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Madras High Court Weekly Round-Up: 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 71 - 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 79
Sebin James
28 Feb 2022 12:54 PM IST
A weekly round-up of important cases from Madras High Court and its subordinate courts.Citations: 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 71 To 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 79NOMINAL INDEXS. Gunaraja v. The Commissioner of Police, Greater Chennai & Anr., 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 71Manimaran v. The Chief General Manager/ Reviewing Authority, Canara Bank & Ors, 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 72Wasib Khan v. The State represented by...
A weekly round-up of important cases from Madras High Court and its subordinate courts.
Citations: 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 71 To 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 79
NOMINAL INDEX
S. Gunaraja v. The Commissioner of Police, Greater Chennai & Anr., 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 71
Manimaran v. The Chief General Manager/ Reviewing Authority, Canara Bank & Ors, 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 72
Wasib Khan v. The State represented by its Deputy Inspector General of Prisons (Chennai Range) & Ors., 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 73
Indic Collective Trust & Anr. v. State of Tamil Nadu & Anr., 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 74
P.A Josseph v. State of Tamil Nadu & Ors., 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 75
K.V Komarasamy v. State of Tamil Nadu & Ors., 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 76
Rangarajan Narasimhan v. Inspector of Police, Srirangam Police Station & Ors., 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 77
The Adhoc Board of Administrators, Nagore Dargah Interim Adhoc Administrators v. Muhalli Muthavalli & Anr., 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 78
South Indian Artistes Association rep. by its Former General Secretary v. The Registrar of Societies, South Chennai & Anr.2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 79
Case Title: S. Gunaraja v. The Commissioner of Police, Greater Chennai & Anr.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 71
Madras High Court has held that police cannot decide the working hours of eateries and restaurants under the guise of law and order problems. The court also observed that it is the bounden duty of police authorities to provide appropriate protection to the eatery shops/hotels/restaurants.
Justice Krishnan Ramasamy pointed out that the police does not have the authority to shut down eatery shops/ restaurants by citing law and order problems when they are not accorded such powers after the amendment to Section 35 vide Chennai City Police (Amendment) Act, 2007.
The court also stated that the Preamble of the Indian Constitution guarantees a democratic republic and not a police state. The court made the above statement in the backdrop of police refusing eateries the permission to function even when they don't have the authority to regulate their timings, thereby depriving the fundamental rights of hotel owners and consumers of food. Such unlawful actions of the police fearing anti-social elements entering the eateries at night can only be equated to 'burning down your own house to get rid of a rat', the court added.
Case Title: Manimaran v. The Chief General Manager/ Reviewing Authority, Canara Bank & Ors.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 72
Madras High Court has held that material aspects that were not considered by the Disciplinary Authority can be construed as 'new evidence' by the Reviewing Authority to exercise its power of review.
The court observed that the power of reviewing authority is not intended for mechanical exercise and aims at a clear application of mind. This would include whether the nature of charges have been already proved or not and whether the punishment imposed is in commensuration with the gravity of charges so proved or not proved. The Reviewing Authority shall also examine if all the material aspects ought to be considered by the Disciplinary Authority have been taken into account or not.
Justice SM Subramaniam observed that the course of action taken by the Authority is within the purview of Clause 18 of the Canara Bank Officer Employees (Discipline & Appeal) Regulations 1976, contrary to the arguments raised by the petitioner employee. According to the said provision, the authority can review the order when any new material or evidence which could not be produced or was not available at the time of passing the order under review comes into light.
Case Title: Wasib Khan v. The State represented by its Deputy Inspector General of Prisons (Chennai Range) & Ors.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 73
Madras High Court has recently reiterated that convict prisoners cannot be granted parole/leave under Tamil Nadu Suspension Of Sentence Rules, 1982 during the pendency of their appeal.
The Division Bench of Justice PN Prakash and Justice R. Hemalatha held that the legal principle enunciated in K.M.Nanavati v. State of Bombay [AIR 1961 SC 112] ought to be followed and the executive power of State for grant of leave cannot be extended when it is the appellate court that can grant suspension of sentence and bail.
Case Title: Indic Collective Trust & Anr. v. State of Tamil Nadu & Anr.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 74
Madras High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation filed by Indic Collective Trust and its President TR Ramesh challenging the appointment of executive officers to Hindu temples by the HR & CE Commissioner.
The Bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D.Bharatha Chakravarthy observed that the executive officers were not appointed pursuant to malpractice, maladministration, mismanagement or for any other reason given in Rule 3 of Conditions for Appointment of Executive Officers Rules, 2015. According to the court, the above rule has no application in the peculiar circumstances of the case and observed that Executive officers were appointed in the absence of nomination of trustees for 10-12 years.
The court also added that the mandate in Rule 3 about HR& CE Commissioner appointing Executive Officers for a period not exceeding five years won't be applicable either. The court also went on to note that the writ petition is also affected by the doctrine of laches.
