Read Time: 26 minutes
1. [Brutal Attack on Female Police Officer Inside Saryu Express] The Allahabad High Court on September 3, 2023, took suo motu cognizance of the "gruesome incident" of the alleged gang rape of a woman police officer who was on duty, inside Saryu Express in the intervening night of 30/31 August. took note of a letter petition presented by Advocate Ram Kaushik espousing the cause of the prosecutrix (the woman cop/X). According to a media report, the alleged incident was brought to light when certain passengers, who boarded Saryu Express from Ayodhya Junction at about 4:00 am found the woman cop in a deplorable state, in a pool of blood, unable to move herself with a deep cut on her face and injuries on her body. Looking at the seriousness of the matter, the court directed the high court office to register the letter petition as a public interest litigation (criminal).
Bench: Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker and Justice Ashutosh Srivastava
Case Title: Suo motu PIL
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2. [Offering Sugarcane Juice In Kashi Vishwanath Temple In Varanasi] The Allahabad High Court recently dismissed with Rs 5,000 cost a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) pertaining to permission to set up a sugarcane juice dispensing unit at the Kashi Vishwanath Dham premises so as to facilitate the devotees to offer prayer/rudrabhishek using sugarcane juice at nominal prices. Court held that the cause expaused in the PIL plea was not public at all but private. The PIL proceeded on the belief that sugarcane juice offered to the Jyotir Lingam inside the Kashi Vishwanath Temple would benefit the public at large and obliviate poverty.
Case Title: Mahadev Enterprises Firm And 2 Others v. State Of U.P. And 5 Others
3. [Misleading Ads By Padma Awardees] The Allahabad High Court recently asked the Central Government to inform it as to why it had not addressed a representation about certain Padma awardees' involvement in misleading advertisements. Court issued notices to the Cabinet Secretary in the Government of India, Rajiv Gowba, and the Chief Commissioner of the Central Consumer Protection Authority. The order was passed in a plea to take contempt action due to non-compliance of court's September 2022 order, which directed the centre to address the grievance raised by the petitioner in a Public Interest Litigation concerning participation of ‘certain’ Padma awardees in ‘misleading’ advertisements'. A PIL plea was moved before the high court highlighting Padma awardees endorsing harmful products in advertisements, raising concerns about public health. The petitioner prayed for formulation of guidelines to revoke awards if awardees engage in inappropriate conduct.
Bench: Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan
Case Title: Moti Lal Yadav v. Sri Rajiv Gowba, Cabinet Secy. Central Secrtt. Govt. Of India, New Delhi And Another
4. [Live-In Relationship] The Allahabad High Court recently refused to grant protection to a live-in couple who happened to be distant cousins. The girl and the boy belonged to different religions but claimed that they had married according to Hindu rites and rituals at an Arya Samaj Mandir. Court noted that since the couple belonged to different religions, compliance of Sections 8 and 9 of the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 was needed, which was not the case in the present matter. The couple submitted before the court that they were distant cousins through the maternal side but the girl had changed her religion from Muslim to Hindu to marry the Hindu boy. She submitted that for this she had moved an application before the District Magistrate, Meerut and Saharanpur on June 30, 2023, and also got published in the news paper that she had changed her name and religion. The couple sought protection on the ground that they were major persons, living together on their own will but the girl's father was interfering in their peaceful live-in relationship.
Bench: Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra
Case Title: Smt. Shraddha @ Jannat And Another v. State Of U.P. And 5 Others
5. [Mathura's Shahi Idgah Mosque Site As Krishna Janam Bhoomi] In the plea seeking recognition of Mathura's Shahi Idgah Mosque site as Krishna Janam Bhoomi, the Allahabad High Court on Monday last week reserved the judgment. The plea also prays that a proper trust for Krishna Janmabhoomi Janmasthan should be formed for building a temple on the said land. Before the court, petitioner-in-person Advocate Mehek Maheshwari argued that various historical records cite the factum that the disputed site/ Shahi Idgah mosque is the actual birthplace of Lord Krishna and even history of Mathura dates back to Ramayana kaal and Islam came just 1500 years ago. He contended that the Shahi Idgah is not a proper mosque as per Islamic jurisprudence as a mosque cannot be on a ground forcibly acquired whereas as per Hindu jurisprudence, it is a temple as even ruins of a temple can constitute a temple.
Case Title: Mehek Maheshwari v. Union of India and Ors.
6. [Bail To BSP Leader Yaqoob Qureshi] The Allahabad High Court recently allowed bail to Haji Yaqoob Qureshi, former Uttar Pradesh Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader in a Gangster Act case related to an illegal meat plant. The case was registered against Yaqoob last year under Section 2/3 U.P. Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act. Yaqoob, along with his elder son, was arrested on January 7, 2023, by the Special Task Force (STF) of the U.P. police in a case related to running an illegal meat plant. The police had also registered a case against them under the Gangsters Act.
