Page 6 - High Court

Uttarakhand High Court asks SIT to file status report in Ankita murder case

The Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Ankita Bhandari murder case to file a status report along with the case diary. A single bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra passed the order while hearing a petition filed by Ashutosh Negi, a resident of Pauri Garhwal. The court has fixed November 3 for the next hearing of the matter. The petition has requested to hand over the investigation of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Bhandari (19) was allegedly killed by the owner of a resort where she worked as a receptionist. It has been alleged that after the murder, important evidence related to the crime was destroyed on the instructions of Yamkeshwar MLA Renu Bisht by running a bulldozer at Vanantra Resort. Bhandari was allegedly killed by the resort owner owner Pulkit Arya, manager Saurabh Bhaskar and assistant manager Ankit Gupta when she resisted their attempts to force her to offer "extra services" to a VIP

DU releases first merit list for UG programmes; here's how you can check

The list was originally expected to come on Tuesday, however, it was deferred as Supreme Court was hearing an appeal of St. Stephen's College, against a Delhi High Court order

E-Gaming Federation to challenge Tamil Nadu ordinance banning online gaming

Regarding rummy and poker as games of chance violates Supreme Court and Madras High Court judgments which overturned the law banning online games

Lumpy widespread among cows: HC, asks Maha response on plea seeking policy

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday noted that lumpy skin disease is widespread among the cattle and sought the Maharashtra government's response to a plea for framing a policy or standard operating procedure. A division bench of Justices S V Gangapurwala and R N Laddha asked the government to file its affidavit and posted the matter for hearing on November 17. "It (lumpy skin disease) is a widespread disease spreading across the state. You (the government) will have to come up with a policy. We know it will take some time," the bench said. The bench was hearing a petition filed by Raju Shetti, founder of Swambhiman Shetkari Sanghatana, stating that the lumpy skin disease was on the rise but the state government was doing nothing except issuing circulars on the issue. The plea said the government ought to take steps as provided under the provisions of the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act. As per the PIL, farmers are already facing hardship

Govt not empowered to issue orders to block accounts: Twitter to HC

Council for microblogging site emphasises that Section 69A (power to intercept electronic communication) of IT Act does not spell out mass blocking of accounts

Jharkhand HC declines stay of proceedings against 3 suspended Congress MLAs

The Jharkhand High Court on Friday declined to stay proceedings against three suspended Congress legislators, who were arrested from Kolkata in July, for their alleged involvement in ferrying cash. The court of Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi after hearing the matter of Irfan Ansari, Rajesh Kachhap and Naman Viksal Kongari, accused of laundering cash to the tune of around Rs 48 lakh, refused to put a stay on the investigation. However, it directed that chargesheet in the case may not be filed until orders of the court are passed. The Congress had in July suspended the three Jharkhand MLAs, who were allegedly caught with huge amount of cash in West Bengal's Howrah, and accused the BJP of attempting to topple its coalition government in the state. Acting on a tip-off, the West Bengal Police had intercepted a sports utility vehicle in which the legislators were travelling, and allegedly found nearly Rs 50 lakh in cash in the car. Congress MLA Anup Singh had filed a case against the thre

Karnataka HC gives 15 days to fix fare for app-based auto hailing services

The Karnataka High Court on Friday directed the state government to fix the fare for app-based auto-rickshaw hailing services within 15 days. The authorities last week ordered online aggregators like Uber, Rapido, and Ola to immediately stop their services for auto-rickshaws. The aggregators were also warned that action would be initiated if autos were found violating the order. The government had contended that auto-rickshaws were not covered under the license issued under the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregator Rules in 2016. ANI Technologies Private Limited, which is offering service through Ola app, and Uber India Systems Private Limited had challenged this before the HC in two separate petitions. Justice M G S Kamal, who heard the petitions on Thursday, suggested that the authorities and the companies arrive at a compromise and make a common submission. The government had agreed to talk to the aggregators. On Friday, the HC directed that the government

HC wants Karnataka govt, ride-hailing firms to arrive at common ground

The High Court of Karnataka has suggested that the State government and autorickshaw-hiring aggregators to arrive at a common ground. The court was hearing petitions by Uber India Systems Private Limited and ANI Technologies Private Limited following the directions of the State to aggregators to stop their operations. The aggregators had also been warned that they would be fined for every autorickshaw found plying on the online demand platforms. The government had issued the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregator (KODTTA) rules in 2016. Based on them, the online aggregator companies like Ola, Uber and Rapido obtained permission to launch online cab hiring facilities through mobile apps. On October 6 this year, the authorities after a meeting issued an order stating that autorickshaw cab service available under the online apps violated the rules and licence. It was held that taxi service was only for cars and not autorickshaws. The petition by the aggregator Uber ..

Punjab-Haryana HC quashes FIRs against Kumar Vishwas, Tajinderpal Bagga

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday quashed two separate FIRs registered against former AAP leader Kumar Vishwas and BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga by the Punjab Police. While Vishwas was booked by the Rupnagar Police in Punjab over his alleged inflammatory statements against AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, Bagga was booked on charges of making provocative statements, promoting enmity and criminal intimidation at Mohali in April. Senior counsel Chetal Mittal said that Justice Anoop Chitkara ordered the quashing of the FIRs. After the pronouncement of the verdict, Vishwas thanked the judiciary and admirers. In a tweet, BJP leader Bagga said, Satyamev Jayate Big slap on @ArvindKejriwal Face. Punjab High court Quashed FIR against Me & Me & @DrKumarVishwas.

