Bombay High Court Weekly Round-Up: November 04 - November 10, 2024

Citations 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 573 to 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 579

Nominal Index:

Ashwinkumar Sanap vs State of Maharashtra, 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 573

Puranlal Dhurve vs State of Maharashtra, 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 574

Mayur Ravindra Bhagat vs State of Maharashtra, 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 575

Maharashtra Rajya Bandhkam Kamgar Sanyukt Kriti Samiti vs State of Maharashtra, 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 576

Rakesh Lal Meena and Others v. Union of India through the Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Others, 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 577

X v/s State of Maharashtra, 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 578

State through Canacona Police Station vs Gulsher Ahmed, 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 579

Judgments/Final orders:

Unless Recipient Chooses To Forward Message On WhatsApp, They Cannot Be Held Liable For Defamation: Bombay High Court

Case Title: Ashwinkumar Sanap vs State of Maharashtra

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 573

A WhatsApp message is encrypted end to end and it can only be read by the person, who received it unless the recipient chooses to forward the message, thus in such a situation a sender cannot be booked for defaming a person in society, the Bombay High Court held recently.

A division bench of Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Santosh Chapalgaonkar quashed an FIR lodged against a man for allegedly defaming his in-laws by sending a 'defamatory' post on a WhatsApp message to one of the relatives of the complainant.

'Mandate Of Day-To-Day Trial U/S 309 CrPC Is Thrown To The Wind': Bombay High Court Flags 'Unhealthy Practice' Of Trial Courts

Case Title: Puranlal Dhurve vs State of Maharashtra

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 574

The Bombay High Court while ordering a 'retrial' in a rape case, noted the 'alarming state of affairs' of most criminal trials, wherein the courts have failed to conduct a 'day-to-day' trial and therefore, issued guidelines for the lower courts to strictly adhere to section 309 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and section 346 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

Single-judge Justice Govind Sanap noted various lapses on the part of the trial judge and also the prosecution that prejudiced the case of the victim and also the accused. The judge was disturbed to note that only 10 witnesses were examined in 2 years and 4 months by three separate trial judges.

Bombay High Court Calls For Strict Action Against Developers Constructing Illegal Buildings; Denies Anticipatory Bail To Developer

Case Title: Mayur Ravindra Bhagat vs State of Maharashtra

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 575

Calling for a 'stringent action' against developers proceeding with construction projects without mandatory approvals, which leads to frauds, the Bombay High Court recently denied anticipatory bail to a developer booked for usurping a man's ancestral property and constructing an illegal building over it and further selling flats to individual purchasers by forging mandatory permissions.

Single-judge Justice Rajesh Laddha said in such cases, custodial interrogation is crucial as even some civic officials often connive with such fraud developers to commit fraud.

Registration, Renewal And Welfare Schemes For Construction Workers Cannot Be Suspended Citing Election Code: Bombay High Court

Case Title: Maharashtra Rajya Bandhkam Kamgar Sanyukt Kriti Samiti vs State of Maharashtra

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 576

The Bombay High Court on Thursday (November 7) while quashing the order of the Maharashtra Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board (MBOCWWB), by which it stopped the fresh registration, renewal of registrations, distribution of benefits such as protective gears, essential gears, household utility sets, grant of fresh approvals under the housing scheme and publicity work of the Board, citing the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in view of the upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections.

A division bench of Justices Arif Doctor and Somsekhar Sundaresan ordered the MBOCWWB to forthwith start the operations of the various schemes under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996.

Long-Term Contract Employment Cannot Override Regular Recruitment Process; Bombay HC

Case Name: Rakesh Lal Meena and Others v. Union of India through the Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Others

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 577

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar directed the regularization of staff nurses employed on contract basis in the Union Territory of Daman and Diu. The court overturned the Central Administrative Tribunal's dismissal, ruling that the nurses, who were recruited through proper selection processes in accordance with the 1967 Service Rules, were entitled to regular appointment status despite being initially hired on contract.

Not Allowing Daughter-In-Law To Watch TV, Meet Neighbours, Go To Temple Alone & Making Her Sleep On Carpet Is Not Cruelty: Bombay High Court

Case title: X v/s State of Maharashtra

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 578

Quashing a 20-year-old order convicting a man and his family for cruelty towards his deceased wife, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court said that the allegations of taunting the deceased, not allowing her to watch TV, not allowing her to go alone to the temple and making her sleep on a carpet would not constitute the offence of cruelty under IPC Section 498A, as none of these actions were “severe.”

A single judge bench of Justice Abhay S Waghwase observed that the nature of allegations would not constitute physical and mental cruelty as the allegations pertained to the domestic affairs of the house of accused. 

Girl Booking Hotel Room, Entering It With Boy Does Not Mean She Consented To Sex: Bombay High Court

Case Details: State through Canacona Police Station vs Gulsher Ahmed

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 579

In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court at Goa held that even if a girl books a hotel room along with a man and goes inside the room, it would not mean that she has consented to sexual intercourse.

Single-judge Justice Bharat Deshpande quashed an order passed by a Trial Court in Margao on March 3, 2021, discharging a man from rape charge. The Trial Court in its order, opined that since the girl was instrumental in booking the room in the hotel, she 'consented' to the sexual activity that took place inside the room and thus a rape charge cannot be slapped against Gulsher Ahmed.

Other orders/Observations:

Bombay High Court Questions ECI's Decision To Reject Nomination Papers Of Candidates Across State For Being Filed After 11 AM

The Bombay High Court on Monday sought to know from the Election Commission of India (ECI) as to on what grounds it rejected the nominations of various candidates across Maharashtra, who filed their papers after 11 AM of October 30 for the upcoming State Assembly Elections.

A vacation bench of Justices Arif Doctor and Somasekhar Sundaresan also ordered the ECI to furnish a list of candidates' across the State, whose nominations were rejected for filing their papers after 11 AM.

Maharashtra Lokayukta Calls For Report Over Alleged Illegal Allotment Of Land Parcel To BJP State Chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule

The Lokayukta of Maharashtra recently took cognisance of a complaint lodged against the allocation of 5 hectares of land parcel in Nagpur to Shri Mahalakshmi Jagdamba Sansthan, a trust headed by Chandrashekhar Bawankule, the State Chief of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

'Match Fixing' Film Perpetuates Negative Stereotypes Against Muslims, Aggravates Tensions Between Communities: Plea In Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court is likely to hear a plea seeking a stay on the release of the controversial film "Match Fixing - The Nation Is At Stake" which is based on the 2008 Malegaon Blast Case, as it perpetuates negative stereotypes against Muslims.

The petition seeks a stay on the film's release on the ground that the Trailer of the film itself contains several 'baseless and false' stereotypes depicting Muslims as perpetrators of violence and promoting hatred against the country.