Here is a look at some of the significant developments from the Delhi High Court this week..Monday, March 21.FDC Ban: Relief to more pharmas.The repercussions of the notification banning Fixed Dose Combination drugs continued for the second week in a row with more pharma companies challenging the order. This was also the date fixed by Justice RS Endlaw last week to hear both parties in detail after the Health Ministry had filed its reply..With nearly one hundred companies, and their lawyers, battling it out in the tiny courtroom 12, chaos was a given. The result was Justice Endlaw giving a chamber hearing, before adjourning the matters to March 28..India’s Daughter- Bench reserves verdict.The Court has granted multiple adjournments in this matter, without issuing notice, stating that it wished to peruse the I&B Ministry’s advisory (banning the film) before passing any order in the petition..On Monday, however, the Bench led by Chief Justice G. Rohini was keen to know the reason for approaching the Court under writ jurisdiction for seeking a lifting of the ban imposed by a magistrate. After hearing the Petitioner’s submissions over the connected provisions of criminal law, the Bench proceeded to reserve its verdict in the case..Reliance’s coal troubles continue.Reliance Power had earlier moved the High Court against the decision of the Coal Ministry to raise mining cap for their Sasan Ultra Mega Power Projects to just 17.2 million tonne per annum when the plant required more than 20 million tonne per annum..During the brief hearing, Reliance told the Bench that the 17.2 MTPA limit was more than the company’s power consumption. The Bench then directed the company to file its objections to the Ministry’s decision before the next date of hearing..Tuesday, March 22.Breather for Micromax.Smartphone manufacturer received a much-needed reprieve from the High Court when the Bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Jayant Nath dismissed Ericcson’s applications that had sought prosecution of the Company and its Directors under Ss. 195 and 340 of CrPC. These sections pertain to production of false documents in ongoing legal proceedings..Kumar Vishwas approaches High Court once again.Last year AAP leader Kumar Vishwas had moved the Court against summons issued to him by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) due to harrassment allegations made by an AAP volunteer. His AAP colleague Somnath Bharti had appeared as his counsel..This time around, Vishwas was challenging a Patiala House Court’s order of lodging an FIR against him after molestation charges were made by an AAP volunteer..Justice Sunita Gupta issued notice to the Delhi Police & the volunteer before adjourning the case to July 21. Senior Advocate HS Phoolka appeared for Vishwas..Uber Vs Ola: The new twist in the tale.A new dimension arose in the rivalry between competitors Uber Cabs and Ola when the former filed a suit against the latter alleging that OLA had run deliberate interference in Uber’s business..The allegation pertained to creation of fake accounts by OLA that were used to make ‘false bookings and subsequent cancellations’ on Uber’s app. Uber’s legal team argued that this exercise was intended to keep Uber’s drivers busy and the company had to bear the cancellation charges..Justice Vipin Sanghi issued notice to OLA seeking its response over the issue and adjourned the case to be heard on September 14..DDCA and the T-20 quagmire.The Delh & District Cricket Association again locked horns with the South Delhi Municipal Corporation over lack of completion certificate for usage of RP Mehra block in the Feroze Shah Kotla stadium. The court however, refused to interfere and said that permissions could not be granted by the Court if DDCA did not have all the requisite clearances for hosting the semi-final of the World T-20 Cricket Tournament..The recent development in the story has been that the cricketing body has acquired permission to host the match after the SDMC issued the provisional certificate..March 23, Wednesday.Kanhaiya Kumar’s bail cancellation plea adjourned.Petitions seeking cancellation of interim bail to JNUSU leader Kanhaiya Kumar were heard this week before a Single Bench of Justice Suresh Kait. The petitions were moved on the ground that his speech subsequent to his release was anti-national and thus, violative of the bail conditions. After a hearing that went on for nearly an hour, the Bench adjourned the cases for further hearing on April 28..Vodafone submits to special audit by IT-Department.Vodafone had challenged an Income Tax Department notice that had asked the company about its financial records for financial year 2011-12 as it ought not to be subjected in a special audit..Earlier, the Bench directed Vodafone to file its reply to the notice within a period of three days and also said that no extension of time shall be granted to the company in this regard.Senior Advocate P Chidambaram, appearing for Vodafone, submitted that the company was ready to file a reply to the show cause notice and depending on the decision of the I-T Department, the company should be allowed to protect its rights accordingly..The Bench noted his submission and granted time till 4 pm of March 25 to Vodafone for filing its reply. The Bench has also kept open the questions of law raised in the writ petition..BT Cotton: Centre alleges ‘forum shopping’.Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (MMB), a joint venture company between India based Mahyco and US-based Monsanto had earlier challenged the decision of the Ministry of Agriculture to bring genetically modified (BT) cotton seeds under price control..This week, things turned murky with the Centre alleging that Monsanto had challenged the Ministry’s notification before the Karnataka High Court as well and had received an interim stay in their favor. ASG Tushar Mehta told the Court that the company had ‘conveniently suppressed’ facts regarding the Karnataka petition before the Delhi High Court..The Bench directed the Centre to file an application against Monsanto for suppressing facts. This application will be heard on April 7..FDC Ban: Madras HC deviates from Delhi HC.In a decision that is expected to aid the Centre’s defense against the ban on FDC drugs, the Madras High Court declined a stay over the Health Ministry’s notification..The Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice MM Sundresh, however has directed the Centre to file an affidavit in reply to the petition and has further restrained the government to not take any co-ercive steps against stockists & manufacturers..DJS Examinations in the eye of the storm.An examination that has been mired in controversy for the past year, the Delhi Judicial Services faced another bouncer this week in Court when a student who appeared in the DJS exam in 2015 moved the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of that year’s answer key on grounds of it being ‘ambiguous’..The student sought for quashing of the list of shortlisted students and also sought to be awarded the marks that were “demonstrably wrong” in the answer key..Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Najmi Waziri issued notice to the Registrar of Delhi High Court and directed a reply to be filed within ten days. The case will now be heard on April 19..‘Properly audited accounts, a must for political parties.In a judgment that will possibly go a long way in clearing up the electoral process in the country, Justices Dr. S Murlidhar and Vibhu Bakhru held that political parties must maintain “properly audited accounts” of income received through voluntary contributions..The Bench also held that unless this was done, the party would be prevented from claiming any exemption on paying income tax on these contributions..The verdict came in the background of an income tax appeal against the Indian National Congress and the Janata Party, when the High Court held that the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was correct in its decision to deny exemption to the Congress party under Section 13A of the Income Tax Act of 1961..IPR Cases [Saikrishna & Associates].1. Star India Pvt Ltd v Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.Counsel for TRAI sought time to file their reply. The case was accordingly adjourned to May 3..2. Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd & Anr v Vinod Kumar Jain & Ors..Plaintiff’s counsel submitted that the parties had decided to settle the case and an application on the settlement terms would be filed in Court. In order to enable the application to be filed, the Bench posted the case for September 9..3. Monsanto Holdings Pvt Ltd Vs M/S Real Agro Seeds & Anr..The counsel submitted that they had filed an application for seeking substitution of service as multiple attempts to serve Defendant No 2 in the suit had failed to yield any result. However, the Bench granted some more time to the counsel for the purpose of taking fresh steps to serve the defendant before adjourning the matter.
Here is a look at some of the significant developments from the Delhi High Court this week..Monday, March 21.FDC Ban: Relief to more pharmas.The repercussions of the notification banning Fixed Dose Combination drugs continued for the second week in a row with more pharma companies challenging the order. This was also the date fixed by Justice RS Endlaw last week to hear both parties in detail after the Health Ministry had filed its reply..With nearly one hundred companies, and their lawyers, battling it out in the tiny courtroom 12, chaos was a given. The result was Justice Endlaw giving a chamber hearing, before adjourning the matters to March 28..India’s Daughter- Bench reserves verdict.The Court has granted multiple adjournments in this matter, without issuing notice, stating that it wished to peruse the I&B Ministry’s advisory (banning the film) before passing any order in the petition..On Monday, however, the Bench led by Chief Justice G. Rohini was keen to know the reason for approaching the Court under writ jurisdiction for seeking a lifting of the ban imposed by a magistrate. After hearing the Petitioner’s submissions over the connected provisions of criminal law, the Bench proceeded to reserve its verdict in the case..Reliance’s coal troubles continue.Reliance Power had earlier moved the High Court against the decision of the Coal Ministry to raise mining cap for their Sasan Ultra Mega Power Projects to just 17.2 million tonne per annum when the plant required more than 20 million tonne per annum..During the brief hearing, Reliance told the Bench that the 17.2 MTPA limit was more than the company’s power consumption. The Bench then directed the company to file its objections to the Ministry’s decision before the next date of hearing..Tuesday, March 22.Breather for Micromax.Smartphone manufacturer received a much-needed reprieve from the High Court when the Bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Jayant Nath dismissed Ericcson’s applications that had sought prosecution of the Company and its Directors under Ss. 195 and 340 of CrPC. These sections pertain to production of false documents in ongoing legal proceedings..Kumar Vishwas approaches High Court once again.Last year AAP leader Kumar Vishwas had moved the Court against summons issued to him by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) due to harrassment allegations made by an AAP volunteer. His AAP colleague Somnath Bharti had appeared as his counsel..This time around, Vishwas was challenging a Patiala House Court’s order of lodging an FIR against him after molestation charges were made by an AAP volunteer..Justice Sunita Gupta issued notice to the Delhi Police & the volunteer before adjourning the case to July 21. Senior Advocate HS Phoolka appeared for Vishwas..Uber Vs Ola: The new twist in the tale.A new dimension arose in the rivalry between competitors Uber Cabs and Ola when the former filed a suit against the latter alleging that OLA had run deliberate interference in Uber’s