High Courts Weekly Round-Up

Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court allowed a writ petition filed by one Minna Pirhonen, a Finnish citizen, and agreed to transfer the investigation into the ‘mysterious’ death of her son Felix to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The High Court held that there needs to be a direct nexus between the cost of higher education paid by an assessee and the business activities of the assessee in order for such cost to be claimed as business expenditure under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

The High Court held that even if there is a reasonable doubt in the mind of the court regarding the mental condition of an accused at the time of the crime, then the said accused is entitled to benefit under Section 84 of the Indian Penal Code.

Refusing a plea seeking termination of pregnancy, the High Court held that matrimonial discord cannot be considered as a reason for permitting termination of pregnancy by invoking provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.

 Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court recently asserted that the procedure for recovery of narcotics from inside the body of the suspect should not be cruel and invasive as to fall foul of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

The High Court recently laid down guidelines for investigation and trial of offences under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956. These guidelines, it asserted, need to be followed as the “standard operating procedure in the investigation and prosecution of crime involving commercial sexual exploitation of women and children.”

Chhattisgarh High Court

The Chhattisgarh High Court in Master Vatsal Khakhariya vs. State of Chhattisgarh observed that a student cannot be failed up to Class VIII for ‘any reason whatsoever it may.’

In Nisar Hussain vs. State of Chhattisgarh, the High Court held that the police have no power to seal the immovable property and the word ‘seize’ used in Section 102 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) would mean only actual taking possession of the movable property.

Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court directed the government to compensate 26 NRI petitioners for the loss of opportunity to be tied to their motherland by owning a plot of land in Delhi.

The High Court directed the AAP government to take a call within eight weeks on the plea for creating a separate department of disability affairs so that various schemes and provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act can be effectively implemented.

The High Court on Tuesday issued notice to its Registrar-General on a plea moved by two women who took the Delhi Judicial Services Examination 2017 demanding that the result of the preliminary examination be declared afresh and the Mains examination be declared afresh and the Mains examination be stayed as they alleged glaring discrepancies in the marking of their answer sheets and the manner in which the final list was issued.

On Tuesday, the High Court issued notice to BJP spokesperson Tajinder Singh Bagga on a petition filed by journalist Swati Chaturvedi for quashing defamation proceedings instituted by Mr. Bagga against her.

The High Court held that offence of dishonour of cheque under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act is attracted even if the cheque was issued in respect of sale consideration which was not disclosed in the sale deed. The judgment was delivered by Justice Vipin Sanghi in the case Bhawish Chand Sharma v. Bawa Singh while considering an appeal against the acquittal order passed by the trial court.

In Sabina Sahdev v. Vidur Sahdev the High Court held that there cannot be an absolute rider that the entire maintenance amount, as granted by the trial court, should be deposited prior to the entertainment of the statutory remedy.

Holding merit over technical grounds, the High Court opened up a closed opportunity for an aspiring medico to register for the second round of counselling for deemed universities after the due date.

Disquieted by YouTube’s attempt to “set at naught” the judicial time consumed in hearing its appeal against the order of a trial court to remove a defamatory post against a Delhi-based doctor, the High Court directed it to pay Rs 50, 000 per hearing when it sought to withdraw its appeal that too after seeking adjournments on nine hearings in a matter of mere 64 days.

Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court in Kaviraj S v. State of Karnataka held that a person cannot be prosecuted merely for intention or preparation to commit suicide when there was actually no attempt to commit suicide.

Kerala High Court

The High Court of Kerala dismissed the plea of anticipatory bail of four priests of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, alleged to be involved in a sexual abuse case. They are accused of committing offences punishable under Sections 376, 354, 354A, 506(i) of IPC by abusing their priestly position to force a married woman to return sexual favors. The court through Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan observed: “Prima facie, it appears that the applicants have acted as predators and they have taken undue advantage of the position of the survivor to their advantage.”

The High Court directed the State Government to frame rules under Section 4 of the Muslim Personal Law(Shariat) Application Act 1937. The direction was issued by a Division Bench of Justice C.T Ravikumar and Justice A.M Babu in a petition filed by Thadevoos @ Abu Thalib.

The High Court held that when an association files a writ petition for the benefit of its members, court fee at the prescribed rate for each member of the association has to be paid. This was held by a Division Bench of Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Ashok Menon in a petition filed by Maradu Meat Traders Association for the benefit of its 138 members.

Kerala High Court quashed charges against students alleged to have posted videos of teacher online.  Taking video of an act done publicly will not violate privacy, the High Court held.

Madhya Pradesh High Court

Directing the state to compensate accused in an abduction case for false implication, the Madhya Pradesh High Court observed that if because of poor investigation and tainted prosecution, the accused suffers and it is apparent that he is innocent then he deserves compensation from the state under Right to Life.

Madras High Court

The Madras High Court observed that parents should consciously refrain from influencing the matrimonial life of their children.

Madurai Bench of the High Court on Tuesday directed the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) to award 196 marks to candidates who wrote this year’s National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) in Tamil, in order to make up for 49 mis- translated questions.

The High Court upheld death penalty awarded to  Daswanth, a 23-year-old techie, for rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in his neighborhood.

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh High Court

Rejecting plea of a man sentenced to 10-days’ imprisonment for drunken driving, the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh High Court in D Chandra Sekhar vs The State Of Telangana observed that the punishment to be awarded to a drunken driver at least should act as a deterrent for others, who are resorting to such type of violations.

A Division Bench of the High Court dismissed the challenge made by Senior Advocate Nalini Chidambaram against the summons issued under Section 50 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Patna High Court

Terming it an ‘absurd’ order, the Patna High Court come down heavily on Education Department for ordering recovery of salary of teachers on the ground of not imparting teaching job but engaged in election duty.

Taking suo motu cognizance of news reports of a law graduate who was put under ‘illegal’ confinement in her house by her parents over her love affair with a Delhi-based lawyer, the High Court on Thursday ordered that she be set free and allowed to go wherever she wanted to go and pursue her career and life in the way she desired.

Some bold, effective decisions should be taken by the State of Bihar and make our State “Plastic Free Zone”, remarked division bench of the High Court while hearing a suo motu writ petition recently.

Uttarakhand High court

The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to appoint special educators in all government aided and unaided private schools for children with special needs and the school premises and transportation is made barrier-free.

A day after environmentalist GD Agarwal, better known as Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand, was evicted from Maitri Sadan, Haridwar, where he was on an indefinite hunger strike for the cause of clean Ganga, the High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to disclose his location, shift him to AIIMS Rishikesh and hold parleys with him on the issue in complete bonhomie within 12 hours.

With India having a high number of women dying every year due to pregnancy-related issues, the Uttarakhand High Court tried to ensure that every expectant mother in the state gets due care by directing the state government and the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to keep a record of all pregnant women and ensure that they get balanced diet and undergo all necessary antenatal checks.

The High Court recently warned high caste priests against refusing to perform religious ceremonies on behalf of lower castes pilgrims, taking a stern view of the still existing practice of exclusion of the SC/ST community in Haridwar.