Page 33 - High Court

No one votes on the basis of candidates' educational qualifications: SC

No one in India votes on the basis of the candidates' educational qualifications, the Supreme Court observed on Monday while dismissing a plea against the election of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Harsh Vardhan Bajpayee to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 2017. A bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna said most voters do not look at a candidate's educational background before exercising their franchise. "No one votes on the basis of educational qualifications in our country anyway," the bench observed orally. The remarks came while the bench was hearing a plea moved by Congress leader Anugrah Narayan Singh, seeking that Bajpayee's election be declared null and void as he had indulged in corrupt practices by not disclosing his correct educational qualifications. The Allahabad High Court rejected Singh's plea in September 2022 on the ground of being infructuous as Bajpayee's term had already ended in 2022. "Though allegations of corrupt practice were levelled against the ..

Delhi Waqf Board moves HC against Centre's decision: Amanatullah Khan

The Delhi Waqf Board has moved the High Court against the Centre's decision to take over 123 Waqf properties, Board chairman Amanatullah Khan said on Monday. He asserted that the 123 properties are with the Waqf Board for long and the Centre was bypassing the law and courts in trying to "occupy it forcibly". The Land and Development Office (L&DO) of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs recently decided to take over the 123 properties of the Delhi Waqf Board, including mosques, dargah and graveyards.

Justice Sanjaya K Mishra takes oath as new chief justice of Jharkhand HC

Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra took oath as the 14th chief justice of the Jharkhand High Court on Monday. Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office to Mishra at the Raj Bhavan here. Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his cabinet colleagues, several judges and senior government officials attended the swearing-in ceremony. The post of the chief justice of the Jharkhand High Court was lying vacant after the superannuation of justice Ravi Ranjan on December 19, 2022. The Union Ministry of Law and Justice on February 17 issued a notification regarding the appointment of justice Mishra as the chief justice of the high court. Mishra, 61, was earlier a judge at the Uttarakhand High Court.

Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra appointed as chief justice of Jharkhand HC

Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra was on Friday appointed as the chief justice of the Jharkhand High Court. A judge at the Uttarakhand High Court at present, Justice Mishra's name was recommended for elevation by the Supreme Court Collegium on December 13 last year. Born in 1961, he turned 61 in December last year. High court judges retire at the age of 62. Law Minister Kiren Rijiju announced the fresh appointment on Twitter. "Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, Judge in Uttarakhand High Court has been appointed as Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court. I extend my best wishes to him," Rijiju said.

Cyber criminals' modus operandi changing, need to deal with heavy hand: HC

The modus operandi of cyber criminals is changing and the court cannot remain immune to sufferings of people who are cheated by app developers who misuse phone data and blackmail them, the Delhi High Court has said. The high court said it is saddening to see people are not aware that once they give access of their contacts and images to an app they have downloaded on their mobilephones, the developer, in case of being a criminal, misuses images, morphs them and sends them in inappropriate form to their social contacts, and thereafter, blackmails users. Its observations came while dismissing the bail plea of a man accused of extorting lakhs of rupees from several people by morphing pictures stored in their mobiles, and sending them to their relatives. "The courts also have to remain conscious of the social context in which the crime is committed and how it impacts the society. The same needs to be kept in mind while granting bail to an accused. The offences, as the present one, are .

Hardik Patel fails to appear before court, arrest warrant issued

A court in Gujarat's Surendranagar district has issued an arrest warrant against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Hardik Patel for failing to appear before it in a 2017 case in which he is accused of violating a government order. Patel had made a political speech in violation of a government order at a village in the district ahead of the 2017 Gujarat Assembly elections. Additional chief judicial magistrate D D Shah at Dhrangadhra issued the arrest warrant against Patel for failure to appear the court. Through its order dated February 2, the court directed the Dhrangadhra taluka police station officer in Surendranagar district to arrest Patel and produce him before the court without fail. The order was received by the police station on February 11, an official confirmed. A first information report (FIR) was registered at Dhrangadhra taluka police station on January 12, 2018 after Patel and a co-accused Kaushik Patel were found to have violated the condition of the permission grante

Police security not a right: Thane cops tell HC on MP Rajan Vichare's plea

A person is neither entitled to police protection as a matter of right nor can it be granted as a matter of course, the Thane Police told the Bombay High Court while justifying its decision to slash the security cover of MP Rajan Vichare, who belongs to the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Thane, Shrikant Paropkari filed an affidavit on Tuesday in response to a petition filed by local MP Vichare seeking restoration of his security cover. "A person is neither entitled to a police protection as a matter of right nor can it be granted a matter of course," the affidavit said. It added that as per procedure, an inquiry is conducted and the extent of the threat is determined after which the police protection and duration are decided. "In the present case, the security of the petitioner (Vichare) was reduced after following this procedure and the decision was taken at various levels such as a senior inspector, assistant commissioner of police, deputy .

