Page 20 - High Court

SC rejects plea against HC order dismissing PIL on Krishna Janmabhoomi

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a plea challenging an Allahabad High Court order dismissing a PIL seeking a direction to the Uttar Pradesh government to acquire the Krishna Jahmabhoomi Janmasthan at Mathura and hand it over to the Hindus for worshipping Lord Krishna. "The issue is already pending before the high court. Lets not have multiplicity of litigation," a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said while dismissing the appeal against the October 11, 2023 order of the high court. Petitioner Mahek Maheshwari's counsel said the high court has dismissed the PIL on the ground that suits are pending. The bench said the petitioner had filed a PIL and that is why it was dismissed by the high court. "We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned judgement and hence the SLP is dismissed. We clarify that the dismissal of the SLP does not comment on the right of parties to challenge the vires of any enactment or prevents or bars any party from challenging the vire

Uttarakhand HC questions state govt on delay in announcing municipal polls

The Uttarakhand High Court has sought a reply from the state government as to why the schedule of municipal polls has not yet been announced despite the tenure of municipalities having come to an end on December 2. A division bench of the high court comprising Acting Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Vivek Bharti Sharma on Wednesday asked the urban development secretary to appear before the court to give a reply on January 9. The order came on a PIL filed by a Jaspur resident, Anees, saying that the tenure of municipalities of the state ended on December 2. However, the state government has not yet made an announcement for polls. The Supreme Court has laid down the rule that the election schedule should be declared six months before the end of the five-year tenure of municipalities. This would ensure that the new board can be formed within the stipulated time. But the government has not yet announced the election schedule.

U'khand HC seeks reply from SIDCUL on allotment of green belt land to firms

The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday sought a reply from SIDCUL on allotment of green belt land in SIDCUL Haridwar to companies. Hearing a PIL that contended that provisions of environment impact assessment 2006 were not followed by SIDCUL in the allotments, Acting Chief Justice of the High Court Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Vivek Bharti Sharma asked SIDCUL to submit its reply on it within a week. The next hearing in the case has been fixed for January 9. In the Environment Impact Assessment, a provision of green belt has been made on the land allotted to the State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Ltd (SIDCUL) to protect the environment. It was claimed in the PIL that the land has been allotted to industrial companies by SIDCUL, Haridwar without following the provisions of Environment Impact Assessment.

HC grants time to Vivo officials to respond to ED plea against release

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted three vivo-India executives one week to file their reply to a plea by the Enforcement Directorate challenging an order for their release in a money laundering case. While Additional Solicitor General S V Raju argued that the trial court order was "totally perverse" and the matter required urgent adjudication, the counsel for the accused sought time to file their response. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma listed the matter for further hearing on January 11 and said, "They will need to file a reply. I can't deny them". "The court grants time of one week to respondents to file a reply," the court ordered. ASG Raju argued one of the respondents, a Chinese natonal, was a flight risk. The counsel for the accused said they have already surrendered their passports. Justice Sharma also indicated she would, when she passes a written order, direct the accused to appear before the ED on Fridays and Mondays. On Tuesday, a vacation bench of Justice Tushar

CBI, ED file reports to Calcutta HC on probe into primary school jobs scam

The CBI on Tuesday filed a report in sealed cover before the Calcutta High Court in its probe into alleged primary school jobs scam, stating that the stages involved in it show how corruption was converted into a form of art. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also filed a separate report in sealed cover on its progress in the proceeds of crime in connection with the alleged scam. Submitting a report on the alleged irregularities in the recruitment of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education before the court, the CBI counsel stated that the stages involved in it showed how corruption was converted into a form of art. ED counsel Dhiraj Trivedi submitted that the central agency has attached eight properties valued at Rs 7.5 crore of Leaps and Bounds, a private company, apprehending that these are proceeds of crime. The ED had earlier stated that Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee is the CEO of Leaps and Bounds and had also been one of its directors for a limited period. Taking

From Article 370 to demonetisation, key judgements delivered in 2023

Year ender 2023: From Jammu and Kashmir's special status to same-sex marriage refusal, here are key rulings of 2023

