The Yearly Reports: Madras High Court in 2018

The year 2018 brought in interesting cases to the Madras High Court. The start of the new year was marked by a debate over whether lawyers should be required to furnish photo identity proof while filing cases. As the year progressed, various other controversies – including ones that made their way to the Supreme Court – were heard before the Madras High Court..The Aadhaar scheme in particular prompted a fair amount of litigation, before the Supreme Court took a final call on the matter. While some pleas were made to restrict its imposition, others were made to extend its application..The year also saw the makers of several movies being dragged to court, including those of Rajinikanth-starrer Kaala and Vijay-starrer Sarkar. The Court took the opportunity to reiterate that free speech rights cannot be restricted lightly while dismissing pleas objecting to critical movie scenes..The presence of Tamil Nadu politics was also pronounced in the Madras High Court, particularly with the verdict in the long-pending AIADMK MLA disqualification case. Following a split verdict rendered months after the Court took up the case, a tie breaker judge finally upheld the disqualification in October..Another side of Tamil Nadu politics also made its way into the High Court, through a barrage of petitions against the erection of illegal banners and hoardings. Another year of frequent violations led a Division Bench to finally put its foot down and prohibit political parties from erecting any obstructive hoardings or banners until further orders..Bar politics also made its presence felt in the run up the Tamil Nadu Bar Council elections in 2018. The High Court stepped in from time to time to ensure its free and fair conduct..Another significant issue that will mark the year 2018 for the Madras High Court is the police firing which killed thirteen civilians during a protest against the proposed expansion of Vedanta’s Sterlite copper plant in Thoothukudi..Also likely to make an appearance next year is the case concerning the online sale of medicines. As the year drew to a close, the Madras High Court ordered a ban on such sale until draft rules regulating such sale are notified by the Government. However, a Division Bench has kept the ban in abeyance until it renders its verdict on pleas made by affected companies challenging the ban..This is only a fraction of the interesting cases take up by the High Court over the year. Below is a curated timeline of the important cases dealt with by the Madras High Court in 2018..January .January 3: A Division Bench of the Madras High Court postpones the operation of directives mandating that advocates furnish copies of Bar Council ID/photo identity proof at the time of filing vakalat..The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court directs the Court Registry to collect litigant’s Aadhaar card copy along with other documents at the time of filing PILs, for verification purposes..January 4: Government notifies appointment of 103 law officers to Madras High Court. 72 advocates are appointed to the Principal Bench, whereas 31 advocates are appointed to the Madurai Bench..January 10: A single judge of the Madras High Court uses the term ‘scavenger’ interchangeably to describe a litigant who was working as a domestic servant, prompting some debate..January 11: High Court urges the Government to explore the possibility of providing facilities to allow conjugal visits in prisons..January 17: High Court records apology to freedom fighter who was made to wait 37 years to get his pension owing to bureaucratic delays..January 29: The First Bench of the Madras High Court directs the Tamil Nadu Government to notify rules under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 within two months..January 31: The Madras High Court reiterates that in Railway accident cases, the burden lies upon the Railway administration to prove that the deceased victim was a ticketless passenger, if it makes an accusation to this effect..February.February 5: Madras High Court upholds resolution passed by Special Committee of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (BCTN), proposing to introduce qualification criteria for candidates standing for State Bar Council elections..February 6: Madras High Court reiterates that an adopted child has the same rights of succession as a biological child under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, provided that the fact of adoption has been proved..February 16: Tales of rampant bribery and corruption tainting the State Bar Council elections prompts a Division Bench to issue detailed directions to ensure its free and fair conduct. The order was, however, subsequently stayed by the Supreme Court, which opined that the order passed by the High Court was moralistic. .February 23: Madras High Court emphasises that it is for a judge to decide whether or not he should recuse from a case. The Court observed that no one can compel a judge to recuse from hearing the case..February 27: A Division Bench refers the question of whether Tamil can be made compulsory for students from Linguistic Minorities in state schools to a three-judge Bench..March.March 2: A Division Bench of the Madras High Court pronounces a split verdict in the challenge