Bombay High Court

Malegaon blast: SC rejects Lt Col Purohit's plea challenging HC's order

The Supreme Court has rejected Lt Col Prasad Purohit's petition challenging the Bombay High Court order dismissing his petition seeking to discharge him in the Malegaon 2008 blast case

Ex-Maha Guv, BJP leader's remarks on Shivaji no criminal offence: HC

The Bombay High Court has dismissed a petition that sought action against former Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi for their statements on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and other icons, saying the remarks do not prima facie constitute an offence under any criminal act. The court also said that the statements reflect the perception and opinion of the speaker about those figures with an aim to persuade the audience, and the intention appears to be of enlightenment of the society for its betterment. Koshyari, whose tenure was dogged by controversies caused by his utterances about Shivaji Maharaj, social reformers Mahatma Phule and his wife Savitribai and Marathi people, stepped down as the state governor last month. Koshyari had faced flak for calling Shivaji Maharaj an "icon of olden times", while Trivedi had allegedly said that the founder of the Maratha empire had apologised to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Justices Sunil Shukre and Abhay Waghwase, o

Fight over control of Hikal: Hiremath, family move HC against Baba Kalyani

Hikal said it did not expect any financial implications arising due to compensation, penalty, etc, due to the suit

SC stays Bombay HC order permitting UIL Chairperson to travel abroad

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mentioned the matter for urgent orders before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justice P.S. Narasimha

HC quashes special court's 'cryptic' order rejecting Navlakha's bail plea

The Bombay High Court on Thursday quashed a cryptic order of a special court rejecting bail to activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, and directed the special judge to rehear his bail plea. A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and P D Naik noted that the special court's order did not contain an analysis of the evidence relied upon by the prosecution, as it directed the special judge to conclude the fresh hearing within 4 weeks. The 70-year-old social activist had moved HC challenging the September 5, 2022 order under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act refusing him bail on merits. The high court briefly heard the arguments put forth by Navlakha's counsel Yug Chaudhary this week but opined that the reasoning in the order of the special court was cryptic and said it didn't get the benefit of a reasoned order. No reason of whatever nature is given. Trial court has not given reasoning as required under section 43D(5) of Unlawful ...

Bombay HC quashes money laundering case against Jet Airways founder, wife

In a huge relief for former Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal, the Bombay High Court on Thursday quashed the Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s case

Why seek hearing of 2019 case against Adani now: High Court to SFIO

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday in jest remarked if the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has sought hearing of a 2019 case involving Adani Enterprises, its Chairman Gautam Adani and Managing Director Rajesh Adani now because of the scenario outside, an apparent refence to a damning report on the Indian conglomerate released by a US-based investment research firm. A petition was filed by Adani Enterprises in 2019 seeking to quash a sessions court order of the same year refusing to discharge the company, Gautam Adani and Rajesh Adani from a case of alleged violations of market regulations involving nearly Rs 388 crore. In December 2019, the high court stayed the sessions court order. This stay order came to be extended from time to time till February 2022. Last week, the SFIO, a multi-disciplinary organization under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, sought for the matter to be placed for hearing following which it was listed before a single bench of Justice R G Avachat .

SC credibility cannot be eroded by individuals' statements, says HC

The Constitution is supreme and sacrosanct, and the apex court's credibility is sky-high and cannot be eroded or impinged by statements of individuals, the Bombay High Court observed while dismissing a public interest litigation against Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar over their remarks against the judiciary. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep Marne had on February 9 dismissed the PIL filed by the Bombay Lawyers Association (BLA) against Rijiju and Dhankhar over their comments against the judiciary and collegium system related to appointment of Supreme Court and HC judges. A detailed order of the bench was made available on Tuesday. The HC, in its order, said every citizen, including constitutional authorities and persons holding constitutional posts, must respect and abide by the Constitution. It maintained a PIL is filed for protection of public interest and ought to be used for redressal of a ...

Litigations delaying Metro car shed project, causing losses: Bombay HC told

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) on Thursday told the Bombay High Court that the construction of the car shed at Aarey Colony was getting delayed and causing loss of public money due to litigations, defending its plan to cut more trees at the site than earlier proposed. MMRCL, a nodal agency, told the HC that due to the court cases, it could not cut down trees in 2019 and this has now led to an increase in the number of trees that are required to be cut for the project at suburban Goregaon. In 2019, the MMRCL had sought permission from the tree authority of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to chop 84 trees. However, due to petitions filed in HC and later in the Supreme Court, a status quo was ordered. After the SC gave the green signal to cut trees, the MMRCL filed an application before the tree authority to cut down 177 trees. As per the MMRCL, the number of trees at the Metro car shed site has increased in the past four years. An activist, Zoru Bhath

Police security not a right: Thane cops tell HC on MP Rajan Vichare's plea

A person is neither entitled to police protection as a matter of right nor can it be granted as a matter of course, the Thane Police told the Bombay High Court while justifying its decision to slash the security cover of MP Rajan Vichare, who belongs to the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Thane, Shrikant Paropkari filed an affidavit on Tuesday in response to a petition filed by local MP Vichare seeking restoration of his security cover. "A person is neither entitled to a police protection as a matter of right nor can it be granted a matter of course," the affidavit said. It added that as per procedure, an inquiry is conducted and the extent of the threat is determined after which the police protection and duration are decided. "In the present case, the security of the petitioner (Vichare) was reduced after following this procedure and the decision was taken at various levels such as a senior inspector, assistant commissioner of police, deputy .

