Citations: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 134 to 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 338Married Woman Cannot Prosecute Accused For Rape On False Promise To Marry, Her Consent Not Based On Misconception: MP High CourtCase Title: Abhishek Arjariya Vs. The State Of Madhya Pradesh & AnotherCitation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 134Madhya Pradesh High Court has ruled that a married woman engaging in a continuous sexual relationship...
Citations: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 134 to 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 338
Case Title: Abhishek Arjariya Vs. The State Of Madhya Pradesh & Another
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 134
Madhya Pradesh High Court has ruled that a married woman engaging in a continuous sexual relationship with another man cannot resort to the plea that her consent was obtained based on a false promise to marry.
The single-judge bench of Justice Sanjay Dwivedi relied on several apex court judgments to iterate that consent cannot be regarded as one that has been obtained based on a misconception of fact when the prosecutrix was a married woman on the date of developing physical relations with the accused. From the factual circumstances, the court also inferred that it was a consensual relationship that continued for over 8 years before the prosecutrix obtained a decree of divorce from her husband in 2019.
Case Title: Smt. Rubab Bai & Ors v. Madhya Pradesh Wakf Board & Ors.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 135
Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently held that the Waqf Tribunal does not have the jurisdiction to decide cases pending before civil courts regarding the nature of ownership of the disputed property, instituted before the commencement of the Waqf (M.P. Amendment) Act, 1994.
Accused Has No Right Of Pre-Audience Before Registration Of An FIR: Madhya Pradesh High Court
Case title - Abhishek Pandey vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Case citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 136
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that an accused cannot claim a right of hearing before an FIR is registered, and hence, an FIR cannot be quashed on the grounds that the accused was not heard before the registration of the offence.
A bench of Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia observed thus while dismissing a petition filed by one Abhishek Pandey challenging two FIRs lodged against him on the allegations of forcibly entering the school and abusing the staff.
Case Title: Satish Kumar Mishra v. M.P. Public Service Commission District Indore & Ors.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 137
Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that reserved posts that are 'carried forward' to the successive recruitment year for persons with disabilities, shall be filled by General category candidate if no suitable person with disability is available.
The single judge bench of Justice Sanjay Dwivedi observed that the term 'shall' has been used in Section 36 of the Persons with Disabilities Act (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. It thus held that such reserved posts remaining should be given to eligible candidates from the unreserved category if there are no suitable persons with any of the categorical disabilities.
Case Title: Nageshwar Prasad Jaisal v. State of Madhya Pradesh & Anr.
Citation: 2024 Live Law (MP) 138
Madhya Pradesh High Court reiterated that sexual acts during the course of a long-term relationship cannot be equated with physical relations occurring on the false pretext of marriage, merely because the lovers got separated later.
The single judge bench of Justice Sanjay Dwivedi explained that there are relationships between young boys and girls, accompanied with physical relations, that couldn't culminate in marriage years later; this in itself cannot be a ground to say that the accused failed to fulfill his promise to marry the prosecutrix. In such instances, the consent given by the prosecutrix for physical relations can't be said as obtained by a misconception of fact.
Case Title: Smt. Janka Kewat (Deleted) Through Lr Shri Balkishan v. Union Of India And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 139
In a writ appeal filed by an aggrieved mother to further investigate an allegedly fake police encounter to eliminate dacoits, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has refused to entrust the investigation to the CBI instead of the Crime Investigation Wing. According to the mother, her son was one among the two killed in the encounter back in 2007.
Citation: 2024 Live Law (MP) 140
After referring to various forensic studies, Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that the husband's semen cannot possibly be found in the anal and vaginal swabs of the wife five months after their separation since the life span of sperms is no more than a few days.
The single-judge bench of Justice Anand Pathak observed that the charge under Section 377 IPC [now deleted in BNS] had been falsely foisted upon the petitioner-husband.
Case: Ramsingh Thakur Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 141
In a recent order by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur, Justice G.S. Ahluwalia has reiterated that writ petitions for directing police to register FIRs cannot be entertained by High Courts when an alternative remedy is available.
Rape FIR 'Suspicious': MP High Court Denies Permission To Terminate Minor's 28-Week Pregnancy
Case Title: A Minor v. The State of M.P. & Ors.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 142
Noting that an FIR lodged by the grandmother of the prosecutrix is 'suspicious' on account of false information about the date of occurrence of rape, Madhya Pradesh High Court has refused to allow the medical termination of prosecutrix's 28-week-old pregnancy.
The single judge bench of Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia, while dismissing the petition, reasoned that the Medical Board's report confirms a pregnancy way past 24 weeks. This factor, as well as the existence of a mild intellectual disability of the minor, forced the Medical Board to deny permission for medical termination.
Case title: Smt. Suma Bhaskaran (Suma Anil) versus Union Of India
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 143
In a significant ruling, the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur, presided by Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia, addressed the critical issue of whether an accused can be detained in jail without any progress in their trial.
Justice Ahluwalia stated, “It is the stand of the prosecution itself that for the time being the trial cannot proceed because of legal hurdles. If that is so, then no one can be allowed to languish in jail because unless and until a person is held to be guilty he has to be presumed innocent.”
Case title: P.D. Agrawal Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 144
A single judge bench of Justice G.S. Ahluwalia of the Madhya Pradesh High Court delivered an important ruling regarding the criminal liability of a contractor for failing to place warning signs at a construction site, which led to a fatal accident.
The court held that owner of the company had the duty to ensure all safety precautions, including warning signs. The negligence in safety measures directly contributing to a fatal accident can constitute a criminal offence under Section 304-A IPC.
Case Title: Purushottam Gupta v. Union of India & Ors
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 145
In a plea filed by a retired government servant seeking permission to join RSS, the Madhya Pradesh High Court came down heavily on the previous office memorandums issued by the Union of India that listed the organization in the banned category.
The Division bench of Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice Gajendra Singh held that executive-framed official memorandums cannot possibly impose a moratorium on joining RSS since these memorandums are not the law of the land under Article 13(3)(a).
Madhya Pradesh High Court Acquits Rape Accused After He Completes 10 Yrs Jail Sentence
Case Title: Raju v. State of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 146
After observing that there can be no excuses for the 'sorry state of affairs' at the High Court that resulted in an accused completing his entire jail term of 10 years during the criminal appeal's pendency, Madhya Pradesh High Court has set aside a rape conviction owing to the 'discrepancies in prosecution story'.
The single-judge bench of Justice Subodh Abhyankar noted that there can't be any excuses for this situation since a criminal appeal must be decided before the accused completes his sentence. The criminal appeal had been pending for nearly 10 years since 2014.
Case Title: I.M. Siddiqui & Ors. v. State of M.P & Ors
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 147
In criminal proceedings initiated by an accident victim who fell into a ditch on NH-7 at Seoni, the Madhya Pradesh High Court observed that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) or its officials haven't prima facie acted in 'good faith' to maintain the highway.
The single-judge bench of Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia added that maintaining the highway means NHAI taking adequate steps to keep the highway in a motorable condition. The court explained that NHAI is responsible for taking remedial measures if it finds a certain highway as not motorable or unsafe.
Case Title: Santosh Chouhan S/O Late Hariram Chouhan Vs Yashwant S/O Dayaldas Kurre And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 148
In a notable ruling, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has emphasized the necessity of establishing a "factual foundation" for admitting photocopies as secondary evidence under Section 65 of the Indian Evidence Act.
The petitioner, Santosh Chouhan, had filed a civil suit for specific performance of contract and sought to introduce photocopies of documents as secondary evidence. The trial court dismissed this application, prompting the petitioner to file the present miscellaneous petition.
Case Title: Smt. Anjum Ansari And Others Versus R. Rajesh Rao And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 149
In a significant ruling, the Madhya Pradesh High Court addressed whether only government servants qualify as being in “permanent job” for the purpose of grant of future prospects in motor accident compensation claims.
Bench of Justice Achal Kumar Paliwal held that if a person is in such a job wherein his salary is increased periodically or receives annual increment etc., then, such person would be treated as being in “permanent job”.
MP High Court Orders Enquiry Against Judge Who 'Blindly Signed' Wrong Order Sheets Written By Clerk
Case Title: Ranjeet Singh Johal v. The State Of Madhya Pradesh & Ors.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 150
After finding out that the trial court negligently posted a cheating case for prosecution evidence repeatedly instead of framing the charges, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has recommended an enquiry against the erring judge and concerned clerk.
While deciding on an application under Section 439 CrPC [483 BNSS], the High Court saw that the trial court wrongly posted a case for evidence on more than one occasion. Upon closer inspection, the court deduced that the wrong order sheets were handwritten whereas other order sheets were typed.
Courts Cannot Supervise Police Investigations Or Order Arrests: Madhya Pradesh High Court
Case title: Smt. Jyotsna Maity Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 151
A single-judge bench of Justice GS Ahluwalia at Madhya Pradesh High Court while dismissing a petition seeking its intervention in the investigation of a criminal case emphasized that courts cannot supervise police investigations or direct the arrest of accused persons, adding that such matters fall within the exclusive domain of the investigating authorities.
Case title: Majid Khan Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 152
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has made it clear that if the licensing authority is satisfied that a person is involved in criminal activity and there is a possible threat to public safety and public peace, it may cancel such person's arms license.
Case Title: A Minor Through Her Grandmother v. State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors.
Citation: 2024 Live Law (MP) 153
Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently allowed a writ appeal filed by the grandmother of a minor rape victim whose pregnancy duration had reached 28 weeks.
The Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf said that though the pregnancy was over 28 weeks, the same was a result of an alleged offence of rape. The court then referred to X v. Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of NCT of Delhi, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 809 to emphasise the right to reproductive autonomy of a woman.
Case title: Adarsh Pandey Versus The Board Of Secondary Education
Citation: 2024 Live Law (MP) 154
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed a writ petition seeking revaluation of a student's answer sheet, reaffirming the established legal principle that revaluation cannot be mandated in the absence of a specific provision.
Justice G.S. Ahluwalia, while delivering the judgment on July 25, categorically stated that there is no provision for revaluation of answer sheets in the relevant rules and regulations.
Case title: Ram Sahai Chiroliya vs. District Bar Association, Datia and Another
Citation: 2024 Live Law (MP) 155
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has overturned the District Bar Association, Datia's decision to cancel the membership of advocate Ram Sahai Chiroliya, citing non-adherence to the procedural requirements as outlined in the model byelaws prescribed by the State Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh.
Case title: Kanwaljeet Kaur versus State of M.P. and Another
Citation: 2024 Live Law (MP) 156
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has emphasized the necessity of expediting case disposals in revenue courts, extending the Supreme Court's guidelines applicable to High Courts and District Courts to include revenue courts as well.
Case Title: Farukh Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 Live Law (MP) 157
Madhya Pradesh High Court has iterated that a compromise cannot be accepted in rape cases in a 'routine manner' unless 'exceptional circumstances' are made out.
The single-judge bench of Justice Prakash Chandra Gupta held that the rape case instituted by a 20-year-old victim couldn't be quashed despite the settlement, even if there was no coercion or fear before reaching a consensus.
Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code Can't Oust Civil Court's Jurisdiction On Title Suits: High Court
Case title: Balbhadra Prasad Versus Sarjo Prasad And Others
Citation: 2024 Live Law (MP) 158
The Madhya Pradesh High Court reaffirmed that civil courts have jurisdiction over suits for declaration of title and permanent injunctions and there is no conflict with Section 257(f) & (m) of the M.P. Land Revenue Code. This case highlighted the essential distinction between matters exclusively within the purview of revenue authorities and those adjudicated by civil courts.
Case title: Mahendra Singh vs. Kavita Singh
Citation: 2024 Live Law (MP) 159
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has upheld a maintenance order while addressing the question on whether physical disability exempts an individual from the obligation of spousal maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C.).
