Current Trend in law

Case of ‘Mental Cruelty’

In the context of matrimonial cruelty, the Supreme Court has stated that the Judges and lawyers should not import their own notions of life. Each case may be different. New type of cruelty may crop up in any case depending upon the human behaviour, capacity or incapability to tolerate the conduct complained of. Such is the wonderful realm of cruelty...

‘Overstepping Jurisdiction’

The SC has held that the jurisdiction ends when the bail application is finally decided. The SC’s finding in the case is that the Madras HC Single Judge has collated data from the State and made that part of the order after the decision of the bail application, as if the Court had the inherent jurisdiction to pass any order under the guise of improving the criminal justice system in the State. The jurisdiction of the Court is limited to grant or not to grant bail, pending trial. Even though the object ..

Medical Admission & Disabled

The HC had rejected the claim of the appellant, a ‘person with disabilities’ and upheld the denial of admission to him, to the MBBS course. The report by Dr. Singh has an interesting reference about how in an age when robotic surgeries are relied upon, the NMC norms still insist on the “both hands intact with intact sensations” norm. Dr. Singh quotes the father of neurosurgery Harvey Cushing, who as early as in 1911, emphasised the motor skills are often “the least part of the work.”..

Cryptic Bail Orders

The PMLA has been enacted to deal with the subject of money laundering activities having transnational impact on financial systems including sovereignty and integrity of the countries. The offence of money laundering has been regarded as an aggravated form of crime world over and the offenders involved in the activity connected with Proceeds of Crime are treated as a separate class from ordinary criminals...

Election-Time Transfers

By Adv. R. S. Agrawal : The HC has held that the Tribunal was not justified in holding that the transfer orders issued to the concerned police personnel were to remain effective only till the time the elections were held. The orders of transfe..

Continued Detention

AFTER perusing the contents of the criminal writ petition VickyBharat v. the State of Maharashtra and another along with few dozen similar petitions, the Bombay High Court division bench at Mumbai, consisting of Justice Sarang Kotwal and Justice S. M. Modak, has formed an opinion that issue relates to interpretation of section 50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C.).In some of the petitions , the interpretation of sections 41 and 41A of Cr.P.C. is also necessary. The common contention ..

‘Abetment Of Suicide’

IN THE Judgement of the case –Mahendra Awase v. The State of Madhya Pradesh , delivered on January 17, 2025, Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice K.V. Viswanathan at the Supreme Court , have been quite critical of adoption of very casual approach by the investigating agencies and trial courts by mechanically framing charge of instigating suicide under section 306 of IPC and the Court has called for exercise of great caution and circumspection and not to follow a play it safe syndrome by mechanically framing ..

‘Untoward Incident’

IN THE judgement of the case- Shri Basir alias Mohd. Ahmed Khan and Mrs Amina Basir Khan v. Union of India through General Manager, Central Railway, CST, Mumbai, delivered on January 8, 2025, Justice Firdosh P. Pooniwalla, at the Bombay High Court in Mumbai has noted that in the light of the evidence, the appellants had clearly discharged the initial burden to show that their deceased son was carrying a valid monthly pass and was a bona fide passenger. Thereafter, the burden shifted to the respondent-Railw..

‘Delay Defeats Equity’

IN THE judgment of the case –Shri John Joseph v. Union of India & two others, delivered on December 16, 2024, Justice M S Karnik and Justice Nivedita P Mehta at the Bombay High Court at Goa, have referred to settled principle of law that a litigant who approaches the Court belatedly or in other words sleeps over his rights for a considerable period of time and wakes up from deep slumber ought not to be granted the relief as “delay defeats equity”...

Immunity To Lawyer

The HC has pointed out that it is well accepted principle in law that right to free speech is not an absolute right and one cannot assert existence of this right by levelling reckless utterances, which tantamount to defame another person, as the said person equally has a right of his dignity, which is a part of his fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. ..

Dishing Out Unfair Treatment

The expectation from the Licencing Authority or the Authority granting authorisation is to act fairly and to adopt a procedure, which can be said to be ‘fairplay in action’. In one of the judgements, the Supreme Court has held that due observance of the statutory obligations as a part of good administration raises a reasonable or legitimate expectation fair treatment. ..

Opposing Reservation

On going through the entire material, it reveals that messages only show feelings expressed as to Caste Reservation System. Such messages nowhere show that there was any attempt to promote any enmity, hatred or ill-will against members of the SCs and the STs. At the most it can be said that her target was just the complainant only...

Condoning Delay

IN THE judgement of the Special Leave Petition (Civil) – Rajneesh Kumar & Another v. Ved Prakash, delivered on November 21, 2024, Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan have quoted an observation from its judgment of the case- Bharat Barrel & Drum Mfg. Co. v. The Employees State Insurance Corporation- (1971) 2 SCC 860, wherein the Supreme Court has declared that “the necessity for enacting periods of limitation is to ensure that actions are commenced within a particular period, firstly to ..

