Karnataka High Court Weekly Round-Up: September 4 To September 10, 2023

Nominal Index:

Abdul Rehman And State of Karnataka & Others. 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 340

Shrenika And State of Karnataka & Others. 2023 LiveLaw (kar) 341

XYZ And ABC. 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 342Usman Makandar alias

Usmanshah And State of Karnataka. 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 343

NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL OF INDIA UNIVERSITY AND MUGIL ANBU VASANTHA & Others. 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 344

T Ramesh Babu And The Inquiry Authority & Others. 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 345

XYZ & ANR AND NIL. 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 346

Chikkanna And Karnataka Legislative Assembly Secretariat & Others. 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 347

Mrs Saraswathi S P And The Commissioner & Others. 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 348

Umapathi S AND State of Karnataka & Others. 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 349

United Spirits Limited Versus Assistant Commissioner Of Income-Tax. 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 350

Judgments/Orders

Can't Let Convict's "Societal Roots" Dry Up During Imprisonment: Karnataka High Court Releases Man On Furlough To Attend Daughter's Nikah

Case Title: Abdul Rehman And State of Karnataka & Others

Case No: WRIT PETITION NO. 18712 OF 2023

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 340

Observing that “ordinarily every Muslim Marriage involves certain rituals that are done with the participation of the parents,” the Karnataka High Court granted furlogh leave to a convict Abdul Rehman, to attend his daughters nikah which was scheduled yesterday.

Bench of Justice Krishna S Dixit remarked that although sporadically, a convict has to keep in contact with the civil society so that his societal roots do not dry up when he languishes in the jail;. "Otherwise, when he returns from the prison after completing the term of sentence, he may be a total stranger and life may prove hard to him; this is not a happy thing to happen in a Welfare State.”

DV Act | Daughters Entitled To Maintenance Only Till They Attain Majority, Not Till Marriage: Karnataka High Court

Case Title: XYZ And ABC

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 342

Case No: CRIMINAL REVISION PETITION NO.795 OF 2015 C/W CRIMINAL REVISION PETITION NO.1031 OF 2015

The Karnataka High Court has clarified that under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, a father is to pay maintenance amount to his daughters only till they attain majority and maintenance cannot be ordered to be paid till their marriage.

Justice Rajendra Badamikar added that upon attaining majority if the daughters are not able to maintain themselves, they can seek maintenance under provisions of the Hindu Adoption Act. “In the instant case, admittedly, the major daughters are not parties and they have not sought any maintenance independently. They have got remedy under the provisions of Hindu Adoption Act to seek the maintenance on attaining majority in case they are unable to maintain themselves. Hence, under the provisions of Domestic Violence Act, question of awarding maintenance till marriage of the daughters does not arise at all and the maintenance can be granted till the attainment of age of majority by the child.”

Preventive Detention Can Be Quashed If Authority Fails To Provide Documents Relied Upon In Language Known To Detenu: Karnataka High Court

Case Title: Shrenika And State of Karnataka & Others

Case No: WRIT PETITION NO. 201957/2023

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (kar) 341

The Karnataka High Court has quashed a detention order passed under the Karnataka Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act 1985 (Goonda Act) on the ground that authorities failed to provide to detenu, the documents relied on by them, in a language known to the detenue.

A Division bench of Justice Mohammad Nawaz and Justice Rajesh Rai K sitting at Kalaburagi thus ordered immediate release of Huchappa @ Dhanaraj Kalebag. It said, “It is an admitted fact that the detenue has studied upto 3rd standard and does not know English language, as such it is the bounden duty of the detaining authority to provide the translated copies of those documents. Nevertheless, the law contemplates that in order to give an effective representation to the Government and before the Advisory Board, such an opportunity has to be provided to the detenue by the detaining authority. In the case on hand, even the detaining authority has failed to make known the grounds of detention to the detenue within the specified period of 21 days as contemplated under Section 3(3) of the Goonda Act.”

Unexplained Delay In Filing Complaint Alleging Grave Offences U/S 354A IPC Fatal To Prosecution: Karnataka High Court

Case Title: Usman Makandar alias Usmanshah And State of Karnataka. Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 343

Case No: CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 100989 OF 2020

The Karnataka High Court has quashed a prosecution initiated by a woman alleging offences under Section 354A of IPC (sexual harassment) for having filed the complaint three years after the alleged incident took place.

Justice M Nagaprasanna sitting at Dharwad allowed the petition and quashed the prosecution under sections 354A, 354B & 504 of the Indian Penal Code observing that the delay in registering the crime in the peculiar facts of this case was fatal.

Karnataka HC Permits NLSIU To Seek Quick Disposal Of Transgender Aspirant's Plea For Reservation, Provisional Admission To Continue

Case Title: NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL OF INDIA UNIVERSITY AND MUGIL ANBU VASANTHA & Others

Case No: WA 1025/2023

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 344

The Karnataka High Court on Monday disposed of an appeal filed by the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) challenging a single bench order directing it to grant provisional admission to a transgender person in the 3-year LLB course for the academic year 2023-24, if found eligible.

A division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit said, “As the issue involved assumes importance being an issue relating to the admission qua reservation to transgender persons, in our opinion it will be in the interest of justice and in the fitness of things that the parties are relegated to single judge to make a request to single judge for hearing petition expeditiously for final disposal.”