The case was heard by Justice G. S. Ahluwalia. Mahendra Singh claimed his physical disability rendered him unable to support his wife, Kavita Singh. The court concluded that a temporary disability does not absolve him of his maintenance obligations.
Case Title: Harchand Gurjar v. The State Of Madhya Pradesh & Ors.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 160
While hearing a habeas corpus plea, the Madhya Pradesh High Court raised a question about the welfare of child victims of sexual offences, children leaving home out of quarrels and children in need of care and protection.
To mentor, guide and encourage such children who come back home after undergoing mental and emotional trauma, the Division Bench of Justices Anand Pathak and Rajendra Kumar Vani has floated a scheme called 'Shaurya Didi'.
Case title: Kaushal Kumar Kachhawaha Versus The State Of M.P. & Ors.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 161
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur, in a case presided by Justice Vivek Jain, dismissed a plea challenging the denial of compassionate appointment. The petitioner, Kaushal Kumar Kachhawaha, sought the court's intervention following an order from the District Education Officer that allowed the private institution where his deceased father worked to appoint him on compassionate grounds but without state-funded salary support.
Case Title: Archaeological Survey Of India v. Chief Executive Officer & Ors
Citation: 2024 Live Law (MP) 162
The Madhya Pradesh High Court held that the Waqf Board cannot claim ownership of monuments in the Fort of Burhanpur, already declared as 'ancient and protected' by the Central Government. The ownership dispute was about the Tomb of Shah Shuja, the Tomb of Nadir Shah and Bibi Sahib's Masjid located in the Fort.
Case title: Sant Kumar Patel And Others Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 Live Law (MP) 163
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur, in a case presided over by Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia, has ruled that the accused has no right to demand a particular manner of investigation or specific investigating agency and Court supervision of the investigation is limited to ensuring its proper progress and maintaining public confidence.
The petitioners sought to quash an FIR against them, alleged that the FIR was based on fabricated documents and contended that the police investigation was not being conducted properly despite pointing out discrepancies.
Case title: Gopal Sabu And Others Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Other
Citation: 2024 Live Law (MP) 164
The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently dealt with a case which highlighted an ongoing civil dispute over the ownership of the trademark 'SACHAMOTI', which has been mischaracterized as a criminal matter. Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi heard the case.
The primary issue revolved around the ownership of the 'SACHAMOTI' trademark, which is currently under litigation in the Delhi High Court. Both parties involved in the case have pending civil suits concerning the rightful ownership of the mark.
Case Title: Pradeep Kumar Agarwal v. Nitin Agarwal & Ors.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 165
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed revenue officers including a Tahsildar and Additional District Collector of Narmadapuram to undergo 6 six-month training period, after they misconstrued an earlier order of the High Court in a matter of mutation of legal representatives' names.
The single judge bench of Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia held that officers unable to understand the law as well as the directions given by the top courts are not eligible to determine the rights of affected parties through quasi-judicial orders.
Case title: M/S Himalaya Traders (A Partnership Firm) Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 166
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that the State's directive for the relocation of a liquor shop does not violate the shop owner's right to trade under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution as sale and consumption of liquor is not a fundamental right but a privilege, regulated by the State.
Police Officers Have To Join Music Band Practice As Directed: MP High Court Reiterates
Case Title: Pankaj Singh Rajput & Ors v. The State Of Madhya Pradesh & Ors.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 167
In a matter where several police constables were suspended over refusal to join the Police Department's music band, Madhya Pradesh High Court has asked three suspended constables from Morena to immediately sign up for band training.
The single-judge bench of Justice Anand Pathak took note of its earlier order in May that dismissed a similar petition, and mandated compulsory contribution in the police band team.
Case title: Ashish Kumar Mishra & Others Versus State of M.P. & Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 168
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has made it clear that power to recall witness under Section 311 CrPC cannot be exercised routinely, on mere allegation that initial testimony of the witness was made under duress.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Paliwal held that when witnesses have not made any complaint to the police or to Court and there is nothing on record to show that at the time of tendering evidence before the Trial Court, witnesses were under any threat, duress or coercion, it is not justified on part of the Trial Court to recall the witnesses for further evidence.
Case title: Gyan Ganga Orchids The International School vs. The State of Madhya Pradesh and Others and connected applications
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 169
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at its Jabalpur Bench directed private schools to seek alternative remedy regarding the regulation of fees by the district committee under the Madhya Pradesh Niji Vidyalaya (Fees Tatha Sambandhit Vishayon Ka Viniyaman) Adhiniyam 2017 (2017 Act).
The single-judge bench of Justice Maninder S. Bhatti dismissed a series of writ petitions filed by various private schools challenging the fee regulation orders issued by the District Committee under the 2017 Act and its associated Rules of 2020. The petitions collectively raised significant questions regarding the jurisdiction of the District Committee and the adherence to principles of natural justice.
Wife Cannot Be Denied Maintenance Merely Because She Is Educated: Madhya Pradesh High Court
Case title: Rahul Patel Versus Hemlata Malviya
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 170
In a recent decision, the Madhya Pradesh High Court at Indore, presided over by Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi has held that being educated does not disqualify an individual from receiving maintenance.
The applicant, Rahul Patel, sought a revision under Section 19(4) of the Family Courts Act, 1984, challenging the order by the Principal Judge of the Family Court in Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh.The impugned order mandated that the Petitioner pay Rs. 9,000 per month as maintenance to his wife, Hemlata Malviya, the respondent who filed an application under Section 125 of CrPC for maintenance. The couple married on 19th November 2011, according to Hindu customs and traditions.
MP High Court Upholds Removal Of Additional District Judge Accused Of Taking Money To Grant Bail
Case title: Nirbhay Singh Suliya Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 171
The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently upheld the removal of an Additional District Judge in connection with allegations of corruption.
The decision, rendered by the bench of the Acting Chief Justice and Justice Vinay Saraf, affirms that there is no need to judicially review the findings of departmental enquiry, when due process followed and no perversity found.
Case Title: Smt. Saroj Versus Aashish Yadav
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 172
The Madhya Pradesh High Court bench has addressed the issue of the admissibility of electronic evidence recorded illegally in matrimonial disputes.
Justice Gajendra Singh set aside a previous order by the Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Indore, which allowed the inclusion of an illegally recorded conversation as evidence. It was held that unauthorized recording breaches privacy rights.
Case title: Gopal Shivhare Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 173
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that for conviction of an accused under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the major test is the ability of accused to induce the bribe giver to give illegal gratification by making demand and the impression in the mind of the bribe giver; not the competency of the accused to do a favour.
Case title: Ajeet Patel and Others vs. The State of Madhya Pradesh and Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 174
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur has held that suspects or accused individuals cannot be given a pre-audience to determine the manner or agency of their investigation.
Justice G. S. Ahluwalia passed the order in a plea by the petitioner seeking directions on the police to conduct a 'free and fair' investigation, even before an FIR was registered against him.
The legal question for consideration was whether a suspect or accused has the right to pre-audience or the right to demand an investigation by a particular agency or in a specific manner.
Case Title: Sangita v. State of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 175
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Indore in a recent case on abetment of suicide observed that the allegations against the petitioner, such as not preparing food on time, compelling her husband to do household chores, and attending her brother's wedding, were trivial domestic issues which did not meet the threshold of "instigation" as defined under Section 107 of the IPC.
Justice Hirdesh acquitted Sangita, who was accused of abetting the suicide of her husband and highlighted the necessity for concrete evidence of direct or indirect acts of instigation or incitement in cases of abetment of suicide.
Case title: Kushi & Associates Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 176
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has condemned a lawyer for making inappropriate comments and allegedly pressurising the court to pass favourable orders in order to recover legal fees from his clients.
Case title: Ahamad Khan And Others Versus Bhaskar Ddatt Pandey And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 177
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has discussed the issue of the sale of a part of land belonging to a Hindu joint family property. The court adjudicated on the question of whether a specific piece of land, not being the share of a coparcener, can be alienated. In answering the question in the negative, Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia held that:“Although a coparcener or co-sharer can alienate to the extent of his share but he cannot alienate any specific piece of land. Therefore, at the most the petitioners can be said to have purchased a share of coparceners/Co-sharer still they are not entitled for any specific piece of land.”
Case Title: Smt. Kalabai v. Union of India & Ors.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 178
In a peculiar instance, the Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissed an application filed by a homemaker to prosecute an appeal against the order passed by the Railway Claims Tribunal in 2010 as an 'indigent person', noting that the court fees payable on the memorandum of appeal was merely Rs 30.
The single-judge bench of Justice Vivek Jain observed that the appellant-applicant has not demonstrated her inability to pay even the court fees of Rs 30, applicable as per the High Court Rules and Court Fees Act.
Case Title: Pankaj Shukla And Others Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 179
Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently allowed a plea made by several police constables from Mandleshwar, Mauganj and Pandhuma against enlisting them in the police band's dummy team without their consent.
The single-judge bench of Justice Vivek Jain held that the constables can't be sent for participation and training in the police band team without their written consent.
Case Title: Dr. KK Kaul v. State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 180
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently clarified that retired employees are entitled to the additional quantum of pension at the rate of 20 per cent from the date they turn 79 years old and enter the 80th year of their life, and not just from the point when an employee completes 80 years of age.
The single-judge bench of Justice Anand Pathak applied a purposive interpretation of statutes and disagreed with the state's submission that the additional benefit for persons within the slab of 80-85 years would accrue only upon attaining 80 years of age.
Case Title: Sunil Khandate And Others Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 181
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed a bail application filed by men accused of hunting a female tiger by installing electric wires, an act which the Court underscored as a serious threat to nature and forests. They were charged under Sections 2(16), (36) r/w Sections 9, 39, 44, 48(A), 49(B), 51, 52 and 57 of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972 (Amendment) 2022 by State Tiger Strike Force, Jabalpur.
In his ruling, Justice Dinesh Kumar Paliwal emphasized that the hunting of a Schedule-I wild animal, such as a tiger, cannot be treated as a trivial offence. The Court observed that the offence poses a significant threat to both nature and the environment, thereby justifying the continued detention of the accused.
Case title: Neeraj Vyas Versus State Of M.P. And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 182
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed a writ petition challenging the cancellation of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) granted for operating a stone-cutting plant on land allegedly earmarked for social forestry.
A bench of Justice Anand Pathak upheld the decision of the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), Forest, Ghatigaon, to cancel the NOC, emphasizing that the land in question was designated as forest land for plantation purposes.
Case title: Nandkishore Rahangdale Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 183
The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently imposed Rs 10,000 cost on a man seeking directions to trace out his missing wife and children, allegedly missing since 2006.
Justice Vishal Dhagat found that the petitioner was fully aware that his wife had left him due to his abusive behavior.
Case title: Anarji vs. The State of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 184
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Indore has released an accused who was booked for the possession of 6kgs of ganja in 2016 and had been sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment.
The court noted that the accused had undergone more than 2 years of imprisonment and released him from custody while enhancing the fine amount imposed by the trial court.
Case title: Manish @ Virendra @ Saroj Rai Vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 185
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur has addressed the legality of an automatic cancellation clause in bail orders. The case revolved around the applicant's plea to recall an earlier order that dismissed his request for modifying the terms of his bail.
The question before the court was whether a condition that mandates the automatic cancellation of bail without providing the accused an opportunity to be heard violates fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The Court stated unequivocally that any condition leading to the automatic cancellation of bail without due process and opportunity of hearing infringes upon the fundamental right to personal liberty.
Case title: Harcharan Singh Bhatia Versus Union Of India And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 186
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by a landowner seeking inclusion of her land in the acquisition proceedings initiated under the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition & Development) Act, 1957.
The petition was primarily based on the grounds that the exclusion of her land from acquisition violated her constitutional right and would render her property valueless.
Case title: Mount Everest Breweries Limited Through Its Director Shri Ranjan Tibrewal Versus Excise Commissioner Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 187
The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently dismissed a writ petition filed by Mount Everest Breweries Limited challenging registration of the label “VASCO 60000 EXTRA STRONG BEER” by the Excise Commissioner of Madhya Pradesh.
