Legopolis

The Allahabad High Court has directed the District Magistrates of Kaushambi and Dehradun to complete proceedings in three months in an arms license renewal case. A single-judge bench of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh passed this order while hearing a petition filed by Sri Datta Mishra. The petitioner’s solitary grievance appears to be that his application for renewal of his firearm license has remained pending with the respondent-authorities for very long, the Court observed. Also read: AP High Court closes PIL related to inhuman police assault on doctor The Court noted, “In this regard, it has been stated that the license had been issued at Dehradun while the petitioner was posted as Sub-Inspector in UP Police. Subsequently, the State of Uttarakhand was created. Also, the petitioner attained the age of superannuation and is since residing at Kaushambi in Uttar Pradesh.” “On his application for renewal filed before respondents, a report has been called by the said authority from th...

The Andhra Pradesh High Court recently closed a Suo Motu PIL registered in 2020 as per the authorisation of the then Chief Justice, on the basis of newspaper reports and video clippings sent by one Vangalapudi Anitha, which show inhuman and barbaric assault on a doctor namely Dr Sudhakar by the police authority. On May 18, 2020, the High Court appointed  P. Veera Reddy, Senior Counsel, as Amicus Curiae to assist this Court. Thereafter on May 20, 2020, the Court issued further direction to supply all available materials to the Amicus Curiae. By a detailed order of May 22, 2020, the High Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register an FIR and conduct investigation in the matter. On February 16, in the course of hearing, the Court was informed that CBI has completed investigation against (1) P. Suryanarayana, SI, (2) G. Lakshmana Rao, Home Guard (Traffic), (3) V. Madhu Babu, PC (Traffic) and (4) E.V.V. Prasad, PC (AR), and filed a charge sheet...

The Allahabad High Court has summoned the SP Cyber Crime Lucknow, the then Bai Ka Bagh branch manager and the complainant, posted in the regional office of State Bank of India, Lucknow, to appear before it on March 15. A Single-Judge Bench of Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav passed this order, while hearing a Criminal Miscellaneous Bail Application filed by Chandrabhan Singh Yadav. As per the FIR, the incident took place on October 15-16, 2020, in which Rs 17 lakh were withdrawn by a Cyber thug from the account of victim Ghanshyam. The FIR of the alleged incident was lodged on October 19, 2020. The Additional Government Advocate filed a counter affidavit without annexing any documents in respect of the progress report, which was not satisfactory. The Counsel for the victim submitted that on part of negligence of Branch Manager, a huge amount has been withdrawn by the applicants, but the then Branch Manager Avneesh Shukla has been exonerated by the investigating officer. Also Read: S...

The Supreme Court has upheld the Rajasthan High Court order on granting bail to a man accused of raping a woman, while observing that it appears to be a case of “consensual relationship”. The Division Bench comprising Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Surya Kant on February 25 refused to entertain the plea of a woman, seeking cancellation of bail of a person accused of raping her. The Court observed that she went to hotels with the accused and spent the salary sent by her husband posted at the border as a Central Security Force personnel. Advocate Aditya Jain, appeared for the woman, submitted that the accused harassed the victim and committed rape with her several times, and even blackmailed her for money.   The plea stated that the High Court has not assigned any reasons, while enlarging the accused on bail, while it is a settled law that there is a need to indicate in the order, reasons for prima facie concluding why bail was being granted, particularly where an ac...

The Noida Authority on Monday told the Supreme Court that the demolition process of twin towers of real estate developer Supertech Limited, which were raised illegally in Noida, will be completed by May 22. The Authority told the Bench comprising Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Surya Kant that the work on the demolition has already started. The Apex Court had asked the Noida Authority and Supertech to comply with all timelines that have been stated in the authority’s affidavit. The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for May 17, by which time, the authority has been directed to present an updated status report.  On February 7, the Supreme Court had directed that the demolition of the twin towers built by real-estate major Supertech Ltd in violation of norms at its Emerald Court project in Noida should start within two weeks. The Supreme Court had also directed the Supertech to pay refunds shall to all homebuyers by February 28. On January 17, the to...

Confession made to a passer-by unacceptable: Bombay High Court acquits the murder accused An extra-judicial confession would normally be given only to a person in whom the confessor has faith, not to a passer-by, as per a bench of Justices Sadhana Jadhav and Prithwiraj Chavan. As a result, the petitioners were cleared of allegations of […] The post Weekly Highlights (21th -27th Feb) appeared first on Law Times Journal .

