Mosques Approach Bombay High Court Challenging Mumbai Police Notices To Remove Azaan Loudspeakers

Five Mosques from Mumbai's eastern suburbs have approached the Bombay High Court accusing the Police of 'targeting' the Muslim Community by issuing allegedly 'unsubstantiated' notices to several such mosques for removing loudspeakers used for daily Azaan on ground of breaching the provisions of Noise Pollution Rules, 2000.A division bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Milind Sathaye on Tuesday issued notice to the Maharashtra Government, Mumbai Police and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board...

Plaintiff Cannot Confer Jurisdiction By Amending Pleadings, Amounts To Changing Nature Of Dispute: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court at Goa has held that a party cannot confer jurisdiction on a civil court through an amendment of pleadings that would fundamentally alter the nature of the dispute. Dismissing a writ petition under Article 227 of the Constitution, the Court upheld the trial court's refusal to allow amendment of pleadings before deciding the respondent's application for return of the plaint due to lack of jurisdiction.Justice Nivedita P. Mehta was hearing a writ petition filed by M/s...

Rape Cases Can't Be Quashed Based On 'Compromise'; Woman Liable For Perjury If She Disowns Allegations : Bombay High Court

Quashing rape cases based on 'compromise' between the accused and the complainant is against the interests of the society, the Court said.

'Bank Cannot Delay Or Refuse To Open Account Over Demand For Aadhar Card': Bombay High Court Orders ₹50K Compensation

The Bombay High Court has held that a bank could not have insisted on Aadhaar as a mandatory requirement for opening a bank account after the Supreme Court's verdict in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2018), and awarded ₹50,000 in compensation to a company whose account was delayed due to the bank persisting on its demand of Aadhar Card.The Division Bench of Justices M.S. Sonak and Jitendra Jain was hearing a writ petition filed by Microfibers Pvt. Ltd., which had approached the Court...

Bombay HC Rejects Copyright Infringement Suit Over Old Bollywood Songs, Says Assignment Of Music Rights Not Limited To Physical Medium

The Bombay High Court has dismissed a copyright infringement suit filed by the daughter of late Bollywood producer O.P. Ralhan, holding that the rights to exploit songs from his films were validly assigned in perpetuity and not restricted to any particular medium, such as physical records.Justice Manish Pitale, deciding the suit filed by Rupali P. Shah, held that the assignment agreements executed by Ralhan in favour of the predecessor of defendant No.2 (Adani Wilmar Ltd.) granted perpetual and...

Bombay HC Takes Suo Moto Cognisance Of Transfer Of Female Inmates Out Of Observation Homes After Attaining Majority, Says Education Can't Be Affected

The Bombay High Court bench at Aurangabad recently took suo moto cognisance of the issue relating to 'transferring' girl inmates from observation homes in the city to other districts after they attain majority.A division bench of Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Sanjay Deshmukh noted that though the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) is the concerned authority to decide whether a child is in need of...

Merely Saying 'I Love You' Without Any Sexual Intent Is Not Sexual Harassment: Bombay High Court

Merely expressing 'I Love You' does not by itself amount to an offence of sexual harassment if not accompanied with words or acts reflecting 'sexual intent' the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court held on June 30.Single-judge Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke noted that the accused in the instant case had only said 'I Love You' to the minor girl, while she was on her way home from tuition classes...

Bombay High Court Refuses To Quash FIR Against AIMIM Leader Accused Of Illegally Constructing Public Square In Tipu Sultan's Name

The Bombay High Court refused to quash an FIR registered against All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader and former MLA Farukh Shah accused of illegally constructing a public square in the name of Tipu Sultan in Dhule by allegedly utilizing public funds. In doing so the court observed that the probe was ongoing to find out as to who had erected the construction and...

Payment Of Gratuity Act Applies To Zilla Parishad Employees: Bombay HC

Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench): A single judge bench of Justice M.S. Jawalkar held that the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, applies to Zilla parishad employees. However, the court explained that Section 4(6) of the Act allows the withholding or forfeiture of gratuity if an employee faces criminal proceedings that involve moral turpitude. Background Pradeep Pokale retired from...

Industrial Disputes Act; Section 33(C)(2) Only Applies If Entitlement Is Established Through Undisputed Evidence: Bombay HC

Bombay High Court: A single judge bench of the Bombay High Court (Aurangabad Bench), consisting of Justice Prafulla Khubalkar dismissed a challenge to a labour court award that provided overtime wages with interest to retired employees. The court held that an employees' right to overtime wages was a pre-existing statutory right under Section 59 of the Factories Act, 1948, and that it can...

Citizens Staying Abroad For Uncertain Period Fall Under “Persons Resident Outside India" Under FERA: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that when circumstances indicate an Indian citizen intends to stay abroad for an uncertain period, the burden to prove otherwise is on the person whose residence in India is under issue. Dismissing a batch of appeals filed by members of the Shroff family, the Court upheld penalties for violation of FERA provisions related to unauthorized transactions in...

[SARFAESI Act] Incumbent Upon Borrower To Proactively Approach Lender To Avail Benefits Of Revival Or Restructuring: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court dismissed a writ petition filed by Manoj Lalwani, Director of Ritu Automobiles Pvt. Ltd., challenging HDFC Bank's recovery proceedings under the SARFAESI Act, terming the plea as an "attempt to stall the auction" of secured assets.The division bench of Justices M.S. Karnik and N.R. Borkar found that the petitioner had no locus to file the petition, as the company was...