The petitioner had alleged that the impugned label of Vasco Breweries, respondent No. 3, bore a deceptive similarity to its own registered label “MOUNT'S 6000 SUPER STRONG BEER.”
Justice Pranay Verma said though Rule 9(4) of the MP Foreign Liquor Rules 1996, prescribes a label may be registered if there is no objection to such registration, such stipulation cannot be stretched to mean that if any objection is made by a third party then merely for the fact of such objection having been made, the label cannot be registered.
Case Title: M/s Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited Versus Mr. Neelambar Singh Patel And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 188
The Madhya Pradesh High Court bench of Justice Dwarka Dhish Bansal has held that an award could be enforced through its execution in any location within the country where the decree could be executed.
The High Court held that it is unnecessary to obtain a transfer of the decree from the Court that had jurisdiction over the arbitral proceedings.
Case title: Bihari Lal Shah And Others Vs. State Of MP
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 189
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently held the appointment of "Gurujis" in schools running without approval by the competent authority, as 'invalid'.
The order came in a writ petition moved by several teachers–appointed under the Madhya Pradesh Education Guarantee Scheme, challenging the order passed by Collector of Singrauli, which questioned the validity of the appointments and denied their continuation in service.
Case title: Vishram vs. State of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 190
The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently granted bail to an accused in a case involving the cultivation of opium poppy under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Justice Vishal Dhagat held that due to the lack of specified quantity, either small or commercial for opium poppy within the legislation, Section 37 of the NDPS Act will not be attracted in this case. It was held that based on the absence of a specified quantity for opium poppy cultivation in the NDPS Act, the accused could be granted bail.
Case title: Khairu @ Satendra Singh Rawat Vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 191
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Gwalior set aside charges framed under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, stating that mere occasional harassment or misbehaviour does not amount to abetment to suicide.
A single-judge bench of Justice Sanjeev S. Kalgaonkar observed that for an offence of abetment to be made out, there must be a clear and intentional act of instigation or incitement.
Case Title: In Reference Versus Shri R.N. Dwivedi And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 192
The Madhya Pradesh High Court, at Indore, dismissed contempt proceedings initiated against revenue officials for allegedly making adverse comments on a judgment passed by the Lower Appellate Court.
The case focused on whether the comments made by the Tehsildar and Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) regarding the appellate court's decree constituted contempt of court. The Court concluded that the comments were internal notings intended for bureaucratic purposes and did not amount to contempt.
Case title: Smt. Phoolwati Prajapati Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 193
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at its Jabalpur Bench, recently, quashed the termination of an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) worker. The worker was terminated on account of a state policy giving preference to candidates from Scheduled Tribes (ST) in areas where their population exceeds 50%. The court held that the application of this policy was erroneous in this case due to the educational qualifications of the candidates involved.
Case title: Ramgareb & Others v/s Ajay Arjun Singh and Rakesh Kumar Pandey v/s Ajay Arjun Singh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 194
While dismissing two pleas challenging the election of Congress MLA Ajay Arjun Singh from Chaurhat constituency, the Madhya Pradesh High Court held that mere minor differences in nomination form or non-disclosure of dues cannot be termed a "substantial defect" affecting the election result.
A single judge bench of Justice Vishal Mishra observed that the election petitions alleged non-compliance of the provisions of the Representation of People Act, 1951. Justice Mishra said that though attempt was made to point out that there are certain violations which amount to disqualification of the nomination form, however the "allegation should be specific, it should not be vague".
Case title: Rajkumar Ahirwar vs. The State of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 195
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has made it clear that a witness who has been fully examined by the trial court cannot be recalled merely on the ground that such witness later resiled from his/her deposition.
The bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Paliwal observed, "no prosecution witness can be called for examination/cross-examination merely because he/she filed affidavit contrary to his deposition made before the trial Court."
State Not Part To Agreement Can't File Section 16 Application: Madhya Pradesh High Court
Case Title: The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others Versus T.R.G. Industries Private Limited A Company Registered Under The Companies Act 1956 And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 196
The Madhya Pradesh High Court bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Rajendra Kumar Vani has held that an arbitration agreement entered into between the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, and a private company does not involve or implicate the State Government in any legal capacity.
The bench held that such an agreement is exclusively between the central government ministry and the concerned company, thereby excluding any role or involvement of the State Government. As a result, the bench held that the State Government cannot be considered a party to the arbitration agreement or the related arbitral proceedings.
Case title: President, Birla Corporation Ltd And Another Versus Rajgovind Singh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 197
In a case pertaining to employment rights of a "Badli Workman", the Madhya Pradesh High Court recently quashed an award passed by the labour court terming it as "materially illegal" and observed that such an employee has no right to claim regular employment unless they have completed 240 days in a calendar year.
Case title: Dhara Singh Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 198
The Madhya Pradesh High Court (Indore bench) recently dismissed plea moved by a medical aspirant seeking allotment of a seat in the MBBS course under the 5% Government School quota in the current academic session claiming that his NEET-UG 2023 score entitled him to a seat in the upcoming academic session.
A division bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi while dismissing the plea noted that the petitioner candidate participated in the NEET (UG) Examination 2023 and secured 359 marks out of 720 in the OBC category; he however did not approach the high court or the Supreme Court to claim admission in the UR-GS (Unreserved Category Government School) seats against the Government School quota.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 199
The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court upheld a family court's order dissolving the marriage of a couple under Hindu Marriage Act, while noting that depending on the "facts of the case", a wife opting to terminate her pregnancy without her husband's consent "may" be termed as cruelty.
Case Title: Mount Everest Breweries Limited v/s Excise Commissioner Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 200
The Madhya Pradesh High Court, at its Indore bench, recently allowed a plea moved by a brewery–Mount Everest Breweries Limited, which had challenged the registration of a similar beer label–“VASCO 60000 EXTRA STRONG BEER” by a competing brewery alleging that it would lead to a potential trademark infringement.
The high court however held that the there was similarity and resemblance which might confuse the public between the two products.
Case Title: State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors. Versus Rajeev Singh & Ors.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 201
The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently said that a contractual employee cannot claim regularization and merely because he has continued beyond his period of employment would not entitle him to become a permanent employee.
The observation was made by a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf while allowing the State's appeal against an order of a single judge bench which had allowed a writ petition moved by certain data entry operators (DEOs) challenging an August 2018 order issued by the Commissioner, Planning, Economics and Statistics Department, Bhopal directing it to reinstate the operators.
Case title: Dr. Jaya Panwar Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 202
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has rejected the anticipatory bail application of a senior school teacher accused of harassing students by disrobing them and making objectionable videos under the pretext of mobile phone checks.
The bench of Justice Prem Narayan Singh at Indore also noted that the prosecuting agency failed to invoke provisions of the POCSO Act and directed the Police Commissioner, Indore to examine the matter.
Case Title: Pr. Commissioner of Income Tax Central versus Mukul Kakar
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 203
Finding that the legal principles have been properly applied by the Tribunal in appreciating the evidence and no substantial question has arisen for consideration, the Madhya Pradesh High Court confirmed the action of the Tribunal in deleting the additions made u/s 68.
As per Section 68 of Income tax Act, where any sum is found credited in the book of an assessee maintained for any previous year, and the assessee offers no explanation about the nature and source thereof or the explanation offered by him is not, in the opinion of the AO, satisfactory, the sum so credited may be charged to income-tax as the income of assessee of that previous year.
Case title: X vs Y
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 204
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at its Indore bench held that in cases where a minor female has been married to a major male, their marriage could be declared voidable under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA).
Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi stated that even if the remedy is not present under Section 11 or 12, under Section 13 of HMA, divorce can be claimed on grounds of the minor woman being married to a major and it will fall under the term cruelty.
Case Title: Shankarlal Namdeo Vs. The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 205
The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently quashed an order transferring a sub-inspector–against whom allegations were made under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act (POSH), observing that the transfer was made merely because the internal complaints committee proceedings were pending is unjustified.
Case Title: Sushant Kumar Sahu Versus Smt Mohini Sahu
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 206
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that inconvenience of parties to appear before the Court cannot be a ground to waive off the six-month statutory cooling-off period prescribed under Section 13-B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA), before grant of divorce by mutual consent.
The petitioner sought dissolution of his marriage through mutual consent and submitted that since both the parties are required to stay out of station in connection with their work, therefore they are facing difficulty in attending the case.
Case title: KRISHNAKANT JAISWAL v/s THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND OTHERS
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 207
The Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in a plea against lease termination and subsequent demolition of certain shops in 2022 expressed its displeasure with the then Collector, Gwalior for "giving a lame excuse" that since he was not a party to the matter he was unaware about the court's interim order protecting the shopkeepers from dispossession.
The high court while stopping short of issuing contempt to the official cautioned him not to repeat such an act in future.
Case title: Smt. Manju Rai Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 208
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has quashed an order calling for a no confidence motion meeting in connection with the post of President, Municipal Council under the Madhya Pradesh Municipalities Act, noting that the ordinance promulgated subsequently extending the tenure from 2 to 3 years before such a motion is passed would have retroactive application.
This case pertained to whether the right to contest elections is statutory or substantive, and whether the ordinance in question applies retrospectively or prospectively.
Case title: Aaloo Pyaj Commission Agents Versus State Of Madhya Pradesh & Ors.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 209
The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in a recent order discussed the classification of garlic–as a vegetable or as a spice–under the state's agricultural produce market law.
The high court allowed a review plea filed by petitioner–Aaloo Pyaj Commission Agents which trades in garlic, and set aside an earlier order that curtailed the authority of the Managing Director of the Madhya Pradesh State Agricultural Marketing Board to amend by-laws regarding the trade of garlic.
Case Title: Govind Lodhi Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 210
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that the question of a child paying maintenance to their parents does not depend on how much property was given to the child by the parents and that it is the duty of children to maintain their parents.
A bench of Justice G.S. Ahluwalia was dealing with a writ petition challenging a maintenance order under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007. The Petitioner contended that he was not liable to provide maintenance to his mother since not a single piece of land was given to him by his mother.
Case title: Smt. Monika Versus Praveen
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 211
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at its Indore bench held that loan deductions, voluntarily undertaken by the respondent after the couple's separation cannot be grounds for not enhancing the monthly payment of maintenance under Section 125 CrPC.
Case title: Gram Panchayat Hargarh Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 212
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by the Gram Panchayat Hargarh, challenging the Sub Divisional Officer's directive to investigate illegal toll tax collection. The Panchayat had sought to quash the letters dated April 13 and 21, 2023, which prompted the enquiry into tolls imposed by the Panchayat on vehicles entering the area.
Justice Vishal Dhagat examined Entry 8 of Schedule II under Section 77-A (2) of the M.P. Panchayat Raj Avam Gram Swaraj Adhiniyam, which authorizes Panchayats to collect fees on vehicles other than motor vehicles.
Merely Filing Complaint Against Govt Authorities Not Defamation: Madhya Pradesh High Court
Case title: Air Marshal Harish Masand Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 213
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has rejected the petition filed by a retired Air Marshal challenging dismissal of his defamation suit against fellow residents of his housing society, who had filed complaints against him to the Collector.
Justice Subodh Abhyankar sitting at Indore reviewed the documents, including the respondents' complaint and subsequent communications from the Co-operative Inspector and held that merely filing a complaint against a government authority cannot amount to defamation.
Case title: Smt. Shikha Versus Avaneesh Mahodaya
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 214
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that a well-qualified spouse, including the wife, cannot sit idle merely to claim maintenance from their partner. It thus reduced the quantum of maintenance awarded to a wife holding Masters degree and having an earning capacity.
