Simran Ablaze IAS ACADEMY SCO 226 Sector 36-D Chandigarh, Tel 9779190222 ,9988210461 www.simranias.com
Judiciary July Month Currents The Court should not only consider the accused but also the society at large: SC In Suryakant Baburao vs. State of Maharashtra, the High Court reduced the sentence of imprisonment from seven years to five years to an 'attempt to murder' accused. Disagreeing to which, the Supreme Court of bench comprising Justice R. Banumathi and Justice AS Bopanna observed that "The courts must not only keep in view the right of the accused, but must also keep in view the interest of the victim and society at large. The courts have been consistent in the approach that a reasonable proportion has to be maintained between the gravity of the offense and the punishment. While it is true that the sentence imposed upon the accused should not be harsh, the inadequacy of sentence may lead to the sufferance of the victim and the community at large."
Tiple Talaq Bill passed in Rajya Sabha After intense discussion and debate of nearly five hours, the Rajya Sabha passed the "Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2019", generally known as Triple Talaq Bill. The Lok Sabha had passed the Bill on July 25 with 303 'yes' votes against 82 'no' votes. The Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu declared the Bill passed with 99 'yes' votes and 84 'no' votes. BSP, TRS, TDP, JD(U) and AIADMK abstained from voting. The Triple Talaq Bill passed in last year's winter session during December 2018 had got lapsed as the Rajya Sabha did not clear it before the dissolution of 16th Lok Sabha.
Legal Representatives of a deceased tenant are allowed to re-entry in reconstructed building: Allahabad HC Allahabad High Court bench of Justice Dr. Yogendra Kumar Srivastava petition filed by Petitioner-landlord, the Allahabad High Court upheld the order of District Collector, allowing the substitution of the Respondents as legal representatives of the deceased-tenant under Section 24(2) of the U.P. Act No.13 of 1972 (the Act). The question which arose before the court was whether the legal representatives of the deceased tenant were entitled to get themselves substituted to pursue the application moved by the "original tenant", seeking re-entry under Section 24(2) of the Act. The rule of heritability extends to statutory tenancy of commercial premises as much as to residential premises. Any person who represents the tenancy or intermeddles would be a legal representative and could be substituted in place of the deceased-tenant, the court said. Sanjay Bharadwaj vs. Dinesh Chandra Gupta
The court must state reasons while granting bail: SC reiterated The Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre and Justice Indu Malhotra in case of Mauji Ram vs State of Uttar Pradesh has observed that bail cannot be granted without assigning any reason as to on what grounds, even though of a prima facie nature, it is considered just and proper to grant bail. The bench observed that “Though it may not be necessary to give categorical finding while granting or rejecting the bail for want of full evidence adduced by the prosecution as also by the defence at that stage yet it must appear from a perusal of the order that the Court has applied its mind to the relevant facts in the light of the material filed by the prosecution at the time of consideration of bail application.”
Mere existence of alternate forums, where the aggrieved party may secure relief’ does not create a legal bar on a High Court to exercise its writ jurisdiction: SC The Supreme Court bench of Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud and Justice Indira Banerjee in Maharashtra Chess Association vs. Union of India has observed mere existence of alternate forums where the aggrieved party may secure relief does not create a legal bar on a High Court to exercise its writ jurisdiction. The issue was whether a private agreement entered into by the parties in the form of the Constitution and Bye Laws can oust the writ jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution. The bench said that, ‘The existence of an alternate remedy, whether adequate or not, does not alter the fundamentally discretionary nature of the High Court's writ jurisdiction and therefore does not create an absolute legal bar on the exercise of the writ jurisdiction by a High Court. The decision whether or not to entertain an action under its writ jurisdiction remains a decision to be taken by the High Court on an examination of the facts and circumstances of a particular case.
NCW took suo-moto cognizance in rape victim accident case; accused BJP MLA booked by UP police. The National Commission for Women took suo-moto cognizance of the so-called accident of the infamous Unnao Rape Case victim. on July 29, 2019 victim’s car was hit by a truck in the Rae Bareli area, injuring the victim and her lawyer and killing two of her aunts. The rape victim had, in 2017, accused an MLA of sexually assaulting her and the related proceedings are still pending. BJP MLA from Unnao Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who faces charges of gang rape, was booked for criminal conspiracy and murder in connection with the accident in which the survivor and her lawyer were seriously injured, while her two aunts were killed when a truck rammed the car they were travelling in. The FIR against Sengar was lodged at the Gurbakshganj police station in Rae Bareli on a complaint from the survivor’s uncle who has been in prison since February.
Allahabad HC ordered transfer of Judge who humiliated police constable for not giving passage to his car. After Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Santosh Kumar Yadav, Agra allegedly asked a police constable to remove his uniform in court as punishment for not giving passage to his car, the Allahabad High Court ordered his transfer. Ghure Lal, the 58-year-
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Simran Ablaze IAS ACADEMY SCO 226 Sector 36-D Chandigarh, Tel 9779190222 ,9988210461 www.simranias.com old constable driver who served in the force for 38 years, was ferrying two undertrials along with three cops to the court in a police van on Friday morning. Ghure Lal failed to give Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate's car a pass, which is why the judge humiliated him in court. The transfer was ordered after the Agra SSP forwarded a report on the incident to the state DGP and senior judicial officers at the Allahabad HC.
Foreign Banks are barred from hiring recovery agents: Kerala HC The Kerala High Court division bench of Justices K. Vinod Chandran and V. G. Arun has held that foreign banks or financial institutions cannot engage recovery agents in India to realize loan amounts defaulted by expatriates. The bench reasoned that the guidelines and master circulars issued by the Reserve Bank of India recognized recovery agents only for Indian banks and Foreign Banks have to follow the legal measures for recovery. The Court said: "The engagement of recovery agents by foreign banks and financial institutions for realising the defaulted amount through threat, coercion and duress cannot, under any circumstance, be permitted". SUSHEELA vs. DGP Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
SC issued notice hearing a plea seeking protection of identity of accused in Sexual offences The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice S. A. Bobde issued notice on a plea seeking the protection of identity, reputation & integrity of individuals, allegedly accused of "Sexual Offences", till completion of the investigation into the "truthfulness" of such allegations. Supreme Court was hearing the petitions filed by the Youth Bar Association and Advocate Reepak Kansal. The petition says “due to the fast-changing nature of the society and easy access to the social media, people nowadays jump into their own conclusion based on the news without exercising independent and critical analysis.”
Offense of abetement of suicide may be constituted if the accused are involved in diminishing self-respect of victim Supreme Court bench of Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre and Justice Dinesh Maheshwari has observed that if the accused is found to have played in an active role in tarnishing the self-esteem and self-respect of the victim, which eventually draws the victim to commit suicide, he can be held guilty of abetment of suicide. Supreme Court affirmed the conviction of the accused Hem Karan alias Hemla, Ude Singh, Manoj and Daulat Ram, who drove a young girl to suicide. Examining the facts of the case, the bench concluded that the accused persons had intentionally, with their incessant acts and utterances, goaded the victim girl to commit suicide. UDE SINGH & ORS. VS STATE OF HARYANA
Punjab and Haryana High Court has banned the use of loudspeakers without permission of authorities The Punjab and Haryana High Court has banned the use of loudspeakers or public address systems in private and public spaces, including religious places, in the two states without the written permission of authorities. The division bench of Justices Rajiv Sharma and Harinder Singh Sidhu directed the two states and Chandigarh to ensure that loudspeakers, public address systems, musical instruments and sound amplifiers are not played at night except in auditoria, conference rooms, community halls, banquet halls as per norms laid down under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000.
B.S. Yediyurappa was sworn in as chief minister for a fourth time B.S. Yediyurappa took oath as Chief Minister of Karnataka, succeeding H.D. Kumaraswamy three days after the Congress-JD(S) coalition government crumbled under the weight of a rebellion by a big chunk of its lawmakers. Kumaraswamy had lost the motion of confidence in the state assembly. The new chief minister faces a big challenge to manage the numbers and prove majority on the floor of the House. 76-year old Yediyurappa is credited with leading the BJP to its first ever government in the south in 2008. Speaking to reporters after taking oath, Yediyurappa said he would move the motion of confidence in the assembly on July 29.