CBIC says won't object to a petitioner going to HC in absence of GSTAT

CBIC says it would like to withdraw earlier plea in matter relating to dispute over refund of a company

Centre notifies appointment of Chief Justices for four high courts

The Central Government on Sunday notified the appointments of four Chief Justices of High Courts of different states and Union Territory.The Ministry of Law and Justice issued a notification in regard to the elevation of Justice Sonia Giridhar Gokani, Judge, Gujarat High Court to Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court.Justice Sandeep Mehta, Judge, Rajasthan High Court to Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court.Justice Jaswant Singh, Judge, Orissa High Court to Chief Justice of Tripura High Court and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh, Judge, Gauhati High Court to Chief Justice, High Court of J & K and Ladakh.Notifying the appointment of judges as Chief Justices of four High Courts, Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted, "As per the relevant provisions under the Constitution of India, the following Judges are appointed as Chief Justices of different High Courts. I extend best wishes to all of them!"Recently, the Ministry of Law and Justice cleared the elevation of Justice Sonia Giridhar as

IBM Philippines not liable for TDS under I-T Act, says Karnataka HC

The High Court of Karnataka has ruled that IBM Philippines "shall not be liable for TDS under Section 195 of the Income Tax Act." It has therefore dismissed four appeals filed by the IT Department against IBM India Private Limited. The appeals were in relation to four different assessment years starting from 2008-09. All the four appeals were filed in 2014 and were disposed of on January 16, 2023. IBM USA had a global arrangement with Procter and Gamble, USA for rendering payroll related services. In a companion agreement, IBM India entered into a pact with P&G India. IBM India outsourced this work as well as some human resource services to IBM Philippines. The IT Department's Assessing Officer in 2012 recorded that IBM India had not deducted tax at source in payments made to IBM Philippines. Therefore, IBM India was assesse in default'. Both the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax and Commissioner of Income Tax confirmed it. The company challenged this before the Income Tax ...

Two HC judges elevated to SC, total strength of apex court reaches 34

Two high court chief justices were on Friday elevated to the Supreme Court, bringing the total strength of the apex court to its maximum of 34 judges. "As per the provisions under the Constitution of India, Hon'ble President of India has appointed the following Chief Justices of High Courts as Judges of the Supreme Court. My best to them: Rajesh Bindal, Chief Justice, Allahabad HC and Aravind Kumar, Chief Justice, Gujarat HC," Law Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted. Once they take oath, the top court will achieve its full strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice of India. Their names were recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium last month. Last week, five judges were appointed to the Supreme Court.

HC allows listing of police plea, challenging Sharjeel Imam discharge order

The Delhi High Court Friday allowed urgent listing of a plea by the city police challenging a trial court's order discharging 11 people, including student activists Sharjeel Imam and Asif Iqbal Tanha, in the 2019 Jamia Nagar violence case. The plea was mentioned by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta before a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad which allowed it to be listed for hearing on February 13. The law officer said the court registry has raised certain objections in the petition. The petition by police was filed on February 7 challenging the trial court's February 4 order discharging 11 persons, holding that they were made "scapegoats" by police and that dissent has to be encouraged, not stifled. The trial court, however, ordered framing of charges against one of the accused, Mohammad Ilyas. An FIR was lodged in connection with the violence that erupted after a clash between police and people protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment)

SC Collegium recommends 5 judges for elevation as Chief Justices of HCs

The Collegium's resolution said that the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court does not have representation amongst Chief Justices of High Courts since the retirement of Justice AM Margret

Punjab, Haryana HC accepts petition against parole of Dera chief Ram Rahim

The HC has also sent notices to the Punjab government, the Haryana government, and the center