ORDER OF CHARGE

I N T HE decision of a Single Judge Bench criminal case – Achal Singh and 3 others, Justice Birendra Kumar has held at the Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur, on November 12, 2024, that in the judgment of the case – Kola Ram & Another v. State of Rajasthan-(1999) Cr.L.R. (Raj.) 401 that framing of charge after giving opportunity of hearing is an independent judicial act, hence mere taking of cognizance does not make it obligatory to frame charge. In other words, correctness of order of charge can be looked ..

‘NO’ TO QUASHING FIR

In the facts and circumstances of this case, a strong action needs to be taken in order to maintain the faith of the litigant and the society at large. Provisions provide for a mechanism of dealing with cases of professional misconduct on the part of advocates. It also provides for an opportunity of hearing to both the sides to arrive at a conclusion, either way ..

Grounds For Parole

JUSTICES Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande have at the principal seat of the Bombay High Court in Mumbai, in the criminal case – Balaji Abhaji Puyad v. The State of Maharashtra and others, allowed the writ petition of the convicted prisoner Balaji on October 25, 2024, for being released on parole, in the wake of illness of his wife with direction to the Superintendent, Nashik Road Central Prison to release him after ascertaining genuineness of the cause cited by the petitioner and if that is ..

Deemed Registration

THROUGH the judgement of the Income Tax Appeal in the case-The Commissioner of Income Tax-IV, Pune v. Dr Kasliwal Medical Care & Research Foundation, Solapur, delivered on October 21, 2024, Justice G S Kulkarni and Justice Firdosh P Pooniwalla, at the Bombay High Court, have held that the clear position in law is, as has been decided by the Supreme Court in its decision of the case – Harshit Foundation Sehmalpur v. Commissioner of Income Tax-(2022)139 taxmann.com 55(All), that section 12AA(2) of the ..

Anonymous Donations

IN THE appeals by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions), Mumbai against Shree Sai Baba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi, decided on October 8, 2024, Justice G S Kulkarni and Justice Somasekhar Sundresan, at the Bombay High Court in Mumbai , have held that the HC is of the clear opinion that that the assessee Trust certainly is a religious and charitable trust, hence the assessee has rightly and legitimately claimed an entitlement under sub-section 2(b) of Section 115 BBC of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Such ..

Order To Close Liquor Shops

IN THREE writ petitions, not registered yet and having only Stamp Nos.-Harpritsingh Bhupindersingh Hora, Vijay Shankarlal Lalwani, Sacin Suryakant Belagade and Sanjay Marutrao Ingawale, a Full Bench of the Bombay High Court, consisting of Justices Atul Chandurkar, Gauri Godse and Rajesh S Patil, has answered on September 30, 2024, a question referred to it, regarding the interpretation of section 142(1) of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1949. The order of reference containing the question formulated ..

Chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai

IN A quite recent judgement of the case – Sri Suresha and 4 other residents of Mangaluru v. State of Karnataka and Another, delivered on September 20, 2024, Justice M. Nagaprasanna, at the High Court of Karnataka at Bengaluru has declared in very clear terms that sloganeering “Bharat Mata ki Jai” would only lead to harmony and never a discord. The petitioners challenged registration of a crime in case No. 81 of 2024 at Konaje police station of Mangalorecity in D K District for offences punishable ..

Effective Justice System

IN THE judgement of the case – Bhagwan Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Others, delivered on September 20, 2024, Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Chandra Sharma, at the Supreme Court had occasion to deal with “certain sinister cabal of unscrupulous litigants and a coterie of their counsellors, who are always busy in taking undue advantage of the systemic lacunae and in misusing the process of law, in turn damaging the image of the Courts as also of the entire legal fraternity/legal profession.” ..

Bouncing Of Cheque

IN THE Judgement of the case –Geeta Devi v. UCO Bank, delivered on September 4, 2024 Justice Rakesh Kainthla has held at the Himachal Pradesh High Court that, in the case of bouncing of cheque the complaint in the case cannot be quashed on the grounds that the cheque was issued without consideration and conditions for its presentation were not satisfied. It was submitted that the accused had deposited the amounts which were not endorsed by the Bank. The notice to the accused is bad as it was issued ..

ABSENCE FROM DUTY

THROUGH the judgement of the case – The Deputy Commissioner of Police Wireless Division, Mumbai v. Shri Sanjay Govind Parab, delivered on September 6, 2024, Justice Atul S. Chandurkar and Justice Rajesh S. Patil, at the Bombay High Court have held that the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal has committed a grave error in holding the respondent –employee Police Head Constable Sanjay Govind Parab entitled to pay and allowances for the period of his unauthorised absence by treating his order of transfer, ..

TRANSFERRING PROBE

By ADV. R. S. AGRAWAL :HC has pointed out that the circumstances in the case have persuaded the Court to exercise inherent powers to bring the credibility and confidence in the investigating agency for reaching to the truth ultimately and to guard t..