Lok Sabha passes Triple Talaq Bill Lok Sabha on 25/07/2019 passed the "Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2019", commonly known as Triple Talaq Bill. The motion to consider the Bill was passed with 303 'yes' votes against 82 'no' votes. After clause by clause discussion, the Speaker Om Birla announced the Bill passed based on voice vote. The Triple Talaq Bill passed in last year's winter session during December 2018 had got lapsed as the Rajya Sabha did not clear it before the dissolution of 16th Lok Sabha. "Talaq" for the purposes of the Bill means "talaq-e-biddat or any other similar form of talaq having the effect of instantaneous and irrevocable divorce pronounced by a Muslim husband"
Only HC which have jurisdiction over the place of arbitration will have power to hear appeal: SC The Supreme Court bench of Justice R. Banumathi and Justice A.S. Bopanna has held where the parties have agreed to the "venue" of arbitration, only the High Court which has jurisdiction over the said place can entertain the petition seeking appointment of Arbitrator under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The issue was whether Madras High Court could have jurisdiction where the agreement clause mentions place of arbitration to be Bhuvneshwar. The High Court observed that both the Madras High Court and the Orissa High Court will have jurisdiction over the arbitration proceedings. Disagreeing with the said observations, the Apex Court held that "Where the contract specifies the jurisdiction of the court at a particular place, only such court will have the jurisdiction to deal with the matter and parties intended to exclude all other courts. In the present 2
Simran Ablaze IAS ACADEMY SCO 226 Sector 36-D Chandigarh, Tel 9779190222 ,9988210461 www.simranias.com case, the parties have agreed that the "venue" of arbitration shall be at Bhubaneswar. Considering the agreement of the parties having Bhubaneswar as the venue of arbitration, the intention of the parties is to exclude all other courts. As held in Swastik, non-use of words like "exclusive jurisdiction", "only", "exclusive", "alone" is not decisive and does not make any material difference." Brahmani River Pellets Limited vs. Kamachi Industries Limited
Rajya Sabha passes POCSO Amendment Bill: Death penalty included in new bill. The Rajya Sabha unanimously passed the bill to amend Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 (POCSO) to provide stricter punishments for child sex abuse. In the amended bill the minimum punishment for 'aggravate penetrative sexual assault' is proposed to be increased from ten years to twenty years. The maximum punishment for this offence is proposed as death penalty. 'Aggravated penetrative sexual assault', as per the Act, are defined as cases when a police officer, a member of the armed forces, or a public servant commits penetrative sexual assault on a child and also covers cases where the offender is a relative of the child, or if the assault injures the sexual organs of the child or the child becomes pregnant, among others. The Bill adds two more offences to the definition of ‘aggravated sexual assault’ they are (i) assault committed during a natural calamity, and (ii) administrating or help in administering any hormone or any chemical substance, to a child for the purpose of attaining early sexual maturity.
Gujarat High Court allows termination of a 24 weeks old pregnancy. Gujarat High Court bench of Justice S. H. Vora permitted the termination of a 24 weeks old foetus, borne by a minor rape survivor. It is pertinent to note that the limit for medical termination of pregnancy, as per Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 ("the Act"), is 20 weeks. "No doubt, pregnancy exceeds 20 weeks, but considering the provisions of Section 5 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, …termination of pregnancy is immediately necessary to save mental and physical health of the victim", bench observed. PUNAM D/O HINCHLAL THAKUR THRO HINCHLAL RACHAV THAKUR Versus STATE OF GUJARAT Merely because workers were permitted to do work off site, it would not take away their status as 'employees' Supreme Court bench of Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre and Justice Indu Malhotra has observed that merely because workers were permitted to do the work off site, it would not take away their status as employees for the purpose of Employees' Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. The issue before the court was, whether the women workers employed by the Company are covered by the definition of "employee" under Section 2(f) of the EPF Act or not? On which the bench observed that "The mere fact that the women workers stitched the garments at home, would make no difference. It is the admitted position that the women workers were paid wages directly by the Respondent Company on a per piece basis for every garment stitched". The bench noted that the definition of "employee" under Section 2(f) of the EPF Act is an inclusive definition, and is widely worded to include any person engaged either directly or indirectly in connection with the work of an establishment. The court also reiterated that EPF Act is a beneficial social welfare legislation which was enacted by the Legislature for the benefit of the workmen. The Officer In Charge, Sub ¬Regional Provident Fund Office, vs. M/s Godavari Garments Limited
No Nationalisation of NLUs: Law Minister in Lok Sabha Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in Lok Sabha said that there was no proposal before the central government to nationalize the 21 National Law Universities established by different states. The Minister was replying to a query by Maneka Gandhi if there was any proposal to nationalize the National Law Universities (NLUs) and to provide them the same status as given to other National Institutes. "The management of NLUs is done by them and the academic curriculum and standards is decided by them in consultation with the Bar Council of India.", said the Minister in reply.
For conviction under Section 304B cruelty must be subjected under demand for dowry: SC The Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph has observed that, conviction under Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code can be made only if the woman was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or his relatives which must be for or in connection with any demand for dowry, soon before her death. It is not any cruelty that becomes the subject matter of the provision but it is the cruelty or harassment for or in connection with, demand for dowry. Girish Singh vs. State of Uttarakhand Supreme Court extended deadline for publication of Final NRC List The Supreme Court bench of CJI Ranjan Gogoi and Justice R. F. Nariman extended the deadline for publication of final National Register of Citizens(NRC) for Assam from July 31 to August 31. However the bench declined to accept the request made by the Centre for allowing re-verification of inclusions in the NRC.| ASSAM PUBLIC WORKS VERSUS UNION OF INDIA & ORS.
HD Kumaraswamy government loses trust vote in Karnataka Assembly 18 days long political drama comes to an end making way for B.S. Yeddyurappa to form BJP government in state. JD(S) – Congress coalition fails to prove majority in the floor test with 99 aaginst 105 votes. The 14 months old government was full of shakes and turbulent proving instability again and again. 20 MLAs, including 2 independent, 15 rebels and 1 BSP, kept themselves away from voting. To avoid any untoward incidents police imposed Section 144 CrPC in Bengaluru for next two days.
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Simran Ablaze IAS ACADEMY SCO 226 Sector 36-D Chandigarh, Tel 9779190222 ,9988210461 www.simranias.com Amrapali Group’s RERA registration cancelled. NBCC to take over Noida Project. Supreme Court bench of Justice Arun Mishra and Justice U.U. Lalit cancelled the registration of Amrapali group under Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016, and directed the National Building Construction Corporation take over its pending construction projects in Greater Noida and Noida. This decision came as a huge relief to the homebuyers. The NBCC will complete the stalled Amrapali projects, with its commission fixed at 8 percentage. The Court has protected the interests of homebuyers by saying that banks and financial institutions have to recover their dues from Amrapali assets other than project properties.
Lok Sabha passes RTI amendment bill. The Lok Sabha on 22/07/2019 passed the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill 2019 which seeks to amend the RTI Act 2005. Speaker of the house Om Birla announced that the motion to vote on bill was passed with 218 'yes' votes as against 79 'no' votes. In the current act Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners have a fixed term of five years and the amendment bill proposes to change the period of office of Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioner as "for such term as may be prescribed by the Central Government". Section 27 of the Act is proposed to be amended to give rule making power to the Central Government to determine the pay, allowances and service conditions of Information Commissioner.
