Calcutta High Court Weekly Round-Up 29th January-4th February 2024

The Calcutta High Court has set aside a conviction under Section 7 & 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, against the appellant, who was sentenced to one year of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 500, for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 300 in the year 1997.

The appellant, who was working as a dealing assistant at the Kalyani Vidhan Park Sub-Office was alleged to have demanded a bribe of Rs 300 for collecting the Monthly Investment Scheme (MIS) deposit amount from the complainant, whose deceased father and mother had maintained an MIS account at the said post office.

In setting aside the conviction, a single bench of Justice Ananya Bandopadhyay held:

The manner in which the complaint was lodged directly before the CBI officials and a trap being laid to indict the appellant was a glaring example of misuse of power and nepotism. Such nefarious activity on the part of the complainant is contemptuous without an iota of evidence on record apart from concocted and fabricated depositions that the appellant had claimed a bribe of Rs. 300/- which otherwise was the monthly premium to be paid against the accounts held by the mother and the deceased father of the complainant.

[S.125 CrPC] Maintenance Provisions Being Welfare Legislation Need Not Be Construed To Be Proven Beyond Reasonable Doubt: Calcutta High Court

Case: Paresh Chandra Ganguly (represented by LRs) v CBI

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Cal) 32

The Calcutta High Court has recently held that the provisions for maintenance under Section 125 of the CrPC are welfare legislations and that they need not be proven beyond reasonable doubt as their criminal law counterparts.

In refusing to quash a claim for maintenance against the petitioner, a single bench of Justice Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee held:

Conduct of wife/opposite party during her stay at her matrimonial house may not be the sole parameter to be considered before granting maintenance under 125 Cr.P.C. Said provision being a welfare legislation is not supposed to be construed what is likely to be construed to prove a case beyond reasonable doubt under section 498A I.P.C. or Under Section 406 of the IPC. I find that this is not a fit case where invoking jurisdiction under section 482 of the Code of Criminal procedure the present proceeding, can be quashed on the basis of the judgment passed in favour of the petitioner wherein criminal proceeding under section 498A/406/34 was quashed.

Misdirected Police Investigation: Calcutta HC Directs CID To Probe Death Of Wife Burnt Alive While Husband Showed Ordeal To Her Relative On Video Call

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Cal) 33

Case: Nilanjan Mitra v The State of West Bengal & Ors.

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday took note of an unfortunate incident involving a husband, who video-called his wife's relative to show the sight of his wife burning to death, instead of intervening or saving her.

In observing that the police had fallen short in their investigation, a single bench of Justice Jay Sengupta transferred the investigation to the CID and held:

It appears that the call went on for at least one minute. If a person catches fire and her husband is in a position to save her, but chooses not to do so and do something else, it has to be explored whether this amounts to contributing to the death of the victim. At least, this circumstance should have inspired the Investigating Officer to find out whether the fire could have also been caused by the husband. These aspects have been given a total go-bye by the Investigating Officer. Non-seizure of relevant articles is another issue that cannot be satisfactorily explained by the Investigating Officer. In fact, he relies on the statement of the accused to provide an explanation. The investigations appears to have been totally misdirected.

"Misplaced Sympathy": Calcutta HC Sets Aside Direction For Fresh Viva & Aptitude Test Of TET Candidate Who Failed To Attend Due To Father's Illness

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Cal) 34

Case: Case: West Bengal Board of Primary Education & ors.- Versus - Md. Rafique & anr.

The Calcutta High Court has recently set aside the order of a single bench, which directed the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (Board) to conduct a fresh viva voce and aptitude test for a TET candidate, who was not able to appear for the same due to serious ailments suffered by his father.

A division bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Partha Sarathi Sen held:

In the said conspectus and on humanitarian ground the appellants cannot be asked to conduct viva voce and the aptitude test afresh for the respondent no.1. Such direction would open a floodgate and may also affect the right of the candidates, who had already completed the viva voce and the aptitude test. We are of the opinion that the direction upon the Board to hold a arrange for viva voce and personality test/aptitude test afresh for the respondent no.1 would stand out to be an instance of misplaced sympathy. For the reasons discussed above, the order dated 26th September, 2023 passed in the writ petition being WPA 13347 of 2023, is set aside and the writ petition is dismissed.

Bar Association Elections | Calcutta High Court Intervenes In Plea Raising Concerns On Possibility Of Individual Votes Being Traced Back To Voters

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Cal) 35

Case: ANIMESH BHATTACHARYA v THE BAR ASSOCIATION HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA AND ORS.