made to the tariff order and interconnection regulations introduced by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in 2017. The matter is referred to a tie-breaker judge,.March 8: Then Chief Justice of the Madras High Court Indira Banerjee issues a notification stating that upon a change of roster, part-heard matters shall be released and placed before the appropriate Bench as per the roster..March 12: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court issues notice in a petition seeking the recall of the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Kiran Bedi..March 15: Madras High Court warns against the knee-jerk tendency of the police to implicate parents or relatives of the boy “without a second thought” in cases involving the elopement of underage couples..March 22: Madras High Court upholds the Central government’s nomination of BJP-affiliated MLAs V Saminathan, KG Shankar and S Selvaganabathy to the Puducherry Legislative Assembly. Before parting with the case, the Court also proposes certain guidelines to be followed for the nomination of MLAs..March 27: With a view to ensuring that lawyers are able to exercise their vote freely, Bar-wise votes cast in the Tamil Nadu Bar Council elections were directed by the Madras High Court to be mixed before they are counted..April.April 11: Madras High Court finds convent eligible as legal heir to receive compensation for death of a nun..April 12: High Court observes that permitting students to write arrears examinations is only a concession given by the university on humanitarian grounds, and the same cannot be claimed as a matter of right..April19: High Court reiterates that compensation payable for the death of employees must be based on the wages payable under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, unless the employee’s actual wages exceed the minimum wage..April 24: High Court’s intervention proves crucial in a mother’s quest to be recognised as the sole parent of her child, born out of the intrauterine insemination (IUI) fertility procedure.April 28: High Court directs the state government to frame definite guidelines for the selection of law officers appearing in the High Court, in a PIL filed by advocate V Vasanthkumar, who had challenged the Law Officers of High Court of Madras and its Bench at Madurai (Appointment) Rules, 2017 as being arbitrary, discriminatory..High Court holds that there is no blanket waiver of the Highway Liquor ban in municipal areas..May .May 7: High Court cautions against filing of Habeas Corpus petitions in missing persons cases, particularly when there is nothing to show that the person in question has not been illegally detained..May 10: While dismissing an anticipatory bail application moved by BJP S Ve Shekher filed against charges anticipated for forwarding a controversial Facebook post criticising women journalists, the High Court observed that forwarding a message on social media is equal to accepting and endorsing the message..May 16: High Court emphasises that bail is the rule and jail is the exception, and that persons accused of having committed a crime are presumed to be innocent unless proved guilty..May 23: Tie breaker judge, Justice MM Sundresh upholds the validity of the Tariff Order and Interconnection Regulations introduced by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) introduced in 2017..Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court stays construction of the Vedanta copper plant in Thoothukudi in a a writ petition challenging Environmental Clearance granted to Vedanta for the unit.May 24: PIL is filed at the High Court calling for action against those complicit in the police firing on unarmed civilians protesting the proposed expansion of Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper plant in the area..May 25: Madras High Court issues notice in PIL praying for a CBI probe into the May 22 police shooting on unarmed civilians protesting the expansion of the Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper Plant at Thoothukudi..May 29: Madras High Court orders prohibition on homework for students in classes I and II, across CBSE as well as other state schools across the country..May 30: In a batch of petitions brought to the Madras High Court in the wake of the police firing which took thirteen civilian lives at Thoothukudi during protests against the expansion of Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper Plant, a Division Bench of Justices S Bhaskar and RMT Teekaa Raman had directs, inter alia, that the post-mortem be conducted by a special three-member team of doctors, in the presence of a designated judicial magistrate..June.June 1: Seven new judges join the Bench of the Madras High Court. Justices PT Asha, M Nirmal Kumar, Subramonium Prasad, N Anand Venkatesh GK Ilanthiraiyan, Krishnan Ramaswamy and C Saravanan are appointed as judges..June 4: The seven new additional judges of the Madras High Court are sworn into office. With the addition of Justice PT Asha to its ranks, the Madras High Court retains its position as the High Court with the highest number of woman judges in the country..High Court disposes of petition filed against state delays in compensating victims of manual scavenging. In its order, the Court directs the state to pay an interest