Failure of recovery of dead-body will not entitle the accused benefit of doubt: SC Supreme Court bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice Navin Sinha has observed that the failure of the police to recover the corpus delecti will not by itself render the prosecution case doubtful entitling the accused for benefit of doubt. The bench in this case, was dealing with the submission made on behalf of the convict-appellant, that non recovery of the dead body makes the prosecution case doubtful. The accused in this case was convicted under Section 364A of the Indian Penal Code for Kidnap and killing a child aged 6 years. "It is not an invariable rule of criminal jurisprudence that the failure of the police to recover the corpus delecti will render the prosecution case doubtful entitling the accused to acquittal on the benefit of the doubt. It is only one of the relevant factors to be considered along with all other attendant facts and circumstances to arrive at a finding based on reasonability and probability based on normal human prudence and behavior. In the facts and circumstances of the present case, the failure of the police to recover the dead body is not much of consequence in the absence of any explanation by the appellant both with regard to the victim last being seen with him coupled with the recovery from his house of the belongings of the deceased", the bench said. [Sanjay Rajak vs. State of Bihar]
Supreme Court refused to hear a PIL which sought direction to improve safety in Courts The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi refused to entertain the plea but asked the petitioner to file the representation before the BCI for consideration of the issue. Advocate Kadambari appearing for NGO Art of Learning presented that the lawyers consume excessive alcohol in their chambers and in into various illegal activities. There are several instances of rape and murder have been reported. The petitioner counsel argued for installation of CCTV cameras. While refusing to hear the PIL, CJI asked the petitioner to file the representation before BCI and let it consider the issue
Madhya Pradesh HC held that consensual sex even after refusal to marry does not amount to rape Madhya Pradesh High Court bench of Justice S.K. Awasthi recently quashed a 'rape case' against a man on the ground that the consent for sex was granted by the prosecutrix even after knowing very well that the accused would not marry her. The bench observed that "The Court in such cases, must very carefully examine whether the complainant had actually wanted to marry the victim or had malafide motives and had made a false promise to this effect only to satisfy his lust, as the later falls within the ambit of cheating or deception. There is also a distinction between mere breach of a promise and not fulfilling a false promise. If the accused has not made the promise with the sole intention to seduce the prosecutrix to indulge in sexual acts, such an act would not amount to rape. There may be a case where the prosecutrix agrees to have sexual intercourse on account of her love and passion for the accused and not solely on account of the misconception created by accused, or where an accused, on account of circumstances which he could not have foreseen or which were beyond his control, was unable to marry her despite having every intention to do. Such cases must be treated differently. If the complainant had any malafide intention and if he had clandestine motives, it is a clear case of rape. The acknowledged consensual physical relationship between the parties would not constitute an offence under Section 376 of the IPC." Umesh Lilani vs. The State of Madhya Pradesh & Anr.
Calcutta High Court refused to maintain PIL seeking Chanting of Jai Shree Ram as Fundamental Right The Calcutta High Court bench of Chief Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice Arijit Banerjee dismissed a Public Interest Litigation seeking a declaration that it is part of fundamental right of a citizen to worship Lord Rama and to chant "Joy Sree Ram". An Advocate, Partha Ghosh had approached the High Court, and sought that no obstruction be created or no penal action be taken against those who chant the name or perform puja of Lord Ram. The bench called the plea “It is like searching for a black cat in a dark room,” which is not at all there. The bench also said that it is amazed to see such a PIL being filed. PARTHA GHOSH Versus THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL & ORS.
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Simran Ablaze IAS ACADEMY SCO 226 Sector 36-D Chandigarh, Tel 9779190222 ,9988210461 www.simranias.com Monkeys (Rhesus Macaque) declared Vermin in Shimla The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), has once again issued notification under section 62 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972 to declare monkeys (Rhesus Macaque) 'vermin' in the areas of Shimla Municipal Corporation. The decision allowed local authorities to cull this animal in certain identified non-forest areas in Shimla for one year. In June 2019, the highest ever 104 cases of monkey attacked were reported at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) hospital, Shimla alone. One school-going student, attacked and injured by a group of monkeys, a few days back, was referred to PGI Chandigarh in critical condition. Many wildlife conservationists believe that a species coming into conflict with humans is a clear symptom of forest mismanagement and forest department must be held accountable for human-wildlife conflict situation anywhere in the country.
Sheila Dixit passes away at the age of 81 Sheila Dixit, Delhi’s longest-serving chief minister, and a senior Congress leader, died on Saturday at the age of 81, Dixit was admitted to the Escorts Hospital in the national capital a few days ago, her family and the party said. She suffered a cardiac arrest and breathed her last around 3.55 pm. Modi Ji Expressed his emotions by saying Deeply saddened by the demise of Shiela Dixit Ji. We, Into Legal World, Express condolence to her family member.
A person cannot be compelled to add someone as party in a suit against whom he don’t want to fight: SC The Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice M.R. Shah has reiterated that, in a suit, the plaintiff is the dominus litis and cannot be forced to add parties against whom he does not want to fight unless there is a compulsion of the rule of law. The court observed: "The observations are made by this Court considering the principle that plaintiff is the dominus litis and cannot be forced to add parties against whom he does not want to fight unless there is a compulsion of the rule of law. Therefore, considering the decision of this Court in the case of Kasturi v. Iyyamperumal the appellant cannot be impleaded as a defendant in the suit filed by the original plaintiffs for specific performance of the contract between the original plaintiffs and original defendant no.1 and in a suit for specific performance of the contract to which the appellant is not a party and that too against the wish of the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs cannot be forced to add party against whom he does not want to fight. If he does so, in that case, it will be at the risk of the plaintiffs." Gurmit Singh Bhatia vs. Kiran Kant Robinson
Bombay HC Set aside the order of Juvenile Justice Board that directed to try a juvenile as an adult. Justice Dama Seshadri Naidu of Bombay High Court has set aside the order of Juvenile Justice Board that had directed to try a 'juvenile' accused of the murder of a 3-year-old girl 'as an adult'. Accused shall be tried as a juvenile, he said. Two boys, one aged 17 1/2 and the other aged 16 1/2 were alleged to be involved in a murder of a 3 year old girl. The Juvenile Justice Board decided to try the elder one, under Section 15 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, as if he were an adult and the younger one as a juvenile. The appeal filed by both the state and the elder boy against these orders were dismissed by the Sessions Court. The matter was further appealed in Bombay High Court in the form of a writ. Justice Naidu, in his judgment, observes that, in this age of internet and social media, the theory of reduced culpability for juveniles relative to adults has taken a statutory dent. He observes: “A universally accepted ideal is that children are dependent and deficient in the mental and physical capacities, and are in need of guidance. Perhaps, initially, a multi-visual medium like TV; later, a globe devouring internet (appropriately, ominously worded as "worldwide web"), and finally—and fatally—the post-truth social media have let the children, especially the adolescents, leapfrog into the adult world. Mostly it is a crash-landing, with disastrous consequences. So the childhood innocence is the casualty. These devices may have made a child bypass his or her childhood, sadly. Then, naturally, the theory of reduced culpability for juveniles relative to adults has taken a statutory dent. The good-old-days icon of a truant child seems to get replaced by the modern-day mascot of a violent predator.” Mumtaz Ahmed Nasir Khan vs The State of Maharashtra
SC directed Trial Court to deliver judgement in Babri Masjid demolition case within 9 months The Supreme Court bench of Justice R.F. Nariman and Justice Surya Kant directed that the recording of the evidence in the case should be completed within six months and judgment should be delivered within nine months from 19/07/2019. The criminal case of conspiracy to demolish Babri Masjid involves BJP veterans L. K. Advani, M. M. Joshi, Uma Bharati, Kalyan Singh etc. The Court also directed the UP Government to issue administrative orders to extend the tenure of the Special Judge of CBI Court, Lucknow, who is holding the trial, till the delivery of judgment. The judge was otherwise due to retire on September 30.
A disciplinary enquiry is governed by a different standard of proof than that which applies to a criminal case: SC The Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Indira Banerjee has held that the acquittal in the course of the criminal trial by itself is not a ground for vitiating the finding of misconduct which has been arrived at during the course of the disciplinary proceedings. The bench observed that "A disciplinary enquiry is governed by a different standard of proof than that which applies to a criminal case. In a criminal trial, the burden lies on the prosecution to establish the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. The purpose of a disciplinary inquiry is to enable the employer to determine as to whether an employee has committed a breach of the service rules." | Case: Union of India Versus Sitaram Mishra and others
Punjab and Haryana HC ordered to provide basic necessities to his wife in maintenance
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Simran Ablaze IAS ACADEMY SCO 226 Sector 36-D Chandigarh, Tel 9779190222 ,9988210461 www.simranias.com Punjab & Haryana High Court in its recent judgement in case of Amit Mehra v. Manju allowed an unemployed husband (who had lost his job) to provide basic necessities like 20kg rice, 5kg sugar, 5kg different pulses, 15kg wheat and 5kg pure ghee per month &three wearing suits quarterly and two litre milk every day to his wife in maintenance. Lawyer of the husband informed the court about his unemployment and submitted before Justice R.S. Attri that his client was willing to fulfill his wife's daily necessities instead of giving her monetary sum as maintenance. Justice Attri passing the order directed the husband to provide all these items within three days to the estranged wife. He further directed the petitioner Amit to clear the arrears of maintenance and to submit the affidavit in this regard on or before the date fixed for same.
