'Want To Decriminalize Politics', State Tells Madras High Court While Opposing MLA's Pre-Arrest Bail In Abduction Case; Verdict Reserved

While opposing the pre-arrest bail of MLA Poovai Jaganmoorthy in connection with an abduction case, the Tamil Nadu government on Friday (June 27) told the Madras High Court that it wanted to decriminalise politics in the State. Making submissions before Justice G Jayachandran, Additional Advocate General J Ravindran said that the present case should become a guiding light for all future cases involving legislators. Ravindran also alleged that the MLA was the brain behind the entire...

Madhya Pradesh High Court Commutes Death Penalty Imposed On Man For Committing Rape Of Minor Relative

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday (June 25) commuted the death penalty awarded to a man convicted for rape of a minor girl aged 12 years. The court commuted the death penalty after noting that the convict was 24 years of age and had no criminal antecedents, except one murder case, which is under appeal.The bench, however, upheld his conviction, observing that the "chain of all the circumstances is complete to point out towards the guilt of the appellant and nobody else. Therefore, as...

When Both Parties Are Equally At Fault, Law Will Leave Them Alone: J&K High Court Dismisses Appeal In Land Compensation Case

Reiterating the doctrine of pari delicto, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has held that where both parties are equally at fault in entering into an illegal agreement, the law will not intervene to determine their inter se rights and liabilities.The Division Bench comprising Justice Sindhu Sharma and Justice Rajesh Sekhri thus dismissed a Letters Patent Appeal filed by one Pawan Kumar Sharma, challenging the dismissal of his writ petition related to compensation awarded for land...

Karnataka High Court Quashes FIRs Against Ex-CM Basavaraj Bommai For Comment On Waqf Properties

The Karnataka High Court on Friday quashed two criminal cases registered against former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai accusing him of making objectionable statements during a protest rally held to condemn the actions of Waqf Board and State Government in allegedly grabbing the properties of farmers and temples.Justice S R Krishna Kumar allowed the petition filed by Bommai and quashed the proceedings initiated under sections 196(1)(a) of the BNS by the Shiggaon police station.Senior Advocate...

Delhi High Court Directs Meta To Pull Down Fake Instagram Accounts Posting Obscene Photos Of Minor

Coming to the rescue of a 15-year-old minor girl, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday (June 25) directed Meta, which owns social media platform Instagram, to take action against fake accounts posting her obscene photos.Justice Manoj Jain further directed the platform to disclose details of the persons behind the fake accounts.“Defendant no. 1 is directed to provide Basic Subscriber Information (BSI) including IP details of said defendant nos. 2 to 6 and is also directed to action qua the URLs as...

[IPC 304B] Wife Was At Parents' Home Days Before Death, No Link Between Harassment & Death: Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Conviction

The Calcutta High Court bench of Justice Prasenjit Biswas has held that to convict a person under Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), it must be conclusively proven that the deceased wife was subjected to cruelty or harassment in connection with a dowry demand soon before her death. If there is a significant gap between the alleged cruelty or harassment and the death, the essential link required for a dowry death is broken, and the accused cannot be held liable under this...

Gujarat High Court Extends Asaram Bapu's Temporary Bail In Rape Case Till July 07

The Gujarat High Court on Friday (June 27) extended the temporary bail of Asaram Bapu, who has been convicted in a 2013 rape case by a sessions court in Gandhinagar and is serving a life sentence, till July 07.Notably, Asaram Bapu's temporary bail was set to expire on June 30. After hearing the parties for some time, a division bench of Justice Ilesh J Vora and Justice PM Raval in its order dictated:"Heard learned counsel...having regard to the peculiar facts of the present case, more...

MP High Court Issues Notice On PIL For Appointment Of Special Needs Teachers In Private Schools Across Jabalpur

While hearing a PIL seeking appointment of special educators for special needs children in private schools across Jabalpur, the Madhya Pradesh High Court issued notice to Centre and State authorities and has granted time to file a reply.The division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf observed, “Issue notice. Notice is accepted by learned counsel appearing for respondent no.1 and also by learned counsel appearing for respondent nos.2 to 4. Learned counsel for...

MSME Council's Order Declaring Jurisdiction To Decide Dispute Between Parties Can Be Challenged Only U/S 34 Of A&C Act: Orissa High Court

The Orissa High Court bench of Justice K.R. Mohapatra has held that once the MSME Council initiates arbitration following the termination of conciliation proceedings, any order passed by the Council regarding its jurisdiction to adjudicate the dispute can only be challenged under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. The aggrieved party cannot invoke Article 227 of...

Assessee Can Seek Refund Of Unutilised ITC In Personal Bank Account If Business Is Shut Down: Calcutta High Court

Calcutta High Court recently directed the proper officer under the GST Act to consider ordering refund of the unutilised ITC of an Assessee to his personal bank account, as his business was closed and its GST registration stood cancelled.The Petitioner was aggrieved by a direction of the proper officer, though allowing the refund sanction to the tune of Rs. 68,66,238/- but, directing the...

Pension Is Not Charity, Dependents Of Mentally Disabled Govt Servants Can Be Given Pension Without Income Certificate: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has stressed that pension is a matter of right and not charity and the authorities should exhibit alacrity while disbursing pension for the benefit of mentally disabled persons. The bench of Justice GR Swaminathan and Justice K Rajasekar observed that pension should be seen as a facet of Article 21 of the Constitution, and effort must be taken to effectuate the benevolent object of the statutory rules. “Pension has always been characterized as a matter of...

Karnataka High Court Grants Relief To BJP Leader Ananth Kumar Hegde Booked For Assault In Alleged Road Rage Case

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday (June 26) in an interim order directed the police not to take any coercive action against former BJP MP Ananth Kumar Hegde, who has been booked by the police in an alleged case of road rage. Justice S R Krishna Kumar passed the interim order on a petition filed by Hegde seeking to quash the FIR registered against him under sections 126(2), 117(2), 74, 352, 351(3), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The court, while issuing notice to respondents,...