of of 8% per annum, from October 2014 till the actual payment of compensation, to identified manual scavengers..June 5: High Court continues hearing petitions filed in the aftermath of the police violence which resulted in the death of thirteen civilians during protests against the proposed expansion of Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper Plant at Thoothukudi. The Madras High Court orders expeditious post-mortem of the deceased so that their bodies can be handed over to their kin at the earliest..High Court holds that its powers of judicial review do not extend to the nebulous area of religious institutional function, particularly when there is no public interest involved..High Court dismisses an appeal filed by India Cements challenging the summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999..“A cartoon face with joy, but tears in the eyes”, more commonly known as the LOL emoji, draws the attention of the Madras High Court, when it is called upon to decide a criminal complaint filed against 46 employees of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). The High Court quashes the criminal complaint filed against the employees for ‘LOL’ing at their colleague in a WhatsApp group after noting that every person has got indefeasible right to express what he feels..June 6: High Court takes critical note of the the alarming rise of corruption cases in public employment, while dismissing a petition praying for reduction in the punishment imposed on a police officer who was found guilty under the Prevention of Corruption Act (POCA), 1988..June 7: High Court dismisses petition filed day “at the eleventh hour” against the release of Pa. Ranjith’s film Kaala, starring Rajinikanth..June 10: The provisions allowing appointment of civil servants as judicial members of adjudicatory authorities under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 (Act) are challenged in Madras High Court. Court issues notice..High Court holds midnight hearing in a petition filed by Karti Chidambaram, son for former Union Minister P Chidambaram, challenging an arrest warrant issued by the Income Tax Department in case initiated under the Black Money Act..June 11: High Court dismisses petition challenging the appointment of Subramonium Prasad as a judge of the Court, finding that there was no violation of the eligibility criteria under Article 217 of the Constitution to call for the Court’s intervention..June 12: A case involving eviction for non-payment of rent arrears and video footage of advocates using force to disturb possession of the rented premises, leads the Madras High Court to come down heavily on “so-called” Advocates who opt to act like “paid goondas”. .June 14: First Bench of the Madras High Court delivers a split verdict in the case concerning the disqualification of 18 AIADMK MLAs in September 2017..June 18: Former judge of the Madras High Court, Justice V Dhanapalan passes away at the age of 65 years..High Court issues notice in a PIL praying for the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the police atrocities that led to 13 deaths in last month’s protest against Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper Plant in Thoothukudi..High Court expresses its disinclination to reignite the moral debate concerning whether or not former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa should be given a Memorial. However, the Court agrees to hear the case on whether the memorial construction involved at Coastal Zone Regulation violations..June 20: High Court creates an Environmental Fund so that voluntary contributions by litigants and court costs may be used for measures to protect the environment..June 21: High Court clarifies that Sessions Courts created by Executive notifications are not the same as Special Courts created by special laws. In view of the same, they cannot abridge or supersede the jurisdictional powers conferred by the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Court holds..June 22: High Court directs that Aadhaar card and a photocopy of the same should be produced by prospective medical students at the time of counselling..June 25: High Court takes serious note of arrests being made by the police from court rooms, at the cost of disrupting court proceedings.June 27: Justice M Sathyanarayanan appointed tie-breaker judge to decide the verdict in the 18 AIADMK MLA disqualification case. Although Justice S Vimala had initially been tasked to break the tie in the case, following a split verdict in the case by the First Bench, the petitioners in the case alleged likelihood of bias from the judge and sought a transfer of the case in the Supreme Court..Bench of Indira Banerjee and PT Asha reserves orders in a batch of petitions filed by the Chidambaram family protesting the prosecution launched against them by the Income Tax (IT) Department under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 (Black Money Act)..June 29: Tamil Nadu Advocate General issues show cause notice to disqualified AIADMK MLA Thanga Tamilselvan in a contempt petition moved against him for his scurrilous attack on judges of the Madras High Court..June 30: Sathyasri Sharmila makes history by becoming the first transgender lawyer to enrol with the Tamil Nadu Bar Council..July.July 10: Madras High