Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on Friday set aside the seven-year-old order of the Central Information Commission (CIC), asking the Gujarat University to provide information on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Allowing the Gujarat University's appeal against the CIC order, Justice Biren Vaishnav also imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on Kejriwal and asked him to deposit the amount within four weeks to the Gujarat State Legal Services Authority (GSLSA). Justice Vaishnav also refused to stay his order as requested by Kejriwal's lawyer Percy Kavina. In April 2016, the then CIC M Sridhar Acharyulu had directed the Delhi University and the Gujarat University to provide information to Kejriwal on the degrees that Modi received. Three months later, the Gujarat High Court stayed the CIC order after the varsity approached it against that order. The CIC order came a day after Kejriwal wrote to Acharyulu, saying he has no objection to government records about

Oreva Group has deposited 50 per cent of the interim compensation amount for the victims of the Morbi cable bridge collapse tragedy, the Gujarat High Court was told on Monday. The company told the division bench of acting Chief Justice A J Desai and Justice Biren Vaishnav that the first instalment (50 per cent of the total amount) was deposited on March 14, and the rest would be paid on or before April 11. Oreva Group (Ajanta Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd) was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the British-era bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi that collapsed on October 30, 2022, killing 135 people and leaving 56 others seriously injured. The high court is hearing a suo motu (on its own) Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on the tragedy. On Monday, the HC took on record the affidavit of Oreva Group and granted the company time it had sought to deposit the remaining amount. The bench kept the matter for further hearing on April 18. During an earlier hearing, the HC had dir

The matter will be heard next on March 23

The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday directed clock manufacturing firm Oreva Group, the company that maintained the Morbi suspension bridge which collapsed killing 135 people in October last year, to pay Rs 10 lakh as "interim" compensation to the kin of each deceased and Rs 2 lakh to each injured within four weeks. A division bench of Chief Justice Sonia Gokani and Justice Sandeep Bhatt gave this direction to the company. The British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi town collapsed on October 30 last year, killing 135 persons and injuring 56 others. The court ordered the company that the kin of each deceased and every injured person be paid interim compensation of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively, within four weeks. On Tuesday, during a hearing of a suo motu (on its own) PIL admitted last year following the tragedy, Ajanta Manufacturing Ltd (Oreva Group) had offered to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation to the kin of those who died and Rs 1 lakh to the injured ...

A court in Gujarat's Surendranagar district has issued an arrest warrant against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Hardik Patel for failing to appear before it in a 2017 case in which he is accused of violating a government order. Patel had made a political speech in violation of a government order at a village in the district ahead of the 2017 Gujarat Assembly elections. Additional chief judicial magistrate D D Shah at Dhrangadhra issued the arrest warrant against Patel for failure to appear the court. Through its order dated February 2, the court directed the Dhrangadhra taluka police station officer in Surendranagar district to arrest Patel and produce him before the court without fail. The order was received by the police station on February 11, an official confirmed. A first information report (FIR) was registered at Dhrangadhra taluka police station on January 12, 2018 after Patel and a co-accused Kaushik Patel were found to have violated the condition of the permission grante

Justice Sonia Gokani was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court on Thursday, becoming the first woman judge to be elevated to the post at the high court, just a few days before her retirement on February 25. Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath of office to Justice Gokani at Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar. Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary, Judge of Supreme Court Justice Bela Trivedi, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and state Law and Justice Minister Rishikesh Patel were present on the occasion. Justice Gokani's appointment was approved by the Centre on February 12, and she had been serving as Chief Justice (Designate) since February 13. Her appointment came as Justice Aravind Kumar was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court. Justice Gokani, who joins as the 28th Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court, will retire on February 25, making her tenure the shortest. Born on February 26, 1961, in Gujarat's Jamnagar, she was elevated as the additional judge of the ...

The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday said that even if Oreva Group pays compensation to kith and kin of Morbi bridge collapse victims, criminal trial against its director will continue

An additional compensation will be paid to the families of each of the dead in the Morbi bridge collapse incident in October, the state government said

Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Arvind Kumar on Thursday held civic body officer responsible for bridge collapse

Terming the Morbi bridge collapse an "enormous tragedy", the Supreme Court on Monday asked the Gujarat High Court to take up the suo motu matter on a periodical basis

The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the transfer of Gujarat High Court judge Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi to the Patna High Court. As per a statement uploaded on the apex court's website on Monday, the collegium made this recommendation in its meeting held on September 29. "The Supreme Court Collegium in its meeting held on September 29, 2022 has recommended transfer of Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi, Judge, Gujarat High Court, to Patna High Court," the statement said. In September this year, the collegium was headed by the then Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit. Justice Lalit retired on November 8. Recently, the collegium headed by CJI D Y Chandrachud had recommended transfer of three high court judges for administrative reasons, sources said on November 18. The sources had said the collegium recommended shifting the Madras High Court Acting Chief Justice T Raja to the Rajasthan High Court, while Justice Nikhil S Kariel and Justice A Abhishek Reddy have been ...

