Page 6 - High Court

'Daisy the cat drove everyone crazy': HC slams 'frivolous' kidnap case

Karnataka High Court quashes cat abduction case, slams police for chasing a 'whimsical pursuit' and warns against misusing criminal law to settle personal scores

Bombay HC orders BMC to pay ₹50 lakh each to 2015 fire victims' kin

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday ordered the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to pay Rs 50 lakh each as compensation to the kin of eight victims who died in a fire at a hotel in 2015, citing its gross failure in the discharge of its duties. A fire broke out inside Hotel City Kinara in Kurla, killing eight persons on October 16, 2015. Seven of them were students aged 18-20, and the eighth victim was a 31-year-old design engineer from Virar. The high court was hearing petitions filed by parents of the victims seeking to quash the Lokayukta's February 2017 order, which dismissed their complaint seeking a probe. The Lokayukta, while dismissing their pleas, noted that compensation of Rs 1 lakh each was disbursed. The families sought the enhancement of the compensation amount. The high court, in its judgment on Tuesday, ordered the BMC to pay Rs 50 lakh to the families of each of the victims within 12 weeks. "Due to the failure of the BMC in taking action, the illegality in Kin

SC protects MP scribes against coercive action, asks them to move HC

The Supreme Court on Monday protected in the interim two Madhya Pradesh-based journalists who were allegedly assaulted by the state police for reporting on illegal sand mining activities. A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan, however, refused to examine their plea and asked them to move the Madhya Pradesh High Court instead. A separate top court bench on June 4 sought the responses of Madhya Pradesh and Delhi governments on the plea of Shashikant Jatav and Amarkant Singh Chouhan. The apex court while granting the interim relief posted the hearing on June 9. "We are not entertaining the plea. However, looking at the allegations, we permit the petitioners to move the concerned high court within two weeks from today. Till the time the petitioners move high court the petitioners shall not be arrested," Justice Mishra said. The journalists alleged that they were kidnapped, assaulted in custody and subjected to casteist slurs by a senior police officer and his ...

Cash discovery row: Justice Varma must quit to avoid removal by Parliament

Resignation is the only option before Justice Yashwant Varma to avoid impeachment by Parliament as the government pushes for bringing a motion to remove the Allahabad High Court judge over alleged corruption. Officials aware of the procedure to appoint and remove Supreme Court and high court judges pointed out that while defending his case before lawmakers in any of the House, Justice Varma can announce that he is quitting and his verbal statement will be considered as his resignation. Should he decide to resign, he will get pension and other benefits entitled to a retired HC judge. But if he is removed by Parliament, he will be deprived of pension and other benefits, they noted. According to Article 217 of the Constitution, a high court judge "may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office." A judge's resignation does not require any approval. A simple resignation letter is sufficient. A judge may give a prospective date to step down. In such cases,

No arrests for now: HC protects Karnataka cricket body in stampede case

Karnataka HC halts arrests in M Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede case, grants relief to Karnataka cricket body while directing full cooperation in probe into tragic event that killed 11

'Historian or linguist?' HC raps Kamal Haasan over Kannada origin remark

Kamal Haasan had approached Karnataka HC on Monday seeking protection for 'Thug Life' release after KFCC bans film over his 'Kannada born from Tamil' remark

Kamal Haasan moves Karnataka HC over 'Thug Life' release amid language row

At the 'Thug Life' audio launch, Kamal Haasan had said Kannada language was born out of Tamil, sparking strong backlash and controversy in Karnataka

SC closes MP HC proceedings against Vijay Shah over remarks on Col Qureshi

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered closure of proceedings before the Madhya Pradesh High Court against state minister Vijay Shah for his remarks against Indian Army officer Col Sofiya Qureshi, saying it is now looking into the matter. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh asked for a status report from the special investigation team (SIT) that was constituted by the Madhya Pradesh government in compliance with the top court's earlier order. The SC noted that the SIT has seized some devices and started its investigation. The bench was informed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that parallel proceedings were going on before the high court against the minister. The top court said that since it is now seized of the matter, the proceedings before the high court stand closed. The interim directions passed on May 19, including the stay of arrest of Shah, stand extended, it said. It posted the matter for further hearing in the second week of July. The bench refused to a

No hurdle in raising MP district court judges' retirement age to 61: SC

The Supreme Court on Monday said there was no legal impediment in raising the retirement age to 61 years of judicial officers in Madhya Pradesh. A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih took note of submissions of the Madhya Pradesh Judges Association and asked the high court to take a decision, preferably in two months, on the issue on its administrative side. The judges association moved the top court in 2018 for raising the retirement age of district judges from the current 60 to 62 years. It later informed the bench that the Association is now seeking enhancement only up to 61 years, aligning with a precedent set in another state. The Association had first made a representation to the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2018. The high court, however, rejected the request, citing the 2002 Supreme Court judgment in the All India Judges Association case, which it interpreted as disallowing such enhancement. On Monday, CJI Gavai, however, referred to