Court confirms the death sentence awarded to techie S Daswanth, in connection with the sexual assault and murder of a seven-year-old child in February last year..Disqualified AIADMK MLA Thanga Tamilselvan tenders an unconditional apology before Advocate General Vijay Narayan, for having made adverse remarks against Madras High Court judges in view of the split verdict in the 18 MLA Disqualification case..July 12: High Court suggests restricting overtime pay to ensure police take their weekly off..July 17: Men accused of raping a minor child with disabilities find themselves at the receiving end of a mob of angry lawyers, while leaving the Mahila Court located in the Madras High Court campus..July 16: Justice VK Tahilramani recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium as the next Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, in view of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee’s impending elevation to the Supreme Court..Madras High Court upholds the dismissal of a Tiruppur District Judge accused of having been bribed into granting bail to a man charged with the rape and murder of a minor..July 19: Justice PN Prakash takes serious note of the rampant prevalence of duplicate claims of the Madras High Court made in motor accident cases, as well as the unofficial turf war amongst advocates when it comes to motor accident claim cases..July 20: High Court suggests that the state government consider amending the law so that those putting up banners, hoardings etc. in Tamil Nadu are required to display a message intimating that they have obtained all the necessary permits and approvals for the same.. High Court issues notice in a petition challenging the constitutionality of Section 234F of the Income Tax (IT) Act, 1961, which prescribes a fee for delay in filing IT Returns..July 23: A Division Bench of the Madras High Court quashes the Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against Karti Chidambaram, by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with an investigation into the INX Media Case..High Court passes judgments to clarify the eligibility criteria for pursuing legal education and thereafter enrolling as advocates..High Court dismisses the appeal filed by Hyundai Motor India Limited contesting the proceedings initiated against it by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in 2011. Hyundai had been served a Rs 420 crore penalty as part of these proceedings in 2015..July 24: Allowing a prayer made by nine petitioners, the High Court permits the manual filing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) without quoting Aadhaar or an Aadhaar enrolment number for the Assessment Year 2018-2019..A Division Bench expresses a split opinion on whether adverse remarks against trial judge should be a matter of record..July 25; High Court sets aside the trial court’s decision to discharge seven accused – including former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran – in the illegal telephone exchange case..The Tamil Nadu Government issues a notification inviting applications for the appointment of Law Officers, following directions issued by the Madras High Court..August .August 1: Supreme Court Collegium reiterates the names of advocates C Emalias and Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy as judges of the Madras High Court..August 2: High Court quashes multiple FIRs registered en masse by the police against civilians who protested against the expansion of Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper Plant at Thoothukudi in May..August 3: Madras High Court’s Chief Justice Indira Banerjee, is elevated to the Supreme Court, becoming the eighth woman judge on the Apex Court Bench in the history of the Supreme Court..Madras High Court holds that Section 164 of the Companies Act, 2013 (2013 Act), concerning the disqualification of company directors for default in filing financial statements/annual returns, can only be applied prospectively..Justice VK Tahilramani appointed Chief Justice of the Madras High Court..August 6: Madras High Court issues notice in a petition challenging the vires of provisions concerning the constitution of Appellate Tribunals under the Central Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, 2017..Chief Justice Indira Banerjee bids farewell to the Madras High Court a day before she is due to take oath as a judge of the Supreme Court..August 8: High Court holds a midnight hearing in a petition moved by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) against the state government’s refusal to allow the burial of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M Karunanidhi at Marina Beach..Later that morning, after a special early morning sitting, the High Court allows the writ petition by DMK, hence giving the green signal for the burial of M Karunanidhi at the Marina Beach..August 12: Justice VK Tahilramani sworn in as Chief Justice of Madras High Court. She becomes only the third woman to assume the charge of Madras High Court Chief Justice. With her appointment, the Madras High Court retains its position as the Court with the highest number of women judges across High Courts in the country..An apparent protocol oversight at the ceremony held for the swearing-in of Justice VK Tahilramani