Case title: Rishabh Atle Minor Through Next Friend (Father) Jaikishan Atle Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 215
While upholding the conviction of a juvenile for rape of a four-year-old girl, the Madhya Pradesh High Court lamented the "lenient" laws in the country so far as juvenile offenders are concerned. The remarks were made after the Court noted that the appellant, along with seven other juveniles, had absconded on November 13, 2019, and remained untraceable.
Case title: Chakradhar And Others v/s Collector/District Magistrate /Appellate Authority And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 216
The Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, dismissed a plea moved by the children of a senior citizen father against an order by the Sub Divisional Officer (Revenue)-cum-Maintenance Tribunal, removing the children from the alleged ancestral property.
The case pertained to the application of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007 and the children's claim to ancestral rights.
Case title: Sunit @ Sumit Singh Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 217
A single bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court presided over by Justice Subodh Abhyankar, has raised concerns about the quality of investigations in serious criminal cases.
The present case involved the bail application of Sumit Singh, accused of involvement in a 2020 robbery and murder case. The applicant's sixth bail plea under the newly implemented Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, and Section 439 of the CrPC. The court allowed bail due to delays in trial proceedings and a lack of concrete evidence.
Case title: Jagdish Prasad Dixit Versus State Of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 218
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has expressed "shock" at a rape case where conduct of the Police during investigation exhibited "support" to the accused.
The bench of Justice G.S. Ahluwalia, while dealing with the anticipatory bail application of an accused involved in gang rape and other charges, observed, “It is really shocking that on one hand, rape on a girl is not only a heinous offense, but it is also an attack on the emotions and self-respect of the prosecutrix and at the same time, police was out and out to support the accused persons. Time has come when the police must show its seriousness as well as concern about the safety of girls.”
Case title: Juvenile In Conflict With Law Through His Natural Parent And Guardian Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 219
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at its Indore bench, granted bail to a 14-year-old juvenile accused of sexual assault under IPC Section 376(ab) and the POCSO Act.
Justice Sanjeev S. Kalgaonkar presided over the case and stated that the fundamental principles of care and protection of children as per Section 3 of the Juvenile Justice Act, included the presumption of innocence, dignity and worth, best interest, and family responsibility. The court reiterated that the gravity of the offence should not be the sole criterion for denying bail to a juvenile.
Case Title: Deepak Singhal v. Union of India & Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 220
The Madhya Pradesh High Court stated that GST authorities cannot bypass the procedural safeguards under the GST Act by directly invoking IPC provisions without first applying the penal provisions of the GST Act.
Case Title: Madhya Pradesh Shramjeevi Patrakar Sangh Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 221
The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently set aside an order of the Trade Union Registrar which allowed a trade union to change its name, after Madhya Pradesh Shramjeevi Patrakar Sangh moved a plea claiming that the name of the respondent union was deceptively similar to the Sangh's.
In doing so the court said that the Registrar under Section 25(2) of the Trade Unions Act, must verify that a trade union's name does not resemble another's so closely that it may deceive the public, adding that in the present matter the Registrar's order was "unreasoned".
Case title: Mohammad Bilal Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 222
Dismissing a man's plea for quashing a FIR registered under Section 153A IPC against him for uploading allegedly offensive material on his Instagram account, the Madhya Pradesh High Court said that that the man's "defence" that the post was uploaded by hacking his account cannot be considered "at this stage".
Case Title: Babulal Singh Gond Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 223
While hearing a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act case where evidence on a DNA report was not taken, the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court said that both the trial court and the Additional District Public Prosecutor (ADPO) are "prima facie" guilty of negligence and dereliction of duty.
"Modesty Of Women Worshiped In Our Country": MP High Court Refuses To Quash Rape Case On Compromise
Case Title: Rohan Naik And Others Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 224
The Madhya Pradesh High Court in a case rejected a petition seeking to quash an FIR under Section 482 of the CrPC for charges of rape and criminal intimidation, in spite of a compromise between the parties.
Justice Prem Narayan Singh held that offenses like rape, have societal implications, cannot be quashed based solely on a settlement between the accused and the victim.
The Justice Prem Narayan Singh stated that “simply entering into compromise, charges cannot be said to have been mitigated or quashed as the offence is against dignity of women as well as public interest.”
Sarpanch Booked For Rape Can't Be Dismissed From Service For 'Misconduct' Under MP Panchayat Raj Avam Gram Swaraj Adhiniyam 1993: High Court
Case Title: Smt. Sunita Jatav Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 225
The Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently held that there is a difference between removal of Panchayat office bearers for "misconduct" and their suspension if charged for offences like rape, which are under separate provisions of the state panchayat law.
In stating so, the court dismissed an appeal against a single judge bench's order pertaining to a plea seeking removal of a Panchayat Sarpanch booked in a rape FIR.
A division bench of Justice Anand Pathak and Justice Hirdesh in its order said, "Perusal of Section 40 reveals that one of the grounds for removal is misconduct, and in explanation, one of the attributes of misconduct is undermining the dignity of a woman". The issue before the bench pertained to whether the registration of an FIR under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code against the Sarpanch justified his removal under Section 40 of the 1993 Act.
Case Title: Deepak Kumar Jain And Others Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 226
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed an appeal preferred by guest faculty teachers who were removed from their positions based on the results of students. The court upheld the dismissal, stating that maintaining educational standards through performance benchmarks was justified and necessary.
The Division Bench comprising of Justice Anand Pathak and Justice Hirdesh sitting at Gwalior, examined the policy directives issued by the Directorate of Public Instructions. According to these directives, guest faculty teachers whose students' results are below 30% were subject to dismissal as part of a broader policy aimed at ensuring educational accountability.
Case Title: Juvenile X Vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 227
The Madhya Pradesh High Court, in an appeal under the Juvenile Justice Act, granted bail to the appellant, stating that the absence of a male family member to supervise the applicant cannot serve as a sole reason for denying bail or suspension of sentence.
The Court was presided over by Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla who stated, “This Court finds prima-facie the case for grant of bail because the appellant is more than 21 years and he cannot be denied bail/suspension of sentence only on the ground that there is no male member in the family to have control over him.”
Case Title: Kachrulal Versus Union Of India
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 228
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at its Indore bench granted bail to the accused, in a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS). The court held that the evidence against the accused was based solely on the co-accused's memorandum which was insufficient to deny bail.
The case was focused on whether the accused's implication, based only on a co-accused's statement, met the requirements of Section 37 of the NDPS Act.
Case Title: The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others V. Kunwarlal Chowkikar
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 229
In a recent judgement, the Madhya Pradesh High Court set aside a decision of a single judge bench that had validated the absence of a government employee from duty while a complaint against his transfer was pending before the authority.
The division bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court held that remaining absent from duty citing a pending complaint as a reason for the absence, is not a reasonable excuse and the employee is not entitled to salary for the said period according to “no work, no pay” principle.
Case Title: Dr. Rajesh Kothari versus Urban Administration And Housing Department And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 230
In a recent judgement, the High Court of Madhya Pradesh held merely on the basis of a complaint or report against the government servant before the date of retirement, he cannot be deprived of his right to a pension or other retiral dues. There must be cognizance of the complaint or report of a police officer on the date of retirement.
Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla observed, “The intention of the legislature is to withhold or withdraw the pension or retiral dues only when the cognizance is taken on the complaint or report of a police officer in a criminal proceeding then only it shall be deemed to be instituted.”
Case title: Swa. Shrimati Santoshben W/O Dr. Rajesh Jain Charitable Trust Thr. Smt. Sonal Jain W/O Late Mayank J Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh Thr. Registrar Public Trust
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 231
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has set aside an order by the Registrar of Public Trusts, which denied permission to transfer immovable properties from one trust to another owned by the same person.
The Court was presided over by Justice Subodh Abhyankar and discussed Section 14 of the M.P. Public Trusts Act, 1951 which enumerates that the Registrar's refusal to approve the transaction should only be based on whether the transfer would be detrimental to the public trust. The Court held that referring the matter by the Registrar to the Civil Court for permission was not legally required.
Case title: Kusum Sahu Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 232
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ordered the release of a petitioner's father, who had been imprisoned for nearly a year without substantial evidence linking him to the charges under the IPC for being the director of a company which had been accused of financial fraud.
The court discussed that the petitioner could have either availed the remedy under 226 or approached the Supreme Court but due to belonging to the lower strata of society, he had no finances to approach the Apex Court.
Case title: Dr. Ajai Lall v/s State of Madhya Pradesh and Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 233
The Jabalpur bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court last week quashed an FIR against christian missionary Dr. Ajai Lall accused of trafficking two children, who were earlier living in an orphanage run by a society of which he was the office bearer, and who were subsequently adopted following a family court order in 2017.
In doing so the High Court noted that the adoption of the children was "valid", and that the FIR did not suggest that the ingredients of the offence under Section 370 (Trafficking of person) of the Indian Penal Code were made out. It also said that as the competent court had examined each aspect pertaining to the children while passing the adoption order; therefore, the status of the children can't be re-looked based on the "whims" of respondent chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Priyank Kanoongo, the Court held.
Case Title: M/S Lion Engineering Consultants Pvt. Ltd. vs. The State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 234
The Madhya Pradesh High Court bench comprising Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Avanindra Kumar Singh has held that objections to the jurisdiction of the Arbitrator, which are raised in an application filed under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 must not be rejected only on the ground of jurisdiction, without touching the merit of the case.
The court observed, “There is no bar to take the plea of jurisdiction by way of an objection under Section 34, even if no such objection was raised under Section 16 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act 1996 and the issue came to an end between the parties.”
Case title: Principal Commissioner Of Income Tax Gwalior v. M/S Khajuraho Builders And Construction Pvt Ltd
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 235
As a “test case” to give the concept of 'Social Audit' a chance to gain grounds, the Madhya Pradesh High Court recently suggested the counsel of an assessee, whose mistake had led to dismissal of assessee's Income Tax Appeal, to do community service.
The division bench of Justices Anand Pathak and Rajendra Kumar Vani also called upon lawyers and other resourceful persons of the society to visit orphanages, old age homes, etc., apprise themselves of the plight of the inmates and contribute to raise the standards of their living.
Case Title: Neeru Rajput V. The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 236
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at its Gwalior Bench recently held that an employer is the best judge to organize its workforce and a transfer order cannot be subjected to judicial review unless and until same is found to be influenced by mala fide or arbitrary exercise of powers. Moreover, concept of equality as enshrined under Articles 14 and 16 of Constitution of India, has no application to the cases of transfers.
Case Title: Rajendra Prasad Chourey (dead) through LRs Chitralekha Chourey & Others v. Union of India & Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 237
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has said that the appointing authority has the "entire discretion" to appoint or not appoint a person who is involved in an offence concerning moral turpitude even if that person is acquitted.
The high court said that the acquittal would not automatically entitle such a person for employment. The court said that in the case before it, the concerned authority had given proper hearing to the petitioner–accused of attempt to murder–and it could not be said that the authority had made any mistake in rejecting the petitioner's candidature.
Case title: Nirmal Versus The State Of M.P.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 238
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has called for proper maintenance of CCTV CCTV cameras installed in police stations, to preserve citizens' fundamental rights.
The single bench of Justice Subodh Abhyankar sitting at Indore said that henceforth, failure to provide footage of the CCTV cameras in police stations will disciplinary action against the Station House Officer concerned and other persons involved in maintenance of the CCTVs.
The development comes in a case where the applicant claimed unfair detention but the CCTV footage of the relevant time could not be produced. The Court expressed concerns over lapses in maintaining the CCTVs, despite the SOP issued by the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Bhopal, which had been in place since January 2024.
Case Title: Smt. Shashi Pandey Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 239
While hearing a matter concerning possession of a land, the Madhya Pradesh High Court said that the State authorities cannot act as goons and dispossess any person from their property and then claim that they will not pay any compensation/rent/mesne profit to the "illegally dispossessed".
In observing so, the court reaffirmed that no one can be deprived of their right to property which is not only a Constitutional right but also a human right, noting that in the present matter concerning the alleged dispossession of a woman from land owned by her, had been pending for 17 years from 2007, when the authorities had decided to acquire the land.
