Burns Accidental As Per Dying Declaration: Punjab & Haryana High Court Acquits Man Of Dowry Death After 22 Years

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted a man who was convicted in a 1998 dowry death case, holding that the prosecution must first establish the foundational ingredients of Section 304-B IPC before the statutory presumption under Section 113-B of the Evidence Act can be invoked.Justice Mandeep Pannu observed that where the deceased herself had consistently stated, immediately...

Fix Responsibility On Heads Of Office For Delayed Retiral Benefits: High Court Directs Punjab, Haryana And Chandigarh

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to issue circulars fixing responsibility on erring Heads of Office wherever they fail to follow the procedure prescribed for timely processing of pension and gratuity papers.The Court was dealing with a case where a retired Junior Engineer was denied interest on retiral dues paid more than...

Public Service Commission Can't Introduce Minimum Interview Marks For Medical Faculty Posts After Selection Process Begins: P&H High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed the Haryana Public Service Commission's introduction of minimum qualifying marks for the interview stage in the recruitment of Assistant Professors for Government Medical Colleges, holding that a recruiting authority cannot alter eligibility criteria after the selection process has commenced, particularly once the list of shortlisted...

Centre Notifies Appointment Of Nine Lawyers As Judges Of Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Central Government on Thursday notified the appointment of nine advocates as Additional Judges of Punjab and Haryana High Court. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal took to X to notify the appointments. The post states,"In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, the President is pleased to appoint the following...

'Not Expected From Senior Advocate': P&H High Court Expresses Concern Over Lawyer's Remarks Against Judge

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has expressed concern over remarks made by a Senior Advocate during the hearing of anticipatory bail pleas, observing that such conduct was “never expected” from senior members or designated Senior Advocates of the Bar. Justice Sanjay Vashisth made the observation while hearing two connected petitions filed by ex-DSP Gursher Singh Sandhu, seeking...

'Abdication Of Duty': High Court Summons Haryana DGP To Explain Laxity Of Police Witnesses Absenting From Trial In NDPS Cases

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Director General of Police, Haryana to remain personally present before it and explain why police officials cited as prosecution witnesses in NDPS cases are repeatedly failing to appear before trial Courts despite warrants being issued against them.Justice Sumeet Goel said, "It has been repeatedly observed that official witnesses in...

Punjab Police Rules | Subsequent Acquittal Not Ground To Reopen Departmental Proceedings That Have Attained Finality: High Court

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has held that a subsequent acquittal in a criminal case cannot, by itself, reopen or invalidate departmental proceedings that had already attained finality, particularly where the departmental punishment was imposed before the acquittal. [2026 LiveLaw (PH) 284].Justice Namit Kumar held that "the departmental proceedings were not initiated pursuant to...

Can't Abuse Court Process By Repeating Withdrawn Allegations: Punjab & Haryana High Court Imposes ₹25K Costs On Lawyer

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has slammed a lawyer (also a Ph.D. scholar) for repeatedly making “uncalled for allegations” against senior faculty members despite having earlier categorically stated that such allegations were not being pressed. [2026 LiveLaw (PH) 287]A Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor imposed costs of...

Citing Jurists Ulpian & Blackstone, P&H High Court Grants Bail In ED Case; Says Section 45 PMLA Can Be Relaxed Where Trial Is Prolonged

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted regular bail in a money laundering case arising from the alleged diversion of funds collected from homebuyers, holding that prolonged pre-trial incarceration can itself justify bail under the PMLA where there is no realistic prospect of the trial concluding within a reasonable time. [2026 LiveLaw (PH) 285]Justice Sumeet Goel held that the...

High Court Releases Attached Salaries Of Haryana Officials After Compliance With Court Orders, Unconditional Apology

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has expressed strong displeasure over the Haryana Higher Education Department's failure to comply with an undertaking given before the Court to grant notional appointment benefits to a candidate who was ultimately appointed as Assistant Professor (Commerce) after successfully litigating his claim.Justice Harpreet Singh Brar observed that the...

LiveLaw Punjab & Haryana High Court Weekly Roundup: August 10 - August 16, 2026

Nominal Index [Citations 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 260 - 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 277]Union of India and others v. Smt. Shakuntla Devi and another 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 260 Gunjan Nehra and others v. State of Haryana and others 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 261Pardeep Kumar and others v. State of Punjab 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 262Karambir @ Karmu v. State of Haryana 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 263Rahul Sharma v. State of Haryana 2026...

Punjab Civil Service Rules | Disciplinary Authority Dissatisfied With Enquiry Report Can Order Further Enquiry, Not Fresh One: High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that where a disciplinary authority is dissatisfied with an enquiry report, Rule 9 of the Punjab Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1970 permits it to remit the matter for further enquiry, but "does not authorize the appointment of a new Inquiry Officer for conducting a fresh or de novo enquiry on the same charges." [2026 LiveLaw...