Supreme Court indicated that it might start hearing the appeals from August 2 in Ayodhya-Babri Masjid title dispute case The Supreme Court called for a final report from the mediation panel in the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid title dispute case by July 31. The Court indicated that it might start hearing the appeals from August 2. "We now fix the date of hearing on August 2nd. We request the mediation committee to inform the outcome of the proceedings as of July 31", the CJI said. While considering an application, last week, for early hearing of appeals in the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid title dispute case, the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had called for a status report from the mediation panel headed by former SC judge Justice Khalifulla regarding the progress.
A sale with a mere condition of retransfer is not a mortgage: SC In the present case of Sopan vs. Syed Nabi a sale deed dated 10th December, 1968 does not disclose that the transaction is one of mortgage or that of a conditional sale. However, another contemporaneous document was relied upon by the plaintiff to claim that the same indicates that the transaction is a mortgage and the relationship of debtor and the creditor is established by the said document. The Supreme Court bench of Justice R. Banumathi and Justice A.S. Bopanna referring to proviso to Section 58(c) of the Transfer of Property Act and a recent judgment in Dharmaji Shankar Shinde & Ors. vs. Rajaram Sripad Joshi (D) Lrs., observed that, if the sale and agreement to repurchase are embodied in separate documents then the transactions cannot be a mortgage by conditional sale irrespective of whether the documents are the contemporaneously executed. The suit (present case) in question was filed seeking a judgment and decree for redemption of mortgage and recovery of the possession of the suit scheduled land. The court observed that the suit seeking redemption of mortgage was not sustainable and rather a suit seeking for the relief of specific performance ought to have been filed.
Delhi HC barred Doordarshan from using DISH for its DTH service. Delhi High Court single bench of Justice Sahay Endlaw grants injunction to Dish TV against Doordarshan in order to prevent the latter from using the word 'DISH' for its services. The plaintiff had instituted a suit for permanent injunction restraining the defendant from infringing the trade mark 'DISHTV' of the plaintiff and from passing off the defendant‟s services as that of the plaintiff by adoption of the name / mark 'FREE DISH' and for ancillary reliefs.
Karnataka High Court held that no school can expel a child by issuing Transfer Certificates without any requests made by the parents. The petitioners had received Transfer Certificates, in the month of April 2019, issued by the school and the trust without them having requested for the same. Against this they had approached the Block Education Officer who had issued a show-cause notice to the school and instructed it to collect fees and give admission to the petitioners. It was contended on behalf of the petitioners that the respective parents of the petitioners were regularly paying the school fees but the school expelled the petitioners as they had raised voice against exorbitant fees demanded by the school in the previous academic year and the lack of facilities and amenities in the school. Justice S. Sujatha held the issue of TCs to the petitioners unsustainable and directed the school to admit the petitioners to their respective classes upon their parents paying 75% of total fees of academic year 2018-19 and 75% of first instalment for the present academic year within seven days. The Court also ordered the parents of the petitioners not involve in any derogatory act that might have the effect of bringing down the morale of the staff or disturb the conducive school atmosphere. | Case: P. Sridhanya and others vs. State of Karnataka and others
Supreme Court dismissed discharge pleas of accused priest and nun in Sister Abhaya Murder Case Supreme Court bench of Justice Abdul Nazeer and Subhash Reddy dismissed the special leave petitions filed by Thomas Kottoor and Sephy against April 9 judgment of the High Court of Kerala which had upheld the trial court's dismissal of their discharge pleas in the Sister Abhaya murder case. As the petition has been dismissed the petitioners, a priest and a nun in the Catholic Church, will have to face the trial in the CBI Court, Thiruvananthapuram. Last year, the trial court had rejected the discharge petitions filed by them. The CBI court had observed that there was sufficient ground for presuming that the two had committed offenses punishable under Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destroying evidence) read with section 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention). Justice Sunil Thomas of the High Court agreed with the trial court's observations as regards Kottoor and Sephy, the first and third accused in the case.
Abortion of foetus is allowed if birth defect are confirmed in medical report: Chhattisgarh HC 6
Simran Ablaze IAS ACADEMY SCO 226 Sector 36-D Chandigarh, Tel 9779190222 ,9988210461 www.simranias.com
Chhattisgarh High Court’s Justice Goutam Bhaduri has held that if the medical technologies have affirmed lack of development of the foetus and its viability is also in doubt, the woman has a right to call for medical termination of pregnancy. The petitioner was pregnant with a 24 weeks old foetus, had approached the court seeking permission to terminate her pregnancy under section 3(2) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. The court relied on the report of medical board which said ‘a single live foetus at 24 weeks 06 days gestation with hydrocephalus abnormal spine curvature with large meningocele pleural effusion & abdominal ascities with oligohydramnios seen in uterine cavity wherein foetal skull bones remained unformed, this condition being untreatable and would be certain to cause infant's death during or short after birth and also endanger life of petitioner'. The court allowed the petitioner to undergo the termination of her pregnancy under the provisions of the Act and also directed that the medical board shall keep the complete record of the procedure which is to be performed on the petitioner. | Case: Smt. Pallavi Bhoi vs. State of Chhattisgarh
It is not necessary to file a copy of the decree along with execution application unless the Court directs the decree holder: SC In case of Sir Sobha Singh And Sons Pvt. Ltd. vs. Shashi Mohan Kapur the Supreme Court bench of Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre and Justice and Dinesh Maheshwari observed that it is not necessary to file a copy of the decree along with execution application unless the Court directs the decree holder to file a certified copy of the decree. The High Court was not right in holding that in the absence of a formal decree not being drawn or/and filed, the decree holder had no right to file the Execution petition on the strength of the consent order. In this regard, the bench observed: "In our considered opinion, though Rule 6A (2) of Order 20 of the Code deals with the filing of the appeal without enclosing the copy of the decree along with the judgment and further provides the consequence of not drawing up the decree yet, in our opinion, the principle underlined in Rule 6A(2) can be made applicable also to filing of the execution application under Order 21 Rule 2 of the Code. 28. Order 20 Rule 7 deals with the date of decree.
Anticipatory bail cannot be rejected merely on the ground that the petition filed by the accused under Section 482 CrPC: SC The Supreme Court bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice Navin Sinha has observed that an application for anticipatory bail cannot be rejected merely on the ground that the petition filed by the accused under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure praying for quashing of FIR, has already been rejected. The Rajasthan High Court had dismissed the application seeking anticipatory bail filed by mother-in-law and father-in-law of the complainant woman solely on the ground that their plea seeking quashing of the FIR stands dismissed. Kamlesh vs. State of Rajasthan
Allahabad HC granted police protection to the Sakshi, daughter of BJP MLA, and her lover. The Allahabad High Court ordered police protection to Sakshi Mishra, daughter of BJP MLA Rajesh Mishra, and Ajitesh Kumar, her lover who she claimed to have married on July 4, 2019. Sakshi and Ajitesh had approached the High Court stating they were facing threats from Bareilly MLA Rajesh Mishra for marrying outside caste against his wishes. Sakshi is a Brahmin and Ajitesh a Dalit by caste. The couple had prayed that the police or Mishra should not disturb as they are consenting adult and free to marry. Last week, a video went viral on social media in which Sakshi claimed that her father was threatening them of dire consequences since he was not happy with her choice of partner. The court ordered that "it is being directed that the Police Authorities of the State of U.P. shall ensure that the respondents shall not interfere in the married lives of the petitioners. The Police shall also ensure that the petitioners are adequately protected”.