The Calcutta High Court intervened in a plea regarding the High Court Bar Association Elections, which were held recently. The plea alleged that while casting votes, members of the Bar association discovered that the serial number of the voter was depicted in the ballot paper, along with the name of the candidates.

In intervening to ensure secrecy was maintained in the voting process, a single bench of Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharya directed the Election officer to deposit all ballot books to the Registrar General's office till further orders, immediately upon conclusion of the process, and held:

Election Officer is directed to take in his custody all the ballot books from which the ballot papers have been torn out for the purpose of the present ongoing election, which carry signatures of the individual voters along with the serial numbers, and retain the same with him in sealed cover/box. The said sealed box/cover containing the said counter foils of the ballot books, containing signatures of the voters against the serial nos. of the ballot papers, shall be deposited by the Election Officer to the Registrar General of this Court at the end of the election process, immediately after the completion of the polling process today, preferably by 7 p.m. this evening.

Limited Judicial Intervention U/s 8 And 11 Of Arbitration Act, Presumption In Favor Of Arbitration: Calcutta High Court

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Cal) 36

Case Title: Suresh Dhanuka vs Shahnaz Husain

The Calcutta High Court bench comprising Justice Krishna Rao held that while interpreting the arbitration agreements, the courts should have a presumption in favour of arbitration of the dispute and the court could only interfere if the party shows prima facie non-existence of valid arbitration agreement. It held that Sections 8 and 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1986 give the arbitrator or the tribunal the primary authority to determine the questions of non-arbitrability of the disputes. Further, it held that Section 16 confers significant powers upon the tribunal to determine any objections concerning the existence or validity of the arbitration agreement.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

Madhyamik Exams 2024 | Calcutta HC Imposes 10K Costs On School For Mistakenly Marking Student 'Absent', Leading To Her Not Receiving Admit Card

Case: Rachana Ghosh (Minor) represented by her father Samir Ghosh -Vs- The State of West Bengal & Ors.

Case No: W.P.A. 2121 of 2024

The Calcutta High Court has recently imposed costs of Rs 10,000 on a school that mistakenly marked a student absent, due to which she was not provided with an admit card for the upcoming 2023 Madhyamik class 10 examinations.

A single bench of Justice Biswajit Basu, who had directed the school's headmaster to appear in-person, held:

It appears from the record that the petitioner has already deposited the fees for the Madhyamik Pariksha, 2024 within time, it is entirely the fault of the School for which the petitioner cannot be made to suffer. The Board therefore is directed to issue Admit Card to the petitioner enabling her to take up the Madhyamik Pariksha, 2024, subject to the payment of costs of Rs. 10,000/-

250+ Advocates Of Calcutta High Court Write To CJ Flagging Alleged 'Lack Of Courtesy, Decorum & Etiquette' Shown By Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay To AG

Over 250 advocates of Calcutta High Court have written to Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam lodging their protest over the alleged lack of courtesy, civility decorum and etiquette shown by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay to the Advocate General of the State of West Bengal during the course of judicial proceedings on 25th January 2024.

The proceedings in question relate to improper admissions to medical colleges in West Bengal and were the centre of controversy when Justice Gangopadhyay ignored a division bench's stay order on his direction for a CBI probe.

This led to the matter being taken up suo moto by the Supreme Court which stayed all proceedings in the case and transferred the case to itself.

Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Re-Assigns Cases On Primary Education Which Were To Be Heard By Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay

Calcutta High Court Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam has reassigned all cases under Article 226 relating to primary education under Group-II, which were to be heard by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay to the bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha.

This development comes in the wake of substantial controversy last week, when Justice Gangopadhyay ignored a division bench's stay order on his direction for a CBI probe, leading to the Supreme Court taking suo moto cognizance, staying the orders, and transferring the case to itself.

'Prima Facie Over-Action': Calcutta HC Seeks Explanation From Doctors Who Terminated Pregnancy When Court Merely Directed Formation Of Medical Board

Case: X vs State of West Bengal

Case No: WPA 2059 of 2024

The Calcutta High Court has called for an explanation from a group of doctors who medically terminated the minor petitioner's pregnancy when the Court had only directed the formation of a Medical Board to ascertain the pros & cons of terminating the pregnancy.

A single bench of Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharya held:

Such action on the part of the concerned doctors transpires prima facie to be an over-action, since the court had not permitted, in terms of the concerned statute, that the medical termination of pregnancy be carried out but had merely sought for a report regarding its pros and cons. Hence, an explanation is required to be given by the concerned doctors who carried out the procedure as to why the termination was carried out in such hot haste without there being any direction of the court, indicating further if there was any particular cause of such urgency.