Was Centre informed about blasts in Ekbalpur clashes? HC asks Bengal govt

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday morning directed the West Bengal government to inform it by 2 pm whether the mandatory provision of communicating to the Centre about bomb explosions during the clashes in Ekbalpur was followed. Taking up two petitions seeking NIA investigation into the communal clashes, the court said that a mandatory report to the Centre under section 6 of the NIA Act is required for it to decide whether a probe by the central agency is required. A division bench presided by Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the state government to inform it by 2 pm on whether the mandatory provision was complied with. Advocate TM Siddiqui, representing the state government, told the court that five FIRs have been filed in connection with the clashes at Mayurbhanj in Ekbalpur area of southwest Kolkata on Sunday, and submitted a report on the incident.

Fruits of reservation not percolated to bottom of society: NHRC chief

NHRC chairperson Justice (retd) Arun Kumar Mishra on Wednesday said "fruits of reservation have not percolated to the bottom". In his address at the National Human Rights Commission Foundation Day here, Mishra also pressed for urgent jail reforms. "Several measures have been taken for socio-economic and political upliftment of the marginalised sections of the society. More affirmative action is needed. The time has come to clarify that unrepresented classes in services are provided reservation within the reserved category itself to ensure overall development, because fruits of reservation have not percolated to the bottom," he said. Though India has many socio-economic welfare schemes, "reservation is still needed for upliftment," the NHRC chief said. Mishra also flagged many other human rights-related issues and emphasised that gender equality and equality for all was important.

SC appointments: What is the collegium system, and how does it work?

The collegium is a group consisting of the Chief Justice of India and the four seniormost judges of the Supreme Court that decides the appointment of judges to the apex court

Centre recommends elevation of two judges as CJs of Karnataka and J-K HC

The Centre has notified the elevation of two judges as chief justices of the Karnataka High Court, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, and also notified the transfer of Chief Justice of J&K High Court to the Rajasthan High Court.

Delhi HC directs L'Oreal to pay profiteered amount of Rs 186 crore

The court, which clubbed the petitions, had posted the matter for next hearing on October 19

153 high court judges appointed this year; more appointments likely: Report

A total of 153 judges have been appointed to the various high courts in this calendar year so far, with sources on Thursday hinting at more appointments to the higher judiciary in the coming days. Six additional judges were appointed to the Bombay High Court on Thursday. It is learnt that the government is also set to take a call on the elevation of Bombay High Court Chief Justice Dipankar Datta to the top court shortly. If he is appointed to the apex court, its working strength will go up to 30. The sanctioned strength of the top court is 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). The government is also set to initiate the process of appointing the next CJI, most likely this week or early next week. As part of the procedure, the Union law minister writes to the CJI to name his or her successor. Justice Uday Umesh Lalit retires as the CJI on November 8. Justice D Y Chandrachud is the senior-most judge after the CJI. As per practice, the CJI names the senior-most judge as hi

Karnataka HC declines relief to Xiaomi over Rs 5,551-cr asset freeze

The Enforcement Directorate froze Rs 5,551 crore of Xiaomi assets in April, alleging the company made illegal remittances to foreign entities by passing them off as royalty payments

Both CGST and excise duty can be imposed on tobacco products: Karnataka HC

The Karnataka High Court has ruled that the Union government is entitled to levy Central GST (CGST) as well as excise duty on tobacco and tobacco-derived products. It dismissed a bunch of petitions by tobacco manufacturers who had challenged the same. "The levy of excise duty on tobacco and tobacco products is a matter of public policy and this court in exercise of writ jurisdiction would not interfere with the same. The CGST itself contemplates levy of excise duty upon tobacco and tobacco products apart from they being taxed under the provisions of CGST," Justice M I Arun said in the recent judgment. The Dharwad bench of the HC heard petitions by Ghodawat Packers LLP, H I Tamboli and Sons, Rajnandini Foods Pvt Ltd, Balajee Pouches, Ghodawat Foods International Limited and Ghodawat Industries India Private Limited, against the Ministry of Finance, Union of India and Joint Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise. The Joint Commissioner on March 25, 2021 issued an order imposing exci

KCET 2022 counselling dates out; document verifications on Oct 7-8

The KCET 2022 counselling schedule was to start on August 5, but KEA had to revise the result per Karnataka High Court orders

HC grants bail to former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in ED case

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in an alleged money laundering case. Justice N J Jamadar pronounced the order. Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed the HC to hear and decide the NCP leader's plea expeditiously as it was pending for six months. His lawyers Vikram Chaudhari and Aniket Nikam argued that considering his age (72), health and the fact that he had no criminal antecedents he should be granted bail. Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), opposed the application arguing that Deshmukh did not suffer from any ailments that cannot be treated at jail hospital. Arrested by the ED in November 2021, Deshmukh is now in judicial custody. The ED booked him after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a corruption case against him following allegations made by former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh. The ED claimed that Deshmukh misused his ...

Can reducing 'state-litigation' solve half of the judiciary's problems?

Yes, the government is the biggest litigant in the country, but this is not the whole truth