Case Briefs Archives

Gravity of offence cannot justify continued incarceration

Gravity of Offence Alone Cannot Justify Denial of Remission: Supreme Court Quashes MHA’s Cryptic Rejection of Premature Release

The Supreme Court held that remission cannot be denied solely on the heinousness of the offence and quashed the Ministry of Home Affairs’ non-speaking order rejecting a life convict’s premature release after 22 years of incarceration.

Case Briefs Foreign Courts

A Small Sydney Designer vs. One of the World’s Biggest Pop Stars: How Katie Taylor Beat Katy Perry in Trade Mark Dispute at Australia High Court

In a 3:2 majority, the High Court of Australia allows the appeal of Sydney fashion designer Katie Taylor, holding that Katy Perry’s pre-2008 reputation as a pop star in Australia did not extend to clothing.

Case Briefs High Courts

Rajasthan High Court directs seizure of driver’s phone; issues contempt notice over unauthorised recording of court proceedings

“This act constitutes a serious interference with Administration of Justice and also makes out a prima facie case of criminal contempt under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.”

Case Briefs High Courts

Judges Do Not Hold Press Conferences and Have Very Limited Means to Protect Themselves: Delhi HC on Judicial Silence in the Age of Social Media

“The entire exercise appeared aimed at achieving indirectly, through public pressure and social media campaigns, what could not be achieved directly through judicial proceedings and legal arguments before the Court — that this particular matter pertaining to discharge of respondents in the 2022 Delhi Excise Policy — be not heard by this Court.”

Case Briefs High Courts

Can be Evicted but Cannot be Left Without Schools, Buses and Water: Delhi HC on Jhuggi Relocation and Article 21

The respondents submitted that “the rehabilitation and relocation of the jhuggi dwellers has become essential due to the highly sensitive and strategic location of the area. The JJ clusters lie in a protected zone, immediately next to an operational Air Force Station.”

insurance company liability motor accident invalid driving licence

Case Briefs High Courts

Fake or Invalid Licence Alone Cannot Save the Insurer: Karnataka High Court modified the award by Motor Accident Claims Tribunal

“Unless the breach is so fundamental that it has contributed to the cause of the accident, the Insurance Company cannot avoid its liability.”

Yamuna Flood Plains commercial activities ban

Case Briefs High Courts

A Parking Dispute at Yamuna Sur Ghat Brought Delhi HC to Ban All Commercial and Religious Activities on Flood Plains

“In view of the interest of environmental protection and the area being ecologically sensitive, all types of commercial/religious activities for any purpose whatsoever shall be restricted from the said area.”

Proximate Nexus Between Harassment and Suicide

Case Briefs High Courts

Abetment to suicide proceedings against school teacher Quashed; No proximate nexus between alleged harassment and suicide: Allahabad HC

“However harsh or severe the harassment, unless there is a conscious deliberate intention, mens rea, to drive another person to suicidal death, there cannot be a finding of abetment under Section 306.”

Case Briefs Supreme Court

The Road to Safety: Supreme Court’s Strong Push for Installation of Vehicle Tracking Devices and Emergency Panic Buttons in Public Transits

The Court also directed the Central Government to contemplate with parties concerned as to installation of vehicle location tracking devices in the vehicles at the manufacturing stage.

Order 7 Rule 11 CPC rejection of plaint meaningful reading

Case Briefs Supreme Court

Clever Drafting Cannot Save a Benami Claim: Supreme Court on Meaningful Reading of Plaint Under Order 7 Rule 11

The Court directed the confiscation of the property where a claim, which was presented to be based on a will, but was in substance an attempt to obtain judicial recognition of a benami transaction.