HC directs Punjab DGP to register 2 FIRs in gangster Bishnoi interview case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Punjab police chief to immediately register two FIRs in connection with gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's two interviews aired by a private news channel in March. A division bench of justices Anupinder Singh Grewal and Kirti Singh also asked the Punjab Police special investigation team headed by Prabodh Kumar, Director General, Human Rights Commission, to carry out investigations in the FIRs. The other members of the SIT are IPS officers S Rahul and Nilambari Vijay Jagadale. In its Friday order which was released on Saturday, the high court also said the head of the SIT would be at liberty to seek assistance of any other officer or of any other kind after making such a request to the director general of police. The SIT has been asked to conclude the investigation expeditiously and file a status report before this court within a period of two months, according to the order. The division bench passed these directions while hearing a suo m

HC asks Centre to consider representation for linking property with Aadhaar

The Delhi High Court Thursday asked the Centre to consider as representation a plea seeking linking of immovable and movable property documents of citizens with their Aadhaar numbers to curb corruption, black money generation, and 'benami' transactions. A bench of justices Rajiv Shakdher and Girish Kathpalia said these are policy decisions and courts cannot ask the government to do this. It said the representation shall be decided by the government within three months. "How the courts can get into all this. These are policy decisions, how the courts can tell them to do this. Prima facie, what I don't understand is that these are the areas we don't have the complete picture or data, what are the various aspects that may emerge... Best is to let them treat it as a representation and let them decide," Justice Shakdher said. The court was hearing a petition by lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who said it is the duty of the state to take appropriate steps to curb corruption and seize ...

Will hear Mahua's plea against move to oust her from residence on Jan 4: HC

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said it would hear on January 4 a plea by Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra challenging cancellation of her government accommodation, noting that the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on January 3 her plea against expulsion from the Lok Sabha. Justice Subramonium Prasad, before whom the plea came up for hearing, adjourned it. As the counsel for Moitra urged the court to direct the Directorate of Estates to file a reply to the petition before January 4, the high court said it would consider it on the next date only. The petition has urged that the Directorate of Estates' December 11 order be set aside or, in the alternative, Moitra be allowed to retain possession of the accommodation till the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are declared. Senior advocate Pinaki Misra, appearing for Moitra, submitted that the petitioner was only seeking to retain possession of the government accommodation till May 31, 2024. The Directorate of Estates was

Allahabad HC's verdict on pleas challenging Gyanvapi survey on Tue

The Allahabad High Court is likely to pronounce its judgment on Tuesday on five petitions challenging the maintainability of a civil suit pending before a Varanasi court seeking the restoration of a temple at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque exists. The petitions filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee (AIMC) and the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board have also challenged a Varanasi court order of April 8, 2021 to conduct a comprehensive survey of the Gyanvapi mosque. On December 8, Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal had reserved judgment after hearing the counsels of the petitioners and the respondent. The AIMC, which looks after the management of Gyanvapi mosque located adjacent to Kashi Vishwanath temple at Varanasi, has challenged the maintainability of a suit filed before a Varanasi court, wherein the Hindu petitioners have sought restoration of a temple at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque presently exists. According to Hindu side plaintiff, the Gyanvapi mosque is a

SC quashes GST department's plea against HC order on input tax credit

Experts divided on whether the verdict will set a precedent in similar cases

Rajasthan High Court issues notices to state, Centre on drug menace

Taking suo moto cognizance of the drug menace, the Rajasthan High Court on Saturday issued notices to the central and state governments seeking affidavits detailing existing mechanisms to control the "unregulated" production of tablets and syrups containing psychotropic substances. The court also sought information on any mechanisms in place to regulate the distribution of such tablets and syrups to dealers, distributors, and retail pharmacists. The matter came up during a bail application hearing on Saturday, when Justice Farjand Ali took note of a commercial quantity of medicinal drugs allegedly seized from the petitioner. Justice Ali expressed concern over the heavy sale and consumption of tablets, medicinal drugs, and syrups containing psychotropic substances. The court questioned the unregulated operation of city drugstores and called for the identification of sources involved in illegal distribution. The court also noted that despite arrests and detention of drugstore employ