Supreme Court ordered a juvenile murder convict to plant 100 plant within a year Solemen S.K. was convicted under Section 307 IPC [Attempt to Murder] and sentenced to three years imprisonment, later upheld by the High Court. The special leave petition filed by him before the Apex Court was also dismissed. An application under Section 9 (2) of the Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act,
2015 was filed seeking a declaration that he was a Juvenile on the date of the offence. The Supreme Court bench called for report from the District Judge in this regard. After perusing the report, the bench concluded that he was a Juvenile on the date of offence. Under Section 18 of the Juvenile Justice Act, if it is found that the accused is a Juvenile, he would be a child in conflict with law and he has to be referred to the Juvenile Justice Board. The Supreme Court observed that "As the offence was committed in 2004, we do not feel it appropriate to send the petitioner to be dealt with by the Board. Instead, we are of the opinion that the ends of justice would be met by directing the petitioner who is now a registered medical practitioner aged 32 years, practicing in Murshidabad to perform community service. The learned counsel for the state suggested that this obligation of performing community service could be met with by a direction being to the petitioner to plant trees. We accept the suggestion made by the learned counsel for the petitioner and direct the petitioner to plant 100 trees within a period of one year." | Solemen SK. vs. The State of West Bengal
Madras High Court has upheld the Tamil Nadu government order banning single use plastic 7
Simran Ablaze IAS ACADEMY SCO 226 Sector 36-D Chandigarh, Tel 9779190222 ,9988210461 www.simranias.com
The Madras High Court has upheld the Tamil Nadu government order banning use of throwaway plastic which came into force of January 1 this year. High Court lamented its poor implementation, saying plastic products were still freely available. Justices R Subbiah and Krishnan Ramasamy ordered the state government to stop supplying 'Aavin' brand milk in plastic packets and use bottles or find any other means. "We, therefore, direct the government to implement the banning of all multi-layered plastic wrappers and covers, which are meant for one-time use and throwaway, to make the ban effective and meaningful," court said. Case: Chennai Non-Woven's Private Limited vs. State of Tamil Nadu
Annual Performance Appraisal Report must be communicated to a public servant: SC The Supreme Court bench of Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud has reiterated that entries in an Annual Performance Appraisal Report must be communicated to a public servant. In Pankaj Prakash vs. United India Insurance Co Ltd., the employee was that the entries in his Annual Performance Appraisal Report for 2010-11 and 2011-12 were not disclosed, as a result of which he was unable to submit a representation at the material time. The writ petition, which was filed by him before the Allahabad High Court was dismissed on the ground that, absent an adverse entry or an entry below the benchmark, the failure to communicate did not result in an actionable grievance. The Supreme Court observed that "Admittedly, for one of the years under consideration (2011-12) for the promotional exercise for 2014-15, the appellant was graded a "B", while for the subsequent two years, he was graded an "A". Consequently, the fact that the appellant was given a lower grading for 2011-12 would materially affect whether or not he should be promoted from Scale III to Scale IV for the year in question. The non- communication of the entries is, therefore, a matter in respect of which a legitimate grievance can be made by the appellant, particularly having regard to the position in law laid down in Dev Dutt (supra) and Sukhdev Singh (supra)."
SC Orders Status Quo on Resignations of 10 MLAs and Disqualification Process against them. Supreme Court ordered to maintain status quo with respect to resignations and disqualification of ten MLAs of Karnataka assembly. Earlier on Thursday the bench comprising of Chief Justice Gogoi, Justice Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose asked the ten rebel MLAs to present themselves before the Speaker at 6 PM to submit their resignations. The Speaker was 'requested' to take a decision on resignations within rest of the day itself. Following this, an urgent application was filed by the Speaker seeking recall of the order. Citing Article 190 of the Constitution, the Speaker said that deadline cannot be set for performing a constitutional function. The current crisis started on July 1 with the resignations of Vijayanagara MLA Anand Singh and Gokak MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi. Ramesh was already suspended from Congress for anti-party activities. Within a week, nearly thirteen more MLAs from Congress and JD(S) resigned. The Court has adjourned hearing to next Tuesday.
Supreme Court denied the retrospective effect of Maratha Reservation in Maharashtra The Supreme Court refused to stay the judgment passed on July 27 by the the Bombay High Court which had upheld the validity of reservation granted to the Maratha community by the state government under the socially and educationally backward class category (SEBC) in government jobs and educational institutions. Court said that the quota created as per Maharashtra SEBC Act passed last November cannot be given retrospective application with effect from 2014. This was when the petitioners brought to the notice of the Court that the Government has passed an order yesterday applying the quota to nearly 70,000 vacancies with effect from 2014. Though the HC had upheld the Maratha quota, it held that 16% reservation is not justifiable and ruled that reservation should not exceed 12% in employment and 13% in education as recommended by Backward Commission.
Lalu Yadav granted bail by Jharkhand HC in fodder scam case The Jharkhand High Court granted bail to RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in a fodder scam case, but the former Bihar chief minister will remain in jail as he is also serving sentence in two other related cases. Justice Apresh Kumar Singh of Jharkhand HC granted Yadav's bail plea in the case relating to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh from Deoghar Treasury on the ground that he has served half of his prison term of three-and-a-half years. Lalu Yadav was convicted in four fodder scam cases pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of money from Deoghar, Dumka and Chaibasa treasuries in Jharkhand. He was convicted in two cases for fraudulent withdrawals from the Chaibasa Treasury.
Termination of pregnancy cannot be denied merely because the gestation has continued beyond 20 weeks: Delhi HC The bench comprising of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice C. Hari Shankar of Delhi High Court observed that in certain circumstances it is difficult to refuse them permission to undergo medical termination of pregnancy. High Court opined that the right to terminate a pregnancy cannot be denied merely because the gestation has continued beyond 20 weeks. "Section 3(2)(b) permits termination of pregnancy, inter alia, where there is a substantial risk of serious physical or mental abnormalities, was the child to be allowed to be born. Seen in isolation, it thus places a gap of 20 weeks gestation for this to be permissible. At the same time, Section 5 relaxes the rigor of Section 3(2) in a case where the termination of the pregnancy is immediately necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman" bench observed. The court said that it is convinced that, even in a case where the condition of the fetus is, as in the instant case, incompatible with life, the rigor of Section- 3(2) deserves to be relaxed. |Case: Priyanka Shukla vs. Union of India and ors. 8
Simran Ablaze IAS ACADEMY SCO 226 Sector 36-D Chandigarh, Tel 9779190222 ,9988210461 www.simranias.com
No charge is to be levied for providing parking to visitors under the garb of providing safety, security, etc.: GUJRAT HC Gujarat High Court division bench of Acting Chief Justice Anant Dave and Justice Biren Vaishnav ruled that malls, multiplexes, shopping establishments, etc., have to provide parking to the customers without collecting any fee from them. The bench reached this conclusion based on the interpretation of provisions in Gujarat building and town planning laws which mandate that building owners should "provide" car parking space. The Division Bench did not agree with the contention of owners that collecting parking fee was part of their fundamental right to trade and business under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India. The Court noted that it is their statutory duty under the building regulations to provide parking space. The court went on to add : "…at the most, it can be said that the maintenance cost for the parking space, which is to be mandatorily provided as per GDCR, may be proportionately borne by the owner of the mall and occupant/owner of such shops, multiplexes, restaurants, etc., depending upon the nature of their contract, but by no stretch of imagination can it be said that the visitors of such shops, multiplexes, restaurants, etc. will have to be burdened with parking fee." |Case: RUCHI MALLS PVT LTD Versus STATE OF GUJARAT
PRIDE PARADE: A VICTORY OF ITS OWN KIND. CABINET APPROVES THE TRANSGENDER PERSONS (PROTECTION OF RIGHTS) BILL 2019 The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its sanction to the proposal which sought to introduce the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2019. After receiving the consent from the Cabinet the same will be put forth before the Parliament in its ongoing session. The Bill in its own is a new and strong move towards gender equality. It shall open new horizons for the people of the Transgender community by bringing them at par with the other genders. This Bill will play a pivotal role in empowering the Transgender persons socially financially economically and educationally. This Bill will bring the Transgender persons into the mainstream society which would inculcate a sense of belonging in them and discrimination and stigma which was attached to their identity would be legally repealed. The Present Government by undertaking this move of approving the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2019 has added one more feather to its hat. This Bill if properly implemented would change the thinking of the society to a very large scale and it shall also make the Transgender persons more productive.
