the case of murder of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan challenging their conviction and life sentence. A bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain issued notice to the police on the appeals by Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljit Singh Malik and Ajay Kumar. The high court also asked the authorities to file reply to the convicts' interim application seeking suspension of their sentence. It listed the application for hearing on February 12. Soumya was shot dead on September 30, 2008 while she was returning home in her car from office. The police had claimed robbery as the motive behind the killing of Soumya.

Act in accordance with law, not on oral instruction: SC to TN officials

Here's a lowdown on the important cases heard in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court today

Pakistan's top poll body to challenge HC's remarks on poll symbol case

Pakistan's top election body has decided to file an application in the Lahore High Court seeking to expunge the court's remarks against it in the verdict in connection with the election symbol case, a media report said on Saturday. Pakistan is to hold general elections on February 8. A five-member bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued the order after conducting a hearing (on the matter) and reviewing the Lahore High Court (LHC) order of January 17, The News International newspaper reported. Calling it as an unusual move, the newspaper said, The ECP has decided to file a civil miscellaneous application in the LHC to expunge the court's remarks against the commission in the verdict on the election symbol case. Earlier, the Bahawalpur bench of the LHC, in response to writ petitions seeking a change of poll symbols, had criticised the election commission and a returning officer for violating the law and not performing their duties accordingly. The court had issued

HC sends summons to TATA SIA Airlines on minor's plea for Rs 2.5 cr damages

The Delhi High Court has issued summons to TATA SIA Airlines, which operates Vistara, on a plea by a minor and her parents seeking more than Rs 2.5 crore damages for bodily injuries the child suffered after a hot beverage was allegedly spilled on her by a flight attendant. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani said summons be sent to the defendant, TATA SIA Airlines Ltd, which is a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, by all permissible modes and it shall file a written statement along with an affidavit of admission or denial of the documents filed by the plaintiffs within 30 days. "Upon a prima facie conspectus of the matter, let the plaint be registered as a suit. Issue summons in the suit," the court said. It listed the plea for March 6 for hearing the interim application in which the plaintiffs have sought a direction to the airline to remove the official statement relating to the incident and to restrain it from publishing any defamatory contents against them or ...

SC collegium recommends K'taka HC CJ Varale's elevation as top court judge

The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Friday recommended the elevation of Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale as a top court judge. In a meeting held on Friday, the collegium, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, Surya Kant and Aniruddha Bose, took into consideration the fact that he is among the senior-most High Court judges and is the only HC chief justice from the Scheduled Caste. "We are also conscious of the fact that at present, there are three Judges from the High Court of Bombay on the Bench of the Supreme Court. The Collegium, therefore, unanimously resolves to recommend that Mr Justice Prasanna B Varale be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India," the collegium said. The collegium took note of the vacancy that arose on the retirement of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul on December 25, 2023. "Bearing in mind that the workload of judges has increased considerably, it has become necessary to ensure that the

Unmarried daughters have right to get maintenance from parents: HC

The Allahabad High Court has ruled that an unmarried daughter, irrespective of her religion or age, has the right to obtain maintenance from their parents under the Domestic Violence Act. The high court made the observation while dismissing a petition filed by Naimullah Sheikh and another under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. The parents of three daughters had challenged a lower court's order grating maintenance to them. "There remains no doubt that an unmarried daughter, whether Hindu or Muslim, has a right to obtain maintenance, irrespective of her age. This is made clear again that the courts have to look for other laws applicable when the question pertains to the right to be maintained. However, where the issue does not pertain to mere maintenance, the independent rights are available to an aggrieved under section 20 of the domestic violence act itself," Justice Jyotsna Sharma observed. The three daughters had filed a case in a court claiming maintenanc

HC notice to Centre, Karnataka govt on madrasa inside ASI protected mosque

The High Court of Karnataka has ordered issuance of notices to the state and central governments on a PIL petition alleging that a Madrasa was being illegally run in the premises of an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected mosque in Srirangapatna in Mandya district. A division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit heard the petition by Abishek Gowda on Wednesday and issued notices to the respondents to file their objections and adjourned the hearing. The petitioner alleged that the Madrasa inside the Juma Masjid in Srirangapatna had damaged the original structure with the construction of structural alterations, demolition of compound, construction of toilets, destruction of ancient carvings besides cooking and consumption of food daily. "All the above acts are totally illegal and a violation of Section 7, Rule 7 & 8 of the Ancient Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act and Rules," he claimed. The petitioner further submitted that .

Karnataka HC: Xiaomi files appeal against ED's seizure of Rs 5,551.27 cr

A division bench of the High Court of Karnataka on Friday heard an appeal filed by smartphone maker Xiaomi challenging a single-judge order which had upheld the Enforcement Directorate's seizure of Rs 5,551.27 crore from its bank accounts. The bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice M G S Kamal heard the arguments submitted by the counsel for the company before adjourning the hearing to January 20. The Court specified that there would be no further extensions and both the company's counsel and the government advocate were expected to complete their arguments on that date. The counsel for the company argued that the seizure was unnecessary and under Section 37A of FEMA even the necessity of suspicion is not required. Even the qualification of the "authorised officer" to take action was not prescribed. The court was told that Section 37A "seems to be clearly draconian", as for 30 days after the seizure the company has to only wait for the authority to decide on it. "Why

Doesn't matter if AMU minority institution, still important nationally: SC

Here's a lowdown on the important cases heard in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court today

SC to hear union minister Pramanik's anticipatory bail plea on Friday

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear on January 12 a plea of union minister of state for home affairs Nisith Pramanik seeking anticipatory bail in an attempt-to-murder case lodged against him in 2018. A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal issued notice to the West Bengal government and asked senior advocate PS Patwalia, appearing for Pramanik, to serve the copy of the petition on the counsel for the state. It listed his plea for hearing on Friday. Pramanik has moved the apex court challenging the January 4 order of the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court by which it had refused to grant him anticipatory bail in the case. During the brief hearing, Patwalia said, "I am a Member of Parliament. The High Court has refused to grant me protection from arrest. I was earlier with the Trinamool Congress and now I am with BJP. Situation in West Bengal is very volatile, I may be arrested in this case, kindly grant me protection." The bench said his plea

AP HC grants bail to TDP chief Naidu in Inner Ring Road, 2 other cases

The Court also ordered not to mention matters related to the case anywhere in public meetings and media platforms

SC asks high courts to enforce committee to oversee judicial pay commission

All high courts must have a 2-judge committee to oversee orders on pay, pension and other retirement benefits for judicial officers as per the Second National Judicial Pay Commission recommendations