Bench: Justice Raj Beer Singh
Case Title: Yaqoob Qureshi v. State of UP
7. [Hapur Incident] The Allahabad High Court last week took judicial notice of the call for a further 3-day strike by the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh in protest of non-inclusion of any judicial officer in the SIT constituted by the State Government to look into the incident of alleged Police violence on lawyers at Hapur. While stating that lawyers' strikes create huge losses to the litigants, court said that "the representative body of advocates have the right to raise grievance on behalf of their members but it has to be in a manner that the ultimate cause of justice itself is not defeated". "We hope and trust that the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh as also the respective Bar Associations across the State as well as this Court and its Bench at Lucknow shall introspect and act in due deference to the law laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India such that this Court is not required to take any unpleasant steps in the matter and forthwith resume their work," said the bench while posting the matter for further hearing on September 15, 2023.
Bench: Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker and Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi
Case Title: In Re v. State of UP
8. [Parents cannot interefere in children's right to choose partner] The Allahabad High Court recently held an inter-faith couple at liberty to live together. Court ordered that "no person, including their parents or anyone acting on their behalf, shall be permitted to interfere in their peaceful live-in-relationship". Court added that in case any disturbance is caused in the peaceful living of the couple, they shall approach the Superintendent of Police concerned, with a copy of the high court's order, who shall provide immediate protection to them. Court passed the order in a plea moved by an interfaith couple seeking a direction in the nature of mandamus to the private respondent not to interfere in their peaceful living.
Bench: Justice Surendra Singh
Case Title: Razia And Another v. State of UP and 3 Others
9. [Termination of pregnancy of rape survivor] While directing for assessing the viability of permitting the termination of a 28-week pregnancy for a 15-year-old survivor of sexual assault, the Allahabad High Court recently observed that in case of sexual assault, denying a woman the right to say no to medical termination of pregnancy and fasten her with responsibility of motherhood would amount to denying her human right to live with dignity. The court was dealing with a plea moved by a rape survivor seeking direction to the respondents to terminate her unwanted pregnancy and bear the expenses of such procedure.
Bench: Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Prashant Kumar
Case Title: Ms X v. State Of UP And 4 Others
10. [Medical Aid And Compensation To Minor Rape Survivor] The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday last week directed that adequate medical facilities and ex-gratia payment under the scheme 'Rani Laxmi Bai Mahila Samman Kosh' be provided to the 15-year-old rape survivor who had approached the high court seeking permission to terminate her 28-week pregnancy. Moreover, considering the pathetic financial condition of the victim and her family members, the division bench ordered adequate medical facilities to be provided to the victim at the District Hospital, Chandauli, and if required at Sir Sunderlal Hospital, BHU. The matter will be next heard on October 9, 2023.
Bench: Justices Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Prashant Kumar
11. [Probe Into Misconduct Of SHO] The Allahabad High Court recently directed the Superintendent of Police, Sultanpur to conduct an inquiry regarding the allegation of misbehavior by a Station House Officer (SHO). A plea was moved before the high court alleging that Pradeep Kumar Yadav, SHO Kurebhar, District- Sultanpur had misbehaved with the petitioner women and he had also badly beaten one of the petitioner woman's father at the police station. Before the court, the petitioner women submitted that they had also recorded the incident on their camera.
Bench: Justice Sangeeta Chandra and Justice Narendra Kumar Johari
Case Title: Kusum Singh And Others v. State Of UP And Others
12. [Dodgy Madarsas] The Allahabad High Court has recently dismissed two writ petitions filed challenging the State Government's actions against petitioner Madarsas following a 2022 report by a Special Investigation Team inspecting Madarsas in Uttar Pradesh. In a SIT investigation of 313 Madarsas in UP, 72 Madarsas were not found as per standards and 219 Madarsas were found to be nonexistent which were only running on paper for the purpose of embezzling the Government Aid. both the writ petitions were essentially alleging that the State Government's actions against them were ex-parte, therefore, the report of the SIT and consequent decisions should be quashed.
Bench: Justice Kshitij Shailendra
Case Title: Anjuman Siddiquia Jamia Noorul Oloom And 4 Others V. State Of U.P. And 5 Others and Connected matters
13. [Mass Religious Conversion By Allurement Case] The Allahabad High Court recently set aside the order passed by the Special SC/ST Court and allowed bail to two persons accused of alluring villagers for mass religious conversion. Court opined that "providing good teachings, distributing Holy Bible books, encouraging children to get an education, organizing assembly of villagers and performing 'Bhandara' and instructing the villagers not to enter into an altercation and also not to take liquor do not amount to allurement". The accused had been booked under Section 3 and 5 (1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 and Section 3 (1) (Dha) SC/ST Act at Police Station Jalalpur, District Ambedkar Nagar.
Bench: Justice Shamim Ahmed
Case Title: Jose Papachen And Another v. State Of UP and Another
14. [Rs 150/Month Salary Since 1998] The Allahabad High Court recently directed the Uttar Pradesh State Government authorities to pay current wages equivalent to the minimum pay scale admissible to Class IV employees to a 'Choukidar' who had been receiving Rs 150/month salary since 1998. Court underscored that "employment under the State Government for a sum of Rs.150 per month amounts to forced labour which is not permissible in law". The order was passed in a writ petition moved by one Amar Singh who had been appointed by the office of UP Vidhyalaya Nirikshak Barabanki in 1992 on the post of Choukidar. Initially, he got 30 per month, which was increased to Rs 150 per month in 1998.
Bench: Justice Irshad Ali
Case Title: Amar Singh v. State Of U.P.Through Prin Secy Education And 3 Ors
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