Latest news with #JusticeMNagaprasanna
New Indian Express
10-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Officials fined by Karnataka HC for withholding caste, income certificate
BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has imposed an exemplary cost of Rs 2 lakh on the then chairman and members of the District Caste and Income Verification Committee of Hassan which has to be paid from their pockets to the petitioner for declining to issue her a certificate validating the caste and income certificate that had already been issued. The committee had told the petitioner that the income of her husband, who worked as a lecturer at a private college, is beyond the permissible threshold of the grant of such a certificate. The petitioner, Muthulaxmi BN -- a resident of Channarayapatna -- suffered a delay of 12 months in getting the assistant public prosecutor's post because of the committee's unwillingness to issue her the certificate, which was given after the court's order. She moved the high court in 2024, challenging the committee's order dated March 6, 2024. After the court's order, the certificate was issued to her on April 24, 2024, and then she got the job. The petitioner's counsel submitted that all others who were selected along with her on January 17, 2023 were given appointments. Noting that the caste and income certificate would always depend on the father's income and not the income of the husband, Justice M Nagaprasanna observed that the state has time and again repeated same mistake of bringing the applicants to knock on the doors of courts. It is high time the state set its house in order and refrain from generating unnecessary litigation. The state, as its wont, has again repeated the same mistake, the judge said. The court said that for 12 months, while others from the same select list stepped into service, the petitioner languished in anxious limbo. Her legitimate aspirations were swept under the weight of official indifference. This court cannot permit the curtain to fall on this matter with a mere note of closure. The law was clear, the precedent was binding, yet the officers, with impunity, chose to act in contravention, the court said. It is a case where members of the committee must be mulcted with exemplary cost, as it is necessary not only to recompense the petitioner but to become a cautionary call to all those who hold public office, that dereliction cloaked in ignorance shall find no refuge before this court, the court added.
Time of India
26-06-2025
- Time of India
Karnataka high courtquashes criminal case against apartment resident & contractor
Bengaluru: Karnataka high court has quashed proceedings against an apartment resident and a civil contractor in a criminal case registered by a fellow flat owner alleging obscene acts and intentional insult. The complainant — from Embassy Palace, Nandidurg Road, Jayamahal — had stated that on Feb 28, 2023, she encountered six individuals in the garden area while heading to a hospital. They told her they were there to clean and construct a rainwater harvesting pit. However, she alleged, they used harsh language and inappropriate songs when questioned. Following an investigation, police filed charges under IPC Sections 294, 504, and 506 against the accused for obscene acts and criminal intimidation. The petitioners contested the charges, stating that rainwater harvesting was a legal requirement and the work was necessary. They mentioned an existing civil suit on the matter and suggested the criminal case was retaliatory. The contractor maintained he was merely fulfilling his assigned duties. You Can Also Check: Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru Whilst the complainant insisted on the occurrence of abusive behaviour and threats, Justice M Nagaprasanna found the complaint to be "voluminous, yet materially thin". The judge noted discrepancies between the original complaint and the subsequent chargesheet. The court referenced Supreme Court precedents stating that without lascivious elements or public obscenity, Section 294 is inapplicable. Additionally, harsh language alone doesn't constitute criminal intimidation or breach of peace, the judge said. Concluding that the case lacked essential elements of the alleged offences and appeared motivated by malice rather than justice, the court held that continuing proceedings would constitute an abuse of legal process.
