High Courts Weekly Round-Up

Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has fined two contemnors Rs.5 lakh for deliberate and willful breach of its interim orders which restrained them from creating any tenancies with regard to a property that belongs to a trust.

The high court has commuted the life sentence of a man who poured kerosene on his wife, burnt her and later extinguished the fire with water, as he had not “anticipated that the act done by him would have such a proportion that his wife might die”.

A full bench of the high court has examined whether the state retains powers conferred by Section 10 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1932 to make certain offences cognizable and non-bailable, even though the Criminal Procedure Code 1898 was repealed and replaced by Criminal Procedure Code 1973.

Dismissing anticipatory bail applications of investors in a construction firm that build illegal structures, the high court has observed that they can be prosecuted.

The high court has rejected a revision application filed by one Yashwantrao Mane, director of a Trust that runs an ashram school that has been charged for offences punishable under Section 19 r/w Section 21 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012, Section 202 of IPC and Section 3(2)(vi) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Protection of Offences) Act 1988.

Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has ruled that the prisoners have a fundamental right to trade and profession.

Delhi High Court

A division bench of Delhi High Court on Monday stayed the restoration of contract between Monsanto Inc and Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd, as per the single judge’s order on the former’s patented Bt cotton technology.

The High Court of Delhi on Tuesday upheld the inclusion of ketamine in the list of psychotropic substances for the purposes of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

The high court on Tuesday refused to entertain the AAP government’s petition seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) chief MK Meena for allegedly disobeying the court’s order by removing an SHO of the anti-graft body.

The high court has rejected the ‘constitutionality’ challenge against Regulation 35 and the proviso to Regulation 37(1) of the Competition Commission of India (General) Regulations, 2009, as well as Regulation 6 of the Competition Commission of India (Lesser Penalty) Regulations, 2009.

A division bench of the court has upheld a single-bench order restraining DPS World Foundation from using the registered mark/name “DPS” or any other mark identical or deceptively similar to the registered mark of plaintiff Delhi Public School.

In Anand Chauhan vs Directorate of Enforcement, the high court has held that as the applicant is an accused of a scheduled offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), the court is bound by conditions relating to bail u/s  45 of the PMLA.

A division bench of the high court headed by Justice Gita Mittal on Monday stayed the order of the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal (DRAT) in Vikram Bakshi vs Housing Development Finance Corporation, wherein the DRAT had held that a Securitisation Application under Section 17 of the SARFAESI Act 2002, could not be filed in the DRT unless physical possession of the property was handed over to or taken over by the mortgagee bank.

The court has cancelled the permission granted to Tata Camelot Housing Project as the area over which the project is to be constructed forms part of the catchment area of Sukhna Lake.

The high court, in Ramesh Awasthi vs State, has held that a magistrate under Section 156 (3) CrPC cannot direct the Station House Officer of a police station beyond its territorial jurisdiction to investigate the crime.

The high court on Thursday refused to interfere with the admission process for postgraduate medical courses in Delhi University and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University for the academic year 2017-18.

Gujarat High Court

The High Court of Gujarat on Tuesday observed that the prohibition policy of the state “has not worked well”, and that one of the reasons for the same was the easy entry-point for liquor to be brought in.

The High Court has refused a plea for CBI investigation in the Una Dalit flogging incident.

Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court rejected the plea of the Kerala Ration Wholesale Distributors Federation to retain authorised wholesale distributors (AWD) and not to shut them out totally, observing that the scheme of the National Food Security Act, 2013, and the Targeted Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2015, is to exclude private interference or indulgence in the distribution system. 

Madhya Pradesh High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has sought reply within six weeks from the state government through principal secretary forest department and the chief conservator of forest MP on a PIL for protection of forest land from being encroached upon after incidents of fire.

 The high court has declined to issue directions for hoisting of National Flag Tricolor all the days on public buildings mandatorily.

The high court has imposed cost of Rs. 15,000 on a petitioner for abusing the process of law by filing a PIL that is “destructive to development activities”.

The Gwalior bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed an anticipatory bail application of an accused in a gang rape case with observation that “the young age of the applicant is not a ground for grant of anticipatory bail”. 

Madras High Court

The Madurai bench of Madras High Court, in Joint Registrar/ Managing Director, Virudhunagar District Central Co-operative Bank Ltd vs P Asothai, has held that denying employment to the daughter of the deceased on the ground of marriage is violation of Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution.

Patna High Court

In an ‘exceptional’ order, the Patna High Court ordered re-evaluation of answer sheet of a CBSE student of Intermediate Examination (Science), 2016, though there is no provision for re-evaluation under CBSE regulations.