1. Users Will Be Persuaded to Adopt Policy: WhatsApp Clarifies Before Delhi HC
WhatsApp has provided clarification to the High Court of Delhi that it does not plan to defer its privacy policy on May 15th, and that the users who do not consent to its policy will not be disconnected and will be persuaded to adopt it. Nevertheless, it has clarified that in case of failure to adopt the privacy policy, the users will in due course, be disconnected.
2. Plea in SC States Cancellation of Class XII Exam Will Cause Injustice to Hardworking Students
Concerned with the ongoing discussion to cancel board exams for Class XII students, a Mathematics teacher from Kerala has moved the Apex Court seeking intervention in a petition filed by Advocate Mamta Sharma for declaration of result on the basis of students’ internal grading. It was stated by the intervenor that the said exam is career-defining, and that the cancellation of the exams will cause injustice to the hardworking students.
3. SC Urges Habeas Corpus Petitioner to Take Recourse to Section 97 of CrPC in Matter of Illegal Detention
The Supreme Court vacation bench comprising of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Aniruddha Bose, urged a petitioner who filed habeas corpus plea u/A 32 against the illegal detention of his wife by her father, to take recourse to section 97 of CrPC, i.e., Search for persons wrongfully confined. It was observed by Justice Maheshwari that Section 97 has become a dead-letter because of these shortcuts.
4. Live-in Relationships May not be Acceptable to All, But the Same is Not an Offence: P&H HC
The Punjab and Haryana High Court observed that a live-in relationship may not be acceptable to all, but it cannot be said that living together without marrying is an illegal relationship or that living together without the sanctity of marriage constitutes an offence. The said observation was made by Justice Jaishree Thakur.
5. Apex Court Upholds IBC Provisions Applicable to Personal Guarantors of Corporate Debtors
The Supreme Court bench comprising of Justices Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat dismissed the petition challenging notification dated 15.11.2019 and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Application to Adjudicating Authority for Insolvency Resolution Process of Personal Guarantors to Corporate Debtors) Rules, 2019. This was in relation to the matter titled Lalit Kumar Jain v. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (LL 2021 SC 257).
6. HC Should Avoid Passing Orders which are Difficult to Implement: SC
A vacation bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justices Vineet Saran and BR Gavai stayed the directions issued by the Allahabad High Court on May 17th for upgrading the medical facilities in the State of Uttar Pradesh. The Solicitor General informed the Supreme Court that the High Court’s decision, though well-meaning, are difficult to implement.
7. COVID is not Panacea for All Cases of Arrest to Get Bail: SC
The Supreme Court bench comprising of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Aniruddha Bose observed that apprehension of COVID cannot be cited as a ground for bail in all cases, irrespective of the nature and gravity of the offence. The court was considering a Special Leave Petition against the order of Punjab and Haryana High Court denying anticipatory bail to the petitioner, in connection with an FIR filed under the provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.
8. Calculated Acts of One Parent to Alienate Child from Other Parent is “Mental Cruelty”: Kerala HC
The High Court of Kerala held that any act by one parent which resulted in the denial of a child’s love and affection to the other parent by alienating the child amounts to mental cruelty. This observation was made by Justices A Muhamed Mustaque and Dr Kauser Edappagath, in a matrimonial appeal filed by a husband accusing his wife of cruelty.
9. PIL Filed in SC for Framing Policy to Protect Rights of the Dead and to Control Overcharging of Cremations and Ambulance Services
Following the horrific news of dead bodies floating in the river Ganga, a PIL has been filed before the Supreme Court, seeking directions for framing policy to protect the rights of the dead and controlling the overcharging for cremations and burials of those who died due to Covid-19. The matter is titled Distress Management Collective v. Union of India and Ors.
10. Hacking, Data Theft are Offences under IPC also: SC
The vacation bench of the Supreme Court observed that a case of hacking and data theft are offences under the Indian Penal Code, in addition to the penal provisions of the Information Technology Act. The Court stated that the IT Act would not exclude the Applicability of IPC.