Case Title: X v Y
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 240
The Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court refused to interfere with an order rejecting a woman's plea for impleadment of her husband's alleged paramour in divorce proceedings initiated by him after observing that alleged paramour was not a necessary party.
The husband had sought divorce from his wife on the ground of cruelty under the Hindu Marriage Act; subsequently the wife moved a plea seeking to implead his alleged paramour in the case, which was rejected by the family court in its March 17, 2021 order.
A single judge bench of Justice Sanjay Dwivedi in its order said, "If the wife failed to prove allegation of adultery levelled against the husband and ultimately the Court comes to the conclusion that the wife without having any proof or foundation defamed the husband and his family members, can grant decree of divorce, if according to the Court the said conduct of the wife comes within the ambit of cruelty".
Case title: Birla Corporation Limited v. Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (It And Tp) And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 241
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has made it clear that non-functionality of Income Tax Department's TRACES Portal cannot be grounds for denying the benefit arising to an assessee under statutory provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
A division bench of Justices Vivek Rusia and Anuradha Shukla thus held that an assessee' TDS refund cannot be denied merely on the ground that functionality of 'adjustment of refund' against outstanding demand made by the Department is not presently available at TRACES.
It observed that the Portal (TDS Reconciliation Analysis and Correction Enabling System) has been created to “facilitate” the enforcement of rights and discharge of duties of stakeholders, not to create hurdles.
Case title: Mrs. Veena Jain Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 242
While reiterating that un-communicated Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) of an employee cannot be considered while deciding their promotion, the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the state government to restore a woman employee's seniority.
The high court directed the State to grant the petitioner–a state government employee, her promotion adding that her un-communicated "Grade-C" ACR for 2020 should not be considered while deciding her promotion to the post of Super Time Pay Scale (Director).
Case title: Commissioner v. Debts Recovery Tribunal And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 243
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed a petition moved by the Customs and Central Excise Department seeking priority over other secured creditors, for recovery of dues from an assessee's property.
Justices Vivek Rusia and Binod Kumar Dwivedi relied on Punjab National Bank V/s Union of India and others (2022) where the Top Court had held that SARFAESI Act will have an overriding effect on the provisions of the Central Excise Act and therefore, dues of the secured creditor will have priority over the dues of the Customs and Excise Department.
The division bench agreed that there is no provision under Section 11-E of the Central Excise Act, 1944 providing for first charge of Customs on the property of the assessee or any person.
Case title: Ashoka Infroways P.Ltd. v. State Of M.P. & Ors. And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 244
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that merely because payment is deferred by the State in terms of the works contract, the same cannot be grounds for a dealer to seek exemption from payment of taxes under the MP Commercial Tax Act, 1994 and MP Entry Tax Act, 1976.
Case title: Ansar Ahmed Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 245
While hearing a bail plea, the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court expressed its concern over the "pathetic condition" in which articles collected during investigation are kept in police stations in the State.
The observation came after the court was informed that destruction of forensic samples had occurred as rats had damaged the plastic containers (containing the samples) which was stored at the concerned police station.
Highlighting the need to improve evidence preservation systems in police stations across the state to prevent such incidents in the future a single judge bench of Justice Subodh Abhyankar in its October 4 order said: “This court is also of the considered opinion that the police officers concerned should have taken into account all the relevant factors to protect and safeguard the material seized during an investigation, and although nothing can be done about this spilt milk, but at least this incident has also brought in to the light the pathetic condition, in which the articles/material collected during investigation is kept in the police stations of the State. It is anybody's guess as to what the situation in the police stations at small places would be, when in the present case, the police station was one of the busiest police stations of Indore city".
Reinstatement Is Not Automatic; Madhya Pradesh High Court reiterates
Case Title: The Principal v. Pramod Ahirwar
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 246
A Single Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court, comprising Justice G.S. Ahluwalia heard a petition filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, against an order passed by the Labour Court. The judgement dealt with a case pertaining to procedural defects in termination of a short-term employee and held it violative of Section 25-F of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (“ID Act”).
Justice Ahluwalia gave the rationale behind preferring compensation that even after reinstatement of the respondent, the petitioner can again terminate the workman's services after making payment of retrenchment compensation. Therefore, the Court below should have directed for payment of monetary compensation in lieu of reinstatement.
Case title: Smt Kalyani Devi And Others Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 247
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur in a case addressed the issue of denying a request for land demarcation because the State and Municipal Council were parties to the dispute, questioning the Revenue authorities.
The Court stated that the trial court had drawn an adverse inference against the Revenue authorities without any legitimate basis. The court found that there is no justification for presuming that the Revenue officials would act with mala fides simply because the State and Municipal Council were involved in the suit.
Case Title: Jairamdas Kukreja Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 248
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ruled that a Sub-Divisional Officer cannot merely sustain its order by stating that it agrees with the report submitted to it by the area Tahsildar. Reasons to support the findings of the order must be given, it held.
Justice G.S. Ahluwalia thus set aside an unreasoned order passed by the SDO rejecting petitioner's application for correction of revenue records and remanded back the matter back for deciding afresh, after providing full opportunity of hearing to the parties to meet out the report submitted by Tahsildar.
Case title: Devendra Kumar Patel Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 249
The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court recently quashed the suspension of a contractor's registration with the State Public Works Department, on account of lack of due process.
The petitioner had challenged the suspension of his registration following the termination of a construction contract. The court highlighted that any measures like blacklisting or suspension must follow a fair process, including the issuance of a separate show-cause notice and an opportunity for a hearing.
The high court observed that though the petitioner was served with a show-cause notice before issuing the order of termination of contract which he duly replied, but he was not given any opportunity of hearing.
Case title: A Versus N And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 250
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has reiterated that provision of maintenance under Section 125 CrPC was not framed by the law makers to create an "army of idle or inactive people", waiting for maintenance to be awarded from the income of the other spouse.
"It is nowhere manifested that able and well qualified lady has to be always dependent upon her spouse for her maintenance,” Justice Prem Narayan Singh added while reducing the maintenance awarded to Petitioner's post-graduate estranged wife.
Case title: Gamar Singh @ Gamariya Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 251
While granting bail to man accused of murder due to lack of material–other than circumstantial evidence, connecting him to the alleged crime, the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court expressed its discontent over the "immature approach" adopted by the Investigating Officer in the probe.
A single judge bench of Justice Subodh Abhyankar in its order noted the State's submission that the evidence collected in the matter–beer bottles which were seized–were not sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for its report on the fingerprints, because the incident had taken place on March 24, whereas the bottles have been seized only on June 17.
Case Title: Yasmeen Bee @ Baby And Others Versus Mohammad Shahid Khan And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 252
Stressing on the importance of issuing notice in property mutation proceedings, the Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court reaffirmed that issuance of notice–an essential component of fair hearing rule, ensures that adequate opportunity is given to the parties to appear in any proceeding–whether before court or a competent authority.
In doing so the high court observed that the petitioner was never heard by the State in 2015 when it passed the order rejecting the petitioners' mutation of a house. On a bare reading of the 2015 order, the high court said, that it reflected that only the respondent parties along with their counsel were present at the time of hearing and no notices were ever issued to the petitioners.
One Year's Service Completion Sufficient For Pension Benefits, Orders Arrears With Interest; MP HC
Case Title: Ram Prasad Kushwah versus State of Madhya Pradesh and Ors
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 253
Madhya Pradesh High Court: A bench comprising Chief Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Vivek Jain, addressed a series of writ petitions concerning retired employees who sought the grant of annual increments before superannuation. The Court ruled in favor of the petitioners, directing the State to provide annual increments due to employees retiring either on 30th June or 31st December of their superannuation year, along with arrears and interest.
Case title: Harivallabh Chaturvedi Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 254
Madhya Pradesh High Court at its Gwalior, quashed an order imposing penalty on a retired Forest Ranger Harivallabh Chaturvedi. The court held proper procedures under the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1976 were not followed. The court stated that after a government servant retires, only the Governor can issue such punitive orders based on departmental inquiries.
Case Title: M. H. Qureshi Versus State Of M.P. And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 255
Justice Anil Verma dismissed the writ petition filed by M.H. Qureshi, a Junior Engineer (Electrical Safety), challenging his denial of promotion to the position of Assistant Engineer (Electrical Safety). The Court upheld the Departmental Promotion Committee's (DPC) decision, citing the petitioner's failure to meet the required benchmarks, and emphasized that judicial interference in DPC decisions is warranted only under specific conditions.
Repatriation Of Deputationist Must Be Based On Valid Reasons, Cannot Be Done As Punishment: MP HC
Case Title: Sarban Singh Vs. State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 256
Justice Sanjay Dwivedi quashed the repatriation order of a Water Resources Department engineer from his deputation at the Narmada Valley Development Department, holding that repatriation must be based on valid administrative reasons and not used as a punitive measure. The court found the replacement of the petitioner with an officer facing corruption charges was arbitrary and prejudicial, given the department's practice of denying promotions to officers with disciplinary records. While acknowledging that deputationists have no inherent right to continue indefinitely, the court emphasized that repatriation decisions must be substantiated by legitimate administrative exigencies.
Case Title: Ajay Tiwari Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Other
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 257
While hearing a plea seeking recall of an order upholding the direction for registration of FIR against Petitioner, the Jabalpur Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court expressed its concern at the "clandestine manner" in which police authorities provided certain documents to the Petitioner-accused, despite statutory prohibitions.
In stating so, the high court observed that the "misconduct shown by the Officers is a serious misconduct and should not be dealt with in a light manner".
Case title: Harsh @ Harshvardhan Versus Union Of India Through Principal Secretary And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 258
Madhya Pradesh High Court has made it clear that 'gang' is not defined under the penal law and a person's preventive detention cannot be extended merely because his alleged gang member committed further crimes.
While setting aside extension of Petitioner's detention under the National Security Act (NSA), the division bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi observed, “There is no such definition of ''gang'' in the penal law, there is only a provision of formation of unlawful assembly. The petitioner is not the member of that unlawful assembly which has committed the Crime No.119/2024 and he is not the accused in the aforesaid crime.”
Case Title: Smt. Rooplekha Sirsath Versus Public Health And Family Welfare Department And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 259
Justice Subodh Abhyankar quashed a recovery order issued against a retired Auxiliary Nurse Midwife, holding that excess payment cannot be recovered from retired government employees in the absence of misrepresentation or fraud. Following Supreme Court precedents, the court ordered refund of the recovered amount with 6% interest, emphasizing that recoveries from retired employees are impermissible when the error originated from the department rather than the employee.
Case Title: Indore International Toy Cluster Association Incorporated Under The Companies Act 2013 Thorugh Its D Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 260
The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently condemned the act of State authorities holding a company (SPV) liable for delay in implementation of an industrial project when the authorities themselves failed to deliver vacant possession of the entire allotted land.
The court observed that since a considerable part of the land was under encroachment, and the entire land was not allotted to the petitioners, therefore it would be unjustifiable on behalf of the State Government to issue notice to the petitioners to establish the industry on an encroached land.
Case title: Shivam Tripathi And Others Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 261
The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently dismissed a petition challenging the final answer key for the 2024 Madhya Pradesh State Service and Forest Service Preliminary Examination. It reiterated that the expertise of academic bodies in competitive examinations should be respected, limiting the court's scope for interference “The law on the subject is quite clear. The court should not interfere with the expert body's conclusions unless there is compelling evidence of material error or bias. Courts should presume the correctness of the key answers and proceed on that assumption,” single bench of Justice Vishal Mishra observed.
Case Title: Rajjak And Others Versus Brajbalal Bai And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 262
Dismissing a revision plea concerning a title suit over a motor garage, the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court said that the defendant cannot contend that the plaintiffs' right to sue had accrued when their title was threatened, adding that period of limitation would begin when the plaintiffs actually perceive threat to their title.