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Time of India
Pocso case: Proceedings against Indian Institute of Science assistant prof to continue
Bengaluru: The high court has refused to quash legal proceedings against an assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, who is facing trial under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. The case stems from an incident on Sept 30, 2018, during a birthday party of the accused's daughter. It is alleged that during a 'Ghost House' game held in a dark room, the professor inappropriately touched a 10-year-old girl who was among the guests. Following a complaint from the child's father, Jalahalli police filed a chargesheet against him. The accused has denied the allegations, claiming that he merely stepped in to control the children's play. He argued that the complaint was lodged to harass him and cited several procedural flaws in the investigation. These included the similarity of witness statements, alleged irregularities in the court's cognisance of the case, the absence of a medical examination of the child, and inordinate delays in the trial process. However, the additional state public prosecutor countered that around eight children had come forward with similar accounts of inappropriate conduct by the accused, underscoring the need for a full trial. A fter reviewing the case materials, Justice M Nagaprasanna acknowledged the uniformity in the witness statements recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Yet, he held that even a single credible account is sufficient to warrant a trial under the Pocso Act. He also stated that the lack of medical examination does not invalidate the prosecution's case if other substantial evidence is available. The court underlined that Sections 7 and 8 of the Act define sexual assault as involving inappropriate touching of a child's private parts. It concluded that, if proven, the allegations against the accused would fall squarely within these legal provisions. The court added that the consistency in witness statements is an issue to be addressed during the trial, not a valid reason for dismissing the case at the pre-trial stage. Given that the matter has been pending since 2018, the high court directed the trial court to expedite the case and complete proceedings within three months.
New Indian Express
05-06-2025
- New Indian Express
Karnataka High Court warns against weaponisation of law
BENGALURU: Courts must remain vigilant against the weaponisation of criminal law in civil disputes as the law, when misused, ceases to be a shield and becomes a sword, the Karnataka High Court said while quashing a case under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The court was hearing a petition filed by realtor Vilas Bhormalji Oswal from Solapur, Maharashtra, questioning the proceedings pending before a special court brought about by his business partner under provisions of the IPC and SC/ST Act. 'The complainant, to wreak vengeance or arm-twist the petitioner over a financial dispute, has made use of the criminal justice system. The complaint is a blade of vengeance, cloaked in the garb of law. A criminal trial, if permitted to proceed, would amount to an egregious abuse of legal machinery,' said Justice M Nagaprasanna. The court said apart from the delay of 118 days in lodging the complaint before the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement, which sat on it for over three years, no casteist remark was made. A financial dispute between two partners is projected to become a crime, court said. The complainant Somashekara, Oswal and two others were partners in a real estate firm, Green Land Infra, in the city. The dispute surfaced because the petitioner did not sign several documents, resulting in various developments being stalled. The petitioner allegedly threatened the complainant with dire consequences if he did not receive his invested money back from the firm and hurled abuses on December 23, 2020.
Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Karnataka HC dismisses PhonePe's plea against police notice, says privacy not a shield against lawful investigation
Noting that 'confidentiality must coexist with accountability', the Karnataka High Court recently dismissed a petition by PhonePe Private Limited against a police notice issued to the financial service company in connection with the investigation in a 2022 online sports betting case. 'The submissions of the petitioner's counsel that information that is to be kept confidential need not be divulged, cannot be accepted. The protection of consumer privacy cannot eclipse the lawful imperative of investigating officers to secure evidence and take the investigation to its logical conclusion,' said a single-judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna in the order dated April 29. The police issued the notice on December 7, 2022, to PhonePe to provide details based on a complaint from a resident of the Chikkamagaluru district, who alleged that he lost funds while transacting through several payment gateways for cricket betting. The notice under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) directed PhonePe to furnish transaction details of certain users. PhonePe's counsel argued that the company is merely an intermediary under the IT Act and that neither the company nor its employees are implicated in the case. The counsel further said the Bankers' Books Evidence Act and the Payment and Settlement Systems Act prohibit the company from disclosing information. The company contended that the investigating officer cannot summon documents or information through a notice without a directive from a court. The bench observed that as per Section 87 of the Information Technology (IT) Act, information would have to be given within 72 hours of the notice from an investigating officer. Citing previous judgments of the high courts of Kerala, Madras, and Bombay, it observed that the laws cited by PhonePe would not be stretched to immunise an institution from investigation. 'The duty to protect data must yield, where public interest and criminal investigation intersect,' the court noted. 'Conventional crimes have receded, and new age crimes have sprung in large numbers. The new age crimes are cyber crimes – the clandestine modern offences… while privacy as contended by the petitioner should be maintained, it cannot be wielded as a shield against lawful investigation,' the court added, while rejecting PhonePe's plea.
