Latest news with #TelanganaHighCourt
The Hindu
7 hours ago
- General
- The Hindu
HC sets aside local court's gag order against media houses
Telangana High Court had set aside a gag order passed by a local court here against some newspapers, TV channels, web portals and media organisations directing them not report any defamatory content against Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited company and its management. A bench of Justices T. Vinod Kumar and P. Sree Sudha, allowing a batch of three appeals filed by media organisations, said the trial court's ad-interim ex-parte injunction order was 'unreasoned'. The said order was contrary to the mandate under Civil Procedure Code and hence impermissible, the Division Bench said. While passing such direction without issuing notices to the opposite parties, the court should record reasons as to why such order should be passed. The trial court passed the order but did not specify the time within which the respondents can get it vacated. This had deprived the appellants' right to file counter affidavit, the Bench observed. The two-judge bench observed that gag orders should be scrutinized though they were meant to maintain the integrity of legal proceedings. The courts should ensure that such gag orders did not infringe upon the fundamental rights like the right to free speech. These rights can be curtailed only in accordance with Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India. Citing a Supreme Court verdict, the Division Bench noted that 'freedom of speech and expression was construed to include the freedom to circulate one's views by words of mouth or in writing or through audio-visual instrumentalities. This included the right to propagate one's views through the print media or any other communication channel like radio or television subject to reasonable restrictions. The Bench also noted that the company filed the suits for damages nearly a year after the publication of news. The company also suppressed the fact that it had filed another suit in a court at Khammam seeking similar relief. This amounted to clear abuse of the process of law, the verdict said. Since the gag order was passed without adhering to established legal principles, it cannot be sustained, the Bench said.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
HC sets aside life imprisonment in rape case, ‘regrets' to note ‘grand failure' in investigation
The Telangana High Court set aside the life imprisonment sentence awarded by a special court here to Colonel Rishi Sharma in a case of rape and criminal intimidation, observing that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt. There were inconsistencies in the testimonies of key witnesses, and even documentary evidence was overlooked. The Bench of Justices P. Sam Koshy and N. Tukaramji directed the government to free Rishi Sharma, acquitting him of all the charges. The Rajendranagar police of Cyberabad arrested the Colonel, who was then serving as an administrative officer at a defence organisation in Shamirpet, based on a complaint from a woman in her early 20s that he sexually assaulted her. According to the charge-sheet, the 'accused' was the victim's family friend who use to frequent their house. In January, 2017, the complainant's mother went on a trip, requesting Rishi Sharma to stay at their house and look after her daughter and younger son. Police records stated that the accused sexually assaulted her at night and threatened to kill her younger brother if she disclosed the matter to anyone. Nearly three months later, she became pregnant and eventually lodged a complaint, leading to the arrest of the accused. Nearly seven years later, the special court found him guilty and sentenced him to life-imprisonment. Challenging the judgment, the accused filed a criminal appeal petition in the HC. Lack of documents Pronouncing the verdict, the Bench said the prosecution failed to present documents confirming the victim's pregnancy and details of medical laboratory where pregnancy tests were held. The Bench sought to know why the doctor who confirmed the pregnancy was not called as a witness. The survivours' family claimed that the pregnancy was aborted but no records confirming this were presented before the trial court. There were no records about the abortion performed as per the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, the Bench noted. The Bench noted that Rishi Sharma had undergone vasectomy operation in 2005. He even presented the sterilisation certificate issued by the Government of India and the Vasectomy certificate issued by the Military hospital of Khadakwala in Pune. This proved the physical inability of the accused to cause the pregnancy, the bench said. Observing that the Bench regretted to note the 'grand failure of the investigation in the case', Justice Tukaramji said that improper handling of the case prompted the Bench to think that the investigators invented a case in support of the police report 'may be with emotional bias or extraneous influence'.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Brightcom Group Q4 results: PAT jumps 3-fold to ₹121 cr on higher revenues
