High Courts Weekly Round-Up

The Allahabad High Court directed the Municipal Corporations of Varanasi and Meerut to make the entire city stray cattle free by February 5. The direction was issued by a bench comprising Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Chandra Dhari Singh. The court was hearing three petitions highlighting the problems being faced by the residents of Varanasi and Meerut due to "uncontrolled movement" of stray cattle and dogs in the area.

Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court directed the police to take action in all complaints received against illegal animal slaughter and sale of such meat in the state. The bench comprising Justice BP Dharmadhikari and Justice Revati Mohite Dere was disposing of petitions which complained of police laxity in dealing with complaints against illegal slaughter and sale of meat.

The High Court on Thursday continued to question the investigating agencies conducting the probe in the murders of both rationalist Narendra Dabholkar and CPI leader Govind Pansare. A division bench of Justice SC Dharmadhikari and Justice MS Karnik observed that both the CBI and SIT were relying on the information given by the accused in Gauri Lankesh case arrested by the Karnataka police.

The High Court recently imposed costs of Rs. 25 lakhs on a couple, after they prevented a Court-appointed Receiver from inspecting and seizing copyright infringing goods from their factory.

Calcutta High Court

The Division Bench of Calcutta High Court stayed further action on the recommendations of three names for senior designation made by the committee for designation of senior advocates..

Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday stayed the Measles Rubella(MR) Vaccination Campaign of the Delhi Government, which mandated compulsory vaccination on children even without consent of their parents or guardians.

The High Court set the time limit for oral arguments during the stage of final hearing of a commercial suit. Jusitce Rajiv Sahai Endlaw passed the order in an application filed under Order XV-A CPC for Case Management Hearing by the plaintiff in a commercial suit. The plaintiff's counsel submitted that he will not take more than 45 minutes in his opening argument and not more than 30 minutes in rejoinder argument.

The High Court on Friday put on hold decisions of JNU's academic and executive councils to make attendance mandatory for the faculty, and said action against unauthorised absence be taken as per rules governing the service of the teaching staff.

In the context of a Power Purchase Agreement(PPA), the High Court held that escalation of price of coal and change in law abroad will not amount to "force majuere" under the agreement, so as to absolve the power generating company from its obligations.

Karnataka High Court

While granting interim custody of a ten-year-old girl child to her father, the Karnataka High Court recently observed that it is not the "statutory rights of the parents" but the welfare of the child that needs to be given paramount consideration by courts while considering grant of custody.

The Karnataka High Court recently held that, the provisions of the Right To Information Act cannot be resorted to, when any information can be accessed through the mechanism provided under another statute.

Kerala High Court

The High Court of Kerala on Tuesday sought the response of Kerala Government and Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL) in a petition filed against mining activities in the coastal village of Alappad.

The High Court commuted death sentence awarded to a man accused of rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl. The division bench comprising of Justice AM Shaffique and Justice P Somarajan affirmed the conviction recorded by the trial court. Most vital evidence in this case was the DNA report which stated that the spermatozoa taken from the vagina matched with the DNA profile of the accused.

The High Court on Wedneday stayed the proceedings in the criminal defamation case filed by Shashi Tharoor MP against Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief of Republic TV.

The High Court dismissed a plea of its former judge, holding that recommendation in Justice Shetty Commission Report to grant advance increments to candidates having Post Graduation in Law does not apply to district judges.

The Kerala High Court, on Wednesday, permitted a man, accused in various crimes, to have the 'darsan' of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala, observing that his right as a devotee cannot be prevented or stalled merely because of his criminal background.

The High Court observed that educational qualifications prescribed for public posts are not relaxable unless it is clearly stated in the notification inviting applications. The bench comprising of Justice V. Chitambaresh and Justice R. Narayana Pisharadi, while setting aside an order of Central Administrative Tribunal, observed that such relaxations amounts to fraud on public in the matter of appointment.

The Full Bench of Kerala High Court ruled that medicines, implants and other materials used during procedures at hospitals do not constitute sale of goods, and hence, sales tax cannot be levied on these.

Madhya Pradesh High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday confirmed death sentence awarded to a youth accused of rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl. The bench comprising Justice PK Jaiswal and Justice BK Shrivastava, referring to evidence on record, particularly the DNA report, upheld the conviction recorded by the Sessions Court.

Patna High Court

The Patna High Court upheld the order directing Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, ex- minister and present Leader of Opposition, to vacate the bungalow he had occupied while he was a minister.