The victim has right to appeal against acquittal of accused without seeking leave to Appeal: SC The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that a victim of a crime has the right to appeal under the provision to Section 372 of CrPC against the acquittal of accused and such an appeal has to be treated like a regular appeal and no leave has to be sought in that situation. The Bench comprising of Justices SM Kaul and KM Joseph set aside the Judgment passed by the High Court which had the appeal of the victim (in fact styled as leave to appeal) on the ground that leave had not been granted to the Government to file the appeal. The Court held that, “It is contended that since the right to appeal would be available, it is different from the appeal filed by the State seeking leave to appeal and, thus, the appeal filed by the victim in the present case ought not to have been dismissed at the threshold only on the ground that no leave has been granted to the State to appeal against the order of acquittal.” The Court further added that, “We are in agreement with the aforesaid plea since the extracted portion of the impugned order shows that the only reason recorded for dismissing the appeal of the victim (in fact styled as leave to appeal) was on the ground that leave had not been granted to the Government to file the appeal.” Case: Naval Kishore Mishra V State of UP and Ors. C.A. No.979 OF 2019
Codification of ‘Labour Laws’, bill approved by the Cabinet. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a bill to merge 13 central labour laws into single ‘Code’, which will apply to all establishments employing 10 or more workers. This consolidation can potentially benefit large sections of more than 40-crore workforce. The proposed code on occupational safety, health & working conditions Bill, would enhance coverage of workers manifold. The rules will state that workers will have to be given an offer letter besides an annual medical check-up. The labour Minister, Mr. Santosh Gangwar, focused on increasing the protection of minimum wage. The Bill is crucially drafted by the recommendations of Standing Committee & suggestions of stakeholders. There is also a chance for The Codes on Wages Bill, 2019, to be introduced in the Budget Session. At present, the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act & Payment of Wages act apply on workers below a particular wage ceiling working in scheduled employment only.
SC may start hearing Ayodhya-Babri appeals from July 25 if mediation panel expresses inability to resolve dispute The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court while considering an application for early hearing of appeals in the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid title dispute case called for a status report from the mediation panel headed by former SC judge Justice Khalifulla regarding the progress. The report has to be submitted by July 18. The CJI-led bench further said that if the panel expresses its inability to resolve the disputes through mediation, the Court will start hearing the appeals on a day to day basis from July 25. The application for early hearing was moved by plaintiff in one of the suits Gopal Singh Visharad. Senior Advocate P.S. Narasimha had made a mention before CJI Gogoi for early hearing of appeals citing the reason that no progress was made in the mediation even after the first round.
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Simran Ablaze IAS ACADEMY SCO 226 Sector 36-D Chandigarh, Tel 9779190222 ,9988210461 www.simranias.com
Delhi High Court dismisses the petition to quash the result of NEET 2019 The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed various petitions which had sought quashing of the result of the National Eligibility- cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2019 claiming that several questions had more than one correct answer. This Judgment was passed by Justice Anu Malhotra The petitioners had approached the High Court after discovering that the National Testing Agency (NTA) had not identified and marked the "correct options" of answers in the answer key issued by them for NEET-UG 2019. It was contended that three questions had two correct options which were against the information memorandum issued by the NTA as there could be just one right answer to a question. The Single Judge of High Court said that “if the petitioners were sure of correctness of their answers, they should have marked any of the two correct answers as being the answer to the disputed question”. The Court observed that marks have been granted to the candidates who had opted of either of the correct answers mentioned in the final revised answer key. The Court thus dismissed the petition and held that the petitioners had not in any manner suffered by two correct answers for the disputed questions and. Case: Purbasha Das and Ors. V National Training Agency and Ors. W.P. (C) 6801/2019
Irretrievable Breakdown of marriage, not only ground for Divorce: Delhi HC In the Coram of Hon’ble Mr. Justice G.S. Sistani & Hon’ble Mr. Justice Jyoti Singh, the Delhi High Court has held that irretrievable breakdown of marriage alone cannot be a ground of Divorce and can only be considered as circumstances by the Court if it is merged with cruelty. It is held that in any case, irretrievable breakdown of the marriage by itself was not a ground under the Act on which alone a decree could be passed and it can only be circumstances which Court can take into account when cruelty is proved and blend them together. So, if the ground of cruelty is not proved, a decree of divorce could not be passed only on the account of irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. S.G v. R.K.G, MAT. APP (F.C) 5/2018
No more selling products of companies engaged in Direct Selling by E-Commerce Platforms: Delhi HC Justice Prathiba M. Singh, Delhi High Court bars e-commerce websites from selling products of companies which are engaged in direct selling. The court held that the products are being sourced through unauthorized channels and that they are tampered and impaired which violates the rights of the Petitioners under the Trademark Act. The court noticed that conditions of the products at the warehouses of the e-commerce companies including 1MG and Healthkart were changed. Also, noticed increased prices of products, incorrect attribution of names, tampered codes and inner seals, and expired products with new manufacturing dates, as per the report submitted by local commissioners based on the inspection of the warehouses. In its 225- page interim order, the court said it has no hesitation in holding that sale of goods of Amway, Modicare, and Oriflame on the e- commerce marketplaces without their approval leads to “inducement of breach of contract, and tortious interference with contractual relationships of the plaintiffs with their distributors.” Amway India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. v. 1Mg Technologies Pvt. Ltd. & Anr CS (OS) 410/2018
Supreme Court Issues Notice to Aditya Talwar in ED's Plea against Delhi HC Order The Supreme Court issued notice on the Enforcement Directorate's challenge to a Delhi High Court order which allowed Antigua- based Aditya Talwar, an accused in a money laundering case, to appear through his lawyer in a lower court in Delhi. Aditya, who has not come to India so far, has been made an accused in a case in which his father Deepak Talwar is alleged to have acted as a middleman in negotiations to favour foreign private airlines, causing losses to Air India. The Enforcement Directorate had last week moved the Supreme Court against a Delhi High Court order which had allowed Antiguan resident Aditya Talwar, son of lobbyist Deepak Talwar, to either appear in person or through his lawyer in court to defend himself against the charges.
Delhi High Court dismissed a writ petition seeking guidelines to be given for phone surveillance Delhi High Court dismissed a writ petition filed by Advocate Sarthak Chaturvedi seeking guidelines to be given for tracing, tapping and surveillance of phones by law enforcement agencies. The court cited that there are already adequate guidelines in place to govern the same. The petitioner claimed that there have been instances of abuse of power by CBI officers while conducting tapping, tracing and surveillance of phone calls and a Special Investigation Team shall be set up to inquire about the same. Division Bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Hari Shanker noted under there are enough guidelines under Section 5(2) of the Telegraph Act and Rule 419A of the Telegraph Rules which govern the process of tracing, tapping and surveillance of phone calls.
Kerala High Court Upheld 1 lakh compensation to illegally detained writer who was detained on suspicion of being a Maoist. Kerala High Court bench of Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar dismissed the appeal filed by the Kerala Government against the 2015 judgment of the single bench which had ordered Rupees One Lakh compensation to a man(Shyam Balakrishnan) who was illegally detained on suspicion of being a Maoist. Shayam Balakrishnan was arrested by two policemen in civil dress when he was commuting in Waynaad area. The court said that "we have no hesitation in holding that, in view of the primacy that is accorded under our Constitution to a person's fundamental right to privacy and personal liberty, the action of police authorities in detaining and interrogating the petitioner and thereafter searching his residence, without 10
Simran Ablaze IAS ACADEMY SCO 226 Sector 36-D Chandigarh, Tel 9779190222 ,9988210461 www.simranias.com following the procedure under the Code of Criminal Procedure was wholly unjustified". Case: Shyam Balakrishnan v. State of Kerala
Supreme Court rejects to entertain Brahman Samaj plea seeking a Ban on ‘Article 15’ screening The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by Brahman Samaj of India (BSOI) seeking directions to put a ban on the screening of Movie ‘Article 15’. A Bench of Justice S.A. Bodbe and Justice B.R. Gavai asked the petitioners to approach the appropriate authorities with their grievances against the name and content of the movie. It was claimed by the petitioners that the movie spreads caste hatred and portrays upper caste in the bad light. The petition which was filed contends that the Title of the movie is a misuse of the Freedom of Expression guaranteed to the people under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India and is also violative of Section 3 of the Emblems and Names(Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950. It was further contended by the petitioners that the Movie will cause damage to the public perception regarding Article 15 of the Constitution if it is released with the same Title. The Petitioners BSOI also said that the claims, that the Film is based on true events, are false and the Film is an inaccurate depiction of the true story, due to which they approached the Apex Court seeking cancellation of CBFC certificate issued to the movie. This matter was mentioned for urgent hearing before the Court on 27 June, which was refused to be heard on an urgent basis by the Vacation Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and BR Gavai. After the Court said the petitioners should approach the appropriate authority with their grievances, the council withdrew the petition with liberty to approach the authority concerned.