Karnataka HC dismisses petition against Isha Yoga Centre at Chikkaballapura

The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday dismissed a public interest litigation filed against the Isha Yoga Centre that is constructed in Chikkaballapura. The division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Ashok S Kinagi in their order said the petitioners have not approached the court with clean hands and they had not disclosed the criminal cases pending against them. The Yoga Centre and the Adiyogi statue is built at the Avalagurki village in Chikkaballapura. This was challenged by S Kyatappa from Chamballi village and others. Senior advocate Uday Holla, representing the Isha Yoga Centre, submitted to the court that the petitioners have not disclosed the criminal cases against them. The advocate for the petitioners, M Shivaprakash, claimed that false cases have been foisted upon them as they were part of pro-farmer agitations. The court, however, pointed out that in a public interest litigation it was necessary to come to court with clean hands, disclose any cases

Guj HC reserves order on whether PM Modi's degree certificate can be shared

The Gujarat High Court on Thursday reserved its order on a petition seeking direction to the Gujarat University to share Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree certificate

Aspersions should not be cast on appointment of Victoria as HC judge: Govt

Differences of opinion are a part of democracy and there are ways to find solutions to that, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Thursday in Rajya Sabha on whether there exists differences between the judiciary and the executive on the issue of appointment of judges. The government also said aspersions should not be cast on appointment of Victoria Gowri as a judge of the high court, asserting that she has been appointed through a process. Asked by TMC member Jawhar Sircar whether the appointment of Gowri was right even when she has been accused in public of making casteist remarks, of remarks against minorities, Leader of the House Piyush Goyal sought the indulgence of the chair. "I think there should be some decorum. An honourable judge has been duly appointed through a process. I don't think we, as honourable members here, should be casting aspersions of this nature. I seek your indulgence," Goyal said. Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said the three wings of the state have to

BJP questions appointment of retd HC judge to monitor minister murder probe

As Orissa High Court retired judge Justice JP Das reached Jharsuguda to monitor the Crime Branch investigation into the murder of former Health minister Naba Kishore Das, opposition BJP alleged that there is no legal sanction behind his appointment. The state government had written a letter to the Registrar of the High court to name either a sitting judge or a retired judge to monitor the investigation as the opposition parties demanded a CBI or court monitored SIT probe into the sensational murder case. The high court had suggested the name of J P Das to supervise the probe. However, the BJP which has been demanding a CBI probe into the minister's murder, alleged that there is no such provision under the CrPC for external intervention into the investigation process, by a retired high court judge. "I am afraid if CrPC grants power to a retired judge to monitor a criminal investigation? It is a clear breach of the statute due to executive remissness. Things are not being done in the

'We have to keep our fingers crossed,' says top advocate on Victoria Gowri

While the Supreme Court is seized of the matter related to the plea to restrain lawyer Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri from taking oath as a judge of the Madras High Court, a senior advocate, who was among those who opposed her elevation said on Tuesday that they are waiting for the outcome of the proceedings in the apex court. N G R Prasad, a noted senior lawyer told PTI that the plea against Gowri for making 'hate speech' against minorities is with the top court and strong legal points have been made seeking to restrain her from taking oath as judge. However, her swearing-in is scheduled at 10.35 AM on Tuesday in the Madras High Court. Under the circumstances, "We have to keep our fingers crossed," he said. The outcome of the fight against Gowri's appointment hinges on the Supreme Court taking a decision and giving a direction ahead of her swearing-in. In case the swearing-in happens before a direction is received, then the scenario would be different, he said. The SC has said

Delhi Riots 2020: HC to hear Sharjeel Imam's bail plea in UAPA case Monday

The Delhi High Court will on Monday hear a bail plea by JNU student and activist Sharjeel Imam in a UAPA case related to the alleged conspiracy behind the 2020 riots here. Imam, who was arrested in February 2020, was on Saturday discharged along with 10 others in the 2019 Jamia Nagar violence case, with the court saying they were made "scapegoats" by police. The plea, which was filed in April 2022 against a trial court order refusing to grant bail to Imam in the matter, is listed before a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Rajnish Bhatnagar. In this case, Sharjeel Imam and several others, including Umar Khalid, have been booked under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots in the North-East Delhi, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. The violence had erupted during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National ..