Case Title: P.A Josseph v. State of Tamil Nadu & Ors.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 75
Madras High Court has dismissed a writ petition seeking a direction to the state government to adopt the syllabus prescribed by NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) for all government schools in Tamil Nadu.
The Bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy dismissed the public interest litigation by stating that such discretion is vested with the state government and the court cannot interfere in it.
"Being a policy decision not shown as a violation of any constitutional/ statutory provision, the jurisdiction of this court is limited. It is upon the state government to choose the syllabus or provide its own syllabus. Therefore, the direction sought cannot be granted", the court observed.
Case Title: K.V Komarasamy v. State of Tamil Nadu & Ors.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 76
Madras High Court has held that the appropriate government for grant of remission of sentence to a person convicted under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 is the state government and not the Union government.
A Division Bench of Justices P.N Prakash and R. Hemalatha concluded that the executive power of the Union, as well as the state, is offence-specific. In such a scenario, the determining factor would be the identification of the government that possess the executive power pertaining to such offence.
The court further clarified that the executive power of the Union does not extend to matters under the concurrent list according to Article 73 of the Indian Constitution. The source of power for enacting the SC/ST Act can be traced back to Entry I in List III ( Concurrent List) of the Seventh Schedule. That being the case, Section 435(2) of Cr. P.C wouldn't affect remission of sentence of those convicted under SC/ST Act, the court underscored after referring to Constitution Bench judgment in Union of India v. Sriharan @ Murugan and Others (2016 7 SCC 1).
Case Title: Rangarajan Narasimhan v. Inspector of Police, Srirangam Police Station & Ors.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 77
The Madras High Court has quashed two FIRs against temple activist Rangarajan Narasimhan for allegedly posting defamatory social media posts about the Srirangam Temple administration (Srirangam Lord Ranganathaswamy Temple).
While quashing the FIRs, Justice G.R Swaminathan observed that Section 199 CrPC places a bar on the registration of an FIR for defamation. The court underscored that Section 199 mandates about the court not taking cognizance of the offences in Chapter XXI of IPC [ Defamation] unless there is a complaint made by some person aggrieved by the offence.
"Should they (temples) continue to be under the thumb of the government? Should not the government professing to be secular treat all religious institutions on par?. Are not knowledgeable and committed activists like Shri.T.R.Ramesh justified in arguing that the government should exercise the same degree and level of control over temples as are exercised over churches and mosques?. Such questions and thoughts cross my mind because the petitioner before me is not only a passionate devotee but also an activist', the court said.\
Case Title: The Adhoc Board of Administrators, Nagore Dargah Interim Adhoc Administrators v. Muhalli Muthavalli & Anr.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 78
Taking suo motu cognisance of the misuse of funds belonging to Nagore Dargah, the Madras High Court has called upon the Ad Hoc Board of Administrators to show cause as to why they should not be discontinued/ substituted.
The first bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy came down heavily on the Board after observing that it has filed a writ appeal by 'misusing the position and funds of dargah'.
The court also added that the Adhoc Board of Administrators was appointed by the High Court in 2017 for a short period of four months. The appointment was made by the court to set straight the mismanagement of dargah's affairs. The said board of administrators consisted of Janab K.Allaudin, I.A.S., (Retired) and Janab S.F.Akbar, District Judge (Retired).
"Merely because the Adhoc Committee comprises a retired IAS Officer and a retired District Judge, they cannot be permitted to misuse the funds", the court observed in its order.
Case Title: South Indian Artistes Association rep. by its Former General Secretary v. The Registrar of Societies, South Chennai & Anr.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 79
A division bench of Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and Justice Mohammed Shaffiq on 23.02.2022 was passing orders on a batch of appeals with respect to an election for the office-bearers of the South Indian Artistes' Association.
Holding the elections to be valid and the Executive Committee to be within power, the court drew attention to Section 15(5) of Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975 which provides that the Executive Committee is eligible for reappointment. The act also provides in Section 86 that when the AGM has specifically allowed the existing committee members to continue, it would amount to reappointment in terms of Section 15(5), as there were no fresh elections on the date of convening of the AGM.
The AGM attended by more than 1500 members consented for extension of the term which would therefore come under the definition of reappointment. The association had treated the elected committee members as "Care-taker Committee" and therefore the actions taken by them cannot be deemed to be a nullity.
Case Title: S.P Chockalingam v. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests & Ors. & Connected Matters.
In the matter pertaining to the night traffic ban in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, Madras High Court has asked the Additional Advocate General to file an affidavit detailing the possibility of CCTV installation at the entry and exit points as well as at every 5 kms in the 27 km Bannari-Karapallam stretch.
For the time being, the first bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy has directed the immediate installation of temporary CCTV Cameras at entry and exit points to ascertain the type of vehicles plying in the stretch.
The court has also asked AAG J. Ravindran to ascertain if any area in the region is used for commercial purposes and not just agriculture. The AAG will also submit details on the alternative routes that can be utilised for the movement of traffic. After giving directions about the details that must be included in the affidavit, the court also made a warning: "If a false affidavit is filed, we know how to handle the officers."
