'Shocked': Kerala High Court Criticizes Cochin Devaswom Board For Spending ₹28 Lakh Funds On Commissioner's Comforts

The Kerala High Court recently expressed shock over the unauthorised spending of around Rs. 28 lakhs of public money by the Cochin Devaswom Board for the comforts of its Devaswom Commissioner, who bought a new car and other luxuries in violation of government norms and guidelines. [2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 461].Criticising the Board, the Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and Justice...

Election Duties Of Staff Can't Excuse Delay In Filing Appeal: Telangana High Court Slams Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation

The Telangana High Court has dismissed two appeals by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) against an order setting aside its revocation of Layout Regularisation Scheme (LRS) permissions for two plots, after refusing to condone delays of 820 and 794 days in filing the appeals. [2026 LiveLaw (Tel) 136] The Court also found little prima facie merit in GHMC's allegation that the...

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...

Plea In Supreme Court Seeks CBI Probe Into Jharkhand Service Exam Irregularities

Social activist Harisharan Devgan has moved the Supreme Court, seeking an independent, time-bound investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) into the alleged malpractices in the Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Preliminary Examination. The petition, filed through Advocate Satyam Singh Rajput, has sought the transfer of investigation from the State to the CBI to ensure an...

Unmarried Woman Applying For Govt Job Cannot Be Expected To Remain Unmarried Till Completion Of Recruitment Process: HP High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has held that an unmarried woman who applies for a government post cannot be expected to remain unmarried until the recruitment process is completed. The Court made the observation while dealing with a petition challenging the rejection of a woman's candidature for the post of Van Mitra, after she married during the pendency of the selection process....

Calcutta High Court Directs SIR Tribunal To Expeditiously Decide Plea Of Saudi Resident Unable To Renew Passport Over Voter List Deletion

The Calcutta High Court has directed the SIR Appellate Tribunal to decide within two weeks, an appeal challenging the deletion of a petitioner's name from the electoral roll, after the deletion allegedly came in the way of renewal of his passport.The petitioner, who is employed as a driver in Saudi Arabia, approached the High Court stating that his passport is due to expire in 2026 and that...

Package/Comprehensive Insurance Policy Doesn't Cover Unlimited Passenger Liability Unless Terms So Provide: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that a package or comprehensive insurance policy by itself does not cover unlimited liability, including unlimited risk to passengers in a vehicle, unless the policy provides for the same. [2026 LiveLaw (MP) 334]Noting that the owner had not paid for a higher premium for covering unlimited risk, the bench of Justice Vinay Saraf observed:"the legal...

J&K&L High Court Upholds Conviction Of 84-Year-Old "Guru" For Rape Of Minor Girl

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has upheld the conviction of an 84-year-old godman/guru for committing rape upon a minor girl, holding that the prosecution had established the charge through credible ocular, documentary and expert evidence. The Court maintained the sentence awarded by the Trial Court and dismissed the appeal filed by the convict.The Court held that the...

Jharkhand High Court Stays State Government's Decision To Cancel Appointments Made Through 11th-13th JPSC Exams

The Jharkhand High Court in an interim on Thursday (August 20) stayed State Government orders cancelling recruitments made through 11th to 13th Jharkhand Public Service Commission Exams, PTI has reported.Notably, the State Government had recently cancelled the JPSC exams after several weeks of student protest over alleged irregularities in the conduct of such examinations. The high court...

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...

Uttarakhand High Court Directs Dehradun DM To Examine Citizenship Application Of Tibetan Migrant Within Six Weeks

The Uttarakhand High Court has directed the Dehradun District Magistrate to examine the citizenship application submitted by a person of Tibetan origin who migrated to India and “if everything is found to be in order”, then forward it to the Competent Authority in the Central Government within six weeks. The Court accordingly disposed of a writ petition seeking directions for processing...

Restricting Access To Social Media For Children A Policy Decision, Courts Can't Pass Directions: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking guidelines or enactment of a legislation to protect children under the age of 13 years by imposing restrictions on their access to social media platforms and to regulate the content for minors from the age of 13 years to 16 years. [2026 LiveLaw (Del) 769]A division bench comprising Justice V...