as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, by reason of which judges of the High Court were relegated to take seats behind police officials who attended the event, leads to some controversy..August 13: High Court directs the Puducherry Government to expedite the reconsideration of the draft rules for appointment of Law Officers, in line with the Supreme Court’s Brijeshwar Singh ruling..August 14: High Court orders that that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over the investigation into the police firing which took place in Thoothukudi last May, during the protests against Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper Plant..August 16: Madras High Court accepts Vishwa Hindu Parishad ritual as proof of conversion to Hinduism, opining that the endorsement of conversion by a reputed organisation such as the VHP was a strong indication that the conversion was genuine..August 20: The constitution of appellate tribunals under the Central Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, 2017 is challenged yet again in the Madras High Court, this time by the Revenue Bar Association..August 21: High Court issues notice in petition challenging the validity of the Food Safety & Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017..August 24: High Court issues notice in petition challenging the constitutionality of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 2016..High Court appoints expert panel to discern whether it should allow a plea for passive euthanasia in the case of a nine-year old suffering from Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy, a form of brain damage which results when an infant’s brain does not receive sufficient oxygen and blood..August 28: High Court intervenes after coming to know of a petition filed in the name of a dead person in the Supreme Court..The apparent non-cooperation of social media giants including Google, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and YouTube in aiding authorities to investigate cyber crimes comes under the scanner of the Madras High Court..August 29: High Court issues circular directing that the personal appearance of claimants should be insisted upon in motor accident claims cases. Further, claimants are also required to file an affidavit while presenting the claim, swearing that it is the only claim petition that they are filing in respect of the accident in question..September.September 3: High Court holds that the iconic Marina Beach cannot be demanded as a protest venue under the guise of exercising the right to free speech and expression..September 11: High Court stays the Tamil Nadu government’s move to make it mandatory for minority institutions to take in a minimum of 50 percent students every year from the minority community they claim to represent..September 12: High Court issues notice in challenge to constitution of Authorities for Advanced Ruling (AAR) under the GST Act, As it does not contemplate the appointment of any judicial members in the AAR or the Appellate AAR..Expressing concern over pending writ petitions being needlessly dragged on, the Madras High Court suggests that suitable amendments be made so that a time limit is fixed for filing counter affidavits and related documents..Opining that Buddhism is casteless, the Madras High Court denies convert’s claim for Buddhist Adi Dravidar caste certificate..September 17: Following a dramatic trail of events, the High Court Bench of Justices CT Selvam and Nirmal Kumar initiates suo motu contempt proceedings against BJP National Secretary, H Raja. Raja drew the ire of advocates, political leaders and now the Court for derogatory remarks allegedly made by him against the judiciary during a Ganesh Chaturthi procession..High Court holds that District Courts cannot refuse to enforce interim orders passed by an Arbitral Tribunal under Section 17 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996..High Court issues guidelines for the conduct of unnatural death cases under Section 175 of the CrPC. Court clarifies that in cases of unnatural deaths registered under Section 174 of the CrPC, the police cannot close the case by merely submitting a report to the Executive Magistrate..September 20: Special Court for criminal cases against MPs, MLAs in Tamil Nadu inaugurated at Chennai..High Court reiterates that the police cannot register cases for disobedience of a public servant’s orders under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) without the prior written complaint of a public servant as per Section 195 of the CrPC..High Court reiterates that the Court’s jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure cannot be routinely invoked to direct the police to register First Information Reports..September 23: Top 25 candidates for the Tamil Nadu Bar Council Elections 2018 declared, close to six months after the polling closed. The elections were conducted in March, following a turbulent pre-poll period mired with allegations that the polls were being tainted by malpractices and muscle power..September 26: With a view to cutting short unnecessary adjournments, the Madras High Court orders that vacate stay petitions against interim orders should mandatorily be listed within two weeks of filing..September 27: Law officers appointed to represent the Tamil