business..The allegation pertained to creation of fake accounts by OLA that were used to make ‘false bookings and subsequent cancellations’ on Uber’s app. Uber’s legal team argued that this exercise was intended to keep Uber’s drivers busy and the company had to bear the cancellation charges..Justice Vipin Sanghi issued notice to OLA seeking its response over the issue and adjourned the case to be heard on September 14..DDCA and the T-20 quagmire.The Delh & District Cricket Association again locked horns with the South Delhi Municipal Corporation over lack of completion certificate for usage of RP Mehra block in the Feroze Shah Kotla stadium. The court however, refused to interfere and said that permissions could not be granted by the Court if DDCA did not have all the requisite clearances for hosting the semi-final of the World T-20 Cricket Tournament..The recent development in the story has been that the cricketing body has acquired permission to host the match after the SDMC issued the provisional certificate..March 23, Wednesday.Kanhaiya Kumar’s bail cancellation plea adjourned.Petitions seeking cancellation of interim bail to JNUSU leader Kanhaiya Kumar were heard this week before a Single Bench of Justice Suresh Kait. The petitions were moved on the ground that his speech subsequent to his release was anti-national and thus, violative of the bail conditions. After a hearing that went on for nearly an hour, the Bench adjourned the cases for further hearing on April 28..Vodafone submits to special audit by IT-Department.Vodafone had challenged an Income Tax Department notice that had asked the company about its financial records for financial year 2011-12 as it ought not to be subjected in a special audit..Earlier, the Bench directed Vodafone to file its reply to the notice within a period of three days and also said that no extension of time shall be granted to the company in this regard.Senior Advocate P Chidambaram, appearing for Vodafone, submitted that the company was ready to file a reply to the show cause notice and depending on the decision of the I-T Department, the company should be allowed to protect its rights accordingly..The Bench noted his submission and granted time till 4 pm of March 25 to Vodafone for filing its reply. The Bench has also kept open the questions of law raised in the writ petition..BT Cotton: Centre alleges ‘forum shopping’.Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (MMB), a joint venture company between India based Mahyco and US-based Monsanto had earlier challenged the decision of the Ministry of Agriculture to bring genetically modified (BT) cotton seeds under price control..This week, things turned murky with the Centre alleging that Monsanto had challenged the Ministry’s notification before the Karnataka High Court as well and had received an interim stay in their favor. ASG Tushar Mehta told the Court that the company had ‘conveniently suppressed’ facts regarding the Karnataka petition before the Delhi High Court..The Bench directed the Centre to file an application against Monsanto for suppressing facts. This application will be heard on April 7..FDC Ban: Madras HC deviates from Delhi HC.In a decision that is expected to aid the Centre’s defense against the ban on FDC drugs, the Madras High Court declined a stay over the Health Ministry’s notification..The Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice MM Sundresh, however has directed the Centre to file an affidavit in reply to the petition and has further restrained the government to not take any co-ercive steps against stockists & manufacturers..DJS Examinations in the eye of the storm.An examination that has been mired in controversy for the past year, the Delhi Judicial Services faced another bouncer this week in Court when a student who appeared in the DJS exam in 2015 moved the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of that year’s answer key on grounds of it being ‘ambiguous’..The student sought for quashing of the list of shortlisted students and also sought to be awarded the marks that were “demonstrably wrong” in the answer key..Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Najmi Waziri issued notice to the Registrar of Delhi High Court and directed a reply to be filed within ten days. The case will now be heard on April 19..‘Properly audited accounts, a must for political parties.In a judgment that will possibly go a long way in clearing up the electoral process in the country, Justices Dr. S Murlidhar and Vibhu Bakhru held that political parties must maintain “properly audited accounts” of income received through voluntary contributions..The Bench also held that unless this was done, the party would be prevented from claiming any exemption on paying income tax on these contributions..The verdict came in the background of an income tax appeal against the Indian National Congress and the Janata Party, when the High Court held that the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was correct in its decision to deny exemption to the Congress party under Section 13A of the Income Tax Act of 1961..IPR Cases [Saikrishna & Associates].1. Star India Pvt Ltd v Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.Counsel for TRAI sought time to file their reply. The case was accordingly adjourned to May 3..2. Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd & Anr v Vinod Kumar Jain & Ors..Plaintiff’s counsel submitted that the parties had decided to settle the case and an application on the settlement terms would be filed in Court. In order to enable the application to be filed, the Bench posted the case for September 9..3. Monsanto Holdings Pvt Ltd Vs M/S Real Agro Seeds & Anr..The counsel submitted that they had filed an application for seeking substitution of service as multiple attempts to serve Defendant No 2 in the suit had failed to yield any result. However, the Bench granted some more time to the counsel for the purpose of taking fresh steps to serve the defendant before adjourning the matter.
