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1. [Portfolio Change| Justice Anand Venkatesh Transferred To Madurai Bench] Madras High Court Judge Justice N. Anand Venkatesh, notable for initiating suo motu revision petitions involving politicians' acquittals, will be sitting at the Madurai Bench for the upcoming three months, as indicated in the recently released court roster. In a portfolio reallocation decision made by Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala, Justice G Jayachandran will now preside over cases related to Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs), a responsibility previously held by Justice Venkatesh. Notably, Justice Venkatesh recently denied a request for recusal in the suo moto revision cases initiated by him.
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2. [Unique bail conditions] The Madras High Court recently granted anticipatory bail to four college students who faced charges filed by the Tamil Nadu police following an incident involving their former school, while imposing unique bail conditions. Firstly, each of the accused student was required to furnish a bail bond of Rs 1,000. Additionally, as part of their bail conditions, the students were directed to undertake community service in the form of cleaning at least four classrooms at the Montfort Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School in Yercaud, where the incident had occurred. Moreover, the students were instructed to spend a week in the school library and e-library to study and prepare handwritten notes, comprising not less than four pages, on selected topics.
Bench: Justice RMT Teeka Raman
Case Title: Selva Muthukumar and Others v. State
3. [SC/ST/OBC Reservation in minority educational institutions] In a landmark verdict, the Madras High Court has held that educational institutions administered by religious and linguistic minorities are not obligated to adhere to reservation quotas for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Class students. A division bench headed by the Chief Justice cited Article 15(5) of the Indian Constitution, which exempts minority educational institutions from communal and social reservation requirements.Court ruled that minority educational institutions, even if they receive state government aid, are not obliged to implement social reservations.
Bench: Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice PD Audikesavalu
Case Title: Justice Basheer Ahmed Sayeed College for Women v. State of Tamil Nadu and Others
4. [Unfilled Teaching Positions in Anna University] The Madras High Court recently expressed its concern regarding the substantial number of unfilled teaching positions at Anna University, even after a court order was issued three years ago. Court directed the registrar of Anna University to provide an explanation within a two-day timeframe or appear before the court on October 5, 2023. The court's decision stemmed from a series of petitions filed by temporary teachers who were seeking regularization of their positions. The bench took note of a status report submitted by the university, revealing that the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) mandates a total of 1,745 teaching faculty positions, however, Anna University had only sanctioned 981 of these positions, with a current working strength of 556 faculty members.
Bench: Justices R Suresh Kumar and K Kumaresh Babu
Case Title: R.Ramanathan Vs The Registrar And Another with connected matters
5. [YouTuber TTF Vasan] The Madras High Court, on Thursday last week, declined to grant bail to TTF Vasan, also known as Vauikunthavasan, a prominent YouTube vlogger and motorcyclist. Vasan had been taken into custody on September 19, 2023, following an incident on the Chennai-Vellor National Highway during a bike stunt gone awry. Court denied the relief to the racer stating that retaining Vasan in custody would serve as a valuable lesson. When Vasan and his friends were returning from a trip to Maharashtra, on September 17, Vasan lost control of his motorcycle while attempting a wheelie, resulting in an accident
Bench: Justice CV Karthikeyan
Case Title: TTF Vasan Vauikunthavasan Vs Inspector Of Police
6. [Corruption allegations against Major General] Retired Major General AK Gupta's conviction by the lower court for corruption in procurement of supply/ration items during ‘Operation Pawan’ of Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) troops in Sri Lanka in 1987, has been overturned by the Madras High Court. Court extended the benefit of doubt to the Major General (Retired) while holding that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond doubt as alleged against him. The single judge bench emphasised that even if it was assumed that the Major General had adopted corrupt practices by violating the purchase regulations for supply/ration items, it did not appear that any loss to the government had been caused "since the material had been supplied and utilized".
Bench: Justice G Jayachandran
Case Title: Major General A.K.Gupta v. State
7. [Contempt of court] The Madras High Court, on Wednesday last week, set aside an order passed by Advocate General (AG) R. Shunmugasundaram on September 27, 2021 granting consent to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the editor of Tamil magazine Thuglak, S Gurumurthy, for his remarks regarding the judiciary. Court said that contempt power is not a shield to choke the voice of the citizen in a free country. The order was passed in a petition filed by S.Gurumurthy to quash the consent order dated September 27, 2021, of Advocate General Shunmugasundaram.
Bench: Justice N Seshasayee
Case Title: S.Gurumurthy v. S.Doraisamy
8. [Public apology to CM Stalin, Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin] The Madras High Court has granted AIADMK's former MLA R. Kumaraguru time till October 11 to decide whether he will hold a public meeting at Mandaveli in Kallakurichi district to tender an apology for using offensive language against Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin during a previous event at the same location on September 19, 2023. "Having made objectionable utterance in the public meeting, secret communication on Twitter and WhatsApp is not proportionate act of regret", court held.
Bench: Justice G. Jayachandran
Case Title: R.Kumaraguru, Ex MLA Vs. State
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