Nadu State Pollution Board. The officers so appointed are Rita Chandrasearan, A Elango, S Meena Kumari, Yasmin Ali, S Azhagamperumal, Abdul Salem, C Kasirajan and V Vasanthakumar..September 29: Madras High Court reiterates that the existence of an extramarital relationship by itself is not sufficient to point fingers at the husband for the suicide of his wife..October.October 1: High Court warns the State against wastage of taxpayer money..October 3:High Court issues notice in challenge to Triple Talaq Ordinance, 2018..October 5: High Court issues notice in petition to link Aadhaar with Voter ID..October 9: Supreme Court Collegium recommends that additional judges, Justices RMT Teeka Raman, N Satish Kumar, and N Seshasayee, be made permanent judges of the Madras High Court..Two Special Government Pleaders, Sricharan Rangarajan and Mohammed Shafiq appointed to represent the Government at the principal bench of the High Court..October 11: New law officers appointed to represent the Puducherry Government at the Madras High Court. The officers so appointed are R Syed Mustafa as Special Government Pleader for service and CAT matters; AV Ramalingam, N Mala, D Ravichander and J Kumaran as Additional Government Pleaders; B Balavijayan, Stalin Abhimanyu, G Djearany, P Visvassoundaram and S Devie as Government Advocates and V Balamurugan as Additional Public Prosecutor..October 12: Madras High Court orders CBI probe against Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister E Palaniswamy..October 15: The Tamil Nadu government notifies the appointment of Senior Advocate A Natarajan as Public Prosecutor in the Madras High Court, along with the appointment of C Emilias as an Additional Advocate General for Tamil Nadu..October 22: High Court closes contempt proceedings against H Raja following unconditional apology..October 24: High Court reiterates that insurance companies are not liable to compensate for deaths or injury of unauthorised passengers in goods/transport vehicles such as lorries or transport vans..October 25: After a split verdict in the case by the First Bench of the Madras High Court, tie-breaker judge, Justice M Sathyanarayanan rules that there was no error apparent in the decision of the Speaker to disqualify 18 AIADMK MLAs on grounds of defection in 2017..October 29: Supreme Court Collegium recommends transfer of Justice HG Ramesh, second-senior most judge of the Madras High Court after the Chief Justice, to the Madhya Pradesh High Court..High Court emphasises that that an advocate cannot be penalised simply because he does his professional duty to defend a client accused of having Maoist links..October 31: High Court grants temporary injunction restraining the unlicensed sale of medicines and drugs online, on a plea moved by the Tamil Nadu Chemists and Druggists Association..November:.November 1: Justices RMT Teeka Raman, N Satish Kumar, and N Seshasayee are appointed permanent judges of the Madras High Court..Supreme Court Collegium recommends transfer for Justice Vineet Kothari from the Karnataka High Court to the Madras High Court..Additional Advocate General, C Manishankar and Government Pleader TN Rajagopal tender their resignations citing personal reasons..November 2: A Division Bench quashes prosecution proceedings launched by the Income Tax Department against the Chidambaram family under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 (Black Money Act)..Following challenges made by several prominent colleges, the Madras High Court stalls proceedings initiated by Tamil Nadu’s State Minorities Commission to verify whether students’ admissions to these institutions satisfy a 50 per cent minority community quota..November 8: Centre notifies transfer of Justice HG Ramesh to the Madras High Court to the Madhya Pradesh High Court..Justice Satrughana Pujahari, who was appointed a judge of the Madras High Court in November 2017, is transferred to his parent High Court, Orissa High Court..Madras High Court emphasises that adjournment cannot be granted or pleaded as a rule. It is observed that there is an obligation upon Courts to adhere to the spirit of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, which envisages the time-bound disposal of cases..November 9: High Court grants movie director, AR Murugadoss, interim protection from arrest after he moves an anticipatory bail plea apprehending arrest on charges of sedition and causing public mischief after members of the ruling AIADMK party objected to scenes allegedly portraying former CM Jayalalithaa and the ruling government in a bad light in his movie Sarkar..November 10: Central Government notifies transfer of Justice Vineet Kothari from the Karnataka High Court to the Madras High Court..November 12: High Court directs stakeholder meeting to curb Movie Piracy..November 13: Justice HG Ramesh bids adieu to High Court on his last working day before his transfer to the Madhya Pradesh High Court..First ever Seniors Day celebrated at the Madras High Court. Felicitation ceremony held for over 50 members of the Madras Bar who have completed 80 years of age..High Court summons seven advocates to explain allegations of involvement in a bogus motor accident claims racket..November 14: A feud between two gang leaders, which left two (including a police officer) dead, prompts