In Tata v. Mistry, the Supreme Court decides to hear the Pallonji Group’s review petition in open court:; Justice V Ramasubramanian  dissents In response to the Supreme Court’s verdict in favour of Tatas last year, Cyrus Mistry filed a review petition. By a vote of 2:1, the petition was allowed, and the hearing has been […] The post Weekly Highlights (21 Feb 2022- 27 Feb 2022) appeared first on Law Times Journal .

The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal filed by a man, who mercilessly killed his girlfriend, when he saw her talking to another boy. A Bench comprising Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Vikram Nath observed that excessive number of injuries do not ipso facto lead to an inference about involvement of more than one person in the crime. Its rather the nature of injuries or the similarity of their size which would only lead to the inference that she was mercilessly and repeatedly stabbed by the same weapon and by the same person, noted the Court. It reiterated the settled principle of law that the court will not reappreciate the evidence for taking a different view of the evidence than that has been taken by the Trial Court and the High Court, unless it’s a case of manifest illegality so as to call for interference. The Court relied upon the judgement passed in case of Pappu vs State of Uttar Pradesh: Criminal Appeal No 1097-1098 of 2018 decided on February 9, 2022, wherei...

By Dilip Bobb New Delhi is caught in a cleft stick over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It has close military ties with Moscow which it would be unwilling to jeopardize, and there are other reasons for India to walk a fine line. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first international leaders to speak to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin hours after the invasion and called for the “immediate cessation of violence”. In the phone conversation, according to the Prime Minister’s Office, Modi called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic negotiations and asserted that differences between Russia and NATO can only be resolved through “honest and sincere” dialogue. President Putin briefed Prime Minister Modi about Ukraine, a Russian readout of the conversation said. Putin outlined the fundamental assessments of “Kiev’s aggressive actions” against the civilian population of Donbass, as well as the many years of “destructive policy” aimed at breaking th...

Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana on Saturday stressed on improved judicial infrastructure in the country, especially in view of the vesting of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) jurisdiction from IPAB to the High Courts. Addressing the national seminar on adjudication of IPR disputes in India, the CJI said judicial infrastructure needs to be improved. “Unfortunately, we are not even meeting the basic minimum standards in this area. It has been my endeavour since assuming the office of Chief Justice of India, to put in place an institutional mechanism to co-ordinate and oversee the improvement of judicial infrastructure.” He further said that mere allocation of funds was not enough. The challenge was to put the available resources to optimum use. “I have been pursuing the government for setting up of statutory authorities, both at the centre and at the states. I have recently emphasised about the need for continuous training and upgradation of skills as one of the major challeng...

By Kenneth Tiven in Washington The Russian military attack against Ukraine came overnight by land sea and air, with Russian hackers attacking internet sites and spreading disinformation. There is nothing subtle about the invasion. Across a vast nation, from the east coast to the western border with Poland, reports suggest Russia is shelling virtually every major city in Ukraine, including the capital of Kyiv. “It looks like a blitzkrieg,” said one journalist there. US and Western European leaders were quick to put sanctions on various international connections tying Russian banks to the global economy but refrained from committing troops to help the Ukrainian army fight off the Russians. Neither treaties nor the United Nations can do much to solve this issue now. This approach has been made clear for several weeks and did not deter Russian President Vladimir Putin in any way. Instead, he has made speeches and actions placing the context of the attack on historical Russian governance ...

The Allahabad High Court has observed that an adult girl above the age of 18 years has the right to live and marry someone of her own will. The Division Bench of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Shamim Ahmed passed this order, while hearing a petition filed by Pratiksha Singh And another. The plea sought quashing of the First Information Report in case under Sections 363 and 366 IPC, Police Station Kandwa, district Chandauli, as per which the daughter of the informant was enticed away by the accused and he apprehended that either she has been sold or killed. The prayer was made to lodge an FIR and proceed with investigation in accordance with law. The FIR was challenged on the ground that the victim and the second petitioner have fallen in love and have solemnised their marriage and are, therefore, living together. Specific assertion has been made in that regard in the writ petition and a marriage agreement has also been placed before the Court. The Court noted, “A counter ...