The court further affirmed that claim for declaration of title over property is governed by Article 58 Limitation Act which prescribes three-year period for instituting a suit for declaration and the period of limitation begins when the right to sue first accrues. The court also added this has to be seen from the plaintiff's point of view and not from the defendants.
Case Title: Goverdhan Vs. Chief Municipal Officer
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 263
A Single bench consisting Justice Sanjay Dwivedi overturned a Labour Court order and ruled that once a workman claims continuous employment, the burden of proof shifts to the employer to disprove the claim with documentary evidence. The Court held that oral termination without notice and retrenchment compensation violates Section 25(f) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. Finding that the employer failed to produce records disproving the worker's continuous employment claim, the Court ordered reinstatement with 50% back wages.
Inordinate Unexplained Delay In Service Claims Attracts Principle Of Laches And Bars Relief: MP HC
Case Title: Smt Rajkumari Soni v. The State of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 264
A single judge bench consisting Justice Vishal Mishra dismissed a petition seeking time-bound promotion benefits under the 1999 scheme, holding that inordinate delay without explanation bars relief under principles of laches. The court found that the 14-year delay between retirement and petition filing, with no substantial efforts to claim benefits during service or immediately after retirement, disentitled the petitioner from discretionary relief. The court emphasized that while delays may be condoned with proper justification, gross negligence in pursuing claims cannot be rewarded.
Case title: Surajbai And Others Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 265
The Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court set aside a 14-year-old murder conviction of two women who were also sentenced to life imprisonment, while observing that the trial court did not handle the case properly as "false evidence" had been given by prosecution witnesses.
The high court further observed that even the police deliberately did not investigate the matter properly and left multiple angles unattended, thereby facilitating the prosecution witnesses to falsely implicate the two women.
Higher Qualification Cannot Substitute Mandatory Basic Qualification: Madhya Pradesh High Court
Case Title: Lakshmi Kant Sharma v. The State of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 266
Justice Anil Verma dismissed a writ petition challenging the rejection of a teaching position application, holding that a Master's degree in English cannot substitute for the mandatory requirement of a Bachelor's degree in English under the Madhya Pradesh School Education Services (Teaching Cadre) Recruitment Rules, 2018. The Court upheld that candidates must possess the specific undergraduate qualification in the subject they intend to teach, regardless of higher qualifications in the same subject.
Case Title: Vineet Kumar Tripathi v/s. The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 267
The Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in a case overturned the termination of a Junior Assistant employed on a contractual basis with the Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation.
In doing so the court said that the authority had taken a drastic step in terminating the petitioner's services just because a criminal case had been registered against him for allegedly accepting a bribe. This when the Madhya Pradesh Sadak Vikas Nigam (Sewa Bharti Tatha Sewa Sharten) Niyam, 2016 did not contain any provision stating that services can be terminated only on registration of an offence.
Case title: Paras Saklecha Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 268
The Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissed a plea seeking tabling of the Jain Commission report on the 2017 Mandsaur farmer shooting incident before the legislative assembly, after noting that 6-7 years had lapsed since the report was submitted by the Commission to the state government.
The court noted that there was no consequence provided in the Commission of Inquiry Act if the commission's report was not placed before the assembly within the 6-month time period as mentioned.
Case Title: Gurnam Singh Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 269
A Single Judge Bench of Justice Vivek Jain upheld work charged employees' right to time-bound promotion benefits (kramonnati), quashing recovery orders issued against them. The Court held that work charged and contingency paid employees constitute a common class under service rules, entitled to identical benefits including kramonnati. Rejecting the state's argument based on Ram Naresh Rawat's case, the Court emphasized that work charged employees, receiving regular pay scales and revisions, cannot be denied benefits available to others in their class without justifiable grounds.
Case Title: Akhilesh Pandey Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 270
In a case of alleged atrocity carried out in a police station, the Jabalpur bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the Director General of Police to ensure that each and every room of Police Stations in districts across the State are fitted with CCTV Camera with audio facility within three months, failure of which would amount to contempt.
The court said this after observing that in the present case the petitioner was "badly beaten" by the police personnel in the concerned police station that too "deliberately" in a room which did not have CCTV camera.
Monetary Compensation Can Substitute Reinstatement Even In Cases Of Illegal Termination: MP HC
Case Title: Rajguru Dubey v. Nagar Palika Parishad Hata
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 271
A Single Judge Bench of Justice G.S. Ahluwalia upheld the Labour Court's decision to award monetary compensation instead of reinstatement to a terminated daily wage worker. The Court held that even when termination violates Section 25-F of the Industrial Disputes Act, reinstatement with back wages is not an automatic remedy. Drawing from Supreme Court precedents, the Court emphasized that for daily wage workers, monetary compensation can better serve the ends of justice than reinstatement, particularly in cases of procedurally defective termination.
Case Title: Manjeet Global Private Limited Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 272
The MP High Court at its Indore Bench has held that the Labour Court is possessed with the power to issue notice to a party which may not be a party to the reference.
The division bench of Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi observed, “Since reference has been made in earlier round of litigation which is registered as 11/ID/2024 and looking to the fact that the rights of large number of employees is at stake, it is always appropriate to implead the subsequent purchaser as party since had already taken over the assets and liabilities of the company, therefore, the appellants cannot raise a plea that since they came subsequently into picture, no relief can be claimed against them.”
Case Title: M/S Future Consumer Limited Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 273
The Madhya Pradesh High Court at its Indore bench, dismissed a writ petition which was filed by Future Consumer Limited, challenging an order passed by the Deputy Commissioner of State Tax under Section 73 of GST Act. The petitioner stated that they were denied the right to personal hearing under Section 75(4) of the Act.
The division bench comprising of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi discussed on the petitioner's claim regarding fulfilment of procedural requirement for requesting a personal hearing.
The Court determined that Future Consumer Limited did not appear before the tax authority and provided no written reply or request for a personal hearing in response to the show-cause notice issued under Section 73(1).
Administrative Error In Pay Fixation Cannot Lead To Post-Retirement Recovery With Interest: MP HC
Case Title: Smt. Parwati Verma Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh & Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 274
A Single Judge Bench of Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari quashed a recovery order seeking excess payments with interest from a retired Subedar. The Court held that recovery of excess payments from retired government employees, particularly when there is no misrepresentation or fraud, is impermissible after four years of retirement under Rule 9(4) of M.P. Civil Services Pension Rules, 1976. The Court emphasized that while principal amounts might be recalculated, imposing interest on excess payments made due to administrative errors is harsh and unwarranted, especially for low-income retirees.
Merger Into State Education Service Doesn't Nullify Previous Service Benefits: MP HC
Case Title: Nagar Palika Parishad Through Its Chief Municipal Officer Shri Sudhir Kumar Versus Kundan Sankhala And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 275
A Division Bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi upheld the rights of Shikshakarmi teachers to receive benefits equivalent to regular municipal employees. The Court ruled that teachers initially appointed under municipal rules in 1998-99 and subsequently merged into the state education service are entitled to all service benefits, including pension, from their initial appointment date. The Court rejected the municipality's argument distinguishing between regular municipal employees and Shikshakarmis, finding no difference in appointment procedures and service conditions under the 1998 Rules.
Case Title: Chief Municipal Officer Versus Laxmi Narayan And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 276
While setting aside an industrial court's order, the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya High Court observed that in a claim for regularization, the Industrial Court should not have granted the relief for classification which had not been prayed for by the workman.
In doing so the court, reiterated the "basic difference" between regularization and classification, referring to the Supreme Court's decision which said that a classified employee is only entitled for minimum of the basic pay without any increment.
Power Of Review Under MP Civil Services Rules Must Be Exercised Within Six Months, Delayed Review Of Retired Officer's Exoneration Invalid: MP HC
Case Title: Shri Kameshwar Choubey Vs. State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 277
A Single Judge Bench of Justice Sanjay Dwivedi invalidated the State's delayed review of a retired Sub Divisional Magistrate's exoneration in a departmental inquiry. The court held that the power of review under Rule 29(1) of the MP Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1966, must be exercised within six months, and any review beyond this period is illegal. The court ordered the release of withheld retirement benefits with 8% interest.
Case Title: Vijay Singh Yadav v. Bhopal Development Authority & Another
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 278
A Single Judge Bench of Justice Sanjay Dwivedi invalidated the dismissal of a Bhopal Development Authority (BDA) employee, finding significant violations of natural justice principles. The court held that the disciplinary proceedings against Vijay Singh Yadav were fundamentally flawed due to the absence of witness testimony, failure to provide essential documents, and lack of reasoned orders. Highlighting discriminatory treatment and procedural lapses, the court ordered Yadav's reinstatement with full back wages and benefits, emphasizing that disciplinary actions must be supported by concrete evidence rather than speculation.
Case Title: Shivraj Singh Chouhan And Others v/s Vivek Krishna Tankha
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 279
The Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissed a plea by Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and two others challenging a magisterial court's order taking cognizance of criminal defamation complaint registered against them by senior advocate and Member of Parliament Vivek Tankha in connection with certain court proceedings from 2021.
In doing so, the Jabalpur bench of the high court said that it was only for the trial court to see whether offence under Section 499 IPC is made out or not which can only be done by evidence adduced during trial.
Case Title: Dharamdas Bhalekar versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 280
A Single Judge Bench of Justice Vivek Jain partially allowed a writ petition challenging an inquiry into a disability certificate submitted for employment three decades ago. The court held that while authorities can investigate allegations of forgery, they cannot question the acceptability of qualifications that were accepted at the time of appointment after such a significant time lapse, particularly when there are no specific allegations of fraud.
Case Title: Vikram Sharma versus State Bank of India
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 281
A Division Bench comprising of Justice Sunita Yadav and Justice Milind Ramesh Phadke partially allowed a writ appeal challenging the Single Judge's order that had directed the appellant to raise an industrial dispute regarding his superannuation benefits. The Court held that when a removal order explicitly grants superannuation benefits, these cannot be withheld by directing the employee to approach the Industrial Tribunal, as the tribunal reference was meant only for challenging the removal itself.
Case Title: Saroj Katariya & Others Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 282
The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court recently reiterated that the Madhya Pradesh Municipalities (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2024, which extended the period for bringing a no-confidence motion from two years to three years shall apply retrospectively.
In doing so, the court clarified that a motion of No-Confidence may be moved against the Vice President of the Municipal Council by the elected Councillors at a meeting specifically convened for the purpose under sub-section (2) of Section 43A of the M.P. Municipalities Act. It further agreed with the court's reasoning in another matter concerning the retrospective application of the ordinance.
Case Title: Principal Commissioner v. Ramesh Chandra Rai
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 283
The Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled that if an assessee has already included income from an Association of Persons (AOP) or Body of Individuals (BOI) in their taxable income, any post-tax share received from the AOP/BOI cannot be taxed again in the assessee's hands.
The Division Bench of Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Anuradha Shukla observed that “……the assessee was a member of an association of persons or body individuals, share of members of such association of persons or body individuals were determinate and known. Such association of persons or body individuals were chargeable to tax on their total at the maximum marginal rate or any higher rate……”
Case Title: Leela Devi Bansal Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 284
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that affidavits of two similarly situated detenues are sufficient to determine that a person was detained in the prison as a prisoner under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) 1971 and under the Defence of India Rules (DIR) during emergency period.
A single-judge bench of Justice Milind Ramesh Phadke sitting at Gwalior thus quashed an order which rejected an application for grant of statutory pension on the ground that no certificate of either the District Magistrate or the Jail Authorities or the concerning police station was filed to demonstrate that the petitioner's husband was a MISA/DIR detenu.
Case Title: Bashir Khan Versus Ishrat Bano
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 285
The Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has reiterated that under Muslim Law, a father-in-law is not required to provide financial support to his deceased son's widow.
In doing so the high court set aside the orders of the trial court and sessions courts, which had directed the petitioner father-in-law to pay monthly maintenance to his daughter-in-law after the death of his son.