The Supreme Court on Monday said that the Morbi Bride collapse incident which claimed over 140 lives was an 'enormous tragedy' and asked the Gujarat High Court to hold periodical hearings

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Gujarat High Court to periodically monitor the probe and other aspects related to the Morbi bridge collapse incident which claimed over 140 lives. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli said that as a division bench headed by the Gujarat High Court Chief Justice has already taken a suo motu note of the incident and has passed several orders, it will not hear the petitions as of now. It, however, permitted a PIL petitioner and another litigant, who lost his two relatives in the incident, to move the high court with their pleas seeking independent probe and award of dignified compensation to those who lost their family members. The top court also said that the petitioners may approach it later. The British-era bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi collapsed on October 30 leaving over 140 dead including 47 children.

A first division bench comprising Chief Arvind Kumar and Justice A.J. Shastri pulled up Morbi Nagar palika for not filing a reply despite the court keeping a special hearing

Gujarat High Court judge Justice Samir Dave on Tuesday recused himself from hearing the regular bail plea of activist Teesta Setalvad in connection with a case of the alleged fabrication of evidence to frame innocent people concerning the 2002 Gujarat riots. When the matter came up for hearing before Justice Samir Dave, he said "not before me," but didn't assign any reason. Setalvad is out on interim bail granted to her by the Supreme Court on September 2. The Ahmedabad crime branch had registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Setalvad, former DGP RB Sreekumar and ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt after the Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging the clean chit given by the SIT to then chief minister Narendra Modi and others in 2002 post-Godhra riots cases. Setalvad and co-accused Sreekumar were taken into custody on July 25. Their bail pleas were rejected by the sessions court on July 30, after which they approached the High Court. Meanwhile, Setalvad secured interim b

The Gujarat High Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of the Morbi bridge collapse tragedy and issued notices to the state government and local authorities and also sought a status report in the matter by November 14. The British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi collapsed on October 30, claiming 135 lives. The bridge was thrown open for the public on October 26 after seven months of repair work by a private firm. "We have taken a suo motu (on their own) cognisance of the Morbi incident. But for the vacation, we would have sat on the same day itself," a division bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh Shastri said addressing Advocate General Kamal Trivedi who was present in the court. The bench took cognisance of the incident on the basis of a newspaper report. It issued notices to the state government through the chief secretary, state home department, commissioner of municipalities, Morbi municipality, district collector and the State Hum

The Gujarat High Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of the Morbi bridge collapse tragedy and issued notices to the state government and local authorities and also sought a status report in the matter by November 14. The collapse of the British-era suspension bridge in Morbi on October 30 claimed 135 lives. A division bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh Shastri issued notices to the Gujarat government through the chief secretary, state home department, commissioner of municipalities, Morbi municipality, district collector and State Human Rights Commission and relisted the matter on November 14. It also sought a status report from the chief secretary and home secretary by next Monday when the matter will come up for hearing. The State Human Rights Commission has also been directed to file a report in the matter by November 14. The court took suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the incident on the basis of a newspaper report.

SC also asked the Union government to evolve a mechanism so that its departments don't take different stands before the court. Attorney General R Venkataramani has been requested to examine the issue

Bharatiya Janata Party chief J P Nadda will hold meetings with senior Gujarat BJP leaders at the state party headquarters in Gandhinagar on Wednesday, a local party leader said. Nadda is on a two-day visit to BJP-ruled Gujarat from Tuesday ahead of the state Assembly elections due in December this year. On Wednesday, the BJP president will hold meetings with senior Gujarat BJP leaders at the party headquarters, Shree Kamalam, in state capital Gandhinagar, the party said. He will also address professors at Tagore Hall in Ahmedabad and talk about BJP's ideology, it said. On Tuesday, Nadda addressed a gathering of the Gujarat BJP's elected representatives in local urban and panchayat bodies in Rajkot city. He had asked party cadres in the state not to worry about the forthcoming Assembly elections, stating that their party is the only one which has an ideology.

Tushar Gandhi in the PIL had challenged the state government's redevelopment plan on the grounds that it will lose its ethos if redevelopment is allowed