Supreme Court agrees to hear appeals against Maratha Quota on Friday The Supreme Court Bench led by CJI agreed to hear on July 12 the challenge against the Bombay High Court judgment which had upheld the reservation in education and jobs granted by the State of Maharashtra to the Maratha community. It is to be noted that, Bombay HC in the case of J.L.Patil V The Chief Minister and ors. upheld the reservation granted to the Maratha Community, due to which plea was filed in the Supreme Court challenging the verdict by contending that Maratha Quota breached the 50- per cent ceiling on reservation fixed by the apex court in its landmark judgment in the Indira Sawhney case. Moreover, it was also contended that the Act would be a violation of Article 14 as it is involved in creating a classification that is not legally tenable. Citation of J.L. Patil V The Chief Minister and ors: PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION NO. 175 OF 2018
Right to Shelter is a Fundamental Right: Allahabad High Court The Allahabad High Court has held that the right to shelter is a fundamental right assured by the Constitution of India and it is the constitutional duty of the state to provide house sites to the poor. Justice SP Kesarwani observed this while dismissing a PIL seeking eviction of four individuals who allegedly encroached a public land which was allotted to poor landless farmers by competitive authorities in 1995. The Court imposed a fine of Rs 10000 on petitioner as they had filed a frivolous petition and said that cost must be imposed on them. The Court held that “The right to shelter, therefore, does not mean a mere right to a roof over one's head but the right to all the infrastructure necessary to enable them to live and develop as a human being. Right to shelter when used as an essential requisite to the right to live should be deemed to have been guaranteed as a fundamental right.” Case: Rajesh Yadav V State of UP Citation: PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (PIL) No. - 775 of 2019
Justice R N Pandey denied of his Farewell as a Consequence of his Bravery Justice RN Pandey who recently wrote to PM Modi about the shortcomings of collegium system in his tenure of 34 years he has always stood for what is right He was one of the few judges who daringly opposed the hc initiative of taking in their own hands the conducting of pcs j exams at the time when he was not even a permanent judge. There is a tradition in ever high court wherein on the day of retirement a judge is given a full court reference by his brother judges But justice RN Pandey was denied this reference and also the dinner and the reason cited was unforeseen circumstances rather the actual reason was his letter to the PM wherein he exposed the collegium system and how the judges are appointed. But it happened for the very first time that a judge elevated from service was given a grand farewell by the oudh bar association in the presence of 1000 Advocates.
Supreme Court to hear advocate’s plea seeking Maharashtra CM’s disqualification on July 23 The Supreme Court will be hearing advocate Satish Uke’s plea seeking disqualification of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as a member of Legislative Assembly on July 23. A full bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Anirudh Bose have scheduled the matter for final hearing. Uke had appealed against the High Court’s under rejecting his petition he alleged that Chief Minister Fadnavis suppressed pending criminal cases against him while filing his nomination papers for the 2009 and 2014 Assembly election thereby violating representation of people’s act 1951. The petitioner had earlier filed a criminal application before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) in Nagpur alleging that the Maharashtra CM had 'misled the people' by concealing information about two pending criminal cases in the affidavit submitted along with his nomination papers. In 2014 the ACJM rejected the application filed by Uke the advocate then filed a criminal revision application in the session court. notice was issued by the Additional Sessions Judge, however, there was some dispute regarding the order passed as there was confusion whether the issuance of the notice was to the non-applicant in the case i.e., Fadnavis, or to the Police Station Officer (PSO). after hearing Uke's petition, the High Court concluded that the Chief Minister was not required to
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Simran Ablaze IAS ACADEMY SCO 226 Sector 36-D Chandigarh, Tel 9779190222 ,9988210461 www.simranias.com disclose the pendency of criminal cases against him. The two cases filed against the Chief Minister are over 20 years old and charges have not been framed.
Reserved Category Student cannot migrate to General Seat after Age Relaxation: Supreme Court The Supreme Court reiterated that a candidate who has availed of age relaxation in a selection process as a result of belonging to a reserved category, cannot seek accommodation in or migration to general category seat at a later stage. This Judgement was passed by a Bench of Justice S. Abdul Nazeer and Justice Indira Banerjee in an appeal against the Division Bench of High Court, where they upheld the judgment of Gujarat High Court which had said that candidates who got the benefit of age relaxation by virtue of being from a reserved category are not entitled to be considered in general category and their cases are required to be considered for reserved category cases only. The Court held that "We are of the view that the age relaxation granted to the candidates belonging to SC/ST and SEBC category in the instant case is an incident of reservation under Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India.” Case : NiravKumar Dilipbhai Makwana V Gujarat Public Service Commission and ors.
Supreme Court lawyer murdered in Noida, SCBA writes to UP CM to take strong measures. Advocate Kuljeet Kaur, a Supreme Court lawyer, has been found murdered in Noida UP. Advocate Kaur’s body was found inside her home in Noida sector 31 on Tuesday. She was the wife of a retired army officer. Strongly condemning the murder of an advocate the Supreme Court bar association has written to Uttar Pradesh Chief minister Yogi Adityanath seeking appropriate measures to protect the lives and properties of the advocates in the state. Honourary Secretary of SCBA in his letter. It is less than a month when Ms. Darvesh Yadav, First Woman chairman, Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh was murdered in the court premises of Agra. It is high time that the state of UP should take serious and drastic measures to control the deteriorating law and order situation. This letter also seeks expeditious investigation in the present matter.
Property in the hands of sons becomes Joint Family Property, inherited from Father: SC The bench of Justice A. M. Khanwilkar & Justice Ajay Rastogi held so in the case Dodamuniyappa through LRs v. Muniswamy & Others. According to Mitakshara Law, Property Inherited by a male will remain as Coparcenary Property for descendants’ up to three degrees below. A person inheriting property from his three immediate paternal ancestors holds it, and must hold it, in coparcenary with his sons, sons’ sons & sons’ sons’ sons, but as regards other relations he holds it and is entitled to hold it, as his absolute property. The share which a coparcener obtains on partition of ancestral property is ancestral property as regards his male issue. They take an interest in it by birth, whether they are in existence at the time of a partition or are born subsequently. Applying this principle, the court held that, as after the execution of reconveyance deed, the property acquires the character of joint family property.
Member of the Air Force cannot depart from service at will during term of engagement: SC The Supreme Court said that A person enrolled as a member of the Indian Air Force does not have an “unqualified right” to depart from service at will during the term of engagement. The Bench of Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Hemant Gupta while hearing to a plea filed by an airman held that The Interest of the service are of paramount importance, However, the court said a balance has been sought to be drawn between interests of service with situations involving requests by persons enrolled in the IAF to take civilian employment. The airman has challenged two orders of the Armed Forces Tribunal, passed in 2012, by which his petition seeking direction for grant of a no-objection certification and for discharge from the IAF to join a civil post in a bank was dismissed. The Court held that“A person who has been enrolled as a member of the Air Force does not have an unqualified right to depart from service at his or her will during the term of engagement. Such a construction, as urged on behalf of the appellant, will seriously impinge upon manning levels and operational preparedness of the armed forces," Case: Amit Kumar Roy V UOI
Sex after false promise of Marriage: Bombay HC refuses to quash charges of cheating and sexual assault: The Bombay High Court has refused to quash proceeding against a 45-year-old businessman from Goregaon, Mumbai and held that the only way to find out whether charges of fraud and sexual assault against him were true is through a trial where all the material gathered during the investigation can be examined. Justice S.S. Shinde was hearing a criminal writ petition filed by the accused Vishal Singh who sought quashing of charge under section 376 and 420 of the Indian Penal code leveled by the complainant. According to the petitioner, FIR was lodged for an offense under Section 420 but there was no mention of the allegation of sexual assault and it was only in the supplementary statement of the complainant recorded on April 8 2013 allegation were made against the petitioner that under the pretext and promise to marry her he extracted huge amount from the complainant and sexually exploited her Court held that: "In a prosecution for rape under clause (a) or clause (b) or clause (c) or clause (d) or clause (e) or clause (g) of subsection (2) of Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), where sexual intercourse by the accused is proved and the question is whether it was without the consent of the woman alleged to have been raped and she states in her evidence before the court that she did not consent, the court shall presume that she did not consent" "Upon appreciating rival submissions and perusal of grounds in the petition and annexures thereto, and also copies of a compilation of documents submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner, I am of the opinion that only way to resolve the controversy is by way of appreciating the material collected during the course of investigation by way of trial. The various 12
Simran Ablaze IAS ACADEMY SCO 226 Sector 36-D Chandigarh, Tel 9779190222 ,9988210461 www.simranias.com contentions raised by the petitioner in his defense needs to be considered during the course of the trial, and while exercising writ jurisdiction it is not desirable to enter in to exercise of appreciation of statements of the prosecute, and also other material collected during the course of the investigation and draw inferences.
