HIGH COURT MARCH 2025 WEEKLY ROUNDUP | Adoption by step-parent; Bank account freezing; Age relaxation in judicial exams; and more
A quick legal roundup to cover important stories from all High Courts this week.
Delhi High Court
Amit Malviya defamation case | No early hearing of RSS Member’s plea for quashing proceedings; Malviya undertakes to seek adjournment of Trial: Delhi HC
Amit Malviya had filed a criminal defamation complaint before the Patiala House Court against Santanu Sinha, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (‘RSS’) member, regarding Facebook posts made by him.
Letters Patent Appeal will not lie against judgment passed by Single Judge in appellate jurisdiction or against order by Court subject to superintendence of this Court: Delhi HC
The jurisdiction available to this Court under Article 227 of the Constitution is primarily in the nature of superintendence and accordingly the Letters Patent Appeal will not lie in the instant matter.
Juvenile tried as an adult cannot face joint trial with adult accused under JJ Act: Delhi High Court
The statutory mandate under Section 23 of the JJ Act must be strictly adhered to, ensuring that children in conflict with law are not subjected to joint proceedings with adults, regardless of whether they are being tried under the procedure applicable to adults.
Delhi High Court upholds acquittal in Seemapuri robbery and kidnapping case citing lack of evidence
In criminal jurisprudence, the standard of proof required to sustain a conviction is proof beyond a reasonable doubt, which is significantly higher than the preponderance of probabilities applicable in civil cases.
‘Does not affect investigative prerogatives’; Delhi HC upholds order to preserve Call Detail Records, location data of CBI officials and independent witnesses
Since the Call Detail Records and location data have only been ordered to be preserved and not disclosed, there is no basis for the petitioner’s apprehension that this would provide an undue advantage to the defence. The direction simply ensures that potentially relevant evidence is not lost due to automatic deletion.
Grounds of arrest must be served in writing simultaneously with arrest memo; Delhi High Court grants bail in abetment to suicide case
On perusal of the arrest memo shows that though there is column providing for ‘reasons of arrest’ against which it is stated “for the purpose of fair investigation” but neither there is column for ‘grounds of arrest’ in the arrest memo nor it is the case of the prosecution that the ‘grounds of arrest’ were separately served upon the present petitioner at the time of his arrest.”
Delhi HC temporarily restrains Azure Hospitality from playing Phonographic Performance’s copyrighted songs without license in its restaurants/bars
The act of the defendants of playing the sound recordings in their restaurants/bars, for which the plaintiff holds the copyright would, on a prima facie view, amount to infringement of the plaintiff’s copyright in terms of Section 51 of the Copyright Act, 1957.
Delhi HC directs to conclude trial of acid attack accused in a month; Issues directions for compliance of higher courts’ order to conclude trials in time bound manner
It is unfortunate that despite directions from Supreme Court and this Court, the trial has not yet concluded. This was unacceptable, considering that such directions were passed while disposing of the bail application, and the accused is in judicial custody for over 10 years. Such prolonged delay in compliance with judicial directions defeats the very purpose of directing expeditious trial.
‘Real women empowerment begins with right to live and move freely without fear’; Delhi HC upholds conviction of a man accused of harassment in public space
Public transport, which is meant to ensure mobility and independence, instead became a site of fear and vulnerability for the victim, and any undue leniency to an accused caught at the spot, may embolden any future for perpetrators.
‘Deliberate attempt to misled and confuse consumers’; Delhi HC awards costs and damages of Rs. 20 lakhs to Castrol Ltd in trade mark dispute
Upon careful comparison of the plaintiff’s trade dress and that of the defendants, it became apparent that the overall colour scheme, get-up and layout of the defendants’ impugned packaging is nearly identical to that of the plaintiff’s trade dress.
Delhi High Court grants ad-interim injunction against unauthorised use of Baazi Games’ trade mark ‘BAAZI’
The Court held that Moonshine had demonstrated a prima facie case for a grant of injunction, the refusal of which would cause an irreparable loss to it.
‘Expedition of trial cannot be at cost of fairness’; Delhi HC permits cross examination of Head Constable in Delhi riots case
While this court does not fault the Trial Court for attempting to proceed with the trial expeditiously, but, denying to the petitioner (‘accused’) the right to cross-examine the Head Constable on an issue which is critical to his defence appears to have been a disproportionate sense of expedition.
Delhi High Court temporarily restrains use of ‘Masaba’ mark; grants interim protection to House of Masaba in a trade mark case
The plaintiff averred that given the widespread sale, promotional and advertising activities undertaken by the plaintiff, the registered trade marks has become the single source identifier of the plaintiff and its goods and services.
Law should evolve to acknowledge and respect adolescent relationships, if they are consensual and free from coercion: Delhi HC upholds acquittal of POCSO accused
While the legal age of consent is important for protecting minors, the adolescents should be allowed to express their feelings and engage in relationships without fear of criminalization. The focus of the law should be on preventing exploitation and abuse rather than punishing love.
Duty of educated litigant does not end merely by signing counsel’s fee cheque; expected to keep track of litigation: Delhi HC dismisses application seeking condonation of delay
The appellants cannot seek condonation of such colossal delay under the pretext of professional misconduct of their previous counsel. It is not only the colossal length of delay; it is the unacceptable explanation of the delay, which must be discarded.
Delhi HC appoints Justice Arvind Sangwan as sole arbitrator in a petition filed by Dixon Technologies
The arbitration would take place under the aegis of the Delhi International Arbitration Centre and would abide by its rules and regulations.
‘Abysmal that S.498-A IPC is used as tool to harass husband and his family members’; Delhi HC quashes FIR against husband and his family
Such matters are now filed in the heat of the moment on advice of counsel by exaggerating and misconstruing actual events. However, this does not mean that genuine cases of harassment didn’t exist, and it is not blind to the ground reality of the deeply rooted social evil of greed for dowry.
Impleading Parties in Arbitration: Unresolved Dilemmas
by Simarpreet Kaur Matharoo*
‘Forcing to file written statement during mediation will hamper entire mediation process’: Delhi HC excludes time spent in mediation for calculating limitation to file written statement
Forcing the parties to file a written statement or to complete the pleadings during the process of mediation will prevent the parties in freely communicating with each other, which they have not been able to do since the dispute started.