10222 High Courts judgments explained in plain English: what was decided, the law applied and why it matters. Page 17 of 426.
The Orissa High Court found the arrests invalid for breaching the 24-hour production rule under Article 22(2) and therefore granted bail under Sec 483 BNSS, extending the constitutional safeguard to the two NDPS-charged accused.
Gujarat High Court quashed an FIR under Sections 306 and 107 IPC, ruling that mere harassment without a proximate act or specific intent cannot constitute abetment of suicide. This narrows the scope of criminal liability for alleged harassers and safeguards individuals from frivolous suicide-abetment prosecutions.
The Calcutta High Court held that a suit cannot proceed under Clause 12 of the 1865 Letters Patent unless the plaint establishes a territorial nexus with the court’s jurisdiction, and therefore ordered the leave to be withdrawn and the case remitted to a competent court. This clarifies that litigants must file such actions in courts that have a direct connection to the cause of action, affecting parties seeking relief against central authorities under the Letters Patent.
The Gujarat High Court ruled that a District Valuation Committee report is valid evidence for compensation when sale deeds are missing, and upheld the 60 % market-value deduction with a 10 % annual escalation. This sets a clear valuation method for land acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, affecting both landowners and acquiring authorities.
The Delhi High Court overturned two district-court possession orders, ruling that an unregistered agreement to sell cannot be invoked to obtain possession under Order XII Rule 6 CPC and does not attract the protection of Section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act. This limits claimants from using informal sale agreements to secure possession of property.
Delhi HC ordered a forensic audit of 17 banks to trace assets hidden to evade a foreign arbitral award, holding that any court-issued undertaking overrides statutory transfer freedoms. It sentenced contempt violators to six months’ imprisonment and attached their assets, signalling that attempts to dissipate award-related property will attract rigorous investigation and severe sanctions.
The Punjab & Haryana High Court ruled that when parties settle a Section 138 NI Act complaint, the related proclamation and FIR under Section 290 BNS must be dismissed, resulting in the FIR's quash. This prevents further criminal prosecution once the principal dispute is resolved, safeguarding litigants who reach settlement.
The Gauhati High Court permitted a medical termination at 27 weeks for a minor sexual assault survivor, holding that the child's best-interest supersedes the 24-week ceiling in the MTP Act. This sets a precedent that statutory gestational limits can be set aside when a minor's health and rights are at stake, affecting future POCSO and MTP cases involving minors.
Delhi High Court ruled that a college cannot offset alleged excess provident-fund credits against retirees’ gratuity, reinforcing statutory protection under the Payment of Gratuity Act. The decision bars any post-retirement PF recovery by adjusting gratuity, safeguarding former employees’ entitlement.
The Gauhati HC ordered regularisation of Assam Rifles-occupied land and payment of rent arrears and compensation. The ruling benefits the petitioners and landowners, stating that military land occupations must be regularised and compensated.
Jharkhand High Court affirmed that the claimant is entitled to a loss-of-dependency award calculated on a 17-year multiplier, relying on the deceased’s post-mortem income-tax returns. The ruling clarifies that tax returns can be admitted as proof of earnings for dependency calculations under the Motor Vehicles Act, raising the compensation ceiling for families of road-accident victims.
Patna High Court quashed a Section 138 complaint because the firm that issued the cheque was not listed as an accused, emphasizing that corporate vicarious liability cannot be imposed without prosecuting the entity itself. This clarifies that Section 482’s inherent powers can be invoked only when the corporate party is properly charged, affecting future cheque-dishonour prosecutions.
Patna HC held that the 20% and 30% extra pension increments apply only after a pensioner actually turns 80 or 85, not from the start of those years. Bihar must recalculate payouts and the benefit period is narrowed. All pensioners under the state’s old-age scheme are affected.
A Punjab-Haryana High Court judgment bars police from directing any further inquiry after a cancellation report unless a magistrate authorises it under Section 173(8) CrPC and Section 193(9) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. This limits police powers, ensuring judicial oversight of post-report investigations and protecting accused persons from unwarranted extensions of inquiry.
The Gauhati High Court ruled that a Deputy Commissioner cannot set aside a duly registered sale deed, as only a civil court has jurisdiction to annul registration under the Registration Act, 1908. Consequently, the registrar’s authority ends once registration is effected, protecting buyers and sellers from administrative cancellation. This decision safeguards the finality of property transactions in Assam.
A Punjab & Haryana High Court decision confirms that a pending civil suit over title does not prevent an emergency attachment under Section 164 BNSS when possession is contested. Authorities may appoint a superintendent and seize the land despite ongoing civil proceedings, giving clear guidance to litigants and enforcement officers in land-dispute cases.
Uttarakhand High Court ruled that halting an ongoing promotion exercise to revise service rules is arbitrary and breaches the right to be considered for promotion under existing rules. The court ordered the promotion to proceed based on the service rules in force on 31 December 2020, protecting senior Group-B officers from ad-hoc rule changes.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court held that a Section 27 statement is admissible only if it directly leads to the discovery of a new fact and is clearly linked to that fact. Applying this, the court excluded such statements in a murder-rape case, quashing death sentences and acquitting the accused, thereby tightening evidentiary standards.
The Calcutta High Court dismissed the FIR, ruling that the accused cannot be charged under Section 85 of the BNS Act because they are neither the husband nor a blood, marital or adoptive relative of the complainant’s husband. This narrows liability under the Act to immediate family members.
The Gauhati High Court ruled that a temporary constable who suffers a training-related injury is a member of the CRPF for purposes of rehabilitation and disability pension, overturning his termination. This clarifies that temporary service employees are entitled to pension benefits when permanently incapacitated.
Delhi High Court ruled that the FSSAI cannot seize Enerzal drinks labelled “electrolyte” without first issuing a Section 32 improvement notice, granting a stay on the May 26 notice and related seizures. This obliges regulators to follow the statutory pre-seizure procedure, safeguarding food manufacturers and ensuring due process for state food-safety authorities.
Tripura High Court ruled that an 18-month Diploma in Elementary Education completed through NIOS satisfies the eligibility criteria for the Tripura Teacher Eligibility Test 2024, ordering the issuance of the certificate and the petitioner’s consideration for appointment. The decision overrides the prospectus’s two-year diploma requirement, widening eligibility for ODL candidates in future TET recruitments.
Delhi HC stayed NHAI's debarment of a joint-venture independent engineer because the authority failed to issue the graded warnings required by the contract’s TOR, and a policy circular cannot override the agreement. The ruling obliges NHAI to follow the step-wise warning mechanism in any future debarment, safeguarding consultants from arbitrary exclusion.
Delhi High Court quashed the Sentence Review Board’s denial of premature release, ruling that Rule 1251 obliges a comprehensive appraisal of the inmate’s conduct, rehabilitation progress and socio-economic circumstances. The judgment expands the criteria for early release of life-convicts and directs prison officials to apply a holistic test.