The Madras High Court has dismissed a PIL seeking a direction to the respondents to ensure adequate food security to rural population through subsidies for diesel, petrol and kerosene for farmers engaged in mechanized farming in Tamil Nadu. The PIL has been filed by one Ayyaa. A representation dated November 2, 2021 was made by the petitioner before filing the PIL, wherein he had prayed for reduction of the price of diesel, petrol and kerosene for the use of machinery and vehicles used in the agriculture and agro-based industries. Since the representation of the petitioner was not considered, the petitioner has filed the petition. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy, while considering the PIL on February 14, observed that the prayer made in the petition does not come under the judicial scrutiny, as the prayer comes within the policy decision of the Government and for that a direction in the nature as sought by the petitione...

The Supreme Court has invited applications for conferment of designation of Senior Advocates from retired Chief Justices/ Judges of High Courts and Advocates-on-Record / Advocates. The applications should be in the prescribed formats, said Devender Pal Walia, Secretary, Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates in a note. The applications have invited in reference to the Supreme Court Guidelines to Regulate Conferment of Designation of Senior Advocates, 2018 framed in compliance of the directions of Supreme Court of India in Ms. Indira Jaising vs. Supreme Court of India through Secretary General & Ors. reported in (2017) 9 sec 766. In its letter, the Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates, said it is clarified that retired Chief Justices/ Judges of High Courts and Advocates-on-Record/Advocates whose earlier applications were not considered favourably, are eligible to apply afresh in the respective prescribed format. The letter further clarified that retired Chief Jus...

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Union to immediately take the effective diplomatic steps and measures for the evacuation of stranded Indian citizens, including students and families in Ukraine. The PIL, filed by Supreme Court Advocate Vishal Tiwari, further seeks directions to the Central Government to ensure essential and emergency supplies like medical facilities, housing and lodging and supply of food to stranded Indian citizens in Ukraine and to ensure that the MBBS degree of Indian students from Ukraine through online mode shall be recognized so that the students shall not lose their career. According to the petition, the ongoing war in Russia and Ukraine has left the life and liberty of Indian students and families in danger who are residing in Ukraine for studies and work. Over 20,000 Indians are presently in Ukraine including 18,000 students while the world is watching the developments in Ukraine with Russia mil...

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Union to immediately take the effective diplomatic steps and measures for the evacuation of stranded Indian citizens, including students and families in Ukraine. The PIL, filed by Supreme Court Advocate Vishal Tiwari, further seeks directions to the Central Government to ensure essential and emergency supplies like medical facilities, housing and lodging and supply of food to stranded Indian citizens in Ukraine and to ensure that the MBBS degree of Indian students from Ukraine through online mode shall be recognized so that the students shall not lose their career. According to the petition, the ongoing war in Russia and Ukraine has left the life and liberty of Indian students and families in danger who are residing in Ukraine for studies and work. Over 20,000 Indians are presently in Ukraine including 18,000 students while the world is watching the developments in Ukraine with Russia mil...

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, challenging the Calcutta High Court order over the deployment of Central Paramilitary Forces for local body elections in West Bengal. A Bench comprising Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Surya Kant refused to entertain the plea, which challenged the Calcutta High Court for directing the State Election Commissioner to examine the ground situation in each of the 108 West Bengal municipalities going to polls on February 27, and take a decision on deployment of Central Paramilitary forces there. The matter was on Thursday mentioned by Senior Advocate P.S. Patwalia, for BJP leaders Mousumi Roy and Pratap Banerjee, before the bench of Chief Justice N.V. Ramana for urgent listing. Patwalia told the CJI that the High Court has put the ball in the court of State Election Commission (SEC). The Senior Advocate submitted that BJP candidates were not being permitted to file nominations. There have been cert...

The Delhi High Court has adjourned the hearing into the case dealing with the dispute between e-commerce giant Amazon and Kishore Biyani’s Future Group for hearing on Monday. “While this court would undoubtedly hear all these matters, in my considered opinion, as once there is a challenge to an order and a petition seeking enforcement, ordinarily the challenge should be taken up first,” the Single-Judge Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar observed on Thursday.  The High Court was seized of two appeals by the Future Group, challenging the arbitration tribunal’s verdict, refusing to stay the order of the Emergency Arbitrator, who had stayed its deal with Reliance. The second was a suit filed by Future Group, seeking to restrain Amazon from interfering in its deal with Reliance. Amazon had petitioned the Court for enforcement of the order of the Emergency Arbitrator for status-quo on Future-Reliance deal as well as its petition against investigation by Enforcement Directorate’s invest...