Case Briefs High Courts

Permitted in Cinemas but Stopped on OTT? That’s “Incongruous”: Delhi HC Refuses Injunction Over Remixed “Tirchi Topiwale” in Dhurandhar 2

Delhi High Court refused interim injunction against the OTT release of Dhurandhar: The Revenge in a copyright dispute over the remixed “Tirchi Topiwale” song from Tridev, holding that suppression of material facts and prolonged inaction disentitled the plaintiff from equitable relief.

daughter in law eviction from shared household

Case Briefs High Courts

When Senior Citizens Act and Domestic Violence Act Collide: Delhi HC Draws the Line on Daughter-in-Law’s Right of Residence in Shared Household

The Delhi High Court upheld the eviction of a widow and her son from the in-laws’ property under the Senior Citizens Act, holding that shared household rights under the Domestic Violence Act do not create proprietary rights and cannot override senior citizens’ right to peaceful residence.

Section 34 37 arbitration limited scope interference

Case Briefs Supreme Court

Courts Have a ‘Disturbing Tendency’ to Set Aside Arbitral Awards by Reassessing Facts: Karnataka HC Warning Upheld by Supreme Court

Supreme Court dismissed SLP filed by BMRCL challenging Karnataka High Court judgment restoring arbitral award in favour of Navayuga Engineering Company, reiterating limited scope of interference under Sections 34 and 37, Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and upholding award including finance charges as compensatory claim.

NSA preventive detention order right to representation

Case Briefs High Courts

Right to Make Representation Must Be Communicated When Grounds of Detention Are Served, Not Weeks Later: Manipur HC Sets Aside NSA Preventive Detention Order

“The right to make a representation implies that the person detained must be informed of his right to make a representation to the authority that has made the order of detention at the time when he is served with the grounds of detention so as to enable him to make such a representation and the failure to do so results in denial of the right to make representation and renders the order invalid.”

Contempt Proceeding Against Arvind Kejriwal

Case Briefs High Courts

“Power and Popularity Do Not Confer Constitutional Immunity”: Delhi HC’s Criminal Contempt Order Against Kejriwal and Others Explained

“When the institution of the judiciary and this Court was put on trial, it became the duty of this Court, at that moment, to stand up for itself and the institution”

Signed order prevails over oral dictation

Case Briefs Supreme Court

“Signed order alone is final and binding; dictated draft can be corrected before signing without rehearing if no material change occurs”: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court held that a digitally signed order is the final and binding order of the Court and that corrections or refinements to a dictated draft before signing are permissible so long as they do not materially alter the judgment.

Mother's Custody Best for Child Under Five

Case Briefs High Courts

Child Below Five Belongs with Mother Unless Proven Unfit: Allahabad HC Grants 21-Month Old’s Custody to Mother

Allahabad High Court: In a habeas corpus writ petition filed by mother seeking custody of a 21-month-old minor child,

Case Briefs High Courts

Raid Within Days of AAP-BJP Switch Was Political Vendetta, Not Environmental Urgency: Punjab & Haryana HC Applies Wednesbury to Restrain PPCB

In the case at hand, the Punjab Pollution Control Board raided a company at the time when its Chairman Emeritus switched political allegiance from AAP to BJP.

Case Briefs Supreme Court

Supreme Court’s Landmark Benami Act Ruling Explained: Why the 2016 Amendment Is Retrospective, What ‘Fiduciary Capacity’ Means, and When Confiscation Follows

The Court directed the confiscation of the property where a claim, which was presented to be based on a will, but was in substance an attempt to obtain judicial recognition of a benami transaction.

right to potable water MP Jal Nigam water pipelines

Case Briefs High Courts

Colony Built, Pipes Not Laid: MP HC Ends SADA-Jal Nigam Buck Passing; Directs Jal Nigam to Ensure Residents’ Right to Potable Water

The Court stated that although it would have been appropriate for the State to proactively coordinate and ensure that its instrumentalities discharge their respective obligations, the failure to do so does not give any right to the Special Area Development Authority (SADA) and Jal Nigam to shed their responsibilities and deny the residents their basic entitlement.