A single judge bench of Justice Hirdesh said, "In the present case, it is not in dispute that respondent is the widow of petitioner's son and according to Maohmedan Law cited above, the father of widow's husband is not compelled to maintain her. The Calcutta High Court has specifically in the case of Shabnam Parveen (supra) observed that as per DV Act, the father-in-law of the son's widow is not bound to give maintenance to her”.
Case Title: M/S. Uma Shankar Mishra Versus Union of India
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 286
The Madhya Pradesh High Court bench of Justice Subodh Abhyankar affirmed that plea of limitation cannot be allowed to be raised first time under section 34 of the Arbitration Act if no such plea was taken before the Arbitrator under section 16 of the Act. The court further observed that it shall be deemed to have been waived as per section 4 of the Act.
Case title: Tulsi Ram Lodhi vs. The State of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 287
The Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court upheld the decision of the trial court to restrict the right of accused to cross-examine the prosecutrix, while noting that the man made "every effort to harass" the woman by continuously seeking adjournments for her cross examination.
In doing so the court underscored that adjournments should not be granted just for the sake of adjournment and the court should keep the difficulties in mind which witnesses may be facing.
Case Title: Aakash Thakur & Others Versus Kishorsingh Thakur and Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 288
The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court denied adding certain persons as a necessary parties to a suit pertaining to a property dispute, observing that despite having full knowledge of the execution of the sale deed during the trial before the lower court the petitioners-original plaintiffs, did not file the application for adding proposed transferees at that juncture.
In doing so the court noted that the petitioners-original plaintiffs did not move the application for impleadment until after the suit was dismissed on merit by the trial court and the decree was passed. It further noted that the suit was not dismissed on account of non-joinder of necessary parties and there was no challenge to the sale deed back then.
Case title: Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti Pichhore & Ors. Vs. Mukesh Kumar Bhatt
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 289
The Gwalior bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court, in a case regarding labour laws, set aside a Labour Court order which had directed the reinstatement of a workman with 50% back wages, after noting that the retrenchment of the workman by the concerned organisation was done following the due process of law.
In doing so the court observed that the petitioner–Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti (Pichhore), had followed the mandate of Section 25F of the Industrial Disputes Act–which lists the various conditions precedent for retrenchment of workmen–which retrenching the respondent workman.
Case Title: Kailash Bundela versus The State of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 290
While quashing a charge sheet and setting aside 'malafide' disciplinary proceedings against an Additional Collector, the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court said that the petitioner falls under the definition of a judge while discharging functions as quasi-judicial officer and is protected under the Judges (Protection) Act.
In doing so the high court also criticised the act of the respondent/state for not "acting fairly and using their powers illegally to harass an employee".
A single-judge bench of Justice Sanjay Dwivedi in its order observed, “…Court cannot ignore this aspect that any proceeding that is being initiated for no reason and for no fault of him, the same cannot be misutilized, merely because the power is available with the employer to initiate the same. Fair play is expected in every matter, whether it is judicial or it is an administrative.”
Case title: Smt. Sunita Bai Sahu Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 291
While reiterating that Aadhar cards cannot be relied upon as a proof of its holder's age, the Madhya Pradesh High Court recently directed the state government to clarify to all concerned authorities that the Aadhar Card is merely an identity document.
In doing so the high court referred to the Supreme Court's decision in Saroj and Others Vs. IFFCOTOKIO General Insurance Company and Others (2024) which held that the Aadhar Card is not the document of age. The matter before the high court pertained to use of Aadhaar card as a definitive proof of age to claim benefits under the Mukhyamantri Jan Kalyan (Sambal) Yojna.
A single judge bench of Justice GS Ahluwalia stated that not only the Supreme court but also the High Courts and even circulars issued by various government Departments have clarified that Aadhar card is not the proof of age.
Case title: Rakesh Agrawal v. Central Board of Direct Taxes and Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 292
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that an order passed under Section 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act 1961 is not an appealable order, therefore, the only remedy with an aggrieved party is to invoke writ jurisdiction of the High Court.
Proceedings under Section 148A are initiated when Income Tax officers suspect that a taxpayer may have concealed income during any assessment year.
Case Title: Mount Everest Breweries Limited versus MP Beer Products Limited
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 293
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has made it clear that reusing old beer bottles, which are embossed with the brand name/ logo of another company, to sell one's own beer product- constitutes trademark infringement.
A division bench of Justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Pranay Verma thus restrained the sale of two beer companies in old bottles of Mount Everest Breweries Ltd., which are embossed with their beer brand 'STOK' and their logo, the face of a panda.
Case Title: United India Insurance Co. Ltd. And Others Versus Ratlam Syenthetic Rope Manufacturing Company Through Smt. Rekha And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 294
The Madhya Pradesh High Court bench of Justice Subodh Abhyankar affirmed that if arbitrator travels beyond the terms of the arbitration agreement while passing an award, such an award is liable to be set aside under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act.
Case title: X v Y
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 295
Allowing a woman's plea for dissolving her marriage to a man, the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court observed that in the case at hand the the husband compelling his wife to leave her government job till he gets the job, and to "live as per his wish and style" amounts to cruelty.
In doing so the court underscored that whether husband or wife want to live together or not is their "wish" however none of them can force the other to either do a job or not do a job as per the spouse's choice.
Case Title: Manoj Verma v. Life Insurance Corporation of India
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 296
A Single Judge Bench of Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla quashed Life Insurance Corporation's (LIC) dismissal order of a Development Officer for failing to submit a fresh digital caste certificate. The Court held that the mere unavailability of old records cannot invalidate a certificate that was already verified at the time of his appointment. The Court emphasized that dismissing an employee due to procedural delays in obtaining a new digital certificate was arbitrary and disproportionate.
Case Title: Vishnu Bhamore Versus State of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 297
The Madhya Pradesh High Court in a recent ruling commuted the death sentence of a man convicted for rape and murder of a minor girl. The court altered the sentence from death penalty to life imprisonment for remainder of the life of the appellant.
In doing so, the division bench comprising Justice Vivek Agarwal and Justice Devnarayan Mishra referred to Mohinder Singh Vs. State of Punjab (2013) and came to the conclusion that the fact that appellant had no criminal history was not taken into consideration by the Trial Court.
Case Title: X v. Y
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 298
Finding a woman entitled to a divorce decree, the Gwalior bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court said that once the relationship between the couple had "reached irretrievable breakdown" along with desertion of over five yers, then compelling them to live together won't serve any purpose by granting a "judicial separation" decree.
In doing so the high court also noted the "erroneous" approach of the family court which had though found that the woman was subjected to cruelty however on possibility of a reunion had passed the order for judicial separation. It also observed that judicial separation can only be granted only if either party has agreed to it.
Case Title: Jabalpur Institute of Nursing Sciences and Research And Others Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 299
The Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh MP High Court has directed the State authorities to grant recognition to Nursing Colleges on the basis of existing requirements under the Madhya Pradesh Nursing Institutions Recognition Rules, 2018 and not to alter or impose any new condition with any additional requirement for Session 2024-25.
Case Title: Dr. Kali Charna Sabat Vs. U.O.I. Through National Institute Of Technology & Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 300
While allowing an NIT Bhopal Assistant Professor's plea against dismissal from service who was accused of sexual harassment, the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court said that the Internal Complaints Committee can, before starting the departmental enquiry, try to "settle" the case by referring the matter to conciliation.
In doing so, the court mentioned the importance of complying with Section 10 of the The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act (POSH) which prescribes that the Internal Committee or a Local Committee before initiating any enquiry in the matter may try to settle the dispute by referring the matter for conciliation and thereafter enquiry shall be conducted as per Section 11 of the Act.
Case title: Anusuchit Jati, Evam Jan Jati Adhikari Karmachari Sangh (Ajjaks) Versus Mp High Court of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 301
The Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has said that henceforth in all future recruitment exams conducted by Examination Cell of the High Court benefit of migration shall be extended to meritorious reserved category candidates in unreserved category in all the stages of selection process.
The court said this whole hearing a plea seeking a direction to the direct the respondents including the High Court to select Meritorious Reserve Category Candidates against unreserved posts at every stage of selection process including preliminary and the main examination conducted by the examination Cell of the high court to secure a birth in U.R. category, if they have received same or more marks than the unreserved category.
Case Title: Farzana Bano versus Union of India And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 302
In a recent ruling, the Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court held that criminal antecedents of family members cannot be taken into account in assessing applicant's character and application for the issuance of passport.
Case Title: Mubarak Khan versus The State of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 303
In a recent judgement, the MP High Court clarified the Children's Court is not only for trying the cases where child rights have been violated and victims are children but also for juveniles aged 16-18 who are accused of committing heinous offences.
Case Title: M/S. Praram Infra Through Its Partner Shri Prayank Jain Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 304
The Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court pulled up the police authorities for wilfully delaying appropriate action against an accused, noting that despite rejection of his anticipatory bail plea by the high court and his subsequent plea by Supreme Court, a section 41A CrPC notice was issued to him indicating that the police is running a "parallel court".
In doing so the court directed the Indore police commissioner to hand over the investigation to an officer not lower than the rank of DCP and further directed disciplinary action against the erring police officers observing that their act of wilful defiance of the court orders amounts to major misconduct.
Case Title: Brijendra Kumar Patel & Others versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Another
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 305
While quashing a complaint filed under Section 156(3) of Cr.P.C., the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court expressed its displeasure with the act of the alleged complainant after noting that he had filed a "false affidavit" stating that the police authorities did not act or conduct an inquiry upon his complaint.
In doing so, the court said that the respondent/complainant was not entitled to get any order from the court because he had suppressed very material information from the Court that police had conducted a detailed enquiry in which it was found that the alleged incident of Dacoity and Loot had not been committed.
Case title: Asif Hanif Thara Versus Enforcement Directorate
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 306
While allowing a man's bail plea booked for money laundering under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has reiterated that statements of the accused recorded by the investigating agency under Section 50 PMLA while he was in custody shall be inadmissible against him.
In doing so it also observed that in the present case the opinion formed by the ED under Section 19 (power to arrest) of the PMLA with respect to the guilt of the applicant, is based upon the statement of the co-accused person which is "prima facie" inadmissible.
Case Title: Ravi Narwariya versus Home Department & Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 307
In a case concerning acquittal of an individual in a criminal case on account of witnesses turning hostile, the Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court has observed it is unjustified for the authorities to apply the test of honourable acquittal especially when the initial case was itself false.
In doing so the court said that the respondent authorities had not justified how the acquittal of the petitioner in a criminal case was not honourable. In the case before the high court the petitioner's candidature to the post of Constable was rejected by the authorities after it observed that his acquittal in the criminal case on account of witnesses turning hostile was not clean/honorable and hence he wasn't fit for a government job.
Case Title: Rakesh Singh Bhadoria Vs State Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 308
In what comes as a relief to around six thousand law graduates, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday (November 27) directed the State Bar Council to provisionally enrol lawyers within a two-week time, subject to the verification to be done by the Council. The process was halted for almost 4 months.
On November 11, a PIL was filed by Rakesh Singh Bhadoria, former Joint Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh High Court Bar Association at Indore alleging non-enrolment of lawyers since four months.
Case Title: In Reference (Suo Motu) v. Chairman, State Bar Council of MP and Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 309
While deciding a suo-moto PIL, the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court discharged the contempt proceedings against the State Bar Council for calling a strike last year.
The court did so after taking on record the affidavit filed by the Chairman of State Bar Council as per which the state bar council took responsibility for the strike and also accepted their unconditional apology.
Case Title: Birendra Singh Yadav Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 310
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that if an advertisement gives vague and ambiguous meaning with a possibility of varying interpretations about the qualification criteria of a post, the benefit should always be given to the candidate and not the employer.