The Supreme Court will on Friday hear a petition filed by Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, urging the Apex Court not to punish him any further in a road rage case, which was going on for the past 33 years. A Bench comprising Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul will take up the review petition demanding enhancement of Sidhu’s punishment. Earlier in 2018, Sidhu was held guilty under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code (voluntary hurt) that entails a maximum jail term of one year or with a fine up to Rs 1,000 or both. The bench had in September, 2018, issued notice to Sidhu on the limited question of revisiting the quantum of punishment awarded to him by the Apex Court in its May 2018 decision that held him guilty for causing hurt and directed payment of fine of Rs 1,000. The review petitions have been filed by the family members of 65-year-old Gurnam Singh, who died in the road rage incident involving Sidhu and his friend . In an affidavit in respo...

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Thursday made submission before the Supreme Court on the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Appearing on behalf of the Union Government, the SG began his submissions by building on the essence and purpose of the PMLA and its legislative evolution to keep pace with the global necessity to curb the menace of money laundering, as had been canvassed yesterday. A Bench comprising Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice C.T. Ravikumar resumed hearing on PMLA provisions today. He began his arguments with respect to the validity of the act with three preliminary submissions:  a) “Your lordship may not consider some provisions which are impugned in isolation; the entire scheme has to be seen. b) Consider the Legislative intent as reflected from the factors which is not only punishment but prevention and giving in the deterrent effect  c) The entire argument on behalf of the petitioner was based up...

The father of a 16-year-old girl who was raped and murdered in Uttar Pradesh has moved the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored investigation in the matter alleging Uttar Pradesh Police is incapable of an independent probe in the matter. The petition has been filed by Shyam Singh through Advocate Varinder Kumar Sharma. The petitioner is approaching the Court under Article 32 of the Constitution of India for seeking directions for Courts monitoring the investigation of alleged criminal offences so that fair investigation should be completed of the crime committed against his 16-year-old minor daughter and police not allowed the petitioner for complete the last rites of the deceased as per Hindu rights and ritual, which is clear violation of Article 21. The petitioner said he filed a complaint against the named accused persons, but FIR was not registered under appropriate sections. Moreover, police did not allow the petitioner to discharge his last ritual rites towards his daughter...

By Ashit Kumar Srivastava From the past one year, the discourse around Facebook’s hyped endeavour of Metaverse has gained much traction. The idea of a virtual reality world seems like a plot of a sci-fi movie. Yet, it is close to becoming a reality soon with Metaverse’s attempts to capture the 3D digital world, which seems like an exciting new universe waiting to be explored. In fact, a metaverse is a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection. However, it raises legal concerns. Techno-laws have been slow-paced to match even digital technology in the 2D world. Imagine now they will have to counter challenges in the 3D digital world. What set of jurisprudence will be applied in the realm of Metaverse? Will it be similar to conventional laws, such as the Indian Penal Code or the Information Technology Act, 2000? Will the avatars under the Metaverse have the same integrity as that of a human body with its own zones of privacy? Many of the regulatory questions pertaining...

The Allahabad High Court has sought the response of Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti on a petition against denial of admission to a child, who has passed Class 5 in Class 6, due to gap of one year. The Division Bench of Justice Surya Prakash Kesarwani and Justice Jayant Banerji passed this order, while hearing a Criminal Appeal filed by a minor. The petitioner said he has completed his Class V for academic session in 2019-20. After a gap of one academic session, he applied for admission in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Barua Sagar, District Jhansi in Class VI for academic session 2021-2022. A pre-admission test was conducted in August, 2021 and the result was declared in September, 2021 in which the petitioner ranked 22nd in merit list and thus was selected for admission. However, admission was denied to him assigning the reason that as per prospectus issued by the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS), for the admission in Class VI in academic session 2021- 22, those students who were studying i...

The Supreme Court on February 23 observed that though the powers of the High Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are wide and in the nature of inherent power yet, the said power cannot be exercised suo motu in a sweeping manner and beyond the contours of what is stipulated under the said Section. The  Division Bench of Justices M.R. Shah and Justice B.V. Nagarathna made this observation, while allowing a criminal appeal filed against the order dated August 5, 27 and 29, 2019 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Madras, by which the Single Judge of the High Court has directed to transfer 864 cases in which the final reports have been filed before the concerned Special Courts for Land Grabbing Cases pending in various districts. It has also directed the concerned Special Courts before whom the final reports are filed, to return back the final reports filed by the concerned investigating officers of the respective police stations to be filed before the con...