Plaint can either be rejected as a whole or not at all: SC The bench comprising Justice A.M. Khanwilkar & Justice Ajay Rastogi accepted the contention that the relief of rejection of plaint in the exercise of powers under Order VII Rule 11(d) of C.P.C cannot be pursued only in respect of one party. They contended that the plaint cannot be rejected only against one, but it could be rejected as a whole. The court explained the contention as, “Indubitably, the plaint can and must be rejected in exercise of powers under Order 7 Rule 11(d) of CPC on account of noncompliance of mandatory requirements or being replete with any institutional deficiency at the time of presentation of the plaint, ascribable to clauses (a) to (f) of Rule 11 of Order 7 of CPC.” Madhav Prasad Aggarwal vs. Axis Bank SLP (C) No.31579 of 2018)
Karnataka High Court declares Fourth Saturday of every Month as Holiday for Subordinate Courts Karnataka High Court has declared that the Fourth Saturday of every month will be a holiday for the Karnataka High Court and all the lower Courts in the state. This decision was taken pursuant to a full court resolution of June 27 read with a government notification dated June 13. However, the notification to the same was published by the High Court yesterday and will come into effect from this month.
Supreme Court Dismisses PIL to Earmark PoK and Gilgit LS Seats The Supreme Court on dismissed a PIL seeking direction to the center to earmark and declare Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit as parliament seats. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on former RAW official Ram Kumar Yadav for filling the petition and termed it legally untenable. The petition said on the lines of assembly seats, the central government is directed to earmark two Lok Sabha in Pok and Gilgit, respectively.
Private Vehicle will be considered as Public Place if it is plying on a Public Road: Supreme Court The Supreme Court on Monday held that a private vehicle plying on a public road will fall within the definition of “Public Place” under Bihar Excise Amendment Act, 2016, which means that consuming alcohol within a private vehicle in a Public Place would be an offense under the prohibition laws in Bihar. This ruling was given by a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and KM Joseph in an appeal against the decision of Patna High Court, where the High Court refused to quash the charge sheet filed against the Appellants. The appellants were found drunk inside their private vehicle and were arrested by the police at Rajauli check-post in Bihar. However, no liquor bottles were found in the vehicle, still, the High court rejected their petition. After appealing in the Supreme Court, the appellants argued that no offense was made out under the provision of the 2016 Act and the vehicle in which they were traveling cannot be said to be a "public place" within the law, on which the court held that “We have to further take into notice that private vehicle of the appellants was intercepted when it was on the public road. When a private vehicle is passing through a public road it cannot be accepted that the public has no access. It is true that the public may not have access to private vehicle as a matter of right but definitely public have opportunity to approach the private vehicle while it is on the public road,.Hence, we are not able to accept the submission that vehicle in which appellants are traveling is not covered by definition of 'public place' as defined in Section 2(17A) of the Bihar Excise (Amendment) Act, 2016.” However, the appellants were later discharged as it was not proved that they consumed liquor in Bihar or Jharkhand as they were returning from Jharkhand and ordered them to file an application before the magistrate. Satvinder Singh vs State of Bihar
For another six months, Presidential Rule in Jammu & Kashmir On Monday 1st July, the Upper House of the parliament i.e. Rajya Sabha, passes the bill further to amend the Jammu & Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004. The Bills seeks to replace the Jammu & Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 under clause (1) of Article 123 of the Constitution. The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004 and the rules framed there under provide for vertical reservation in direct recruitment, promotions and admission in different professional courses to various categories, namely the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, the socially and educationally backward classes (Residents of Backward Area, Residents of Areas adjoining Actual Line of Control and the weak and underprivileged classes). In order to provide the benefits of reservation to the persons living in areas adjoining International Border at par with persons living in areas adjoining Actual Line of Control immediately and as the Parliament was not in session, the President promulgated the "Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019" on the 1st day of March 2019.
Gujarat HC Advocates Association to approach Supreme Court Against Centre Delaying Appointment of Justice Kureshi as CJ of MP HC. The Gujarat HC Advocates association has resolved to file a writ petition in the Supreme Court under article 32 of Indian constitution against center’s sleeping over the Supreme Court collegiums proposal to make justice Kureshi the CJ of MP HC. The resolution came after Senior Advocate Yatin Oza, the president of the association, informed the association members that the union law Minister Ravi Shanker was not willing to meet a delegation of Gujarat lawyers to discuss the subject. Justice Kureshi’s 13
Simran Ablaze IAS ACADEMY SCO 226 Sector 36-D Chandigarh, Tel 9779190222 ,9988210461 www.simranias.com proposal was made by the Supreme Court collegium on May 10 the vacancy created by the retirement of the former CJ of MP HC Justice S K Seth. Controversial judgment by Kureshi: Many bar members share the belief that justice Kureshi is being due to adverse orders passed by him against the ruling dispensation. On 2010 justice Kureshi gave custodial remand of Amit Shah to CBI on the Shorabuddin case by setting aside the order passed by a Magistrate which rejected CBI’s plea for remand. He also rejected the defence plea for videography of Shah’statement questioning during the CBI custody. On May 2018, a bench headed by him upheld the conviction of 19 accused persons in the post-Godhra riots in Oad where 23 people concluding women and children were burnt alive by a mob in March 2002. These phenomena which we often describe as communal frenzy perfectly normal human being momentarily into murderous monsters leaving nothing but a trail of death and destruction for the victims and his own family alike justice Kureshi states in his judgment.
Recording of the Testimony of a Witness who is unable to communicate verbally to be done by an interpreter: Bombay HC Bombay High Court recently in the case of Hanumant v. State of Maharashtra reiterated the procedure to be followed for recording the testimony of a witness who is unable to communicate verbally. In this case, A deaf and mute woman was allegedly raped by the respondent and showing the concern for recording her testimony, Justice M. Dhavale highlighted that such testimony should be recorded with the aid of an interpreter, who should also be administered an oath that "he would fully and correctly interpret the questions put to the witness and shall also fully and correctly interpret the answers to give by the witness in sign language to the court." Supreme Court had earlier laid down this procedure in the Darshan Singh case and held that an interpreter should be called on to assist the court in recording a mute witness' testimony. The judgment states, “A deaf and dumb person is a competent witness and if the court opines that the oath should be administered to such person, it should be done. In case, the witness is not able to read and write, his/her statement can be recorded in sign language, with the aid of an interpreter, if found necessary. The interpreter should be a person from the same surrounding and should not have an interest in the case. Interpreter should be administered oath with videography.” This way of recording a differently abled witness is also mentioned in Section 119 of the Indian Evidence Act.
Sanitary Pad vending machine installed in Karnataka HC premises. A hygiene product vending machine has been installed in the Karnataka High Court premises. The vending machine disposes sanitary pads at a nominal price of 5 rs. The machine is present in one of the ladies' restrooms Southern Side of the Annex Building on the first floor. The hygiene products accessible to all advocates, the staff of the High Court (the majority of them being women), and litigants. The initiative was taken on the recommendation of Mrs. Justice B.V Nagaratha, the Chairperson of the High Courts Building Committee. The Committee will also be considering the proposal of installing similar machines in all- female washrooms throughout the High Court for easy access and inclusiveness.
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