Digital marketing and technology solutions provider Brightcom Group on Saturday said its consolidated Profit After Tax (PAT) jumped over three-fold to Rs 120.68 crore in the March quarter, compared to the year-ago period, mainly driven by higher revenues. In the quarter ended March 31, 2024 the company had reported a profit of Rs 37.46 crore, according to a company statement. Brightcom Group's operating income stood at Rs 987.48 crore in Q4FY25, up from Rs 704.60 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. For the fiscal 2024-25, the consolidated PAT for FY25 was Rs 710.03 crore, as against Rs 687.52 crore recorded in the previous fiscal year, the statement added. Brightcom achieved a consolidated operating income of Rs 5,146.66 crore, up from Rs 4,662.25 crore in FY24. The company further said that it has secured an interim relief from the Telangana High Court, which suspended certain penalties imposed by Sebi, citing a lack of prima facie evidence. Looking ahead, Brightcom Group is focused on launching innovative solutions in digital advertising and artificial intelligence, expanding into key global markets such as APAC, the EU, and North America, and enhancing corporate governance and investor communication, it said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Supreme Court quashes FIR accusing man of raping woman on pretext of marriage: ‘Bundle of lies'
The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed an FIR against a man who was accused of raping a woman on the pretext of marriage, saying the complaint was nothing but a 'bundle of lies' and that no material on record was produced to substantiate the allegations. The court observed that the FIR was full of fabricated and malicious, unsubstantiated allegations levelled by the complainant. A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said allowing prosecution of the accused would be a travesty of justice and a gross abuse of the process of the court, reported PTI. The court observed that there were inherent contradictions in the statements of the woman. "The de facto complainant is a highly educated woman aged 30 years. In the FIR of 2021, she has only alleged a single sexual encounter. On the contrary, in the impugned FIR of 2022, 4-5 such incidents have been referenced, each of which antedate the FIR of 2021," the court said. "It is thus inherently improbable that the complainant would have forgotten or omitted to mention these incidents of sexual intercourse made under a false promise of marriage," the bench said. The court was hearing a plea filed by the man against an order of the Telangana High Court. The lower court had rejected his plea to quash the rape complaint against him. The Supreme Court further said the woman had filed a similar complaint against an assistant professor of Osmania University, where the woman was a student. The top court said the woman, in chats on her phone, admitted that she was manipulative and was trying to "get a green card holder". "At one point in time, she also stated that it would not be difficult for her to trap the next one. In the very same breath, she mentions that she would not waste time with the accused appellant and needs to invest in the next victim. She also mentions that she would irritate her victims to the extent that they dump her, and she could happily start with the next one. She also stated that she was using the accused appellant. These chats depict the stark reality about the behavioural pattern of the de facto complainant who appears to be having manipulative and vindictive tendency," the bench noted, according to PTI. Also read: SC refuses to stall ₹299 crore jetty project near Gateway of India The court further said the accused was justified in panicking and backing out from the proposed marriage after coming to know about her "aggressive" sexual behaviour and the "obsessive nature" of the complainant. "Hence, even assuming that the accused appellant retracted from his promise to marry the complainant, it cannot be said that he indulged in sexual intercourse with the de-facto complainant under a false promise of marriage or that the offence was committed by him with the complainant on the ground that she belonged to the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes community," the bench said. With inputs from PTI
New Indian Express
7 days ago
- New Indian Express
Justice league: HC orders conditional release of granites seized in Nalgonda
HC orders conditional release of granites seized in Nalgonda Justice K Lakshman of the Telangana High Court has directed the authorities to verify the nature of granite slabs seized by the assistant director of Mines and Geology, Nalgonda, and ordered conditional release of the vehicle and goods if they are found to be finished products. Justice Lakshman was hearing a writ petition filed by Kanumuri Sunadham of Palnadu district in Andhra Pradesh, seeking release of his lorry and the granite slabs it was transporting, which were seized by the respondent authorities citing lack of proof of royalty payment on the mineral used. According to the petitioner, the vehicle was carrying 4,950 sqft of polished granite slabs from Bhuvanagiri Enterprises in Markapur, Andhra Pradesh, to a buyer named Mahesh in Pune, Maharashtra. The goods were supported by a tax invoice dated March 20, 2025, and a valid e-way bill. Despite submitting the invoice and other necessary documents, including vehicle registration, permit, and insurance papers, the authorities detained the vehicle under a notice dated March 28, 2025, demanding payment of approximately Rs 1.76 lakh as penalty unless the source of procurement was disclosed. The petitioner argued that since the goods were finished products and not raw minerals, royalty payment documents were not applicable. He contended that seizing the vehicle despite producing all required GST-compliant documents was illegal and arbitrary.
