P&H HC Declares Provisions Of Ex-Servicemen Rules Limiting Benefits To Those Appointed To Civil Posts After January 2012 As Unconstitutional

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has declared the provisions of Punjab Recruitment of Ex-Servicemen (First Amendment) Rules, 2012 and 2018, ultra vires of the Constitution which limited the benefits of pension and increments to ex-servicemen appointed to civil posts after January 1, 2012, and denied arrears for periods prior to that date.Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Sudeepti Sharma said the rules "created arbitrary cut off date" for application of the benefits to the pensioners and...

'Follow Rule Of Law', High Court Directs Rohtak Municipal Corporation To Remove Statue Of Former Minister From Public Land

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has directed the Municipal Corporation of Haryana's Rohtak to follow the rule of law as per the Apex Court ruling whereby installation of statues on public lands has been prohibited.Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anil Kshetarpal was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking removal of the statute of Sri Krishan Dass Goel (father of Manmohan Goel, Mayor Rohtak) installed near Sonepat stand circle, alleging the same to be constructed in violation...

Judges Of PMLA Courts Not Supposed To Act Like "Extended Arm Of ED": Punjab & Haryana HC Quashes Unreasoned Custodial Interrogation Order

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has cautioned the Judicial Officers deployed at Special PMLA Courts to not act as an "extended arm" of the central investigating agency Enforcement Directorate, by passing orders of remand against the suspect as a matter of course.Stating so, it set aside a Special Court's "routine order" granting ED custody for custodial interrogation of accused Balwant Singh in a PMLA case.Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu said, "there would be no hesitation to observe...

Whether Claim Is Barred By Res Judicata Cannot Be Decided By Court At S.11 Stage Of Arbitration Act: P&H High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court bench of Justice Survir Sehgal affirmed that the question whether a claim is barred by res judicata, does not arise for consideration in a proceedings under Section 11 of the Arbitration Act. Such an issue will have to be examined by the arbitral tribunal under section 16 of the Act.. Brief Facts This petition has been filed under Section 11 of...

Punjab & Haryana High Court Reiterates Limited Scope For Interference U/S 34 & 37 Of Arbitration Act, Upholds Award In Land Development Dispute

The Punjab and Haryana High Court bench of Justices Arun Palli and Vikram Aggarwal has reiterated that the scope of interference with an arbitral award under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, is narrow, and the appellate jurisdiction under Section 37 is even more circumscribed. The court reiterated that jurisdiction under Section 34 and Section 37 of the Act is not akin to normal appellate jurisdiction. It held that interference with an arbitral award is permissible only...

Infrastructure Of District Courts In Punjab & Haryana Not Disabled Friendly, High Court Asks Building Committees To Take Action

From an affidavit filed by the governments of Punjab and Haryana, the High Court has found that the infrastructure in district courts and sub-district courts in the states are not disabled friendly.Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Alok Jain observed that, "The charts filed by the State of Punjab as well as State of Haryana reveal that there are several deficiencies in the...

High Court Seeks Status Of Forensic Labs Upgradation From Punjab Home Secretary

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has sought affidavit from Punjab's Home Secretary on action plan for upgradation of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in the region.The development came after the Court while dealing with the bail pleas found that CCTV footage provided by the petitioner could not be examined due to lack of facility at FSL, Punjab, SAS Nagar, Mohali.Justice Sandeep...

Identification Of Accused By Eye-Witness Not Known To Him In Court Without Test Identification Parade Not Credible: Punjab & Haryana HC

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted a murder case convict after finding that the prosecution case was not reliable and the testimony of eye-witness was not credible.Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Sudeepti Sharma said the the eyewitness account who is unknown to the accused is not credible if he directly identified him in the Court, without prior test identification...

Punjab & Haryana High Court Disposes LLM Student's Plea Against Jindal Global University Declaring His Answer-Sheet As 'AI-Generated'

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday disposed of an LLM student's plea challenging the decision of the OP Jindal Global University to declare his submission in an exam as "AI-generated." Kaustubh Shakkarwar, a lawyer by profession had filed the writ petition seeking quashing of the decision of the "unfair means committee" wherein he was failed in the subject as his answer-sheet...

Custody Needed To Unravel Corruption Racket In Jail: P&H HC Denies Pre-Arrest Bail To Official Booked For Supplying Mobile Phones To Gangsters

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has refused to grant anticipatory bail to a Jail Superintendent accused of collecting bribe from gangsters to supply them mobile phones inside the Haryana's Kurukshetra prison and allowed visits of hard core criminal without entry in register. It was alleged that the imprisoned gangsters and hard core criminals hatched Conspiracy to manufacture...

Punjab & Haryana High Court Allows Death Row Convict In Former CM's Murder Case To Attend Brother's Last Rites In Custody

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has allowed death row convict in former Punjab CM Beant Singh murder case, Balwant Singh Rajoana to attend the bhog ceremony (last rites) of his brother who recently passed away.Justice Gurvinder Singh Gill said, "it goes without saying that death of a sibling i.e. a real brother would put the entire family in the state of shock and grief and under...

Plea Of 'No Fault' Or 'Negligence Of Victim' Not Available To Railway Administration: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab & Haryana High Court awarded a compensation of Rs.4 lakh along with interest @ 9% per annum to a passenger who received injuries due to sudden jolt of a train in 2013, observing that the liability of the "Railway Administration is based on the 'principle of strict liability'."Justice Pankaj Jain said, "Plea of 'no fault of railways' or 'negligence of the victim' is not available...