Karnataka HC stays case against Arnab Goswami, BJP IT cell chief

The Karnataka High Court has granted an interim stay on criminal proceedings initiated against BJP leader Amit Malviya and Republic TV's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, in connection with allegations of spreading false claims that the Indian National Congress (INC) operates an office in Istanbul, Turkiye. Justice S Rachiah passed the order on Thursday while hearing petitions filed by both Malviya and Goswami, seeking the quashing of the cases lodged against them. The stay will remain in effect until the next hearing. Malviya is also facing a separate case over a controversial social media post in which he shared a morphed image showing half the face of Gandhi merged with that of Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir. The caption alleged that Gandhi was aligning with Pakistan's narrative, particularly in the wake of India's military offensive Operation Sindoor, in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Malviya's post further questioned whether Gandhi was aspiring for the ...

Use of term 'bouncer' intended to invoke fear, terror in public mind: HC

Expressing concern over the use of the term "bouncer" by private security agencies for their workers, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has observed that it is intended to invoke "fear, anxiety, and terror in the minds of the public", which is "impermissible" in any civilised setup. It also observed that the primary reason for engaging the services of a security agency or security guards is to ensure a safe and respectful space, but when these employers or employees become "miscreants", assuming themselves to be extra-constitutional authorities, using threats and brute force as weapons, it becomes a cause of grave concern for the society. The high court was hearing a plea seeking anticipatory bail filed by a person running a private security agency. During the hearing, a single-judge bench of Justice Anoop Chitkara observed that the paramount concern for the court was the use of the term "bouncer" in the name of the security agency run by the petitioner. The bench referred to a ...

'Transfer meant to harass me': MP HC Justice DV Ramana in farewell speech

Justice Ramana claimed he had submitted representations twice to the Supreme Court Collegium requesting a transfer, citing his wife's medical condition, but received no response

Supreme Court orders equal pensions for all HC judges, ending disparity

The top court was hearing a suo motu case related to judicial retirement benefits, along with writ petitions submitted by several retired judges

All high court judges entitled to full pension, rules Supreme Court

In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Monday held all high court judges, including additional judges, will be entitled to full pension and retirement benefits. The top court said the former chief justices of the high court will get Rs 15 lakh per annum as pension. Observing that denial would amount to violation of right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution, a bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih said full pension will be paid to all irrespective of when they were appointed and whether they retired as additional judges or were later made permanent. The bench said discriminating among judges based on the timing of their appointment or their designation violates this fundamental right. The CJI, pronouncing the verdict, said families of deceased additional high court judges are also entitled to the same pension and retirement benefits as families of permanent judges. The bench said it has examined Article 200 of the Constituti

HC allows NTA to declare NEET-UG results except for 11 centres in Indore

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has allowed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to declare the results of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) for undergraduate medical courses, except for 11 centres in Indore which had faced power outage on May 4. On Thursday, in response to a petition by a student who claimed her performance in the entrance exam on May 4 was severely impacted by a power outage at her exam centre in Indore, the court had directed that the results should not be declared until the next hearing. The petitioner prayed that she be allowed to appear for the examination again. On Friday, Justice Subodh Abhyankar modified the order after hearing submissions of Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta and Deputy Solicitor General Himanshu Joshi. They pointed out that the high court stayed the declaration of NEET-UG results for the entire country although the problem of power outage was confined to 11 centres in Indore. The NTA should be allowed to declare the

SC raps HC judges over delays, 'coffee breaks'; seeks performance audit

The Supreme Court has observed that the efficiency of High Court judges must be addressed, highlighting the need for performance audits and timely delivery of reserved judgments

HC orders case against MP minister for remark on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi

Madhya Pradesh Minister Vijay Shah faces legal action after a high court order, following a controversial remark about Army Colonel Sofiya Qureshi during a speech

Trial court lawyers must be considered for senior designation by HCs: SC

Observing senior designation couldn't be a monopoly of selected few, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said lawyers practising in subordinate judiciary and other fora must be considered for designation as senior advocates. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, Ujjal Bhuyan and S V N Bhatti said the process of designation must be objectively fair and guided and there is a need to have at least one exercise of designation conducted every year. "When we talk of diversity, we must ensure that the high courts evolve a mechanism by which the members of the bar practising in our trial and district judiciary and before specialised tribunals are considered for designation as their role is no inferior to the role played by advocates practising before this court and high courts. This is also an essential part of diversity," it said. The top court noted the high courts could always call for the views of the principal district judges or the heads of tribunals on such applicants. "Moreover, when the cases

SC issues new rules for senior advocate designation, scraps marking system

Supreme Court scraps marking system for senior advocate designation directs high courts to amend rules in four months and mandates full court decision with voting if no consensus

MPHC Class IV recruitment 2025: Apply for 78 positions and others by 13 May

MPHC has declared the official notification for the recruitment to multiple Class IV posts on the official website at mphc.gov.in. Candidates can apply for the posts from May 13 to 28, 2025