High Courts
'Absence Of Arbitration Clause In Agreement Does Not Render Dispute Non-Arbitrable': Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has held that the absence of an independent arbitration clause in a supplemental agreement, when the principal agreement contains an arbitration clause, does not render the dispute non-arbitrable. The Court ruled that a supplemental agreement, merely ancillary to the principal agreement, which seeks to record that the consideration under the Development Agreement...
Trial Courts In UP Are At Liberty To Write Judgments Either In Hindi Or English, But Not A Mix Of Both: Allahabad High Court
In a significant directive, the Allahabad High Court has said that while trial courts in Uttar Pradesh are at liberty to write their judgments either in Hindi or in English, they cannot write judgments that are partially in English and partially in Hindi. Terming an acquittal judgment by a Sessions Court in Agra a 'classic example' of this impermissible practice, the Bench directed...
No Technical Flaw If GST Orders Lack Visible Signatures; Digital Key Authentication Sufficient: Delhi High Court
The Central Goods and Services Tax Department recently explained to the Delhi High Court the process its officers follow when uploading any show cause notice or order on the GST portal. The explanation was tendered in response to a plea filed before the Court, challenging the legality of a demand order on the ground that the impugned SCN and the impugned order were not duly signed...
Expedite Trials In 216 Pending Criminal Cases Against Sitting And Former MPs/MLAs Where No Stay Operates: Madras High Court
The Madras High Court has directed the trial courts in the State to expedite trial in the criminal cases pending against sitting and former MPs and MLAs in the State. The bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan also directed the trial courts not to grant unnecessary adjournments in cases where the trial was pending for more than five years....
'We Know How To Deal With Such Attitude': Kerala High Court Fines Officer For Non-Speaking Order In Paddy Land Case
The Kerala High Court has imposed ₹10,000 fine on a former Revenue Division Officer (RDO) for passing a "stereotypical" order on a landowner's application to remove his land from the data bank of paddy and wetland, despite repeated judgments directing the authorised officers to pass speaking orders in such cases.Justice P V Kunhikrishnan remarked that the authorised officers are...
Mere Possession Of Large Quantity Of Kerosene By Consumer Not An Offence Under Essential Commodities Act: HP High Court
The Himachal Pradesh High Court held that mere possession of kerosene without a permit does not constitute an offence under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (which prescribes penalties for contravention of orders issued under the Act).The Court remarked that the Kerosene (Restriction of Use and Fixation of Prices) Order, 1993, only applies to licensed dealers and...
After Delhi High Court's Split Verdict, Third Judge To Hear Jailed MP Engineer Rashid's Plea Against Costs To Attend Parliament
The Delhi High Court on Friday said that it will conduct a preliminary hearing on January 14 in the plea moved by jailed Jammu and Kashmir MP Engineer Rashid challenging costs imposed on him by a trial court while granting him custody parole to attend the Parliament.Justice Ravinder Dudeja passed the order after the matter was listed before him, following a split verdict by a division bench...
Kerala High Court Pulls Up Police Chief For Inaction Over Direction To Trace Lawyer Accused Of Misappropriating Client's ₹40 Lakh
The Kerala High Court on Friday (November 14) pulled up the District Police Chief, Thiruvananthapuram, for the inaction to trace out the accused persons in a case alleging misappropriation of ₹40 lakhs belonging to a client by his lawyer, and her husband.The Court had given an interim direction to the Station House Officer, Negumangad (5th respondent), to conduct a thorough investigation in...
Madras High Court Allows Meritorious Candidate To Join MBBS Course After She Could Not Pay Fee On Time Due To Financial Difficulties
The Madras High Court has come to the rescue of a candidate who was not permitted to join the allotted Medical College after failing to pay the fee on time. Justice Anand Venkatesh invoked the court's extraordinary jurisdiction and took into account the circumstances that prevented the candidate from paying the fee on time. The court noted that the candidate had obtained a good score...
Is Acceptance Of Apology Enough To Purge Contempt? Allahabad High Court Explains Why Punishment Can Still Be Awarded
Interpreting Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act 1971, the Allahabad High Court has clarified that while an apology made by a contemnor may be accepted by the court, the same does not automatically purge the contempt or discharge the contemnor. Dealing with the recall and apology plea of an advocate facing criminal contempt for making scandalous allegations against the court, a...
Trader's Plea To Cancel GST Registration Unravels ITC Fraud, Delhi High Court Imposes ₹5 Lakh Costs Over Misleading Submissions
In an unusual turn of events at the Delhi High Court, an “innocuous” petition filed by a trader seeking cancellation of its GST registration unravelled fraudulent availment of Input Tax Credit worth lakhs.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain thus imposed a cost of ₹5 lakh on the trader, ₹2 lakh of which would go to the Delhi High Court Bar Association, ₹2...
'Taxable Person' Under GST Includes Individual Behind Fake Firms Used To Fraudulently Avail ITC: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that where fraudulent availment of tax by a fake firm comes to light, penalties can be imposed on the person behind the bogus operations.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Madhu Jain observed,“When the expression 'taxable person' has to be interpreted, the 'taxable person', so long as it is an identified real person/entity it would be the...