Police nor criminal court can seize passport, says Karnataka High Court

The High Court of Karnataka has reiterated that "neither the police nor the criminal court invoking powers under Sections 102 or 104 of the Criminal Procedure Code can seize or impound a passport." The court, therefore, recently quashed the order of the Debt Recovery Tribunal-1, Bengaluru, which had impounded the passport of Nitin Shambhukumar Kasliwal, a businessman from Mumbai. The court said the Tribunal has the powers of a civil court and when the civil court itself cannot impound a passport, the DRT too cannot. The facts of the case date back to 1999 when Kasliwal had executed an agreement in favour of various lenders for loans secured. In 2015, the lender banks initiated a case before the Debt Recovery Tribunal seeking repayment and in default attachment and sale of properties of Kasliwal and his businesses. The banks filed an application for the surrender of Kasliwal's passport. On April 16, 2015 the Tribunal passed an order retaining his passport. Subsequently, Kasliwal fi

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HC collegiums yet to send recommendations for 201 judges' vacancies: Govt

Eighty-one of the 123 proposals sent by high court collegiums for appointment of judges are at various stages of processing with the government, Parliament was informed on Friday. The remaining 42 proposals are under the consideration of the Supreme Court Collegium, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. He also said recommendations are yet to be received from the high court collegiums regarding the remaining 201 vacancies. "As on December 12, 123 proposals are at various stages of processing. Out of these 123 proposals, 81 proposals are at various stages of processing in the government. Forty-two proposals are under consideration with the SC collegium," Meghwal said. According to the law ministry's website, as on December 1, of the sanctioned strength of 1,114 judges for the 25 high courts, there were 324 vacancies. According to the established mechanism, the chief justice of a high court initiates a proposal to fill vacancies of ..

Prepare plan to build new High Court building: Telangana CM Revanth Reddy

Earlier on Thursday, the Telangana Assembly unanimously elected Gaddam Prasad Kumar as the Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly

Karnataka HC grants 2-week parole to convict in church blast case

A convict serving life imprisonment in the church blast case has been granted parole by the High Court of Karnataka for two weeks. The detenue, Mohammed Akhil, is one of the convicts in the July 2000 church blast case in Bengaluru. Twenty four accused belonging to the Deendar Anjuman sect were found guilty of the blasts that were triggered in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Goa. Akhil was one of the 13 handed a life sentence. Mubeen Unnissa Begum, wife of Akhil, had filed the petition, which was heard by Justice M Nagaprasanna. "The convict, as of today, has undergone 23 years of imprisonment without remission and has not been granted parole throughout 23 years. The wife of the convict is now before this court seeking enlargement of her husband on parole on the score that she is suffering from ailments and, therefore, pleads that the presence of her husband is very much required in the family as other family members are also aged and suffering from ailments," the court noted in its ..

FEMA violation: HC upholds reduction in penalty on Rajasthan Royals owners

The Bombay High Court has upheld an order passed by a tribunal reducing the penalty imposed on the owners of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket franchise Rajasthan Royals from Rs 98 crore to Rs 15 crore for alleged financial irregularities. A division bench of Justices K R Shriram and Neela Gokhale in its judgement on Wednesday dismissed an appeal filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenging the July 11, 2019 order passed by the tribunal. The high court in its order noted the tribunal arrived at its conclusion based on evidence and analysis of the same. "The findings are far from being perverse. Thus, no question of law arises in the case. We find that in fact no justification has been recorded by the special director (ED) to impose maximum penalty as opposed to the tribunal having considered relevant material has interfered and reduced the penalty," the court said in its order. "We find that the special director has completely failed to apply the doctrine of ...

Freedom of speech & expression can't go beyond limits of reasonableness: HC

Freedom of speech and expression cannot be allowed to go beyond the limits of reasonableness otherwise it could lead to disastrous consequences, the Bombay High Court has said. A single bench of Justice Milind Jadhav made the observation on Tuesday while upholding the termination of service of an employee with Hitachi Astemo Fie, an auto parts manufacturing company. The employee was terminated after he uploaded two posts of Facebook against the company. The company had approached the HC challenging an order of a labour court reversing the termination of the employee for putting provocative posts against Hitachi. Justice Jadhav in the order said the posts were directed against the company with a clear intent to incite hatred and were provocative. "A strong message needs to be sent out against such acts," the court said adding such acts should be nipped in the bud. "Freedom of speech and expression cannot be allowed to be transgressed beyond reasonableness. If that is allowed, it c

Tax on expat salaries: Japan firm's India unit gets interim relief on GST

The GST authorities had issued a show cause notice to Kanematsu India, demanding over Rs 2.6 crore on reimbursement of expat employees salaries made by the company to the Japanese parent