HIGH COURT AUGUST 2023 WEEKLY ROUNDUP| Stories on Sex reassignment surgery; Banke Bihari Ji Temple; Misuse of Section 498A IPC; Gold Import and more
A quick legal roundup to cover important stories from all High Courts this week.
Delhi High Court
Contractual female employees cannot be denied maternity benefits solely due to nature of employment; Delhi HC directs DSLSA to grant maternity benefit to its advocate
“ It is ironic that the petitioner being appointed with the Juvenile Justice Board, is hired to protect the interest and welfare of the children who may be suffering at the hands of criminal justice system, however, is not able to secure the benefits that are necessary for the best interest and welfare of her own child.”
Liberty Footwear v. Liberty Shoes : Delhi High Court dismisses the petition for the want of jurisdiction
“District Court, Karnal where the first petition was filed pertaining to the Agreement in question alone shall have jurisdiction over the arbitral proceedings and all subsequent applications arising out of the Licence Agreement. No other Court can entertain any subsequent application.
‘Serious constitutional, administrative issues’; Delhi HC requests Attorney General for India’s assistance in a petition challenging appointment of Junior Judicial Assistants
“This Court opines that the present writ petition raises serious constitutional and administrative issues and requests the Attorney General for India to assist this Court as amicus curiae on the next date of hearing.”
‘DATAPAQ’ as a whole is a registered trade mark, no exclusivity is vested in ‘DATA’ or ‘PAQ’ separately: Delhi High Court
“The appellant's mark ‘DATAPAQ' has been registered in a large number of countries and the appellant has a number of marks ending with ‘PAQ '. Thus, the mark is consistent with the series of marks being used by the appellant.”
Principal Amount should be static; Arbitral Tribunal cannot add pre-reference interest to the principal amount: Delhi High Court
“The interest awarded for that period could not have been subjected to a further levy of interest running through the period during which proceedings remained pending before the tribunal.”
Delhi High Court issues guidelines for mediators to be followed while recording mediation settlements in heinous crimes
Settlement of non-compoundable offences through mediated settlement agreements is not permissible. Even otherwise, to permit the accused and complainant to compromise an offence on payment of money, in session triable serious criminal cases which attracts punishment up to life, cannot be subject matter of mediated settlement agreements.
Delhi High Court modifies patent injunction to the extent honeycomb panels are for supply to the Ministry of Defence
“The defendant is selling honeycomb panels to the Ministry of Defence since 2012 and containers of the defendant cannot be sold without the panel, considering the purpose for which containers are stated to be needed, that too by the Ministry of Defence.”
‘Certified copy’ of the original arbitration agreement suffice if duly stamped, declaration made and uncontroverted for the purpose of S. 11 Arbitration Act
The case relates as to how the statutory mandate under Section 11(13) of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 which aims at expeditious disposal of petitions under Section 11 of the Act, is harmonized with the obligation imposed vide the judgment N.N. Global Mercantile (P) Ltd. v. Indo Unique Flame Ltd, (2023) 7 SCC 1, to act in tune with the statutory dictate of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899.
Delhi High Court| Importation of gold is a ‘prohibited item’ under Customs Act; Redemption/release subject to discretion of Adjudicating Officer
Importation of gold is a prohibited item within the meaning of Section 2(33) of Customs Act, and that redemption in case of importation of gold that is brought into India illegally in the form of ‘smuggling' does not entitle the owner or importer for automatic release/redemption of such item.
Delhi HC directs ‘Organiser’ and ‘The Commune’ to remove offending article alleging sexual exploitation of nuns, Hindu women by a principal
“The fundamental right to freedom of speech has to be counterbalanced with the right of reputation of an individual. Good reputation is an element of personal security and is protected by the Constitution equally with the right to enjoyment of life, liberty and property and is a necessary element in regard to Right to Life.”
No bar in law for a secured creditor to directly proceed u/s 14 of SARFAESI Act after withdrawing measures taken u/s 13(4): Delhi High Court
“The scope of writ jurisdiction cannot be allowed to trounce the statutory obligation, on the stratagem of efficacious alternate remedy.”
No illegal dumping of electrical, plastic and medical garbage in Delhi; Delhi High Court takes suo motu cognizance
Delhi High Court directed the MCD to ensure strict compliance with the statutory provisions under the Environmental laws and conclude action initiated by them against the violating units, units that are functional in non-industrial areas and are violating the norms laid down by Delhi Pollution Control Committee within a period of 4 months.
‘Google Pay is a mere third-party app provider, no authorization required from RBI’; Delhi HC dismisses PIL to cease Google Pay’s operations
“A third-party app such as Google Pay obtains approval from National Payments Corporation of India (‘NPCI’) for operating on the UPI platform and RBI has issued the Certificate of Authorisation to the NPCI to operate various retail payment systems in India including UPI.”
Delhi High Court| Rainwater harvesting should be seamlessly integrated into the city’s climate resilience planning
The challenge lies in harnessing the potential of rainwater harvesting systems and aligning sewer, drainage, and water storage systems to maximize the efficiency of rainwater utilization, regardless of the nature of the precipitation—be it excessive or intermittent.
Delhi High Court sets aside show cause notice not falling within the ambit of Section 28 (9A)(c) of Customs Act
Section 28 provides a window of five years from the relevant date within which proceedings under the said provision may be initiated. The proceedings so initiated are liable to be ended in accordance with the statutory timelines which stand out in sub-section (9).
[Stray Dog Birth Control] Sterilization and immunization of stray dogs is an important public function: Delhi High Court
The main grievance of the petitioner is non-compliance with rules made under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, 1960 i.e. The Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rules, 2001 that states taking up regular sterilization and immunization programmes of stray dogs, in order to curtail the growing population of stray dogs.
Delhi CM House Renovation case: PWD engineers moves Delhi High Court against show cause notice issued by Vigilance Department; Court issues notice
As per reports, the case relates to alleged wasteful expenditure of almost Rs 53 crore on the renovation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s official residence.1
Interest on delayed refunds to be calculated from the date of receipt of application under Section 11-B of the Central Excise Act, 1944: Delhi High Court
“A levy of interest on refund must undoubtedly follow where it was found that the amount has been unjustifiably retained or remitted with undue delay and thus, the respondents cannot be permitted to retain moneys which are otherwise not due or are otherwise liable to be returned.”
Attempt to commit suicide and false allegations of illicit relationship, amount to mental cruelty: Delhi High Court reiterates
“False allegations of illicit relationship are the ultimate kind of cruelty as it reflects a complete breakdown of trust and faith amongst the spouses without which no matrimonial relationship can survive.”