the Madras High Court to take note of the prevalence of criminal gangs in Tamil Nadu and across the country..November 15: High Court makes pertinent observations in favour of the freedom of the press and media, noting that unless functions of the fourth estate are safeguarded, India may as well become a Nazi State..November 16: Justice S Baskaran retires..November 17: Justice B Pugalendhi appointed an additional judge of the Madras High Court..November 20: Justice B Pugalendhi sworn in as an additional judge of the Madras High Court..November 22: Law is no trade, briefs no merchandise, reminds the Madras High Court while hauling up an advocate for attempting to bend the legal process in order to extract champertous legal fees..November 23: Justice Vineet Kothari sworn in as Judge of Madras High Court. Justice Kothari becomes the second senior-most judge of the High Court. Working strength of the High Court rises to 61 judges against a sanctioned strength of 75 judges..November 28: Movie director AR Murugadoss informs the Madras High Court that he will not waive his free speech rights and undertake to refrain from criticising the government, as requested by the state during the last hearing in the anticipatory bail plea moved by him in relation to criminal charges apprehended for certain critical scenes in his movie Sarkar..November 29: High Court deprecates the trend of allowing remand mechanically in cases brought before Magistrate Courts. Justice N Anand Venkatesh makes pertinent oral observations in this regard,while hearing the case filed against a Magistrate’s refusal to remand RR ‘Nakkheeran’ Gopal, Editor of the Tamil News Magazine Nakkheeran..December.December 1: Senior Advocate and former Advocate General for Tamil Nadu, R Muthukumaraswamy passes away..December 3: High Court observes that there is no bar to cutting off unauthorised encroachers from facilities such as ration cards, water, and electricity supply to ensure their removal from the encroached areas..December 6: Tamil Nadu Government notifies the appointment of Advocate Balaji Srinivasan as an Additional Advocate General to appear for the state before the Supreme Court..December 13: High Court directs Motor Claims tribunals to upload witness depositions online. The direction was issued after the Court was informed that earlier orders passed to issue signed photocopies of witness depositions to parties were not being complied with by MCOP tribunals in certain districts..December 14: High Court reiterates that the right to free speech and expression cannot be lightly trifled with, while staying criminal proceedings initiated against AR Murugadoss, Director of the Tamil film Sarkar..December 15: The National Green Tribunal allows appeal against the Tamil Nadu Government’s closure of Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper Plant at Thoothukodi, finding that the closure orders by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board were disproportionate for the cited environmental violations..December 17: The plea to ban the online sale of medicines culminates in the Madras High Court directing the Central government to notify rules regulating such sale by January 31, 2019. Until then, a single judge orders a ban on the online sale of medicines. However, the ban is suspended for a few days so that the affected companies can appeal against the verdict the same week without unplugging online sales..December 19: High Court prohibits political parties from erecting banners on roads and pathways likely to obstruct vehicular and pedestrian traffic across the state until further orders..December 20: Division Bench reserves orders in the plea filed against the Court-ordered ban on the online sale of medicines. In the meanwhile, the Court suspends the ban until the delivery of its verdict, on a request for the same by the appellant-companies. The same day, the Delhi High Court extended its interim order banning the online sale of medicines through e-pharmacies till January 8, 2019..December 21: A week after the NGT paved the way for Vedanta to reopen its Sterlite copper plant in Thoothukudi, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court issues an order of status quo, directing that the plant should not be opened until it takes up the matter next in January 21, 2019..Callous celebrations, including the bursting of firecrackers, by newly enrolled lawyers at an enrolment ceremony held at the Madras High Court prompts the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to pass orders placing limits on the number of candidates who can be enrolled at a time as well as the number of enrollment functions held per week..High Court dismisses pleas for establishment of Regional Benches of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal..December 27: High Court dismisses petition challenging the Tamil Nadu Government’s recent order banning the use of single-use plastic from January 2019. While dismissing the challenge to the state-ban on plastics, the Court also suggests expanding the ban to all forms of plastic..High Court suggests that the Government amend the Passport Act and rules so that those who avail loans are required to surrender their passport to the concerned Bank, in order to prevent them from fleeing abroad without repaying their loans.