Category: news

The Delhi High Court (DHC), in an appeal filed by the wife against the Trial Court’s order for annulment of marriage on ground of cruelty, has held that divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA) is only based on the ‘Fault Theory’ and that, at times, marriages do not work because of incompatibility and temperamental differences, for which neither party can be blamed. However, since “Irretrievable Breakdown of Marriage” has till now not been recognised as a ground for divorce, the Courts are bound by the limits of HMA and “unless the fault of the other spouse is shown, the parties are left to suffer acrimonious relationship with no way to exit”.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has granted approval to merger of Tata SIA Airlines Ltd., jointly owned by Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. (TSPL) & Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA), and Air India Ltd. Post merger, TSPL will hold 51% of the merged entity along with control over Air India Ltd. & its subsidiaries; whereas, SIA will only hold a minority stake of 25.1% in the merged entity. The CCI has given its approval to the transaction, subject to compliance with voluntary commitments offered by the parties which will be enlisted in the CCI’s detailed order in coming future.

The Supreme Court (SC) while dealing with an appeal filed against the order of the Orissa High Court (OHC) in which the OHC had declared Rule 4(b) of the Ministry of Information Technology (Insitu promotion under Flexible Complementing Scheme) Rules, 1998 as ultra vires, has held that in absence of any prayer or grounds made in the pleadings by the petitioner/appellant to declare any provision as ultra vires, there is no requirement for the Constitutional Court(s) to adjudicate upon the same.

The Supreme Court (SC), dealing with the question if illegitimate children are entitled to a share in the coparcenary property under Section 16(3) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA), has held that “a child who is legitimate under Section 16(1) and 16(2) of the HMA would, for the purposes of Section 3(1)(j) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, fall within the ambit of the explanation ‘related by legitimate kinship’ and cannot be regarded as an ‘illegitimate child’”. The SC, further, noted that while conferring legitimacy to a child born out of void/voidable marriages the legislature has stipulated in Section 16(3) of HMA that such a child will have rights to or in the property of the parents and not in the property of any other person.

The Bombay High Court (BHC), dealing with the question of applicability of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (Act), has held that the protection under the said Act can’t be limited to States where the community is officially recognised as SC/ST rather it applies nationwide. Even if a community is not recognised as SC/ST in a particular State they will still be entitled to protection against the atrocities under the Act. The BHC observed that interpretation of the term ‘in relation to that State’ used in Article 341 and 342 of the Constitution is for the purpose of affirmative action, and cannot be applied when it comes to preventing the atrocities against the SC/ST.

The Supreme Court (SC), in an appeal filed against the order of Allahabad High Court directing the Magistrate not to proceed on the basis of protest petition, held that, where the police report is accepted and the accused person(s) are discharged, the Magistrate has the power to take cognizance of the offence on a protest petition on the same or similar allegations even after the acceptance of the final report.

The Karnataka High Court (Kar HC), in a petition to set aside the orders passed by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palika and Ministry of Defence not allowing the Petitioners to proceed with construction of a residential building, has held that fundamental right to carry on one’s occupation under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution cannot be restricted by an executive action. The Kar HC further, noted that the right of the owner of a property to obtain sanction for a building plan – “concomitant right of property” – cannot be abridged by an executive fiat like the guidelines relied upon by the Ministry of Defence while refusing to grant No-Objection Certificate to the Petitioner.

The Calcutta High Court (Cal. HC) has issued guidelines to restrict unnecessary arrest of accused by Police Officers (P.O.) and casual & mechanical detention authorisations by the Magistrates. The Cal. HC held that when a case under Section 498-A IPC is registered P.O. shall not arrest the persons automatically but must satisfy itself about the necessity for arrest given under the parameters laid down in Section 41 Cr.P.C., especially under Section 41(1)(b)(ii) of the Cr.P.C. Further, the Magistrate shall peruse the report furnished by the P.O. and only after recording its satisfaction, he shall authorize detention. Failure to comply with these guidelines will make the P.O. and Magistrate liable for departmental action but also for the contempt of Court.

The Karnataka High Court (Karnataka HC), dismissing a writ for release of funds received from a foreign charity, has held that obtaining a permanent registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 does not create a right in favour of the registration holder to get the amounts credited to the designated bank account and it is always subject to the clearance by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The Karnataka HC noted that the MHA had earlier instructed the bank not to credit the amount received from the particular donor without a clearance from it and therefore, the Petitioner is not entitled to funds.

The Supreme Court (SC), overruling a judgment of Mad. HC, has held that ‘Self-respect Marriages’ do not require public solemnization or declaration and that marriage certificate issued by an Advocate thereof is valid. ‘Self-respect Marriage’/ Suyamariyathai/Seerthiruththa is a system of marriage based on Section 7A, inserted by Tamil Nadu State Amendment, in the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, according to which a Suyamariyathai marriage can be solemnized, without following rituals or without solemnization by a priest, by declaring marriage in the presence of relatives, friends or other persons