'Publicity Interest Litigation': Allahabad High Court Dismisses PIL Over Alleged Forced Closure Of Non-Veg Shops During Kanwar Yatra

The Allahabad High Court on Friday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea alleging that shopkeepers dealing in non-vegetarian food were being compelled or harassed to close their shops during the Kanwar Yatra, observing that the petition appeared to be aimed at 'publicity' rather than public interest.A bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra found that...

Where Idol Was Never Installed, No Juristic Person Came Into Existence; Devotion Alone Gives No Locus To Sue For Deity: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that where a deed of gift stipulates only that an idol will be installed on the property in future and no idol is ever consecrated or installed, no juristic person comes into existence in whom the property can vest, and persons professing devotion to the deity have no locus standi to sue on its behalf.Justice Anil Kumar-X held,“However, the...

Income Tax Act | 18-Month Period To Decide Settlement Application Under S.245D(4A) Is Mandatory, Not Directory: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court at Lucknow has held that the period of 18 months prescribed under Section 245D(4A)(iii) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for disposal of a settlement application is mandatory and not directory in nature. It quashed an order of the Interim Board for Settlement passed after that period had expired.Section 245D(4A)(iii) of the Income Tax Act requires an order under...

State Can't Implement Central Scheme Selectively By Ignoring Pay Parity Clause: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that a State which adopts a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, takes financial assistance under it and recruits employees solely to implement it cannot enforce only those parts of the Scheme which are administratively convenient while ignoring those which confer corresponding benefits on the employees so recruited.Clause 12.3 of the Integrated Education for...

Cyber Fraud | Allahabad High Court Directs Banks To Follow MHA SOP For Frozen Accounts; Says Lien Can't Extend Beyond Disputed Amount

The Allahabad High Court has directed banks and financial institutions to follow the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for grievance redressal in cases where bank accounts are frozen or seized in connection with cyber fraud. The Court also reiterated that where an investigating agency has identified a specific disputed amount, a lien cannot...

Taunting Wife As 'Barren Woman' During Matrimonial Quarrel Not Cruelty U/S 498-A IPC: Allahabad High Court Grants Relief To Husband

The Allahabad High Court has observed that a husband's alleged reference to his wife as a "barren woman" (infertile), in the backdrop of a matrimonial quarrel over childlessness and exchange of abuses between the spouses, did not by itself constitute cruelty under Section 498-A IPC.A bench of Justice Indrajeet Shukla thus allowed a petition under Section 482 CrPC and quashed criminal...

Retired Armed Forces Personnel Applying For Re-employment After Completing Qualifying Service Entitled To Ex-Serviceman Status : Delhi HC

A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court comprising Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Vinod Kumar held that a retired Armed Forces personnel who applies for re-employment after completing the prescribed qualifying service is entitled to ex-serviceman status, and eligibility cannot be denied by supplementing fresh reasons later. Background Facts The respondent was a medical...

Teacher-Student Ratio Norms Under RTE Act Can't Be Invoked To Challenge Teachers' Transfer Policy: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that teachers have no inherent right of transfer under any statute, and that such rights as they have in the matter arise only from the transfer policy itself.It held that a district-wise Pupil-Teacher-Ratio (PTR) list prepared by the State only to work its policy for inter-district transfer of basic school teachers has nothing to do with the mandate of The...

Commercial Auction | Buyer Must Inspect Site Before Bidding; Can't Later Object Over Location Or Construction Impediments: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that an investor must be conscious of entire transaction when a commercial plot is bought on “as is where is” basis. It held that physical verification of the site is reasonably expected of a prudent person when plot is being bought through auction.The bench of Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Kunal Ravi Singh held,“When the commercial plots...

Conflicting Time Limits In E-Auction Catalogue Must Be Harmonised To Uphold Transaction, Not Void It: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that where two conditions of an e-auction catalogue prescribe conflicting time limits for payment by the highest bidder, they must be interpreted harmoniously in a manner which upholds the transaction rather than voids it. The dispute turned on two conditions of the catalogue issued by the Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA)...

Burden On State To Prove Land Is Irrigated Before Declaring It Surplus Under Ceiling Act: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that a finding that a tenure-holder's land is irrigated for the purposes of Section 4-A of the U.P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960 must rest upon the Khasra entries of Fasli years 1378, 1379 and 1380, and where the State fails to produce those records, a declaration of surplus land founded on such a finding is a finding based on...

Prosecution's Failure To Produce Witnesses 'Indirectly' Helping Accused: Allahabad High Court Grants Bail In PFI 'Terror Plot' Case

The Allahabad High Court on Monday granted bail to two accused booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) in a case alleging a conspiracy to attack Hindu religious organisations and sensitive places in Uttar Pradesh, observing that the trial had made "very poor" progress despite repeated directions for its expeditious conclusion. A bench of Justice Rajesh Singh...