Encroachment issue to be addressed in more considerate way: Bombay HC

Merely labelling persons as encroachers and displacing them is not a solution and the issue has to be addressed in a "more considered fashion" than by just deploying bulldozers, the Bombay High Court has said while seeking to know from the Western Railway, Mumbai civic body and MMRDA if they have any rehabilitation policy in place. A division bench of Justice Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale on February 8 heard a petition filed by Mumbai-based Ekta Welfare Society, challenging the eviction and demolition notices issued to its residents by railway authorities as they were encroaching on its property. The bench sought information from the Western Railway, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) if they have in place any rehabilitation policy or system, and what are the eligibility criteria. Throughout, we bear in mind that merely labelling these persons as 'encroachers' is not going to answer the problem. This is a seriou

YES Bank approaches Supreme Court against Bombay HC decision on AT-1 bonds

On January 20, the Bombay High Court had quashed YES Bank's decision to write off AT-1 bonds in March 2020

Bombay High Court rejects Godrej plea challenging land acquisition

Terming the upcoming Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project as of 'national importance', the Bombay High Court has rejected a plea of Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co. challenging the acquisition of its land in Vikhroli, here on Thursday.

Bombay HC paves way for Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project

The state government, in October last year, told the court that the Ahmedabad-Mumbai high-speed rail corridor project is a priority project for the Government of India

Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project holds national importance, says HC

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train is a "dream project of this country and of national importance and in public interest", the Bombay High Court said on Thursday dismissing a petition filed by Godrej & Boyce company challenging acquisition proceedings initiated by the Maharashtra government and the NHSRCL in Mumbai's Vikhroli area for the project. A division bench of Justices R D Dhanuka and M M Sathaye said the project was one-of-its-kind and collective interest would prevail over private interest. The court said in cases of conflict on inter fundamental rights and intra fundamental rights, the court has to examine as to where lies the larger public interest while balancing the two conflicting rights. "It is the paramount collective interest which would ultimately prevail. In the facts of this case, the private interest claimed by the petitioner does not prevail over the public interest which would subserve infrastructural project of public importance which is a dream project of ..

Bombay HC dismisses PIL seeking action on VP Dhankhar, Law Minister Rijiju

The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed a public interest litigation filed against Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar for their remarks on judiciary and the collegium system for appointment of judges. The plea filed by Bombay Lawyers Association had claimed Rijiju and Dhankhar showed lack of faith in the Constitution with their remarks and conduct. It had sought for orders to restrain Dhankhar from discharging duty as the vice president, and Rijiju from discharging duty as cabinet minister for the central government. The PIL claimed the "frontal attack not just on the judiciary but the Constitution" by the two executive officials has lowered the prestige of the Supreme Court in public. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep Marne briefly heard the petitioner's lawyer, Ahmed Abdi, and Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Singh for the respondents. "We are not inclined to grant any relief. The petition is

Bombay HC refuses to stop tender for sanitary napkins for govt school

The Bombay High Court on Friday rejected a petition that objected to certain conditions in Maharashtra government's tender to procure sanitary napkins for girls in state-run schools, noting that the safety and hygiene of the students are important and that the clauses are necessary to maintain quality. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep Marne disposed of the petition filed by a start-up owned by a 69-year-old man challenging the conditions imposed by the state in its tender for the supply of sanitary napkins to 9,940 government schools. Safety and hygiene of school girls are important and for that purpose, the quality has to be maintained. We do not find any illegality in the tender conditions, the court said. The conditions were that the bidders had to have three years of experience in supplying sanitary napkins and an annual turnover of Rs 12 crore. Additional government pleader B V Samant told the court that the tender has the condition

No coercive action against Jet Airways founder, wife till Jan 31: HC to ED

The Bombay High Court has directed the Enforcement Directorate not to take any coercive steps till January 31 against Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal in a money laundering case. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and P K Chavan had granted interim relief to the couple last week. The detailed order was available on Tuesday. The bench is hearing the couple's pleas to quash the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), somewhat similar to an FIR, against them. In 2020, the agency had filed a criminal case against the Goyals and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of a Mumbai police FIR. The Mumbai police FIR pertains to charges of alleged fraud by the Goyals and others against a city-based travel company. The Goyals, represented by senior advocates Ravi Kadam and Abad Ponda, told the court that there is no predicate offence, as required under the PMLA, to investigate the ECIR. They submitted that

AT1 bond setback: Carlyle, Advent supportive, says YES Bank MD & CEO

The stock tanks 8.33% following Bombay HC order and weak Q3 showing

Bombay HC denies bail to ex-cop Pradeep Sharma in Antilia bomb scare case

The Bombay High Court on Monday refused to grant bail to former policeman Pradeep Sharma, who is arrested in connection with the Antilia bomb scare case and for the killing of businessman Mansukh Hiran. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and R N Laddha said it was dismissing Sharma's appeal challenging a special court order rejecting his bail plea. Sharma had approached the high court last year challenging a February 2022 order of a special NIA court rejecting his bail plea. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has alleged that Sharma had helped his former colleague Sachin Waze to eliminate Hiran. On February 25, 2021, an explosives-laden SUV was found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's residence 'Antilia' in south Mumbai. Businessman Hiran, who was in possession of the SUV, was found dead in a creek in neighbouring Thane on March 5 last year. Sharma was arrested in the case in June 2021 and is presently in judicial custody. While the former policeman claimed ther