'A Hexagenerian Can't Be Left Tongue-Tied': Karnataka HC Allows Retd Employee To Engage Lawyer To Defend Him In Dept Enquiry Despite Prohibitory Rule

Case Title: T Ramesh Babu And The Inquiry Authority & Others

Case No: Writ Petition No 101897/2023

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 345

The Karnataka High Court recently set aside an order passed by the Inquiry Authority of United India Insurance Company declining to accede to the request of a former employee for engaging the services of a legal practitioner to defend him in the departmental enquiry.

Justice M Nagaprasanna sitting at Dharwad bench held that the circumstances of the petitioner, particularly his age and hearing disability, outweighed the rules that prohibit engaging the services of an advocate in department enquiries.

"Conscious Decision", Will Concentrate On Career: Karnataka High Court Waives 1-Yr Cooling Off Period For Mutual Divorce Under Special Marriage Act

Case Title: XYZ & ANR AND NIL

Case No: MISCELLANEOUS FIRST APPEAL NO.3125 OF 2023

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 346

The Karnataka High Court has allowed a petition filed by an estranged couple and waived off the statutory cooling period of one year before deciding on the petition for divorce by mutual consent, under the Special Marriage Act.

A division bench of Justice G Narendar and Justice Vijaykumar A Patil allowed the petition filed by the couple and set aside the order of the family court which dismissed their application under Section 28(2) of the Act. The bench said, “The parties to the proceedings are between the age group of 32 to 37 years and they have specifically averred that they intend to concentrate on their career and decided to move on in their respective life. The said decision of the appellants is a conscious decision and the parties are quite mature about the consequences of the said decision. In the facts and circumstances narrated above, this Court is of the considered view that the possibilities of reconciliation between the appellants are bleak.”

Karnataka High Court Refuses To Quash Recovery Order Against Former MLA Chikkanna Who Missed Govt-Funded Legal Study Tour In 2009

Case Title: Chikkanna And Karnataka Legislative Assembly Secretariat & Others

Case NO: WRIT PETITION NO. 39016 OF 2011

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 347

The Karnataka High Court has refused to quash an order of the State Legislative Assembly Secretariat seeking to recover a sum of about Rs. 4 lakh from former legislator Chikkanna who missed a government-funded legal study tour back in 2009.

A single bench of Justice R Nataraj observed,"The tour was scheduled on 23.08.2009 but the request to cancel the tour was made by the petitioner on which was very close to the date of departure. Therefore, the tour operator cannot be expected to refund the tour cost as the operator would have already spent corresponding amounts on the airfare, accommodation etc. In that view of the matter, the petitioner cannot now contend that he was unable to travel due to reasons beyond his control and also contend that he was not liable to refund a sum of Rs.3,89,800/-."

6 Yrs After Man Was Washed Away While Working In Stormwater Drain, Karnataka High Court Orders BBMP To Issue His Death Certificate To Wife

Case Title: Mrs Saraswathi S P And The Commissioner & Others

Case NO: Writ Petition No. 26850 OF 2018

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 348

The Karnataka High Court has come to the aid of a woman by directing the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to issue death certificate of her husband, an excavator operator with BBMP who was washed away in heavy rain while working in a stormwater drain in 2017.

A single bench of Justice Suraj Govindaraj allowed the petition filed by Mrs Saraswathi S P and directed the Corporation to issue the death certificate within 30 days.

The bench rejected the contention of the civic body that if the husband of the petitioner were to return alive at a later point of time, the death certificate would amount to a false death certificate. It remarked, “The corporation is clutching at straws to try and justify its inaction. If at all the husband of the petitioner were to return alive, the respondent can always cancel the death certificate. Merely because there is such an apprehension, a living person cannot be deprived of the benefit of a death certificate of a person who is dead.”

'Where Is The Prohibition?': Karnataka High Court Dismisses Plea Against Appointment Of Political Secretaries, Media Advisor To CM Siddaramiah

Case Title: Umapathi S AND State of Karnataka & Others

Case No: WP 15257/2023.

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 349

The Karnataka High Court today dismissed a Public Interest Litigation challenging the appointment of Political Secretaries and Media Advisor to Chief Minister Siddaramiah.

A division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit dismissed the petition filed by Advocate Umapathi S and said, “For reasons to be recorded separately, the petition is dismissed.” Detailed order to follow.

The petitioner had challenged the appointments of Congress MLCs Dr K. Govindraj and Nazeer Ahmed as Political Secretaries, Sunil Kunagol as Chief Advisor and journalist KV Prabhakar as the Media Advisor to the Chief Minister.

No Further Recovery Of Demand Can Be Made When A Fresh Assessment Is Barred: Karnataka High Court Directs Rs.87 Crore Refund To United Spirits

Case Title: United Spirits Limited Versus Assistant Commissioner Of Income-Tax

Case No.: Writ Petition No. 13953 Of 2020

Citation No: 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 350

The Karnataka High Court has held that no further demand can be made for recovery of the balance amount since a fresh assessment is barred. In other words, the tax paid by the assessee must be accepted as it is, and in the event of the tax paid being in excess of the tax liability duly computed on the basis of the return furnished and the rates applicable, the excess shall be refunded to the assessee.

The bench of Justice B. M. Shyam Prasad, while quashing the demand notice issued in the name of United Spirits (assessee), observed that the time for the AO to consider the question of disallowance of the claims of bad debts and advances written off under Section 14A stood lapsed as of March 31, 2017, and must consider the petitioner’s representation dated November 29, 2020, for refund.