High Courts Weekly Round-Up

• Held that prior government sanction under Section 196 of CrPC is mandatory to take cognizance of offences like Section 121-123 IPC and it thereby set aside the order of conviction and sentence of life imprisonment imposed on a Pakistani Jais-E-Mohommad Terrorist group member and another Indian citizen, for want of such sanction.
• Taking note of the bleak chances of conviction if parties in a matrimonial dispute arrive at a settlement, the High Court said the offender and victim in such cases should be allowed to compound the offence in terms of the settlement.

Bombay High Court

• Confirmed the death sentence awarded to one Eknath Kumbharkar who was convicted of killing his 9 months pregnant daughter by strangulation as he had kept a 'grudge' against her for performing an inter-caste marriage against his wishes.
• Directed Barshi Municipal Council to pay Rs.2 lakh as interim compensation to the aged mother of a vegetable seller who died due to injuries suffered after a wall collapsed in Barshi, Solapur district of Maharashtra on May 16, 2015. The division bench of Justices Akil Kureshi and SJ Kathawalla was hearing a petition filed by Anil Kambale, the deceased victim's elder brother.
• Acquitted Imtiyaz Shaikh, who was sentenced to death by the sessions court and Azad, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for kidnapping and killing a 12-year-old boy in 2012, due to lack of evidence.
• Held that merely because the victim in a motor accident case was a brilliant student, his salary cannot be assessed as exemplary. Justice Vibha Kankanwadi of the Aurangabad bench partly allowed the appeal filed by Reliance General Insurance Ltd and modified the compensation amount from Rs.21.90 lakh to Rs.15.82 lakh. The insurer had challenged the award passed by Motor Accident Claims Tribunal.
• Granted interim protection from arrest to one Imtiyaz Patel, accused of giving triple talaq or instantaneous divorce to his wife, complainant in the case.
• Allowed a petition filed by a 28-week pregnant woman seeking permission for termination of pregnancy as several deformities were found in the foetus during sonography.
  

Calcutta High Court

• In a path breaking judgment, the High Court suggested the Special Courts under NDPS Act to record statements of official witnesses by way of video conferencing.
• Exonerated certain alleged Maoists from the charge waging war against India and commuted their life sentence to three years rigorous imprisonment, for lack of evidence.

Chhattisgarh High Court

• Sought the response of the Central Government to a writ petition challenging the constitutional validity of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 (the NIA Act).

Delhi High Court

• Dismissing a contempt petition, the high court held that contempt proceedings could not be used to execute an order of payment, whose execution was otherwise prevented by law on account of ongoing insolvency proceedings.
• Directed the Registrar of Companies to exercise the powers given to it efficiently, in accordance with law and devoid of any arbitrariness. The court was hearing a petition challenging the order of the RoC denying registration to a company which had a word 'Pandit' in its name.
• Rejected a plea challenging a Circular dated 20/05/2019 issued by the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) purporting the presence of both parents at the time seeking admission in school.
• Granted relief to a government servant who was held liable for misconduct through a disciplinary proceedings that took place 15 years after the alleged incident took place. The court held the delay to be unreasonable, devoid of any justification and of a nature that vitiated the disciplinary proceedings.
• Asked the Enforcement Directorate to file a status report in response to a plea filed by Ratul Puri challenging the trial court's order which cancelled his anticipatory bail.
• Stayed an inquiry ordered by the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration against teachers for participating in a protest march organized by students.
• Held that the Rules of Bar Council of India regarding approval of Colleges and the Rules/Policy laid down by the Directorate of Higher Education have to be read in harmony. Moreover, the temporary approval granted by the BCI cannot be used to challenge the non-grant of NOC by DoHE when the conditions laid down in the temporary approval have not been complied with.

Jammu & Kashmir High Court

· Right of personal liberty is most precious right, guaranteed under the Constitution, reiterated the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir in a judgment delivered in a Habeas Corpus petition. Justice Tashi Rabstan, though dismissed the petition challenging the preventive detention of Mohammad Hussain, referred to various Supreme Court judgments highlighting the importance of personal liberty.

Karnataka High Court

• Directed the University Grants Commission (UGC) to consider a representation made by National Law School of India University, Bangalore (NLSIU) seeking approval to offer two courses, Post Graduate Diploma in Consumer Law and Practice (PGDCLP) and Post Graduate Diploma in Cyber Law and Cyber Forensics (PGDCLCF).
• Directed State government and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to in a month's time come out with a comprehensive scheme to either restore 19 disappeared lakes or create artificial lakes to compensate for the loss.

Kerala High Court

• While dismissing the petition moved by Kerala Government to cancel the bail granted by Magistrate to Sriram Venkatraman IAS in the accident death case, the High Court slammed the police for its glaring omissions in the probe.
• The bench comprising the Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar closed a Public Interest Litigation seeking ban of Maggi Noodles manufactured and sold by Nestle India Limited.
• Held that the bar under Section 188 of the Code of Criminal Procedure does not affect the power of arrest and detention available to the Police authorities in cases where the allegations pertains to commission of offences allegedly committed outside India, even when the sanction of the Central Government has not been obtained.
• Held that there is no scope for exercise of discretion in Section 148 of the Negotiable Instruments Act which empowers the Appellate Court to direct the accused/appellant to 'deposit' minimum of 20% of 'fine' or 'compensation' awarded by the Trial Court.

Madras High Court

• The Court below has completely lost sight of rudimentary principles of law, said the High Court recently while quashing a Magistrate's order directing investigation under Section 156 (3) Cr.P.C. after having taken cognizance of the complaint and after ordering for an enquiry under Section 202 of Cr.P.C. (N.Amsaveni vs. R.Loganathan)
• Made a suggestion to bring suitable amendment in 'women protection' laws so as to prevent its misuse and to safeguard the interest of the 'innocent masculinity'. Justice S.Vaidyanathan observed thus while dismissing a petition filed by an Asst. Professor in Madras Christian College seeking to quash the "Finding of Fact" report of the Committee of Enquiry (Internal Complaints Committee), which found that there was a sexual harassment by him.

Punjab & Haryana High Court

• After issuing notice to High Court Bar Association (HCBA) for obstructing administration of justice by restricting entry of litigants in the court, High Court imposed costs of Rs.50,000/- on the HCBA in a related matter.