Calcutta High Court
Challenging ED's Provisional Attachment Becomes Academic After Statutory Confirmation; Parties Must Pursue PMLA Remedies: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court has held that once a provisional attachment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) stands confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority and statutory appeals are pending before the Appellate Tribunal, a parallel writ challenge becomes academic and should not be entertained. Setting aside a Single Judge's order quashing the Enforcement Directorate's (ED)...
Banks Must Furnish Forensic Audit Report Before Calling Account 'Fraud'; Natural Justice Cannot Be Bypassed For Speed: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court has held that a bank cannot proceed to classify a borrower's account as “fraud” without first supplying the forensic audit report and the documents relied upon in the show cause notice, observing that principles of natural justice cannot be sacrificed in the name of expedition under the Reserve Bank of India's Master Directions. Justice Krishna Rao set aside Indian Overseas Bank's decision declaring the petitioners' account as fraud, noting that an effective opportunity...
Employee Cannot Be Restrained From Joining Rival After Resignation; Trade Secrets Protectable: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court has reiterated that a post-employment non-compete clause restraining an employee from joining a competitor after resignation is prima facie void under Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, but clarified that confidentiality obligations and non-solicitation covenants aimed at protecting trade secrets and business interests remain enforceable.Holding that an employer...
Calcutta High Court Upholds Group-D Status For Polytechnic Hostel Workers, Refuses State's Challenge Against Regularisation Benefits
The Calcutta High Court has dismissed a batch of appeals filed by the State of West Bengal and the Director of Technical Education and Training challenging orders that granted permanent government employee status and full Group-D service benefits to hostel/mess employees working in Government and Sponsored Polytechnics.A Division Bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Partha...
Land Acquisition For Industrial Park Is 'Public Purpose', Not For Private Company; Subsequent Lease To Industry Valid: Calcutta High Court
Emphasising that land acquired for “employment generation and socio-economic development” cannot be invalidated merely because the implementing agency changes, the Calcutta High Court has held that acquisition for setting up an industrial park constitutes a clear “public purpose” under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and cannot be attacked as acquisition for a private company...
'After 20 Yrs, Sending Accused To Jail Serves No Purpose': Calcutta High Court Grants Probation In Assault Case
The Calcutta High Court has upheld the conviction of a man for voluntarily causing hurt in a 2005 assault case but extended the benefit of probation in view of the passage of time, observing that after two decades and absence of criminal antecedents, sending the accused to jail would serve little purpose. The Court modified the sentence and directed payment of bonds and compensation instead...
Partition Decree Becomes Executable Only After Stamp Duty Is Paid; Decree Holder Can Recover Amount From Co-Sharers: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court has held that a final decree in a partition suit cannot be fully executed unless it is duly engrossed on stamped paper upon payment of the requisite stamp duty, observing that compliance with the Stamp Act is a condition precedent for execution. At the same time, the Court clarified that to avoid delay in enforcement, the decree holder may deposit the entire stamp duty...
Contempt Court Cannot Grant Fresh Relief Beyond Original Order; Compliance With Direction Ends Contempt: Calcutta High Court
Observing that contempt jurisdiction is meant to secure compliance with court orders and not to grant fresh or additional reliefs, the Calcutta High Court has held that once authorities implement a writ direction to mutate names in land records, petitioners cannot seek further corrections such as change in the nature or character of the land through contempt proceedings. The Court emphasised...
Civil Dispute Over Title Cannot Shield Allegations Of Forgery; Criminal Probe Must Continue: Calcutta High Court Refuses To Quash FIR
The Calcutta High Court has held that the mere pendency or dismissal of civil proceedings over property title does not bar criminal prosecution where serious allegations of forgery, fabrication of public records, and conspiracy are disclosed. Refusing to quash an FIR alleging use of a forged 1963 sale deed to grab land and secure bank loans, the Court observed that questions relating...
Last Seen Theory Alone Insufficient, Extra-Judicial Confession Before Police Weak: Calcutta High Court Acquits Man In Wife's Murder Case
Observing that suspicion, however strong, cannot substitute proof beyond reasonable doubt, the Calcutta High Court has set aside the conviction of a man accused of murdering his wife, holding that the prosecution failed to establish a complete and reliable chain of circumstantial evidence. The Court ruled that the “last seen together” theory by itself is a weak piece of evidence and...
Conviction For Damaging Public Property Cannot Stand Without Seizure, Identification Or Proof Of Damage: Calcutta High Court
Observing that a criminal conviction under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act cannot rest solely on oral testimony when the prosecution fails to seize, produce or otherwise prove the existence of the allegedly damaged property, the Calcutta High Court Circuit Bench at Port Blair has set aside the conviction of a man accused of vandalising equipment at a government hospital...
Tsunami Relief Can't Be Denied To Farming Company Solely For Being Corporate Entity: Calcutta HC Orders Andaman Admin To Pay Compensation
The Calcutta High Court Circuit Bench at Port Blair has set aside an order rejecting tsunami compensation to Andaman Plantations and Development Corporation Pvt. Ltd., holding that relief under the Tsunami Rehabilitation Package cannot be denied merely because the claimant is a company and not an individual farmer. The Court directed the Andaman and Nicobar Administration to reassess and...