Case Title: Smt. Chanchal Gupta Versus Smt. Rakhi Dhali
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 311
The Madhya Pradesh High Court in a recent ruling held that an appeal cannot be converted into an election petition by way of an application for amendment, if compliance with provisions under M.P. Panchayat (Election Petitions Corrupt Practices & Disqualification For Membership) Rules, 1995 is not established.
In doing so, the court said that an election can only be challenged in an election petition and election petition can be filed in accordance with Rules, 1995.
Case Title: Child In Conflict With Law v/s Vinod Kumar Jain & Anr.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 312
The Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in a recent ruling has reiterated that while deciding the age of a child in conflict with law, a comprehensive inquiry as stipulated under Section 94 of the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection) Act, 2015 must be done.
In doing so the court also underscored that a "hyper technical approach" should not be adopted while considering the evidence adduced in support of the contention that the individual is a juvenile.
Case Title: In Reference Versus Shri Rahul Sahu
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 313
While closing contempt proceedings initiated against a man after he expressed his remorse and submitted an "unconditional apology", the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday (December 2) directed him to plant 50 trees of indigenous species in Sambalgarh.
A division bench of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf in its order took note of the man's contention in his affidavit that he is a semi-literate person and has studied only upto Class 10th.
Case Title: Vinay Yadav And Others Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 314
The Madhya Pradesh High Court while dismissing a petition relating to recruitment for post of accountant held that any certificate issued by a private university on the basis of an off-campus course run by its franchisee cannot be said to be legally valid.
Case title: Rekha Ahirwar And Others Vs. Nirmal Chandra
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 315
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has observed that while granting maintenance, undue sympathy with the husband for no good reason is neither in the interest of the wife and children who are living a deserted life nor in the interest of justice.
A bench of Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia observed thus while enhancing the interim maintenance amount granted by a Gwalior Family Court to a wife and child. The Single Judge enhanced the maintenance for the wife from Rs. 2,000 per month to Rs. 10,000; for the child, it was raised from Rs. 1,000 per month to Rs. 5,000.
Case Title: Dinesh Batham Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 316
The Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court while restoring an appeal which had been earlier dismissed for non-compliance of a conditional order suggested the counsel for the applicant to invest one hour of community service by visiting a Mercy Home and spending some time with differently-abled children.
The court suggested this act so as to raise awareness about the concept of 'social audit' and to know about the plight of the inmates at different Mercy Homes/NGOs and create sense of well-being amongst them. As the court said that the suggestion is not punitive in nature, the same was readily accepted by counsel for the applicant and he undertook that the applicant and the counsel would not only visit the mercy home but also would carry food items with them and spend one hour there.
Case Title: Pramod Kumar Versus Govt. Of India And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 317
The Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court while deciding a batch of public interest litigation pleas issued comprehensive guidelines to be followed for safety and and protection of children traveling in school buses until the State Government amends the Madhya Pradesh Motor Vehicles Rules, 1994.
The guidelines includes that school buses will be painted in yellow, will have grills on windows, will have first aid kits and that none of these buses will be more than 12 years old. It also states that institutions shall not employ drivers who has been challaned "even once" for over speeding, drunken driving and dangerous driving.
Recovery From Class III Employee Post-Retirement Illegal Without Misrepresentation Or Fraud: MP HC
Case Title: Hari Shankar Soni v. The State of Madhya Pradesh and Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 318
A single judge bench of Justice Anil Verma set aside a recovery order against a retired Class III employee, Hari Shankar Soni. It held that recoveries of excess payments made to Class III and IV employees after retirement are impermissible, unless there is misrepresentation or fraud. It also held that any specific undertaking allowing such recovery must have been in force when the payments prompting recovery were made. It confirmed that such undertakings cannot be applied retrospectively.
Case title: Dr. Abhishek Shukla And Others Versus State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 319
Allowing a plea against the normalisation process used in the NEET-PG 2024 exam for preparing state ranking of in-service candidates, the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday (December 9) quashed the state merit list directing the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) to prepare it afresh by giving incentivised marks to the candidates based on their normalised scores.
In doing so the court found that the method used by the body did not show the substantive merit of the candidate but their comparative merit, and questioned how a candidate who was higher in the All India Rank scored lower in the State list which it said defied logic.
Case Title: Dr. Yogesh Shah Versus Principal Secretary State Of M.P. And 4 Ors. And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 320
The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court recently held that in cases of voluntary retirement, the Pension Rules as on the date of application of voluntary retirement shall be applicable and not the Rules prevailing on the date of expiration of the notice period of the government servant.
Executing Court Cannot Go Behind Award To Modify Or Declare It Void: Madhya Pradesh High Court
Case Title: Akme Fintrade (India) Ltd. Versus Seema Jain And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 321
The Madhya Pradesh High Court bench of Justices Vivek Rusia and Binod Kumar Dwivedi has held that executing court cannot go behind the award or decree to modify or declare it void.
Case Title: M.P. Audyuogik Kendra Vikas Nigam Ltd And Others Versus Mr. Ashok Kumar Jain
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 322
The Madhya Pradesh High Court bench of Justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Vinay Saraf has held that the tribunal has no discretion to award payment of interest when there is clear prohibition in the contract that the interest cannot be given.
Case Title: Neetesh Sharma Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 323
While dismissing a man's plea for quashing an FIR after he was accused of threatening his advocate, the Gwalior bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court said that advocates do not have any personal interest in their client's case, and so threatening them because they accepted the accused's case amounts to interference in their professional life.
Hence, registering an FIR for being threatened for representing a client in court cannot be said to be a misuse of advocacy, the court underscored.
Case title – XXX vs YYY
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 324
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has observed that long separation, absence of cohabitation, the complete breakdown of all meaningful bonds and the existing bitterness between the spouses must be read as 'cruelty' under Section 13(1)(a) of the 1955 Act.
With this, the Court allowed an appeal filed by the Husband challenging a family court order whereby his application filed under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act seeking a decree of divorce on the ground of ''cruelty suppressing fact of unsound mind of respondent and desertion'' had been rejected.
Case Title: M/S Mahavir Infracon v. The State Of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 325
While hearing a writ petition moved in a commercial dispute where the parties had entered into an agreement having an arbitration clause, the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday (December 11) said that court's do not interfere in matters where alternative remedies are available.
As the counsel for the petitioner said at least a show cause notice should have been issued to him by the respondent before his earnest money was forfeited, Justice Vishal Dhagat while hearing the matter orally said, “Don't choke the High Court, let it breathe.”
Case Title: Aman & Others Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh & Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 326
While quashing a rape and dowry FIR against a husband and his kin, the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court said that the petitioner and his family members were "falsely implicated", adding that the lodging of the FIR at the wife's instance appeared to be an act of "wreaking vengeance".
The court said this after noting that there existed a pending civil suit filed by the petitioner husband against the complainant wife and another individual seeking a permanent injunction. In thus observed that FIR lodged at the wife's instance appeared have to be filed only to counter the civil suit which existed between the parties.
Employer Has Right To Lead Evidence Even After Faulty Domestic Enquiry: MP HC
Case Title: M.P. Rashtriya Manganese Mazdoor Sangh v. Manganese Ore (India) Ltd.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 327
A single bench of Justice Vivek Jain dismissed a petition filed by a workers' union against an award of Central Government Industrial Tribunal (CGIT). The award was passed in favour of a dismissed worker. He was dismissed on account of unauthorized absence and the CGIT had upheld his dismissal. The Court held that an employer can lead evidence before a tribunal to make his case even if the original domestic enquiry is held invalid. It clarified that the labour court must decide upon the industrial dispute and not merely the validity of a specific dismissal/termination.
Case Title: Ashok Singh Tomar v. The Forest Rang Officer and Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 328
A single judge bench of Justice Milind Ramesh Phadke dismissed a petition filed by Ashok Singh Tomar. Tomar challenged the Labour Court's order that dismissed his claim for reinstatement and back wages after he was terminated. The High Court ruled that Tomar provided insufficient evidence to establish an employer-employee relationship. It noted that just an affidavit or self-serving documents by the party would not suffice to establish such relationship.
Case Title: X v/s The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 329
In a plea concerning termination of over 20-week pregnancy of a minor girl who was stated to be gang raped, the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has given a detailed procedure to be followed by police authorities, district courts and high court registry in order to ensure timely legal and medical help.
In doing so the high court criticized the "acute insensitive approach" displayed by the trial court in the present matter observing that it was "cruel" for trial court to expect a rape survivor victim to produce her medical documents. In the present case, the petitioner–mother of the minor girl had first approached the trial court for termination of her daughter's pregnancy which was of 19 weeks on November 30. However, the same was rejected by the trial Court on December 5 on the ground that the petitioner had not produced medical documents in support of her application.
Case Title: Ahmed Almakki Alias Ahmed Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 330
While considering the case of a man–born in Saudi Arabia and claiming to be a Rohingya refugee–the Gwalior Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court said that his detention in the city's Central jail after completion of his sentence for allegedly having a foreign passport violated his right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
It further directed that till the man's nationality is adjudicated and he is deported back to his country, he be kept in a detention centre in Assam.
Case Title: X v/s State of M.P & others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 331
The Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court in a recent ruling allowed the medical termination of a woman's pregnancy on account of matrimonial dispute and alleged domestic violence by her husband and his family members.
Case Title: X Versus Y & Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 332
Coming to the aid of an interfaith couple, the Jabalpur Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the state to facilitate the marriage of a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy before the marriage officer.
In doing so, the court said that there is no prohibition to inter-faith marriage under Section 4 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
A division bench of Chief Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Vivek Jain observed, “…there is a prohibition in the personal law that under the Mohammedan Law, a mohamendan boy cannot perform marriage with a Hindu girl. However, there is no bar, if the marriage is taken place under Section 4 of the Act of 1954.”
Case title: Sabir Hussain vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 333
The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently stated that denying a permit for the establishment of a slaughterhouse on the grounds that a city is religious—in the instant case, Mandsaur city—is wholly unacceptable.
A bench of Justice Pranay Verma further said that the State Government's notification under the MP Municipalities Act, 1961, declaring a 100-meter radius a sacred area does not imply that the entire city should be considered as sacred.
Case Title: Dicky Ram Tiwari And Others Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 334
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has observed that if a wife maintains patience and silence with the sole intention of saving her matrimonial life, it cannot be said that it is her weakness; on the contrary, it shows her sincerity towards her marital life.
A bench of Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia added that if, after realising that her in-laws have gone to such an extent where reconciliation is not possible, a daughter-in-law decides to lodge an FIR complaining about cruelty meted out to her, then it cannot be said that said FIR is a counterblast to the petition for divorce.
Case Title: Nagar Parishad Bamhani Banjar District Mandla M.P. Versus Collector And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 335
The Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court upheld a Collector's order directing a municipal council to refund the first instalment of the bid amount to a Contractor–engaged for recovering weekly market charges, after noting that the money could not be recovered on account of second wave of Covid-19 terming it as "force majeure".
Case Title: Somesh Agrawal And Others v/s The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 336
In a plea questioning the claims of victims allegedly affected in an explosion in a firecracker factory in Harda, the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court permitted factory owners to raise their objections regarding genuineness of claimants in respect of their injuries and quantum to be paid for destruction of houses, before the National Green Tribunal Bhopal.
In doing so, the court also said that if the petitioner raises such objections the NGT shall consider them as per law, and added that the administration may disburse the compensation in death cases as directed by NGT.
Case Title: Praveen Kochak Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 337
The Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High court recently held that merely mentioning a person's name in departmental documents as a nominee does not automatically confer a right to claim compassionate appointment on account of death of deceased employee.
Case Title: Gori Saxena Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh Directorate Ayush And Others
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 338
The Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court held that if a public spirited person (whether he is a government servant or not) unselfishly gets himself/herself sterilised for family planning, such person cannot be later deprived of any benefit under a government scheme for advance increments to government servants opting for family planning.
In doing so, the court clarified that such person is also entitled to the benefit even if the person has contributed to such cause before entering into a government service.